Bursting with Confidence (6 page)

“
I see you need more convincing,”
The man said. "Be right back."

The man turned away from Haley and
he stomped from the room muttering incoherently.

Haley turned to Abigail. She slid
her cell phone inside of her pocket and thrust her hand in her
friend's direction.

"Abbie. Cell. Now," Haley
commanded.

Abigail pulled her cell from her
pocket and she thrust the device in her friend's direction.
"Here."

"Thanks," Haley said taking the
phone. She tapped at the screen. “I can’t get a signal. This is
crazy. Is there another phone in the house? The kitchen maybe? We
have to do something before he comes back in here. Who knows where
he's hiding."

Haley looked up from the cell. She
glanced warily at the empty doorway  of the room before she
turned from the entrance and focused her sight on
Abigail.

Abigail was staring at Haley with
an expression of shock across her features. The sword was clutched
lightly in her hand.

"Abbie," Haley said slowly. "We
need to find a phone. A real working phone  so we can call the
cops. And…we should lock that door before that crazy guy tries to
come back in here. And what about Peter? We have to find
Peter.”

Abigail raised her free hand. She
grabbed Haley's arm gently.

“
Haley," Abigail said softly.
"That man is Peter.”

“
He is not," Haley said pulling
her arm from Haley's grasp with a huff.

"How can you say that,
Abbie?"

"Its true. I know it sounds crazy
but."

"Sounds crazy. It is crazy.
Abbie, no matter what he says or how much he knows about your life
believe me when I tell you that that man is
 
not
 
Peter. He's just crazy. And he
prolly follows you on Twitter and found out about what happened at
homecoming last year."

"I didn't Tweet that."

"Well maybe Peter was talking and
the crazy guy  heard him."

"Peter wouldn't tell anyone about
that. He promised he wouldn't.  Trust me, Peter wouldn't tell
anyone about that."

"Look,  Abbie. It doesn't
really matter how that crazy guy knows all of that stuff. What
matters is finding Peter and getting out of here and letting the
cops and the SWAT team deal with that delusional psycho.  I
don't know how he got in here but..."

The sound of a loud crash suddenly
echoed in the hall.

Abigail and Haley looked at the
door.

The sound of a loud dragging noise
filled the corridor.

The man appeared in the doorway. He
dragged a long oblong-shaped object at his side.

He clambered down the stone steps
and raised the object in his hand. He hurled the item with a grim
huff.

The dusty thing soared across the
room and it landed on the floor in the center of the space with a
resonant thump.

The thing was large and covered
with dust. The object was wrapped in thick layers of cream colored
bandages and it possessed the shape of a man.

The man moved to the dusty thing.
He fell to his knees and grabbed at the thing’s head. He ripped the
bandages from the object.

The twisted face of a mummy
appeared beneath the torn cloth bindings.

Abigail screamed.

Haley shivered.

The man raked his hands along the
shriveled thing’s cheek.

A thick flap of discolored skin
fell from the corpse. The stark white bone of a skull lay beneath
the marred flesh.

The man released his hold on the
mummy. He rose to his feet.

“
Let’s see if this convinces you,”
The man said.

The man flung his hand at the mummy
while murmuring softly.

A faint scream echoed in the
room.

The air in the chamber became still
and the sound from the television was suddenly mute.

A rattling cough poured from the
mummy just before the preserved body sat up with a quick jerking
motion.

The thing turned its head with
great difficulty and it looked at Abigail and Haley.

The mummy leaped to its feet and
several layers of its bandages fell from its form. It thrust out
its arms and moved clumsily towards the young women.

Abigail dropped the
sword.

Haley dropped the cell.

Chapter Four

Haley grabbed Abigail's arm
and she ran across the room.

Abigail ran clumsily at
Haley's side.

The two young women
sprinted across the room.

Haley and Abigail stopped
in front of a far wall. The two young women pressed their spines
against the stone partition while they watched the mummy shuffle
clumsily towards them.

"My Mom brought him back
from one of her expeditions," the man said. "He just wants to say
hi."

"Peter stop it!" Abigail
screamed.

"Stay away from us!" Haley
howled.

The mummy continued its
shuffling steps forward. A low moan poured from the bandaged
figure's lips just before it stopped its stride in the center of
the room.

The dark haired man danced
across the room and he stopped a few feet away from Haley and
Abigail. He smiled at Haley and pointed at the mummy.

“
Now do you believe me
Haley?” the man asked.

“
No!" Haley shouted with
indignation. "That thing's not real! It's just some crazy guy in a
mummy costume!”

“
Okay,” The dark haired
man said calmly.

The dark haired youth
turned away from Haley. He stared at the fireplace.

A loud crackling noise
suddenly filled the room.

The two stone dragons
beneath the hearth shuddered and came to life.

Their stark white bodies
were awash with blinding bursts of red, orange and yellow. Their
scale-covered bodies increased in size. They released loud
shrieking noises before they burst from their perch within the
wall.

The two beasts spread their
magnificent wings. They released loud cawing noises before they
flew around the room.

The twin creatures floated
around the room in slow circular motions. Their ruby red eyes were
fixed on the inhabitants in the chamber.

Haley and Abigail watched
the flying creatures with screams of terror.

