Ghosts and Demons

A Story by Nicolai

The wind batted the rain down on the house. The fire was the only thing giving off any light as he sat and read in the big chair. A crack of thunder roared across the sky, startling him. He chuckled nervously and thumbed to the next page. Jim was never one to be scared of such foolish things but couldn’t shake the ill feeling he’d had all night. Suddenly there was a sharp knock at the door. He stiffened and his heart raced.

“Now just who could that be?”

A sudden gust of wind rushed by the windows, shaking and rattling as it went by. He saw his two girls shiver as they sat and listened, their doe eyes looking intently at him. He continued the story.

He moved out of the chair and went for the door, moving cautiously. The wood floor felt rough under his feet as he approached the mystery at the front door.

Another knock. Louder this time. Sweat formed on his brow and trickled down the side of his face. He grabbed the handle and pulled. A man stood before him, covered in rain, body broken and emaciated apparently from years of abuse and malnourishment. What Jim supposed he would call the man’s clothes hung off of his bones in tatters. His face seemed to plead for help; that he was in trouble. Jim broke his trance and helped the man inside. He could hear a noise in the distance, almost like thunder, but not quite.

“They goin ta kill me. So ah ran.” the man said. The firelight gleamed in his dark eyes.

Tom widened his eyes and he looked menacingly at them, grinning like a madman. A gleam of light came through the window. Kind of like a flash light.

“How long have you been running, boy?” Jim said, moving the man towards the heat of the fire..

“Ah… ah don’t know, sir. But they’s right behind me. Please don’t let them get me.”

Jim nodded and finally realized the sound he had been hearing were the hooves of a lynch mob on their way to his house.

He made clopping sounds and patted his chest, making a hollow thudding. His shadow danced behind him, accentuating his every move.

“Alright,” he said, leading the man into a his bedroom. “There is a small, hidden compartment in my closet. You can stay there.”

The man nodded and weakly moved to where he was told. Jim shut the door behind him and resumed his seat. Within moments the mob was at his door, demanding to enter. He opened the door for them and sat by as they searched his house.

“And after the men had searched the entire house and every floorboard, he made them leave. But when he thought it was safe enough to check on the man, it was already too late. He had died from exhaustion in the closet.”
He saw his two girls hold each other tight and grimace at the last sentence. Good. They’d wanted a scary one. No backing down now.

“And do you know what?” he asked them. “That very closet is the same one that’s in your room. Grandpa used to say that on rainy nights, like tonight, you could still hear the man gasping his final breath.”

The scream was deafening. He was going to need new ears after this one. He thought he saw something move outside as he reeled from the sound, but figured it was just his mind playing tricks on him.

“Alright girls, that’s enough.” he said. He stood up and picked them up, one in each arm. Maybe he had gone too far like he had so many other times. He had just never quite known how to handle little girls since his wife had died. He remembered the time they had gone camping, just the two of them. She had gotten him a Swiss Army knife as a gift for their first trip together. He felt his back pocket to reassure himself that it was still there.

He tucked the girls into their pink, puppy-dog sheets and kissed them each goodnight. He could tell they were still frightened.

“Don’t be afraid. It was just a story I made up, ok?”

“Ok, daddy. It really didn’t happen, did it?” said Tabby.

He was thankful that God had chosen not to take all three women from his life. Tabby and her sister, Lea, had barely made it through alive.

“Of course not, dear. Now go to sleep. We’ve got a big day tomorrow, huh?”

“Yep. Our first day of school…” Tabby said. He noticed her brow crinkle, like she was upset.

He patted her head reassuringly.

“Good night, you guys. Sleep tight.” he said.

There was that light again. He closed the door and walked downstairs. There was definitely something there. It couldn’t be his imagination. Sure he’s been a little paranoid sometimes. It doesn’t mean he’s crazy. Right?

Panting. That’s what the sound was. It was somebody breathing heavily, all around him. Somewhere in the house. He started back upstairs and with each step the sound got louder. The girl’s door was open a bit. He was sure he’d closed it. He could see the little night light throwing its insignificance into the vast darkness that surrounded the room and everything in it. The panting was almost unbearable. He pushed the door all the way open and went in. The breathing stopped.

“What is it Daddy?” Lea said groggily.

“Oh, it’s nothing. I just wanted to check on you two. Everything alright?”

She nodded and he backed out of the room, making sure he closed the door all the way. He shook his head, unbelieving of his stupidity. For some reason, the story had gotten to him. It wasn’t like it was true or anything. His dad had told him the story when he was a kid. It had scared the hell out of him then. Every night he would lie awake, watching the closet for the slightest movement. He would imagine that he heard sounds and call for his dad to come save him from the ghost. But he was 34 now, d****t. He shouldn’t be frightened about things like ghosts anymore.

He stopped dead in his tracks. The front door was open, hanging from the hinges. Wood splinters littered the floor and muddy tracks made their way inside. All these years and he’d never gotten a home security system. Too expensive. How ironic that seemed now. The sweat grew in large droplets on his face as he inched his way closer to the scene. The footprints went to the kitchen. He took a quiet breath, not wanting to alert the intruder. He could hear the panting again. He walked into the kitchen and the footprints disappeared. He crawled along the wall and banged into some pans. The sound made his heart jump into his throat. He stiffened waiting for something to happen. A moment of silence passed as his heart returned to its normal pace.

He went back to the living room and closed the door as much as it could be given its condition. He needed to check on the girls. They weren’t safe. As he climbed the stairs a hand grabbed him by the neck, tightening around his larynx.

