Fabulous

Fame is such a glorious thing,

With glitter and big high heels,

But you can never know,

The hand that fate will deal...

The stage lights shone down and the stage glowed a bright green. The crowd cheered as the music began. The room echoed with their screams and from behind the golden curtains, a woman appeared. She was petite, blonde, skinny and was draped diamonds. Her long back dress, which didn’t leave much to the imagination, was slithering behind her as she walked in front of the crowd in rhythm with the music. The music slowed down as she approached the microphone. The stage curtain fell down to reveal a group of dancers, all stood in a line, wearing matching outfits of red and white. The music then boomed out and the blonde woman begin to sing,

You’re my baby,

Yes you are,

Let’s take a hot ride,

In my car!

The crowd cheered in admiration as she sang on and the dancers strutted their stuff across the stage. The woman loved performing, because she was Sydney Hughes, one of the most successful solo artists in the world to date. She had sell-out tours, merchandise, numerous platinum albums and all at the tender age of twenty-two. She was a global phenomenon, everybody wanted a piece of her, but some wanted it more than others.

Sydney finished the song in style with huge explosions of glitter and displays of bright lights. The crowd cheered harder than before and clapped until their hands were sore. Sydney had a small grin on her face, but deep down, she was swelling with happiness. The thought that all these people had paid good money just to come and watch her perform; it was a feeling that can’t be described.

After an hour and a half, she finally finished her performance by getting a fan up on stage to sing her number one single Button Eyes with her. Yet again the explosion of glitter and applause rocked the stadium and Sydney took a bow and thanked the people for coming. She smiled and walked off stage, back to her dressing room. The guards at the door moved aside for her and blocked the door as a stampede of fans ran toward her door, attempting to get her autograph or just to be able to be stood next to her.

Inside the dressing room, Sydney was still grinning as she took off her dress and slipped into something more comfortable for the ride home. She swapped her six-inch, spike heel stilettos for a pair of trainers and snuck out a back door to her getaway car, hoping that no hawk-eyed fans spotted her on the way. As much as she loved her fans, she hated when they swamped her, wanting a piece of her. Sure she was pretty and famous, but it could be too much for her. She sighed in the car and told her driver Dirk to take her straight home. Dirk nodded and drove on. The car mingled in with the cars that the fans were driving, a very clever escape indeed. Sydney put her hand through her hair and sighed again. Soon she would be back to her million pound mansion and be tucked up in her bed.

Forty minutes later, the car pulled up at a vast mansion, with a fountain in the front garden and statues of dogs and cats scattered around the grounds. Dirk got out of the car and let Sydney out. She thanked him with a single smile and dismissed him with a single hand gesture. Dirk drove the car away and Sydney went inside. As soon as she closed the door, she went straight into the kitchen and poured herself a strong drink. She drank it all at once and then poured another. Being a famous pop star was good, but it stressed her a lot, sometimes her only companion was alcohol, unlike any person, it couldn’t turn around and stab you in the back, or tell one of your darkest secrets to the paparazzi scum. Although, she did have a cat, the very loving Binks, she adored him, and he adored her. After a few more drinks, she retired into the front room and slumped onto the sofa. She then began to wonder where Binks was,

“Binks!” She cried, but there was nothing.

Usually he would potter into the room and leap onto Sydney’s lap where he would be stroked and caressed by her until he got bored and went in search for food. Sydney sighed and shouted for him again, but yet again, no Binks. She went to stand up but her phone began to ring. She picked it up from the coffee table and answered it,

“Hello” she said softly,

“Are you Sydney Hughes?” Asked an unrecognisable voice,

“Yes it is, who is this?” She asked, fearing it was a police officer.

“I’m your number one fan!” The person said strictly, it was a man, he had a deep voice.

“How do you know my number?” She asked, a little worried,

“I’m your number one fan, there’s nothing I don’t know about you” He said softly. Sydney was worried now; first he had her phone number, now he was saying that he knew everything about her. It was at this point she decided to test him,

“If you know everything about me, then tell me, what I’m wearing right now?” She asked confidently.

“You’re wearing a pink tracksuit, with white trainers and a white baseball cap” He said, even more confidently than Sydney. Sydney was slightly shaken by this,

“How do you know that?” She asked, trembling slightly.

“Because I’m watching you” He said quietly. Sydney hung up and threw the phone onto the floor. She had a deranged fan watching her, she could call the police, but by then he could have got to her. She didn’t know what to do, what if this man was dangerous? Finally, she decided to call the police. As she reached for the phone, the power went out; the whole place was plummeted into darkness. Sydney’s heart became a lump in her throat; she had seen enough horror movies to know she was in danger. She picked up the cordless phone, but it was dead. She was surely doomed now, she had no way of getting help.

SMASH!

Sydney looked through the moonlit room and tried to figure out where it came from, the kitchen perhaps? No, it was further away than that. The porch! Sydney heard heavy footsteps coming from the conservatory and quickly approaching.

Acting on pure instinct, Sydney ran to the kitchen and snatched up the biggest knife possible from the rack. She then ducked down behind the kitchen counter, breathing sharply and just wanting to escape. The footsteps were getting louder, the stranger was getting closer, and she had to hide. Sydney quietly got up and crept over to the pantry. Once inside, she slowly closed the door, still listening to the footsteps clunking about. She was breathing quite heavily from fear, but prayed to God that she wouldn’t be found, she needed a way out, and fast!

The footsteps were getting closer, Sydney gripped the knife handle tight and slowly backed up towards the back of pantry. After taking a few steps back, she felt something dripping on her head, she quietly clicked on the light and looked up. She was greeted by the sight of Binks, mangled with his insides on the outside, dripping blood onto the floor. Sydney screamed at the top of her lungs, she then clasped her hands over her mouth, realising her mistake. Within an instant, the pantry doors flew upon and a tall, dark figure entered and dragged Sydney out by her hair. He threw her on the floor and dived on top of her. He gripped her throat and attempted to throttle her. Sydney struggled for breath and squirmed on the floor. Eventually, she found her strength and raised the knife in the air and plunged it into his back. His shirt began to turn crimson, but he didn’t stop. Sydney then got another burst of energy and thrusted her knee into his crotch. He wailed in pain and rolled off her, Sydney got up and grabbed two more knives, when she turned around to face him again, he grabbed her ankle and pulled her down to the floor. She hit her head hard on the tiled floor and blood slowly trickled from between her hair. The stranger then got up and snatched up a cheese-grater and pinned her to the floor once again.

Sydney had dropped the two knives due to the fall and now the man was on top of her with the cheese greater, she was powerless against him. The man then pushed the grater against her cheek and slowly scraped downwards. Sydney screamed and screamed, but he kept doing it. The stranger then stopped and admired his work for a few moments. Sydney’s skin was mangled by the grater and blood was slowly pouring from the wounds. She then lifted her fist and hit the stranger in the jaw, he fell backwards onto the tiles and Sydney grabbed hold of the knives she dropped. The stranger then got to his feet and leaped onto her once again. Sydney held the knives in the air and the stranger leapt straight onto the knives. The sharp blades penetrated his flesh and slid through his ribs easily. His chest seemed to explode with blood all over Sydney. She pushed him off her and crawled into a corner. The stranger was rolling around on the floor, slowly dying. Sydney just curled up into a ball and watched him squirm as his life ended.

After a minute or so later, he finally stopped moving, he was face down in a large puddle of his and Sydney’s blood. The whole house was silent, except for Sydney, who was sobbing uncontrollably in the corner, waiting for the sun to shine through her window and bring back some hope of a peaceful existence.

“Fabulous” The Third Short Story By Divine-Insanity