The following morning, the storm had blown over.
Josslyn stirred in her bed in between sleep and consciousness. She turned to look at Maddie’s crib, and her hand flew to her mouth. She felt blood drain from her face and her heart beat faster. Frantic, she shook Nathan awake and pointed to the wall above Maddie’s crib.
Is the baby asleep?
The words had been engraved in repeated strokes as if with the tip of a screwdriver or scratched with sharp fingernails, then infused with black paint.
Josslyn and Nathan bolted from the bed and dashed to Maddie’s crib.
The baby smiled when she saw her parents.
Josslyn shuddered and took a few deep breaths. She lifted Maddie from the crib and hugged her.
Sunlight streamed through the pastel peach curtains and brightened Trina’s room.
She stretched and yawned, then lay back for several moments. She turned to look at the crate and sat up.
Abbott and Costello were not in the crate and the door was closed.
Trina looked around her room. The rabbits were nowhere to be found. She stepped into the hall and noticed her parents’ bedroom door was open. A bright light flashed from within. At first, Trina thought it might have been lightning, but the storm had passed and the sun was out. Curious, she went down the hall and stood at the opened door to her parents’ bedroom.
Josslyn was taking photos with her digital camera. The flash went off again as she pressed the shutter button.
Nathan stood next to Josslyn with Maddie cradled in his arms.
Trina looked in the direction where Josslyn aimed her camera and paled when she saw the scrawled inscription on the wall. Her heart rate went up. “Did the demon do that?” she signed.
Josslyn and Nathan nodded, their countenances an expression of extreme displeasure and deep concern.
“Just want to let you know that your father and I have contacted three paranormal organizations online,” Josslyn signed. “As soon as one replies, we will let you and Caden know.”
“Good, because Abbott and Costello are not in their crate, yet the door is closed. I doubt if they got out on their own.”
“That thing most likely let them out,” Nathan signed. “The rabbits are probably roaming around somewhere in the house. We’ll just have to make sure the doors and windows are closed so that they don’t get outside.”
They all searched for Abbott and Costello; they went through every room of the house, both upstairs and downstairs, and they checked to see if all the doors and windows had been secured.
“It’s possible the evil spirit may have let the rabbits out of the house,” Caden signed.
“Oh, please,” Trina signed, “don’t say that.” She bit her lower lip with worry.
“We’ll find them,” Nathan signed. “We just have to have faith and think positive.”
“Yes,” Josslyn signed. “They have to be somewhere in the house.”
“It just saddens me so much,” Trina signed. “It scares me, too How do you fight something you can’t see?”
“We fight through prayer and faith. That’s all we can do. As humans, we are limited to a certain extent. God imposes limitations on us for His purposes. We have limited minds, power, and abilities to do certain things. Obedience and faith please Him more than anything else, more than just doing good. That and being honest and kind to others. He gave us the right to communicate with Him through prayer, and He teaches us about faith through His Word. Those are our weapons against this evil. That’s what we need to keep in mind.”
A tear trailed down Trina’s cheek as she laid her head on her mother’s shoulder.