When Darkness Falls (Short Story)

Chapter Four

2012 Present day

Randy doesn’t understand. I don’t blame him. How could I blame him? For what we have been through I can understand his resistance for even coming back here, but I have too. I have to be here. Everything I love is here.

If we try to go to people they will just throw us in a loony bin or in prison for suspicion of murder. And I can’t have that. Not while it’s still here. Not while they’re still here.

We have taken the necessary precautions in ensuring no one will step onto the property for a long time and Randy promises me that he will check it from time to time, but I have little faith in him. I can see the fear. Nightmares still consume him and me.

I haven’t slept well in weeks. I just keep hearing them. They’re calling me. I need to be here, to find them. To be reunited with them trapped inside the darkness.

Even now I hear it. Sitting here in the living room with only one light on above me I feel it’s eyes on me, but it’s okay. I’m not scared. I’ve spent the last few weeks being scared, I’m done with it. Just one pull of the switch and I can finally see my family. I will have finally found them.

The whole house is leaning in on me and this one last action of a desperate man wanting to be with his family.

The only thing it doesn’t realize is that just as I am willingly sitting here about to be taken, it is unwillingly trapped within this house. My last act has sealed both our fates.

I just pray that if you’re reading this you take it upon yourself to do what I couldn’t do and either leave or burn it to the ground.

Signed Jonathan Smith

Zack clung to the last page of the diary now holding the flashlight to assist him in reading. The light from the door had dimmed greatly and the day had flown by. He lifted up his head breathing heavy and confused by what he was reading.

What was he holding? Was this some sick joke someone played on this family or some story someone with a twisted sense of humor wrote?

THUD.

The book dropped from his hands and he flew to his feet flashlight at the ready. He spun around in the empty and dark room.

“Jake?” Zack called out.

No answer.

“Jake?”

“Zack.” Jake’s voice echoed from up the stairs. Relief washed over Zack.

“God Jake, come on. It’s time to go.”

No response just a little movement, but no sign of Jake as Zack watched with impatience towards the stairs.

“Come on!” Zack yelled fidgeting closer to the bottom of the stairs. Finally he took one step up the stairs listening to the movement coming from up on the second story. He looked back down into the living room and then took a couple more steps taking notice to the backpack at the top of the stairs.

“Hey man, I know you’re up here.” Zack reached the top of the stairs grabbing up the backpack.

Something moved past his leg and Zack jumped forward turning fast as he heard a squeak.

“Damn rodent!” He yelled. A rustling noise came from the room behind him. “Jake! I’m tired. Let’s go home! Jake?” Zack stepped into the doorway of the room.

The room was empty, the small twin sized bed slid across the floor under the window. There was no sign of Jake.

Zack’s light slid across the floor carefully and in his quick search he locked onto a chilling sight. His jaw hung open. Something scurried across the floor brushing past his leg. Zack yelled out and flew back into the hall, his light seeking what had crossed his path, sweat building against his heaving chest.

“Not possible.” He gasped again dropping his light across the two acrylic finger nails laid over six scratch marks on the floor.

The floor board creaked; scratching drew his attention towards the closet door.

“Jake! This isn’t funny!” Zack yelled still stepping back.

An eerie giggle echoed around him. Something was there. Just outside of the light something crawled and clawed hurting his ears much louder than his own heartbeat. The backpack once high on his shoulder was now on the floor at his feet. His knees turned to rubber. Than silence again.

“Zack.”

Zack yelled as his body jerked back against the weak railing and over his body went. The impact against the floor both daze him, and hurt his leg, but adrenaline pulled him from his weakened state and forced him to painfully limp towards the door.

A cold breath against his hair drives him to move faster bolt through the door and onto the dim lighted porch, some of the spot lights on, but none helping him to see, not like he could see well anymore with one eyes clenched shut from pain.

He runs past a leg trap and focuses on the gate when his body comes to a hard stop and barbwire cuts into his skin and cloths in several places. Zack cries out in pain forcing his body to duct down and fall through the fence leaving open wounds stinging and bleeding freely as he fumbled towards the fence.

Looking over his shoulder he sees something materializes within the doorway, but not his Jake.

The sun is lowering fast and he’s running out of time. He limped and yelled down the driveway to the gate. A sound of movement behind him makes the pain cutting up his left leg bearable and he manages to run the last ten feet to the gate.

In one fluid motion just as he reached the gate he launched his body up and half way leaned over the fence tossing one leg up and over and was about to get the last leg over when he felt a jerk. A sudden roll of stiffness flooding into the cravens of his ankle and an icy pain shoot up his leg.

Zack reared his head back and sharply inhaled a breath to scream, but nothing escaped as darkness flooded his throat and lungs drowning out his attempts to manage a single sound and like the sun he melted away. Leaving behind an empty house, an old book, and a mystery shrouded in darkness.

~The End~