Like Father, Like Son

William sees something strange in his house.

William’s parents went to work around six am. It did not matter how little noise they made it always woke him up. If he went to sleep now, he could sleep a whole two more hours. The minutes passed and he looked up at the red lights of the digital clock again. Now, he could get one hour and forty-seven minutes of sleep.

It could not have been a minute later, and William again picked his head up to look at the clock. A figure made of complete darkness stood at the foot of his bed. The only distinguishing feature was a pair of glowing red eyes that pierced his soul. William casually closed his eyes. It took a minute, but the realization there was a thing in his room hit him. He opened his eyes and the sun was shining through the window. He looked around and the dark figure was nowhere to be seen. He grabbed his hockey stick and walked around the house ready for battle. The house was empty, and this unsettled William.

Being a latchkey kid, he finished getting ready, ate breakfast and was on his way to school. No way was, there was a monster at the foot of my bed and that is why I did not go to school excuse was going to fly with any adult. He felt jumpy all day, like someone was watching him. That night, William kept the light on in his room. An unknown fear kept coming over him. He turned on his TV. This gave him a sense of calm. With the noise, William’s father came in. “Turn the damn TV off and go to bed,” he yelled. “Yes, sir,” William replied. He reluctantly turned the TV and light off. He grabbed a flashlight and kept it on under his covers.

The next day, William cleaned the living room. His goal was to find all the loose change in the couch cushions that guests had accidentally dropped. He needed five dollars for a night light at the store. The batteries had already run out on the flashlight he used. He found over seven dollars in change.

He ran over to Riley’s General Store and plopped down the money for the night light.

“A little old for a night light aren’t you son?” asked old man Riley.

“It’s for the hallway. You know, my dad doesn’t like to turn on the light when he gets up to use the bathroom and he stubbed his toe last night,” said William. Old man Riley took a long look at William and sighed.

“You know son, there’s no need to lie when the truth would serve you better,” said old man Riley.

“Yes sir, sorry sir, it’s for me,” said William.

“Don’t worry I’ll keep your secret,” said old man Riley. William smiled and went on his way.

That night William slept and dreamed for hours with the night light keeping vigil. For the next few weeks William felt normal. He didn’t feel like anyone was watching him. Then his father found the night light. As all parents do, he made things worse. He took the night light away.

“Be a man son. You are lucky to have a father to tell you that. My father ran out on us when I was young and my mama died in the same year,” said William’s dad.

“Sorry sir. Yes, sir,” replied William. He knew that the light did not stop the dark figure from coming back, but it still gave him comfort.

William cleaned the car hoping for more change to buy another light. He added up what he had left from the living room and what he just found in the car; it was just enough to get a new light. William put another night light on counter of Riley’s General Store.

“Did your father take your light son?” old man Riley asked.

“Yes, sir,” replied William.

“Don’t be too hard on your father, next week marks thirty years since your grandpa left,” said old man Riley.

“Yes sir. I understand sir,” said William. Outside, sitting in a rocking chair and knitting was Mrs. Riley, old man Riley’s wife.

“Now, I don’t see why your daddy makes such a big fuss over being afraid of the dark. Why, he was still afraid of the dark when he was high school. You pay him no never mind and if he makes a fuss again you tell him, I’ll pay him a visit and set him right. Now, go on home,” she said.

“Yes, ma’am, I will,” replied William. As he approached the house, a darkness covered the sky. The sounds of the world seemed to have deafened. He ran inside and found his mother on the floor. The dark figure standing over her, staring at her with those eyes. There was no shape or form inside the darkness.

“Mom,” screamed William. He ran towards his mother but found himself back standing at the door. He tried again and right as he was about to hold his mother’s hand, he found himself back at the front door. The screams of William’s father echoed in the house.

“Dad,” screamed William.

“William. Run. Save yourself,” he screamed back. William tried to move, but it was like something was squeezing his chest. His legs felt wiggly. In an instant, he was sitting on the back of a truck bed with his legs dangling looking at his house. He got up and ran towards the house.

“Hold on there, son,” said the sheriff as grabbed William by the arm.

“You’re finally out of it. Do you know what happened here William?” asked the sheriff. William could not remember. His thoughts were wildly incoherent. It was a cacophony of frightening images that made him curl up into a ball and cry on the ground. Hearing the news, the Riley’s pulled up in their truck. Mrs. Riley pulled William to the side and comforted him.

“Thirty years?” asked old man Riley.

“To the day. By the looks of it, just like his father, the boy don’t remember a thing” said the sheriff.

“It’s better that way. We have a room all ready for him,” said old man Riley.

Author's Note

just started writing. any feedback would be helpful. thank you.

Reviews

[Curtis Bass]

Okay, you freaked me out. Nice build up. It was well edited, I only noticed one or two errors. I'm kinda a grammar Nazi. The voice was true to a kid, and it had a brisk pace. I can see other writers stretching it out when brevity is a virtue.
I gotta say I wonder what the townspeople are up to. They knew it was going to happen. I wonder if we got some Lottery type thing going on. The fact that you didn't tell, but left it to our imagination is a great way to end it. Gotta say I loved it.

[Anna Parker]

Oooo this is so spooky! I love it!
I would suggest using Grammarly; it helps me all the time with grammar and its free! :)

Anna Parker, Writer/Networker at CrowdStoryz.com