Trina and Caden were in their rooms; she read an e-book on her tablet and he logged in online to chat with Jared and Evan.
Nathan lay adrift on his back in the swimming pool and kicked at the water. He floated from one end of the pool to the other in slow, repeated laps, which made him feel serene.
Josslyn gave herself a bubble bath and savored the warm bath water laced with a little lavender oil. She felt relaxed and tranquil as she lay back in the tub with a smile of satisfaction and contentment. A lavender-scented candle sat on the counter near the sink.
Maddie dozed in her crib in the master bedroom, and Thor lay on the floor between the bed and the crib.
Trina swiped the face of the tablet to turn the page of the e-book when a small, black spider appeared at the top of the tablet. It had crept from the back of the device and skittered down the face of the tablet. She flinched in disgust and flicked it away with her hand. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a daddy-long-legs spider inch down her left arm. She swatted it away with her hand and shuddered in disgust.
Caden typed out his next sentence and noticed a small brown spider skitter across the keyboard. He flinched in surprise, smacked it with the palm of his hand, and wiped his hands. He pressed the backspace key to delete what he’d typed and keyed the following:
Darn spider on my keyboard
He pressed the enter key and saw a different type of spider crawl across his lap. He pushed himself away from the computer desk with his arms and legs, and stood up to brush the spider away with a quick swipe of his hand. He then noticed another spider on his right forearm, and he flung that arm in a wide arc with a jerk. The spider flew off his arm and landed on the floor. He approached it and stepped on it with the sole of his shoe. He sat back down and pulled the chair up to his desk. As he did so, yet another spider eased down the front of his computer monitor on its web string. He swatted it away with his hand.
Nathan continued to lay adrift on his back in the pool when he felt a physical force grab his right arm and right leg. He was then pulled underwater.
Unseen hands pushed Josslyn down in the bathtub with such force that she swallowed some bath water in shock and surprise. She was pushed under water farther and constrained.
Nathan flailed against the unseen assailant as he struggled to be released from the grip that held onto him.
Trina observed twenty spiders of various species crawl across the top of her computer desk, vanity table, and bed. More spiders skittered to and fro on the floor. She screamed.
Caden looked up above the computer monitor to see several spiders scamper up and down one wall. He looked at another wall and the ceiling, and saw more spiders move up and down. Two or three of them came down the ceiling via their web strings. He felt one critter creep up the side of his neck and he slapped it with the palm of his hand, which killed it, then he wiped his hand on the outer thigh of his jeans.
Trina pulled up the camera app and took several snapshots, while at the same time, she slapped her arms and legs and flicked and swatted at the spiders that skittered up and down her body. She then pulled up the video app and filmed fifteen seconds of the spiders that were on her computer desk and chair, on the walls, ceiling, windows, and floor.
Caden brushed away the spiders from his smartphone, then pulled up the camera app and took several snapshots around his room. Next, he pulled up the video app and filmed ten seconds of video, all the while he swatted and slapped at spiders on his neck and arms. He ran to the bedroom door and grabbed the doorknob to turn it. The door was locked.
Trina also ran to her bedroom door and placed her hand on the doorknob to turn it. It was locked. She pushed and pulled hard on it, but to no avail. She banged on the bedroom door with her fists and kicked it with one foot. She shrieked in frustration and fright.
Caden pounded on his bedroom door with his fists. He backed up a bit and rammed his shoulder to the door in the hopes of breaking it open, but to no avail. He hefted his leg and slammed his foot against the door several times.
Maddie began to cry as her body sensed the the banging, pounding, and kicking.
Nathan exerted as much force as he could to free himself from invisible hands that held him under water. In his mind and in his heart, he prayed with ardent fervor. I command you in the name and spirit of Jesus to unhand me this instant! Nathan felt the tight grip loosen. I plead the precious blood of Christ over me and over the premises of this property! In Jesus’s name, amen!
