Tandem of Terror (31 page)

"
You have no power over me!"
Imogene repeated, fury in her voice, rage in her eyes. "Demon be
GONE!"

With that an invisible force swelled at her
navel and ripped her from the bed. Imogene sailed across the room
and landed on the floor. A scream rose in her throat and filled the
room. Everything seized at once. Silence settled on Imogene and
peace returned.

I won.
She climbed to her feet,
steadied her legs and looked around.
I beat them. I won...

Imogene stared down at herself and discovered
she was in her nightgown again. Her body was clean. Her
surroundings untainted. She started for bed when the glow of the
digital alarm clock caught her attention. It read 3:15 am.

Birds began chirping outside her window.

Imogene screamed and collapsed to the
floor.

The morning light woke Imogene, the sun
danced magically over her face. She stretched, yawned and threw her
covers aside. The doorbell caught her attention and she slipped her
bathrobe on before answering it.

Two police officers waited on the other side
of the door. Confusion riddled Imogene's thoughts. "Yes," she
asked.

"
Ma'am, Officer Byrd. We've
been getting complaints from the neighbors of a strong smell coming
from your residence. As well as some strange noises."

"
Really?" Imogene was
shocked. "Here? I can't imagine what it might be."

"
Ma'am, your ex-husband said
that you didn't bring your sons to their weekend visit with him.
Ma'am, I'm going to ask you to let us search the premises. We can
get a search warrant but we'd like to have your
cooperation."

"
Of course, please come in."
Imogene stepped aside and opened the door wide. "My boys aren't
with me anymore. They were taken away."

The two officers didn't reply as they walked
into the condo with caution. Investigating the rooms and furniture
they made their way to the boys' room. Its door closed tight, just
as Imogene kept it ever since she witnessed the demons carry them
off.

Officer Byrd eased the door open. A shocked
expression washed over his face. "Aww man, Rick, they're in here."
The second officer hurried to the room.

"
What?" Imogene cried. "What
is it? There's nothing there. There can't be anything there." She
ran to the doorway. They tried to keep her back but she fought her
way past them. "No!" Tears welled in her eyes. Her knees buckled.
"They were taken by demons. I saw it. I saw it myself. Oh Lord,
please...NO!"

Two little boys, skin pale, lips blue, lay
side by side in their bed. Tucked neatly in, under their covers,
eyes closed. It was obvious to the officers the two had been
drowned, most likely in the condo's bathtub but they would need the
medical examiner to confirm.

"
Ma'am," Officer Byrd turned
to Imogene. "I'm afraid you're going to have to come with
us."

"
Wait, the demon...it must
have been in me from the very beginning. It tricked me. Do you hear
me? It tricked me. It was the demon inside me that drowned my boys.
It wasn't me. It wasn't me! It was inside me all along and I didn't
even know it."

"
Ma'am please," Officer Byrd
gestured to his partner to approach Imogene who wailed into her own
hands.

Imogene dropped to the floor and bowed her
head. "Please oh Lord...deliver me." She wept as they helped her back
up and placed her in handcuffs.

Hours later, the medical examiner's report
estimated the boys' death several days ago, at approximately 3:15
am.

The soft buzzing of the alarm woke her out of
a dead sleep. Imogene turned and glared at the digital clock with
its ghostly green hue.

2:56 am.

Her eyes widened and without hesitation she
threw her bed sheets aside and pulled the wooden crucifix from the
wall above her
prison
bed.

The occupant in the cell beside hers began to
trill.

Warning
Signs

John Grover

Shades of gray cascaded over the horizon,
draping the neighborhood in a colorless blanket. Houses appeared as
palettes of white meshing with patches of black and gray. Shadow
heightened the definition of trees, shrubs, stumps and fences.

The view was a canvas painted in tones that
only special eyes could appreciate.

