By J. L. Thurston

Bones weighed heavily on my mind. I took a bowl of dog food out with me and carried it in one hand while I held Jane in the other arm. I shook the bowl as I called for my dog. I cried as I yelled for him. I went deeper into the woods than I should have.

After an hour-long panicky hike, I found my way to the road and walked a half mile back home. My arms were shaking from carrying the heavy baby. She was crying for all the needs on her checklist. My throat was sore from yelling. I left the food bowl in the truck bed, hoping only Bones would get to it. Hoping he’d find his way to me. Hoping he was still alive out there.

I had to do something to get my life right. If I could clear away whatever darkness was haunting it, I could be quite happy there.

I had to keep trying. For Jane. For the hope of our future together.

Aunt Pat had given me a baby monitor. I unpacked it and put the camera inside the attic. The monitor was expensive. It had night vision. The monitor had a long battery life and fit perfectly in my jeans pocket. I listened for the creaking of the attic.

Jane was fed, changed, cuddled, and fell asleep on the blanket on the floor with the pacifier in her mouth. She’d have to wait a few hours before she could get Nyla Time. I knew I was ready for some more Nyla Time.

Cleansing. I needed to perform a cleansing. I formed a circle around the outside of the house with crushed lavender and salt. I spoke to the house, commanding the energies to leave. Declaring my ownership.

Scarecrow’s food bowl was still full. His litter box had not been used. I worried he didn’t know where to locate those necessary items and searched for him, keeping my ears open for the attic.

Creak, creak, creak.

I snatched the monitor out of my pocket and stared into the screen. All I could see was the brick walls and wood beams. The attic, now empty, was still full of cobwebs. The camera cast a green tint to everything. I watched the screen until Jane woke up. She wanted to play with her stuffed elephant. The ears crinkled and she loved chewing them with her gums. I sat on the floor with her. I played music on my phone. I had a Netflix show running, but I was all eyes for the baby monitor.

Nyla came over after her shift. She told me her roommate was still put off from the unpleasant surprise of company. I confessed I was afraid to sleep in the house. I said it as quietly as I could, hoping the shadow creature wouldn’t hear me. Nyla gave my forehead a kiss and promised me she’d stay so that I wouldn’t have to be alone.

She followed me as I continued to cleanse the house. I had taken more than just lavender from the pile of my mother’s possessions. I’d taken several bundles of sage and lit them one by one as I went through the rooms, filling them with fragrant smoke.

Nyla watched. Not judging, not talking. I don’t believe in magic, but I believe in intentions. And everyone can feel the power of sage. Even the baby was silent and watchful.

When the sage ran out and nothing remained but burned chunks of ashes, I rubbed them on all the doors and windows.

We attempted normal conversation over sandwiches. We pretended not to dread nightfall as it encroached all around us. Something primal inside us knew that we were embarking on the worst, and for one of us, last night of our lives.

Creak, creak, creak.

I ripped the baby monitor out of my pocket so hard I bent a nail back.

For a moment, it looked normal. The empty attic. Nyla watched over my shoulder. I suddenly wished I would continue to see nothing strange at all.

Creak, creak, creak. I heard it both from the ceiling and from the monitor in my hands.

A shadow passed over the wall. It moved laterally until the creature came into view. This is what you want, isn’t it? You want to know what I saw in that house. You want me to describe it as though it were like any other organism on Earth.

Well, it isn’t. What I saw is like no living creature. It was made out of darkness. I know that doesn’t make sense, but that’s the closest I can get to it. To be plain, it was tall. I couldn’t see the top of it. Just its legs and the bottom of its hands. The fingers were long and ended in points like claws. The legs moved and the creature crossed the screen. The floorboards creaked.

Nyla’s breath was coming out like broken glass. She tried to speak. I couldn’t understand her words, but I knew what she was thinking. Is this real?

The shadow was gone, the creaking stopped. I gripped the monitor so tightly that my fingers stung.

“We can go,” I said. “We can leave right now.”

“Guess sage doesn’t work.”

She had a point. Scarecrow’s presence should have helped, too, but I hadn’t seen him. Nyla was ready to leave with me. We didn’t know where we’d go. Her roommate was not ready for more unexpected company, the nearest hotel was forty miles away and I didn’t have any money. I was prepared to sleep in my truck, if need be.

“Okay, I’ll get my bag, my laptop, my charger,” I said. “You pack up some things for Jane. We’ll go see my Aunt Pat.”

As soon as I suggested it, my phone rang. We jumped. I smiled when I saw it was Aunt Pat. She knew I needed her. She always knew.

I could hear the car engine through the noise in her phone. She was driving. She was coming to the house on Deer Creek Road. She felt something was wrong. I told her we’d wait for her. Nyla was biting her bottom lip so hard I waited to see blood dribble out.

We packed. We waited. The silence grew heavy and the house pressed in.

Nyla began to shriek.

Return for the fate of the souls inside the “House on Deer Creek Road .”