I jolted awake with my heart pounding in my chest. The sound of a thud coming from my closet snapped me awake. The room was shrouded in darkness making it hard to make out any shapes. As I peered into the gloom, the open closet door seemed more menacing than usual.
Straining my eyes in the dark I noticed the shirts hanging in the closet swaying as if touched by something. I reached for the flashlight that I always kept on my nightstand. The beam of light cut through the shadows and I looked at the closet door.
Just as I was ready to breathe a sigh of relief, there was movement. A pale and bony hand slipped behind the clothes strewn on the floor. My breath caught in my throat. A scream threatened to escape me and before I could gather myself, it burst out and echoed through the house.
In an instant, a figure resembling a child darted out from the closet and scrambled under my bed. It was definitely too large to be a cat; besides I always made sure to shut my door before bedtime to keep them out.
Suddenly, my bedroom door swung wide open. My mother and my older brother, Garrett, rushed into my room. Tears streamed down my face as I pointed towards the bed with a trembling voice.
"There was something, in my closet! It ran under the bed!"
Mom turned on the light and hugged me tightly. Garrett, looking doubtful yet caring, knelt down to peer under the bed. They searched the closet, under the bed and every corner of the room. There was nothing there.
Mom tried to soothe me by running her fingers through my hair and gently assuring me it was a dream. Garrett playfully tousled my hair to lighten the mood.
"Maybe you just imagined it, Jericho. No monsters lurking here."
I felt relieved they didn't find anything. I couldn't shake off what I witnessed. As they tucked me in and switched off the light, a sense of unease lingered as if something unseen was still watching over me.
Following that incident, I couldn’t sleep. How could I possibly sleep after that? Despite Garrett’s efforts to persuade me it was merely a nightmare, I couldn't rid myself of what I had witnessed. That hand reaching out and that creature scurrying—it all felt too real.
And now, it lay hidden beneath my bed.
* * *
The next day at school, I couldn't get the creature out of my mind. It consumed my thoughts completely. When I returned home I tried to avoid going into my bedroom as much as possible. I only went in to grab my backpack or a toy, making sure to stay away from the bed.
During dinner I mentioned the creature to Garrett. He just told me that I was too old to be afraid of the dark. Knowing he wouldn't believe me, I stopped talking about it. However that night as I lay in bed, I made sure my flashlight was close by and closed my door tightly.
Around midnight, the thumping sound returned. This time not coming from the closet, but from under the bed. My heart raced as I pulled up the covers to my chin. The thumping grew louder. I kept my eyes shut hoping it would just disappear.
Eventually the thumping ceased. Hesitantly, I cracked my eyes open. I waited in silence until I heard it. Something whispering to me.
"Jericho... Jericho..."
A rough and eerie voice echoed from below me, barely muffled by my mattress. A chill ran down my spine. Fear froze me in place. It knew my name.
* * *
The next morning, I told my mom what I heard. Worried about me, she said I could sleep in her bed that night until they figured something out. Garrett, almost annoyed, told me I was too old to be afraid of the dark.
“It’s not that, Garrett, something was in there, something was in my room. I saw it!” I yelled, tears starting to well up in my eyes.
That night while lying in my mom’s bed, I tried to push thoughts of my room and the eerie presence lurking within out of my mind, but I couldn’t stop. What if it managed to break free? What if it came searching for me?
Suddenly, the sound of footsteps echoed through the silence. Initially I assumed it was Mom coming to check on me. But, I immediately realized she was still fast asleep in bed. Besides, the footsteps were too light and quick to belong to her. With each step drawing, I tightly gripped my flashlight and flicked it on, aiming it towards the door. The footsteps abruptly ceased.
I held my breath in suspense as I strained to hear any movement. After a minute passed by, I cautiously turned off the light. But then, just as the door creaked open slightly I swiftly illuminated the room with the light. A faint shadowy figure stood at the doorway. It seemed like a child at first. The sight of its face sent shivers down my spine. Its eyes…its twisted grin.
"Jericho... Come play with me..."
I let out a scream prompting Mom to jump out of bed and turn on the light. The eerie figure had vanished. She hurried over to comfort me as I shook and wept, struggling to describe what I had seen. Garrett entered the room looking more concerned this time.