Sounds reverberated crisp and sharp, even
from within the house they were intense and clear; bats on the
prowl for food, chipmunks scurrying through yards, breezes
whispering through tree and the awnings of houses.

Essences were detectable to anyone in tune
with nature and emotions too, were felt by those open to them
and--

Intentions could easily be felt, with an
empathy that was above the norm.

He drew himself away from the view of his
outside world; having grown bored, and tottered off the couch. He
made his way down the hall; gazing at furniture that hadn't moved
out of place in years, staring into rooms he called his domain.

A tennis ball brushed by him as he walked, he
paid it no mind. This was no time for games. This was quiet time.
This was sleeping time.

At last he found the room that made his heart
swell with warmth and pleasure. His body tingled as he entered it,
seeing the man sleeping soundly in the bed; a slight snore escaping
him.

The man's hand hung over the side of the bed
and approaching it, he gave it a hearty lick.

"
Lucky?" His companion
whispered, awakened by the yellow Lab's expression of affection.
"It's too early boy. Bed time, lie down and go sleepy. Lay down and
go sleepy."

His buddy rolled over as Lucky, disappointed
that he couldn't rouse him, curled himself up on his favorite spot
of floor bedside the bed.

The snoring started up again almost
immediately, but it was of no concern to Lucky, he was used to it.
It was a familiar, actually comforting, sound that he listened to
every night.

Lucky lifted his head suddenly a new sound
disturbing him, something---unfamiliar something that was
discomforting, a sound not heard every night.

He sat up and cocked his head, ears perking
to get full intake of the strange noise invading his solace.

It grew louder, more profound, like
breathing; a heavy, raspy breathing coming from outside...

Lucky went to his feet instantly and left the
bedroom, creeping cautiously back down the hall and into the living
room.

Darkness still bathed the room and Lucky's
eyes pierced right through it.

Suddenly, his body became rigid, growing to
full alert as he approached the window.

The breathing continued, growing more
intense, getting louder and harsher. The dog's face met the glass
of the window and at last he glared back out into the world.

In the shadows-in the darkness-something
waited, something stood.

Across the street it lingered, attempting to
hide itself in the night but was detected, spotted; its camouflage
revealed by the keen eyes of a dog.

Resident of the home. Member of the
family.

Beneath the branches of a great maple tree it
stood and stared, stared at Lucky's house, his warmth and
protection, his property, his den.

It was tall and crooked, the figure that
watched Lucky and his home unflinchingly, and wore a long black
raincoat; face hidden beneath a seemingly rubber hood, withered
claw like hands twitching from under the sleeves of its coat.

The breathing rasped again, heavy,
monotonous, repetitious, heard only by one living thing---

The hair on Lucky's back bristled and stood
up, he snarled at the figure across the street.

His heartbeat raced.

The adrenalin rushed throughout his
eighty-pound body.

His breath grew quick.

At last the barks erupted, pealing through
the silent house.

Aggressive, angry, fueled by fear and a sense
of protection the barks roared, directed at the mysterious force
that had appeared in the neighborhood. The house thundered with the
alarming call, causing the master to rise from his dreams.

"
Lucky!" He heard the shout
from down the hall as frenzied footsteps joined it. "What is it
boy? What is it?"

Lucky protested and snarled as he clawed at
the living room window, desperately wanting to jump outside and
fend off the imminent danger.

"
Lucky!"

The dog turned his head to watch his best
friend emerge from the hallway and enter the room. Lucky stood up
on his hind legs, front paws planted to the windowsill, saliva
drooling from his jaws.

He felt the strong arm of his master clamp
around his red leather collar and yank him from the window. "Lucky
calm down, what is it? Huh, what is it?"

He whimpered in response, simply wanting to
go to the window again.

"
Sit down," his buddy said.
"Sit." He pointed to the floor before turning to look out the
window. His friend's eyes darted around, examining the outside.
Lucky watched anxiously, the adrenalin flowing through him, itching
to get at the window again.

