Selene

Jon was sitting on his couch, trying to enjoy a quiet evening at home, watching old 90’s sitcoms on his television, when a loud noise began to pervade his ears. It was coming from next door, a house that had been unoccupied for months. The noise had been going on for a while, and it was grating on his nerves. It sounded like loud static from a busted television set. After a few minutes of enduring it, he decided to check it out.

Throwing on his jacket, he stepped outside and walked to the neighbor's house. He knocked, but the door creaked open at his touch. He hesitated, glancing around nervously. “Hello? Anybody home?” he called out, but there was no response.

The living room was dimly lit, with the source of the static clearly visible on a TV in the corner. He took a deep breath and stepped inside. “Hello?” he tried again, creeping closer to the TV.

That’s when he saw her. A very pale girl with long black hair, lying in front of the TV. Her back was turned to him, but he could see her ankles beneath her dress. She wore a frilly white dress that was dirty and damp. Her skin wasn’t just pale; it had an eerie, almost blue tint. Jon froze and stared at her. “Miss? A-are you okay?” he stammered.

Her body jerked violently, then she stayed still, before starting to move again slowly. Her bones creaked and cracked as she moved. She turned her head to face him.

Jon swallowed hard, unsure of what could come next. Suddenly, she lunged at him, grasping his throat with her cold, damp hands. Her fingernails dug into his neck. He tried to push her away but couldn’t. Her eyes were surreal and abysmal as she glared at him. “Do I look okay?” she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

All of a sudden, she let go, and Jon scooted hurriedly away from her. She lowered her head and closed her eyes. “What do you want?” she asked.

Jon, still shaken, stammered about the TV. But realized he hadn’t been able to hear it since she grabbed him. As if on cue, the static sound popped back in. He raised his voice slightly, “Your TV is really loud! Don’t you want to turn it down?” He braced himself for another attack.

The girl looked at him with disgust, then sighed. “Fine. Yeah. I’ll get right on that.” She picked up the remote off the table in the corner and turned the TV off. “I was having a perfectly torturous afternoon nap, by the way…”

She looked at Jon, then flipped her hair and looked away. “So who are you?”

Jon blinked, still trying to process everything that had just happened. “I’m Jon,” he replied, his voice still shaky. “Who… are you?”

Selene rolled her eyes. “Selene.” She sighed and looked at him with a hint of curiosity. “And you? Just a regular nosy neighbor?”

“Yeah, well, the static was driving me nuts,” Jon said, trying to steady his breathing. “Why do you look like that? I mean… are you really okay?”

Selene sighed and shrugged. “I suppose I’m some kind of “zombie”….I wouldn’t know what else to call it.” She paused, her expression softening just a bit. Jon tensed up, “Z-zombie?!” Selene continued, “I died and came back to life… Now I’m like this…” She looked down at her hands.

Jon stood there, unsure of what to do or say next. “Is there anything I can do to help?”

Selene smirked. “Just keep it down, will you? And maybe don’t come knocking unless it’s important. I need my beauty sleep, you know?”

Jon nodded slowly. “Alright. I’ll keep that in mind.”

As he turned to leave, Selene called out, “Hey, Jon? Thanks for not running away screaming.”

Jon managed a small smile. “Anytime, Selene.”

He walked back to his house, the night suddenly feeling a lot less quiet.