They scoured every corner of the hallway and closets and found nothing. Mom decided to stay with me on the couch that night. Despite her presence, I couldn't shake off the lingering fear that whatever it was…it was still nearby.
The next day, Mom and Garrett talked about rearranging my room or moving me to the guest room. I knew it wouldn't change anything—the creature wasn't limited to a place; it was fixated on me.
That night snuggled, in mom’s bed with a flashlight clutched tightly in hand, I listened intently. The house was eerily quiet.. Amidst the silence I could sense the presence of the creature watching over me. I didn't understand its intentions. I had a feeling it wouldn't give up until it found what it was searching for.
As I drifted off to sleep, the whispers began more sending shivers down my spine.
"Jericho... Come with me..."
The whispers grew stronger.
"Jericho... Come and play, with me..."
I squeezed my eyes shut tightly in an attempt to block it out. Yet I could feel it—cold, clammy fingers brushing against my arm. Startled, I sat up and shined the flashlight around the room. Nothing.
Realizing that waiting for the creature to make a move was not an option, I knew I had to take action. Summoning all my courage, I threw off the covers. Quietly, I got out of bed with the flashlight in hand. The house was eerily still as I made my way towards my bedroom. Every step echoed loudly in my chest. There was no turning back now.
My bedroom door stood slightly ajar, with shadows dancing on the walls. With shallow breath, I slowly pushed open the door and cast the light into the room with my flashlight. I looked at every corner. My bed looked normal, nothing appeared out of place or unusual. Then, suddenly breaking through the silence I heard the whisper.
"Jericho... Come over here..."
The spooky voice whispered from beneath the bed. I cautiously knelt down shining my light into the darkness. Initially all I could see were dust bunnies and abandoned toys scattered around. Then a pair of glowing eyes slowly materialized—menacing and locked onto me. The face twisted into a grin, its pale complexion sending chills down my spine, likely reflecting my own pale complexion from fear. Despite the smile, there was a lack of emotion in those eyes. They gleamed with malevolence. Held no trace of humanity— pure evil.
I screamed as I frantically scrambled backward, colliding with the dresser in my panic. The ghastly figure lurched out from its hiding place under the bed, its visage inches from mine. Its icy breath grazed my skin as its sinister grin produced a squeak as if its teeth were on the verge of shattering from tension.
"Jericho... You are mine now..." The creature hissed menacingly.
Thunderous footsteps echoed down the hallway—it was Garrett. Bursting into the room with astonishment, he swiftly grabbed a baseball bat and swung at the apparition without hesitation. Though the bat passed through it effortlessly, causing it to recoil with a hiss of anger, Garrett persisted with another strike.
This time the figure started to vanish into a haze, dissolving in the shadows and seeping into the floor. I shivered uncontrollably, struggling for breath. Garrett let go of the bat and ran over to where I was trembling and embraced me tightly.
"Don't worry, Jericho " he whispered reassuringly. "Its gone now."
Mom burst into the room her eyes wide with fear. Garrett quickly explained what had happened. Not sure what to believe, she hugged us both tears streaming down her face.
"We'll figure this out " she said softly. "We'll make sure you're safe."
The following morning when the sun came up, we packed up all my belongings in my room and moved me to the guest room closer to Garrett’s room. Mom insisted on having a priest bless the house, and Garrett would stay with me in my room for a nights. As those nights passed without any sign of the creature returning, I still couldn't shake off the feeling that it was lingering nearby just waiting for an opportunity to come back.
A week later, on a Sunday afternoon, Garrett and I were playing in the backyard when he suddenly looked concerned and almost hesitant to speak.
"Jericho " he said with a serious tone, "I think we need to discuss what happened and why that thing was targeting you." Garrett glared briefly and let out a slow breath.
"I feel like it’s just waiting," he murmured, "as if it’s biding its time for something."
"I know," I nodded in agreement. “But for what?”
Even though the creature had disappeared, the fear persisted within me. As we pondered strategies to ward off the shadows, I realized that our being together made us stronger. Whatever obstacles awaited us, we would face them together as brothers.
To be continued...
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