I can’t let that happen. As soon as I get in touch with her parents, I will explain everything. There has to be a way to get rid of the evil children haunting us both, permanently.
“Come on. Let’s get out of here and go see the new Hobbit movie. I know how much you love Tolkien,” Coby says into my hair.
“That would be nice,” I reply. I stroke his face then go grab my purse.
He scans me up and down with a half-smile lighting his face. “Maybe you should change into something more…uh, more.”
I look down and see my cotton sleeping shorts peeking out from under my oversized t-shirt. Oops. “That’s probably a good idea. I'll be right back, unless you want to help me pick something out…”
His grin could’ve split his face as he follows me to my room.
An hour later, Coby is looking up movie times while I change. I don my favorite jeans and a soft green V-neck shirt as I step into my wedge sandals.
“All right. Come on, nerd.” He is just as excited as I am to see this movie, he just hides it well.
In his car, I sing along to my favorite RITTZ song on our way to the theater. He laughs when I can’t keep up with the lyrics, but fails just as bad as I did. He always knows what to say or do to make me smile.
We pull up to the theater and race to the ticket booth. I won, by the way. I pay before he knows what is going on and snatch the tickets. We get popcorn, candy and drinks at the concession stand and I pop a gummy in my mouth.
“Mm mm, watermelon flavor,” I say with a full mouth. They always make my teeth stick together, but I can taste them for hours after they are gone. My dentist doesn’t approve, but I don’t care.
He grins and shakes his head at me. “I’ll never understand why you like those nasty things so much.”
I shrug and we find a seat in the darkening theater. As we sit down and settle in, I look around. There is another couple a few rows in front of us and some teenagers in the back row. I snicker and point over my shoulder at them.
“I know where their attention will be when the lights go out,” I whisper to Coby.
He chuckles and kisses my head. The previews come on and we talk about which ones we want to see. I am not a fan of scary movies, for obvious reasons, but we agree on romantic comedies and action.
The movie starts and we quiet. The teens in the back would giggle from time to time and I'd look around the theater for the sound. My stomach drops to my toes and my heart pounds away until I see them playing around. I start feeling like a creep looking at them messing around, but I can’t help the panic that rises within me at the similar noise. After the ninth time, the fear lessens and I grow accustomed to it.
A goblin pops up on screen and I hear a scream. It cuts through my ears all the way down to my toes and I suck in a breath. Coby places his hand over mine and pries my death grip from the arm of the chair. I wait but nothing else happens so I relax a little. I hate being so jumpy.
About halfway through the movie, I hear someone running up and down the stairs at the end of our row. I turn quickly, but no one is there. Grabbing Coby’s arm, I focus on the movie and try to ignore the sounds. He turns and rubs my hair, gently planting a kiss on the top of my head. I smile and rub my cheek along his arm like a cat.
A short time later, I hear the footsteps again, this time accompanied by giggling. I look back at the teenagers, but they are enraptured by the movie. Sweat breaks out over my skin and my hands feel clammy. I wipe my brow and shake my hands.
“Are you okay, Janet?” he whispers to me.
“Yeah, I’m fine. Just a little warm in here,” I say.
His brows knit together for a moment before he answers. “If you’re uncomfortable, we can leave. It’s no problem.”
A dragon appears on the screen and blows fire everywhere, cutting out all sound in the theater. I laugh and squeeze his arm, reassuring him that I am fine. He kisses my cheek and continues watching the movie.
The action in the movie is too loud for me to hear anything else, so I turn off all thoughts of everything but the movie. A bead of sweat trickles down my back and I shiver. The temporary lapse of focus allows me to hear someone running behind our row. We both turn in unison to investigate the sound. Nothing is there.
“Did you hear that?” He leans forward to look around the theater. “It sounded like someone was running behind us.”
My stomach drops as my eyes widen. “You…you heard it, too?”
“It was probably from the movie,” he replies as he shakes his head.
“Yeah.” I know in my heart that it wasn’t the movie making those sounds.
I can’t get comfortable in my seat after that. I keep looking around us for any sign the demon children are here. Coby keeps murmuring to me that everything is okay and reassuring me the movie is the reason we are so on edge. I try to focus on the movie, try to keep my eyes on the screen. My foot starts tapping nervously and he puts his hand on my knee. I look down at his hand and smile at him apologetically. I scan the bottom row and my eyes land on The Leader of the little creatures at the bottom of the stairs.
My hand claps over my mouth as I smother a scream. They are here. Out in the open. Giggles come from behind me and Coby sits up straight.
“Did you hear that?”
His wide eyes look into mine as I nod. He can hear them. I see the children running up and down the stairs on the ends of the rows. There are more of them, now. I count seven in total. I hear a scream from the top row and look up to see the teenage girl stand up and point in the children’s direction. The boy looks around in confusion.
“What are they?” the girl screams.
Her boyfriend stands and looks around. “I don’t see anything, Judy. What are you pointing at? Calm down!”
“Janet, what is going on?” Coby looks at me in fear. “Are they here?”
