by Andy Morris
only come from a doting grandparent. She was about to say something else but the words never came. The demon bent down and snatched her up in its huge clawed hand. The demon had changed her appearance again. It no longer looked like his grandmother but as a huge androgynous giant veiled in dark smoke shrouding most of her features. She looked angelic, almost beautiful in a perverted sort of way. Connor watched unwilling and unable to believe what he was seeing. Grandmother Nnedinma made a yelping sound as the demon lifted her to the huge mouth before opening its cavernous jaws and stuffing her inside, devouring her in one go. Connor watched it all happen in horrifying slow motion. Panic rooted him to the spot and he found he could not move even the demon turned its giant head to regard him.
“Ah, you have come to me, Connor True” the demon hissed in a voice that sounded like the rustle of dried leaves and Connor immediately knew its name.
Abiku watched him with the same detached curiosity that his sister Alicia had displayed the other day as she had watched an ant walking around the dining table before she got bored and casually squashed it with her finger.
Abiku moved towards Connor before reaching out her hand. Like that ant he knew it was over. His mind had gone blank. He could not run even crawl through the doorway. All he could do was to wait for the inevitable to happen where he would join his grandmother again.
At that moment a powerful figure slammed into him, pulling him away with such force he felt he had been hit by a train.
“Listen to me” the other ordered in a strong voice. “You need to get out of here now”. The strong, controlled modulation of his voice snapped Connor’s attention back into focus.
The shadowy demon was moving towards them.
“Move it!” The other man ordered with military authority. He pushed Connor hard in the chest so that he stumbled backwards. He didn’t see what happened next but it looked like the stranger reached up and drew his hand in a sideways motion in front of Connor as if he were closing a pair of curtains.
Then… everything changed.
Harsh light stung his eyes so he had to cover them with his hand. The darkness had evaporated; gone in that one second as if he had just taken off a blindfold. Everything was still and quiet again. Connor looked around and saw that he was once more alone in the Afterlife’s desolate alien wilderness. Abiku, the soldier and Grandmother Nnedinma were gone, the latter gone forever now.
There was nothing for him here and he had to go back. It was too dangerous here. He needed to get back where he could see Alicia and talk to her about what had happened.
He pictured the door again. The black rectangular shape floated before him and he quickly stepped through.
Suddenly the mournful vista was replaced by the deep comforting darkness of his subconscious. Connor closed the door behind him, reducing the eerie light from the Afterlife to its absolute minimum pollution in the blackness.
Then he tried to wake up, but failed. Alarm quickly swept through Connor as he realised he couldn’t move. He couldn’t feel his arms legs. In fact he couldn’t feel anything at all. Connor couldn’t move and the mounting panic quickly swelled.
Was he even able to breath?
He tried again to sit up or roll over or even move one finger but he could do nothing. Not even his voice worked for no sound would come when he tried to call out for help. He called out and when no sound issued from his lips he cried, a silent scream of anguish that went unheard in the quiet blackness of his prison. Another surge of panic rushed over him as he realised he couldn’t open his eyes either.
Was he still in the street? Or was he at work or home or a hospital? He had no idea what had happened to him. His body had shut down completely while he’d been away, leaving him lost and utterly helpless. Blind and deaf and paralysed, Connor’s body had slipped into a coma, imprisoning him in a sleep from which he could not awaken.
To be continued in Book Four of the Connor True Series: Forever True
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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
Book 3: True Calling
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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