“Don’t even think about taking another step unless I tell you, alright pal? Otherwise I’m gonna do something you might regret.”

Tom groped at the hand choking him trying to loosen the grip. It eased a bit, allowing him to breathe, but remained around his neck. He felt a knife poking through his shirt into his back, nearly piercing the skin and urging him forward.

“I’ve seen you and your girls around. Going to the mall and all that fun Dad s**t you get to do. But those two of yours. They get me going. Know what I mean?”

The man hissed into his ear. His hot breath filled Tom’s nostrils almost making him gag. He felt his blood pumping harder with each step. This creep had been scouting his two girls for whatever sick things he had in mind. He struggled, trying to pull the hands free from his neck, but the knife got pushed farther in. He could feel blood trickling down his spine.

“Try it again and see what happens! You just might not get to see the show!”

“F**k you, you piece of s**t!” Tom said. “If you touch even one hair on their head…”
“You’ll what?”
The hand tightened around his neck again. His vision blurred and he stopped struggling. He couldn’t do anything if he was dead. Better play it smart.

The man pushed him the rest of the way up the stairs and into the girls’ bedroom. He was forced down on a little toy chair. The man spotted a jump rope on the floor and used it as a make-shift rope to tie Tom with.

“Wake-y, wake-y girls. Uncle Benny is here to have some fun!”

Lea screamed followed closely by Tabby.

“Oh, girls. That won’t do.” Uncle Benny moved behind him “If you don’t be quite, I’m afraid your daddy is going to lose an eye.” The knife hovered an inch in front of his eye.

Their screams stopped, replaced by quiet whimpering.

“Much, much better, girls. Now, if you just do what Uncle Benny tells you to do, I won’t have to show you your daddy’s insides. Do you understand?” He waved the knife to make sure they did.

Uncle Benny moved towards the girls, his big teeth flashing bright. Lea and Tabby held each other, trembling in fear with tears streaming down their little faces. Tom’s mind was flooded with various scenarios. He could see the girls getting tortured and hurt in so many different ways. He wasn’t going to lose them too. Not like he’d lost their mother.

He had loved her from the moment he saw her, just like in fairy tales. They were in college together, both wanting to become famous in their own right. She told him that she wanted to be an actress. He wanted to be the next great American novelist. They were perfect for each other. As their dreams faded and reality set in Tom got a real job to support his wife and himself. Then she was pregnant, with twins, no less. That’s when the fairy tale ended. The birth was too much for her body to handle. She gave up her life for those of the two growing inside her.

“It’s just the way it has to be. It’s a fair trade.” she said when Tom had begged her to stay with him. “It’s a fair trade.”

Fair or not, Tom wasn’t going to let this happen. He writhed in the chair trying to loosen the rope. Uncle Benny was still getting his kicks from scaring the girls. Wait just a bit longer, you sick f**k. As he twisted his hands he remembered the knife his wife had given him.

“You never know when you might need it,” she had said. She had always planned ahead.

“Aren’t you the cutest thing ever?” Uncle Benny said as he grabbed Lea’s innocent face.

She groaned and Tabby began hitting his arms to keep him away. He laughed and backhanded her away from him.

“Since your sister seems so enthusiastic, I think I’m gonna start with her.” He moved toward the battered Tabby, breathing heavily.

Tom acted quickly. He fished the knife out of his pocket and opened the blade. He cut through the rope and lunged at Benny.

“Get away from them!” he said. He wrapped his arm around the creeps neck but was thrown off to the side.

“Trying to be a hero, huh Daddy? Well, I don’t much care for heroes!!”

Tom pushed himself up from the ground but was immediately kicked in the stomach. He rolled over, groaning in pain. Another kick came, this time landing on the side of his head. He could feel the muscle in his jaw tear and his head reeled. Benny began to move back to the girls.

“You see what I had to do? You two do anything else and I’ll kill him right here in front of you.”

Tom regained his wits and grabbed Benny’s legs, toppling him over. He got up and kicked Benny in the ribs. Then again in the head. Blood splattered from the blows, reddening the puppy dog sheets.

“Don’t f**k with. my family!” he said, each word punctuated with a kick.

Tom collapsed on the bed, greeted by his daughters. Benny didn’t move. Blood pooled underneath him. He must have fallen on the knife.

“Are you girls alright?” he asked. His head was killing him.

“We were so scared, Daddy!”

“I know. I know you were. But you’re ok now. I’m here with you.”

He could smell the blood coming from the body. It was sickening.

“Hey, let’s go downstairs, ok?” he said. He led them out of their room and into the living room. The door was still hanging slightly open.

“On second thought, let’s get out of here.”

Tom took the girls over to the neighbor’s house, giving a lame explanation of what happened.

“Just call the cops, alright? I’m gonna go back in and check things out.” he said.

“Please don’t go, Daddy! I’m scared!” Tabby ran to him and wrapped her slender arms around his legs.

He patted her head reassuringly.

“Don’t worry. Everything’s gonna be ok. And don’t forget; you have school tomorrow young lady”

She nodded and reluctantly let go. He eased away from her and walked back toward the house. The grass was cold from the rain. It felt good beneath his feet. He went inside and back upstairs. He was going to make sure that b*****d was dead. He stopped cold in his tracks. There was blood, but no body. A chill went down his spine and he turned around. The knife gleamed in the moonlight as it struck towards its mark.