All I can do is nod. Coby looks around but can’t see the children. They continue to play on the stairs, scratching the walls with their claws. The sound makes my insides crawl and bile rise in my throat. How could there be more children?
He confirms my suspicion. “I can’t see them, but I can hear them.”
The Leader starts walking towards us with his tongue swaying back and forth. I shiver as fear fills my body. His tongue is now almost flat and withered. I scramble back to the seat beside me to get further away from The Leader and Coby follows me.
“Janet, what is it? Where are you going?”
I start crying as The Leader inches his way up the stairs and starts coming down our row of chairs. His jagged nails click on the floor and the sound vibrates through my being.
“It’s…time…”
I grab Coby’s hand and run to the steps. I barely notice the girl’s shriek stopping abruptly. The children at the end of the row part like the sea and we fly up the steps towards the exit. Their giggles rise in volume as we flee the dark theater.
People stare and point at us, but I don’t stop running until we get to the car. I collapse into the passenger seat as he fumbles with the keys. His hands are shaking and sweat is beaded on his brow.
“Janet, what the hell is going on?”
“I don’t know! They’re following me! I thought they were gone!” I scream hysterically.
He finally gets the key in the ignition and starts up his car. We speed out of the parking garage and drive down the street. Once we are out of the vicinity of the theater, he slows down and pulls into a park. We both have to calm our breathing before either of us can speak.
“I’m so sorry, Janet. I didn’t fully believe you, but I do now. I’m so sorry,” he repeats.
“It’s okay, Coby. I know it’s hard to believe, but they are very real. I didn’t mean to drag you into this. I never meant to bring these things to you or Max. It’s all my fault. I’m so sorry, baby.”
He holds me tightly and tries his best to soothe me even though his entire body is shaking with fear. I don’t want to talk about it and I think he isn’t ready, ei
ther. We pull back into the street and drive towards my house. I try to convince him to drive me home and drop me off.
“I need time to figure this out. They must want something from me.” It sounds good in my head, but he doesn’t seem all that convinced by my words.
“I don’t feel that this is a safe plan. I’m not a very good man if I leave you alone.” His voice shakes as he speaks. His eyes grow stormy. I have never seen him like this. I don’t know what to do. The creatures will come whether he is with me or not, apparently, but he can’t see them. How can he help me if he can’t see them? I have to get him away for his own safety.
His lips thin and the storm in his eyes turn into a full blown blizzard. “I’m not going to leave you, Janet. I don’t care what you say or what you do, I can’t leave you. I physically can’t.”
I decide to take a different approach. “Coby, I need you to leave. I don’t want to be with you anymore. We’re done.” Tears fall freely down my face and I let them come. There is no taking the words back, but it is the only way I can think of keeping him safe and out of harm’s way.
“You don’t mean that, Janet. You’re just scared and confused. Let’s go inside and talk about this,” he pleads. He reaches for my hand but I pull it to my chest, out of reach.
“No, Coby. You’re not coming in my house and you’re not staying out here. When I get out of this car, you need to drive away. Go home. Forget about me and just leave me be.”
I can’t keep this up much longer. I need to get out of the car while I still can. “Janet, please. Please, just let me come inside and we can take a bath or sit on the couch and just talk. Please, don’t do this.”
The storm in his eyes dies quickly and sadness replaces it. I shake my head in silence and step out of the car. I shut the door and run up the pathway.
“Janet! Stop!”
I fumble to find the right key and try to shove it into the lock. The keys fall from my hand as his arms come around me. I attempt to shrug him off, but his arms are like a cocoon. I want to relax into him and have him wipe all my fears away. I know he can make me feel better, but I don’t need that right now. I need focus more than comfort.
“Just go away, Coby. Please, just go away,” I cry. “I can’t do this. I can’t let you get hurt, too. I wouldn’t be able to live with myself, Coby.”
“How will being alone help the situation? You’re in danger, Janet. We can do this together. Please.”
I have no words to give him. My already constricted chest squeezes tighter with every second that passes.
“Damn it, Janet! Fine. You’ll have your way and I’ll leave. But don’t you dare think that this is goodbye. I will be back to check on you.”
I scoop up the set of keys and find the house key, jamming it into the lock. I open the door and step in. I can feel him still at my back so I turn and look at his face one more time. I am hurting the only person I have left. I shut the door and slide down to the floor to pick up the pieces of my shattered heart.
After a while of attempting to mend it, I pull myself up. My knees wobble and I have to lean against the wall to walk straight. There are no sounds in my house and all the lights are on. I take a deep breath and slowly make my way to the living room.
Everything is so still and quiet compared to my labored breathing and accelerated heartbeat thumping in my chest. I look around and notice my house phone is blinking with a message. I can’t remember the last time I had a message on there so I quickly hit the play button. Mrs. Frost’s voice echoes through my quiet house.
“Dr. Janet? I’m so sorry we haven’t contacted you sooner, but…Emily is missing.”
I hear her sobs echoing around me, and then everything goes dark as I fall to the floor.
I pry my eyes open and still can’t see. I blink a few times as my mind fights through the sludge that were once coherent thoughts. I hear giggles and I sit up abruptly. Realization dawns on me. All my lights are off.
