by Andy Morris
unease spiked sharply like an icy lance plunging through his chest.
The shadowy intruder was crouching at the foot of the bed looking at the sleeping forms of Connor and his companion. There was an aura of menace about the creature that made Connor want to leave. Its dark clothes hid any features but Connor knew what lay beneath them. He recognised a demon and wanted to wake up. He shouted a warning to his sleeping self but because he wasn’t physically in the room, his sleeping form could not hear him.
The demon, however, cocked her head to the side as if listening to something far away. Then it lifted her head back, sniffing the air. Grandmother Nnedinma’s warnings and scolding’s about using his doorway surfaced with a desperate urgency but it was already too late. The figure slowly turned towards the spectral Connor and it looked directly at him through his doorway and across time and space, back into the present moment. The demon chuckled as she spoke in a thick oily voice that dripped with poison. “I’ve been looking for you, Connor True”.
In the blink of an eye Abiku silently sprang up onto the edge of the bed with a cat-like agility. Connor raised his arms in a futile defence but the demon’s blows never came. Instead she turned her attention towards the couple on the bed and pounced upon her sleeping prey. Connor fled, back through his door slamming it closed behind him, knowing he was already too late.
When he’d open his eyes a cold sweat was pouring down him and he was visibly trembling again.
He had just seen how he was going to die and that was the future he had been trying to deny. If Grandmother Nnedinma had been able to seal the doorway shut Abiku wouldn’t be able to find him. But with his doorway remaining as it is, unsealed and occasionally opening while he slept, she would eventually find him and then cross the great divide to enter the material universe.
By breaking the seal and opening the doorway he was responsible for allowing her to come here. She would use Connor’s own doorway as a bridge. Then the demon would surely wreak havoc, murdering hundreds even thousands of people before she was eventually stopped - If she could be stopped.
He had to do something.
Perhaps he wondered, as a recklessly choreographed plan began to come together, there was a way Grandmother Nnedinma could still seal the doorway? All his life he’d known death wasn’t the end so could he find Grandmother Nnedinma again? Opening his doorway into the Afterlife would be like sending up a flare in the middle of the night, he realised and it wouldn’t take long before the demons would come swarming around. But, with any luck, he wouldn’t need to be there that long. He could open the door, locate his grandmother and say his final goodbyes to her. Then perhaps, she’d be able to seal the doorway shut from the other side as he left?
That really would be the last time he ever saw her. He balled his fists thumping his legs. It just wasn’t fair. Grandmother Nnedinma was a good person. His throat was aching and he swallowed hard. Hugging his knees to his chest he curled up on the floor and buried his face. His eyes stung again and this time the tears ran freely down his cheeks.
“I’m coming for you Grandmother Nnedinma” Connor quietly sobbed. “Stay safe, I’m coming”.
To be continued in Book Three of the Connor True Series: True Calling
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About Andy Morris
Andy has been writing short stories on and off for most of his life. He has had many stories published on various websites and in both print and electronic magazines. Andy currently lives near the south coast of England with his beautiful wife and two amazing kids.
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Discover Other Titles by Andy Morris
CONNOR TRUE SERIES
Book 1: Dreams Come True
Book 2: Strange But True
SHORT STORY COLLECTIONS
Black Cat Tales: Where the Spiders Dwell and Other Short Stories
Black Cat Tales: Black Anne and other Short Stories
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Calling All Writers
Black Cat Tales hold ongoing short story competitions.
If you have a story with a supernatural / horror flavour please visit:
https://blackcattales.weebly.com/submissions.html
Winning stories will be:
1. Published on the site
2. Promoted on the various Black Cat Tales social media pages
3. Sent out as a PDF document to all Newsletter subscribers and;
4. It may feature in a Black Cat Tales eBook.
You've got nothing to lose so good luck and spread the fear.
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