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Friday, October 19, 2018

"Infinite Madness" by Matthew U.


Dear whomever it may concern,

There are so many thoughts going on in my head. I don’t know what do, but I’m going to try something different this time.
I wrote these two sentences a long time ago in a hopeful manner to maintain a somewhat sane mind. Now, I’m completely lost. So I’m just going to write about my whole experience and see what happens. I hope I enjoy this when I’m completely gone.
It was 3 A.M. when the doorbell rang. I woke up in a panic, almost falling out of my bed. A pit of dread rose in my stomach, while confusion and fear invaded my mind. I’m home alone, it’s dark, and I don’t know what to do. Oddly enough, I laid back down acting like it was a one time occurrence. The rain poured through the night sky and devoured the silence, until it rang again. I jumped out of my bed and immediately grabbed my phone to call my mom. The phone stayed black and did not turn on, it was dead. I forgot that I lost my charger, my body became paralyzed. Panic started to rush through my body as the doorbell rang again, for the third time. Questions poured into my head. Who can it be? What can it be? Why here? Am I going to die? Will I ever see my family again? Will I- My thoughts became abruptly interrupted by the fourth ring. My breathing started to become rapid and I just wanted to run. I tried to calm myself by thinking it was nothing, but lying to myself didn’t work. Nothing worked, I kept pacing in my room, freaking out until I remembered there was a house phone downstairs. I started to focus, but the bell rang for the fifth time. I grabbed a flashlight just in case the person or thing outside could have been able see the house lights being turned on. I hesitated to leave the room, knowing that I may be leaving my safe haven. I ran to the stairs as thunder boomed throughout the house. I got startled and froze once the stairs were in front of me. I slowly put my foot onto the first stair and it creaked. The bell rang three more times before I reached the bottom of the stairs. With the door in front of me, more thoughts crept into my mind. What if the door is open? What if they have a gun? What if it is- “NO!” I yelled out of frustration. For a moment, there was real silence in the house. The stranger started to pound on the door, knowing someone was actually in the house. I ran to the kitchen, where I thought I would be saved. The doorbell rang eight more times before I reached the phone. I grabbed it and dialed 911. The anticipation started to kill me as it rang.
“Hello, 911 what’s your emergency.” the operator said in a monotone and somewhat soothing voice.
“Hi my name is-” the power was cut off and the phone became silent. My eyes blankly stared at the phone. I threw the phone towards the wall, shattering in into pieces. I started to scream and yell as the doorbell rang for the seventeenth time. I was angry, tired, and I didn't know who or what was outside. So I grabbed a knife and stomped angrily towards the door. My hand touched the cold handle, I quickly unlocked the door, and swung it open. Nothing… Nothing at all… The only thing in front of me was the porch and millions of tiny raindrops. I stared blankly as the knife slipped from my hand. I slowly closed the door, doing a double take before I locked it. I stopped and suddenly turned around quickly, expecting something to be behind me. Again, nothing at all. A chuckle escaped me, why did I think this was funny? Without thinking about it, I walked up the stairs and plopped onto my bed. All my frustration, anxiety, and fear were gone. My eyes became heavy as I lay in the warmth of my covers. Everything turned to pitch black as my eyes finally close. This would be the last time I would ever experience any type of relief and happiness.
It was 3 A.M. when the doorbell rang again. I jumped out of bed, scared. I didn’t bother to check my phone, instead I ran down the stairs. Thunder boomed through the house as I reached the door and opened it. There was nothing in front of me, I walked out into the rain. That’s when I realized, I was experiencing the same night again. To say the least, I’ve through this 356 times. Nothing has changed, I can’t explain it. I’ve done everything I could think of, unspeakable things. I’ve stayed awake, ignored the rings, I’ve even slept through them. I can’t escape this. I’m alone, suffering forever. I keep asking myself if I’m dead or in a hell of some sorts. The only thing I can do is think and I think I’m going crazy. I have no idea why I’m writing this, no one is going to read it anyway. I don’t know how long I can take this, I’m never going to escape. Please, someone help me. I’m dying in here. This madness is infinite!

Sincerely,
JD

20 comments:

  1. I absolutely loved this story! It really caught my eye and your creativity kept me enticed throughout the whole story. Your internal dialogue and desperate tone really puts readers in the position of the main character and keeps their attention. You used great details and sound/ visual imagery that helped move the story along and the twist at the end really got me! You ended the story perfectly and chose a great title! Good job!!

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  2. Matthew, this was such a good story! I was hooked the entire time, wondering what would happen when the character opened the door. The plot twist was so clever. You did such a good job with the details and the imagery is so vivid. Good Job!