Darkness surrounds me and panic starts to set in. It is stifling and I feel smothered. I jump off the floor and feel around blindly for the flashlights I keep all over the house. I find the coffee table with my toe and silently curse as I keep reaching out to find anything to help me. Bile rises in my throat and I fight the acid back down. The pain helps clear some of the panic coursing through my body. Leaning close to the ground, I find the edge of my couch and walk along the front side making my way to the table just out of reach. My knuckles hit the side table next to my couch and I open the side drawer.
My hand immediately dives into the shallow drawer and wraps around the flashlight. I sigh with relief as I fumble to flick it on. Giggles float through my house and I drop the flashlight. Picking it up, I quickly swing it around my living room. I can’t see any of them, but the hair on the back of my neck rises in awareness. My body wants to run, but my mind makes me stop and think of what to do. I need to get to the breaker box and see if that is the problem. I steel myself and point the beam of light to the doorway leading to the hall. My basement door is just a few steps down that hall. All I need to do is get down there and flip the main breaker to my house. That would be the only reason my house is pitch black, right? Even though I know there is a street lamp at my mailbox, not even a sliver makes it to my house. Right. Just do it and get it over with, Janet.
The flashlight shakes in my hand as I walk slowly towards the hallway. The thought of running into the little demons makes my blood pulse rapidly. I feel light headed and dizzy. I blink a few times to focus on what is in front of me right now, not what could be.
I round the corner and my light flies back and forth between the front door and the basement door. My stomach is doing flips and I place a hand over it to calm myself. After I am sure no one is in the hallway, I turn and start walking faster towards the basement door. Small giggles behind me have me racing to the door and bursting through.
I take the stairs as fast as I can without tripping and head straight into the room to find the breaker box. The giggles turn into diabolical laughs and I can hear their footsteps scraping down the hallway upstairs. The laughing grows louder and the flashlight flickers. It takes me a few minutes to remember where in the basement the breaker box is. I need to find it quickly so I won’t be trapped, but nothing comes to mind. As the footsteps echo through, I make my way across the basement floor, my light shooting in all directions. I stumble over something on the floor and fall to my knees gripping the flashlight as if my life depended on it.
The sound of running feet spurs me on. They are close. With my feet back under me, I spot the breaker box and dive for the cover. My fingers are shaking so badly, I can’t find the latch to open the cover. It takes only seconds for me to break it open and locate the main switch for the house. A cold hand grabs my arm from behind just as I flip the switch. The lights come on.
I scream and swing my flashlight to hit whatever was holding me, but all I hit is air. The sound of feet hitting wood makes me look up to see two sets of feet running upstairs. I am shaken so badly that I sink to the floor and rock, trying to soothe my fears. Get up, Janet. Get out of the basement. Now! I steel myself and stand, briskly walking up the stairs to the main floor. I keep checking my surroundings, on the lookout for demons.
I walk the house, but there is no sign of the creepy children anywhere. New scratches on the hallway floor are the only evidence I find. I get my cell phone and see Coby has called several times. The time shows I had been unconscious for over two hours. I replay Mrs. Frost’s message on the answering machine and call her back.
“Dr. Birch! I’m sorry we haven’t been in touch with you, but we’ve been all over the town posting fliers and speaking with people,” she said.
I can hear the catch in her throat and my heart aches. There is no hope inside of me that I can give her. “I’m so sorry, Mrs. Frost.”
“I slept in Emily’s bed after our scare and the first night she was fine. She actually slept all night and started looking like she should. Some o
f her color came back and we even had fun making plans for her to go back to school. The next night, I slept in her bed with her again. When I woke up, she was gone. I never felt her get up in the middle of the night and I’m a light sleeper. We searched everywhere and we can’t find our little girl!”
Her desperation leaks through the phone and I break down. No one should have to feel this way. No mother should have to go through the fear and uncertainty of having a missing child. “You’re doing everything right, Mrs. Frost. I’ll check in with Stacy and she’ll send out emails to everyone we know. I wish there was more I could do,” I whisper. My psychologist brain is still trying to comfort this woman when I can’t comfort myself.
“Thank you, Dr. Janet. We appreciate all the help we can get. If you hear anything, will you please let us know immediately?” she pleads.
“Of course. Goodbye, Mrs. Frost. And best of luck to you both.”
I hang up the phone and stare at it for a while. I try to imagine why Emily would just leave her bed in the middle night, and the only thing I could think of is the grotesque children. But they never come around when someone else is here. I type a quick email on my phone to Stacy and send it out. Coby calls again, but I can’t bring myself to answer.
My brain hurts and I eventually walk to my room and fall on the bed. I lie there with all the lights on and stare blankly at the ceiling. I feel as if grit is trapped under my eyelids and I let myself succumb to exhaustion.
I swear I fell asleep, but everything remains the same behind my eyelids. The ceiling fan keeps spinning around and around and the lights stay on. There is no darkness in the corners of my vision or swarming in around me. Then, I hear a familiar precious voice.
“Emily?” I sit up on my bed and see her sitting in the middle of my bedroom.
Children of Darkness Page 7