Weak sunlight began slipping through the
window, chasing away the darkness, the last of it slithering out of
the room. Lucky saw that dawn was at hand.

His barking continued.

"
Lucky!" The master was
stern now, his voice having raised a couple of tones. "Settle down.
There's nothing out there."

Lucky persisted, his barks transforming into
howls now, nostrils flaring, stomach and chest heaving as he tried
to fight his way back to the window.

"
No," he was ushered out of
the room and to the back door. "You want to go out? C'mon, go on
out and chase your squirrels. No more waking me up. Go."

The sliding back door whisked open and out
onto the deck Lucky raced, paws clattering on weathered boards. He
looked back at his unresponsive friend, who was shaking his head.
How could he not come out here with him? There was danger here, he
knew it studied the house. How could he just ignore what was in
plain sight? He watched him vanish from the door, most likely
returning to bed.

He made his way down to the lush backyard and
paused briefly to sniff at the air.

There was a new scent in it, a strange scent.
It was not unlike that of sulfur or burning rubber. The smell was
most unsettling, he knew it did not belong, not in his
neighborhood, or in his yard, he would not rest until this presence
was gone.

He had the run of the house, his master
having gone out as he always did in the daylight hours. Lucky
galloped from room to room, gaze fixed to the outside world,
attention captured by a knowing sense that something was not
right.

Although it had not returned, Lucky felt that
it would.

Outside the sunlight glowed brightly, flowers
bloomed, birds sang, but as soon as night returned, as soon as the
darkness crept over the land, it would be back. The loyal companion
knew it all too well, he felt its twisted essence, its putrid
spirit, its negative energies polluting and ravaging the very air
around it.

Window to window, he went searching for it,
watching carefully, ignoring the bowl of water in the kitchen and
his favorite toy, the rope with the bone tied into it. He would not
rest until he spotted it again.

He would not be disappointed.

Lucky remained perched in front of the living
room window where he had first laid eyes upon it for the rest of
the day, until He finally returned home.

"
There's my boy," his buddy
beamed as he entered the house. The yellow Lab dashed from the
window to meet him; eyes alight with joy, tail wagging
excitedly.

"
You must be dying to go
out, huh boy?" He patted and caressed him. How loved it made him
feel, the warmth tingling his chest, heart beating with
contentment.

Lucky showered his face with quite a
lathering, returning the affection before heading for the back
door.

He stood in the yard, snout lifted to the air
once again. He made his way slowly to the edge of the stockade
fence and peered through the gaps, catching the maple tree across
the street in his view. Again he sniffed and whimpered.

The scent of burning rubber still lingered in
the air.

"
What, what is it?" His
buddy asked as he stood up from the table, leaving a plate of hot
food.

Lucky led him into the living room, where he
circled and whimpered, constantly going to the window and looking
out. The sun had just vanished into the void swallowed by shades of
purple and black much to Lucky's dismay. He tried once again to
convince his oblivious friend of the danger in their midst.

"
There's nothing out there
boy, what's the matter with you?" He didn't even bother to look out
the window. "Is it a raccoon or something Luck?"

Lucky's heart thumped in his chest, his mouth
was wet with saliva. He continued to stare out into the night and
fidget nervously. What raccoon? Was he losing his mind? Damn it,
why wouldn't he listen?

"
No. There's nothing out
there, now stop it." He turned his back on Lucky and left the room,
returning to the meal that was now growing cold.

Lucky yelped once with defiance, attempting
to call him back but it was no use. Why was he so stubborn? Didn't
he understand it was coming back? It would soon be out there,
searching for the right opportunity to enter the house, waiting for
both of them to fall asleep or let down their guard so it could
attack.

How could he just brush off his best friend's
pleas, Lucky wondered, cocking his head and staring at him with
confusion? How could he ignore his alarming unrest, his call to
action? Surely they understood each other, after five years, you
would think that he would listen.