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  3. Matthew,
    This was an absolutely intriguing post! I was immediately absorbed into the story with the vivid imagery, and the description of the character's fear was so detailed I felt as if I were the one hearing the doorbell ring! This was extremely well-written and creative. Amazing job!
    - Sara An

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  4. These types of stories are my one of my favorites to read. You maximized the use of dramatic irony to create a surreal sequence of events of repeating the same event forever. The reason I enjoyed this story was because it raises so many questions. Who is JD? Are there any possible outcomes where he finds someone behind to door? Will he ever escape the loop? You left all these questions unanswered which is very exciting and I love it.

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  5. Matthew, what an interesting flash fiction! I especially enjoyed your style of using italics to separate out this person’s internal thoughts as well as what is actually happening. It provides to us a sense of this person’s thought process and the suspense that’s happening between his anticipations. I also liked your skillful use of visual imagery from “the rain poured through the night sky” to the sensory imagery of how “my body became paralyzed.” I also found it interesting in this person’s interesting tone shift throughout this letter. The “Dear whomever it may concern...sincerely” makes the tone seem more calm and tranquil as compared to this person’s increasing anxiety and madness from the repeated encounters of this stranger. So this format of a letter also adds in the extent of strangeness and mystery that comes behind this story. Well done!

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  6. I really enjoyed this story. What made it very interesting is that it was very suspenseful. The title is excellent and its with the rest of the story very well. The diction was put together very well. I was wondering what really going on at the door. Great Job.

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  7. There was a lot of intense feelings in this piece. I enjoyed being able to read what JD was thinking throughout the piece. Good job Mateo.
    -Grecia Sepulveda

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  8. This was a very interesting and unique article to read! The idea of being trapped in an endless loop (similar to Groundhog Day) has always been intriguing to me and your article perfectly conveys this interesting idea. Your vivid details had me tense the entire time as I waited to see what would happen. I felt as if I was walking through the house with him the entire time and experienced every emotion that he felt. Excellent job Matthew! - Eugene Kim

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  9. There was so much suspense in every sentence that kept me interested in what was going to happen next. I liked the addition of imagery because it allowed me to visual every scene that had occurred. I also liked how the story started off seeming like a normal letter, but ended with a tense tone. I really liked this blog, you did a great job!

    - Valarie Ly

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  10. Matthew, this piece was intriguing. The amount of effort that you had put into making the most worded descriptive detail had really brought the piece to life. It created such a thrilling suspense and the use of the repeating nights had drawn such contributed to the entirety of dying because of the madness. Awesome work!

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  11. Wow, Matthew this was actually a relatable piece to me. I get paranoid so many time especially when I'm home alone, but not to the point in calling 911. I really like your writing style especially how the audience is able to see the character's thoughts, it made the story more interesting and attractive. Furthermore the use of sensory details was amazing especially describing how the stair "creaked" and how the thunder came. The use of these details made the story more appealing the audience and causing them to want it to read it more. Great Piece and Great Work.
    -Jean Andre Molina

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  12. i like the aspect of a never ending event it really puts the effect of the title of infinite madness to use. With infinite aspect of anxiety and fear the essence of madness. Alejandro Marquez

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  13. This writing of yours really enraptured me. I was able to enjoy the full story wanting to know more and how the title could tie into the piece. The images that I was able to illustrate in my mind gave me chills.Your work didn't just seem interesting, it was interesting.

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  14. Well done!, I like the sense of fear that was created while reading on. The twist at the end was great and I can relate to the paranoia that can run through your head when you're home alone.

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  15. I always do appreciate a gripping short story, especially one of this degree of suspense and uncertainty. I enjoyed how you were practically putting the reader through the steps and perspective of the narrator, revealing information to the reader as the narrator does.

    -Ethan F

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  16. This story had me hooked right from the first sentence. Being home alone has always been scary for me, but I have never called 911.The imagery you used made me feel like I was in the house with you. Th suspense kept me interested through out the entire story. I enjoyed every word of this story. Great job!

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  17. Wow Matthew your story was absolutely wonderful! I was intrigued from the very beginning and became hooked. Your use of sensory details and suspense were really incredible.

    -Lexi Smith

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  18. I like the internal dialogue and the imagery, it kept me on the edge of my seat. It was really well written and had me hooked the entire time.
    -Deanna Ortega

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  19. This story really got to me. Maybe it’s because I get crazy anxiety like that or having actual experience for being inside a house being broken into. But I couldn’t help but love what I was reading because I could imagine every little detail about your story. I was really immersed in the story you were telling us. This story was great!

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  20. Matthew, my man this story was crazy good. I love everything that you did here for your word choice to your phrasing and use of suspense and dread is so well done. All and all a masterful work.
    -Braden Bailey

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