The hold on Nathan weakened some more as he continued to pray in thought and in spirit. At last, he was freed, and he broke the water’s surface with a gasp. He swam to the edge of the pool and hefted himself out of the water, then ran to the double sliding glass doors. When he went to yank them open, they were locked. The drapes closed on their own volition. He banged and pounded on the double sliding glass doors with his fists.
As Josslyn struggled to free herself, she prayed with fervent ardor in thought and in spirit. The Lord rebuke you! In the name of Jesus, I rebuke you! The tight grip loosened. In the name of Jesus, I command you to let go of me and depart from me! Get thee behind me, Satan! Jesus compels you! I curse your works and send you back whence you came! The hold on Josslyn weakened even more as she continued with fervent prayer. I loose the power of the Holy Spirit to convict you of your guilt! I plead the precious blood of Christ over me and over our house and our family! In Jesus’s name, amen!
Josslyn was freed, and her head broke the surface of the bath water. She gasped with relief, stood up, and grabbed a towel nearby, wrapped herself with it, and stepped out of the bathtub. She turned the bathroom doorknob to find it locked. She pulled hard on it, shook and jiggled the door, then banged it with her fists and kicked it with her foot, while she yelled and screamed at the same time.
The bathroom door unlocked itself.
Josslyn yanked it open and ran out of bathroom and through the master bedroom. She saw the bedroom door slam shut. She went to open it, but it was locked. She banged, kicked, pushed, and pulled on it, oblivious of Maddie as the baby cried. An acrid smell of smoke wafted up to Josslyn’s nostrils, and she looked down at the floor. An orange light flickered and undulated and filtered through the underside of the door. That icy-cold hand of fear encircled her heart again. She turned to eye Maddie’s crib and ran around the king-sized bed, bundled and covered the baby in two layers of blankets, lifted her, and held her close.
Nathan pulled on one of the double sliding glass doors with such force that it opened. He lost his balance for a second and almost keeled over. He ran up the stairs and down the hall where he found an electric griddle on the floor outside the master bedroom door. Balled-up newspapers burned on the griddle. The door to the master bedroom flew open and Josslyn stood there with Maddie held close to her.
Nathan stooped to pick up the burning griddle and ran into the en suite bathroom and tossed the griddle into the bathtub, which was still full of bath water.
Nathan and Josslyn ran to Trina’s door, which was closed, yet it trembled and rattled in an animated fashion as if by an earthquake. Nathan opened the door, which startled Trina, her face tear-streaked.
“What happened?” Nathan signed. His chest rose and fell as he breathed hard.
“The door was locked and I couldn’t get out!” Trina signed. “The whole room was full of spiders that came out of nowhere!”
Nathan glanced at the walls behind Trina but did not see spiders anywhere. He ran down the hall to Caden’s room and opened the door.
Caden flinched backward in surprise. “I tried getting out and I couldn’t,” he signed. “The door was locked or stuck or something. The whole room was crawling with a bunch of different kinds of spiders. I even took pictures and a video.”
“Me, too,” Trina signed.
But there weren’t any spiders in Caden’s room, either. Caden and Trina turned on their respective devices and were confounded when the digital snapshots and video showed their bedrooms with bare walls and ceilings and nothing on the floors, desks or beds. Not a spider anywhere in any of the pictures.
“But there were spiders!” Trina signed.
“Yeah!” Caden signed. “Yes, there were spiders. They were crawling up and down my neck, my arms, my body, and my legs. They were crawling all over my room.”
“That’s exactly how it was in my room, too!”
Nathan looked at Caden’s smartphone and Trina’s tablet. “Maybe the spiders will show up in the pictures and videos later. I don’t know. I’m just guessing. Right now, I’m trying to think clearly.”
Josslyn walked up to Nathan. “I’m thinking we should go to your parents’ or stay at a motel.”
“We discussed this before. What if it follows us there?”
“That’s a chance we’ll just have to take until the investigators come. We need to stay strong in our faith.”
“All right. Let’s grab some stuff and we’ll head over to my parents’ place.” He turned to Caden and Trina. “I want you guys to stay in our bedroom with the door closed. Keep an eye on Maddie. We’ll be out of here soon.”