One of the stone dragons
closed its eyes briefly. It released a gagging choke before it
opened its mouth and breathed a torrent of yellow fire from its
throat.

The jet of crackling flame
spewed from the creature’s mouth and it landed atop the sofa with a
deafening crack.

The settee exploded in a
burst of cracking flame.

Haley and Abigail rushed
away from the couch. They cowered near the curtained
windows.

The dragon’s flying
companion swooped towards the curtains. It closed its eyes briefly
and shot a streaming jet of yellow flame in the shivering girls’
direction.

Abigail and Haley rushed
away from the drapes and they moved to the television.

The curtains burst into
flame. The fire spread quickly.

The mummy turned around and
it staggered towards Abigail and Haley with quick clumsy
motions.

The two dragons circled
overhead. Both beasts spit out twin jets of flame in the walking
corpse’s direction.

The mummy’s form was
encased in twisting yellow flame for a few moments just before its
body exploded in an infinite burst of fiery bits.

The small particles of
flame-covered mummy splashed across the room and soon the entire
chamber was engulfed in flame.

Abigail and Haley cowered
against the wall in the far corner of the room. They held each
other tightly. They fell to their knees and gasped for
breath.

The fire in front of the
two young women suddenly parted and the dark haired youth appeared
in front of them.

“
Do you believe me now
Haley?” He asked.

“
Yes I believe you!" Haley
shouted. "Now, please stop it! Stop all of it!”

“
Can we kiss first?” He
asked.

“
No, I’m not kissing you!”
Haley screamed.

Abigail grabbed Haley’s
shoulders. She turned her friend towards her and shook the young
girl’s shoulders.

“
Haley, just kiss the boy
before he burns the whole house down!” Abigail cried.

“
No, it wouldn’t be right!
If he is who he says he is, he’s still just a kid!” Haley shouted.
"Lemme go!"

Haley pushed Abigail away
from her and she leaped to her feet.

“
She’s right you know,”
The dark haired man stated.

Haley and Abigail turned to
the man.

The dark haired man looked
at Haley with a heavy sigh before he raised his left hand and
snapped his fingers.

The walls of dancing flame
diminished and so did the young man's size.

The dark haired man’s
features melted gracefully until a ten year old boy stood in front
of Haley and Abigail.

“
Peter?” Haley asked with
wonder.

“
Yes,” Peter said with a
nod.

Haley felt a strange
tickling sensation across her body.

"What's happening to me?"
Haley cried and she grabbed her throat with a choke after hearing
her high pitched voice.

The strange tickling
sensation stopped suddenly.

Peter jumped up with a
squeal of glee. "It worked! Awesome!"

"What worked?" Haley asked.
"Peter what are you talking about?"

Abigail turned from Peter.
She looked at Haley. Her eyes became wide and she grabbed at her
chest with a loud gasp.

Haley blinked a few times.
She turned away from Peter and she stared at Abigail. "Abbie,
what's going on?"

"I can't believe it,"
Abigail whispered with a shake of her head. She raised her hands
and clapped her palms against her mouth with a shuddering giggle.
"This is freaking unbelievable!"

"What's unbelievable?"
Haley cried. "Tell me what's wrong? And why do I sound like
a
chipmunk
?"

Abigail shook her head
quickly and she released a choking giggle.

"Abbie, tell me what's
wrong!" Haley cried.

Haley took a small step
forward and she cried out when she tripped over her feet. She lost
her balance and fell onto the floor. She landed atop her knees with
a low cry. She sat up abruptly.

Haley looked at her body
with shock.

Her body was thin and
small.

Haley raised her hands and
she stared at the small limbs with a snuffling squeak.

After a few moments, Haley
moved her hands to her face and she patted her cheeks. She lowered
her limbs and tapped at her neck. She lowered her palms to her
chest. She grabbed at the twin flat portions of flesh where her
bosom had once been.

"No way!" Haley
screeched.

Haley swallowed with great
difficulty. She dropped her hands from her chest and she looked at
Abigail.

Abigail gazed at the ten
year old girl who kneeled beside her with a surprised choke. “No,”
Haley said in a small chirping voice.

Peter moved across the
room. He stopped in front of Haley and kneeled on the floor. He
looked at her with a smile.

Haley turned from Abigail
and she looked at Peter.

"Did you do this?" Haley
asked.

"Duh! The kid is magical!"
Abigail exclaimed.

"Yes I did," Peter
said.

"Why?" Abigail
asked.

"To make you believe in
magic again," Peter responded.

"You could have just pulled
a rabbit out of your nose or something. Or like cough up some gold
coins or diamonds," Abigail said.

"That would be too easy,"
Peter said.

"Change me back," Haley
said to Peter.

"Know what Haley?" Peter
asked.

"What?" Haley
asked.

“
We’re the same age
now."

"Uh…"

Peter grabbed Haley’s
wrists and he stood to his feet. He pulled the young girl so that
she stood erect. He wrapped his arms around her before closing his
eyes and pursing his lips.

Haley raised her left hand
and she smacked her palm against the little boy's mouth.

"Ow!" Peter exclaimed
removing his arms from Haley's middle.

Haley clenched her fist and
she shook it in Peter's direction.

"That's for being naughty!"
Haley shouted. "And trying to kiss me when I told you no. My answer
is still no you know?"