Nathan tossed and turned in his sleep, then lay flat on his back.
His throat swelled up as if a medical balloon with tubing had expanded inside it, which caused him to emit a few grunts. His back arched for a moment, and he uttered a low, guttural growl. His face morphed as if it merged with another face. He arched his back once again and moaned, then fell into a fitful slumber.
A violent lurch of Caden’s bed forced him awake. He sat up and peered around his room within the dark.
The phosphorescent light filtering through the window from the street lamp didn’t help much to brighten the room.
He got up and turned on the desk lamp next to his computer and glanced around the room. He went back to his bed and crouched on all fours to check the legs of the bed to see if maybe one of them might have weakened and broken. He stood up and concluded the evil spirit had kicked the bed for the fun of it. In response, he shook his fist in the air.
Invisible hands shoved him back with incredible force.
Caden's back slammed against the wall which left him dazed, and his body slumped on the bed.
Trina was also jolted awake by a shake of her bed, which thudded against the wall. She sat up and noticed light through the underside of the bedroom door from the hall.
A bright, orange-yellow glow waxed and waned with a languid flow in a fluid, irregular back-and-forth motion.
Trina approached the bedroom door with uneasiness, opened it a crack, and peeked out with one eye and gasped.
In the hall stood a dark hooded figure surrounded by and covered with flames, which shot up to the ceiling. The flames did not burn, scorch, or sear anything, but gave off their own luminescence without smoke. Heat did not come off the fire and there was no burning smell.
Trina screamed aloud and shut the bedroom door. Her heart thudded in her chest as she took short, quick breaths. She realized the smoke alarms had not gone off, as there were no flashing strobes. She backed away from the door as she eyed the underside of the door.
“I plead the precious Blood of Christ over me and my family and this house!” Trina signed. “In the holy name of Jesus, amen!”
She whirled around and flipped on the light from her desk lamp. When she looked back to glance at the underside of the door, the glow no longer emanated from the other side. She opened the bedroom door. All was dark and quiet. She closed the door and went to her vanity table, where she picked up a drinking glass to sip some water, but realized it was empty. She turned to look at the bedroom door, nervous.
I really don’t wanna go to the kitchen just to get a fresh glass of water, she thought. The thought of going down there in the dark scares me. Just remember that God is always with you at all times. Pray when you need to.
Trina worked up some courage and went out the bedroom door. Her grip on the glass was a little too much as she carried the glass with her. Her eyes scanned the corners of the dark living room as she went down the stairs. Once she reached the bottom of the stairs, she scampered to the kitchen and turned on the light. She went to the refrigerator, poured some water into the glass, and savored the refreshing ice-cold feel in her mouth and down her throat.
She almost dropped her glass when she noticed a shiny gleam for a second in the back of the laundry room. Then another glint flashed. With morbid curiosity and taut nerves, she made her way from the kitchen to the laundry room. She flipped on the light and saw movement out of the corner of her eye.
Abbott and Costello peeked out from behind the stacked washer and dryer unit. That was the one place no one had thought to look before. They looked demonic in appearance; their eyes reflected light where there was no source of light; their teeth were a little larger than normal and yellowed and stained; their fur was somewhat frizzed as if full of static electricity. They looked like creepy, caricature-like representations of mutant rabbits, the kind seen in horror films. They had a zombie-like stance about them, and they moved slower than normal. Their eyes darted about and blinked. The rabbits’ strange appearance gave Trina a Twilight Zone feeling as she watched Abbott and Costello come out from behind the washer-dryer unit. They sauntered into the middle of the laundry room, then went through the den into the kitchen and out the kitty door.
Trina looked through the kitchen window and saw that the rabbits’ outward appearance returned to normal. She noticed their stance went back to their natural form as they bounded past the swimming pool toward the rear of the backyard and disappeared into the thick brush.
Trina dropped her glass of water, backed away from the laundry room, and ran to her room. She closed the door and lay awake in bed with the light on.