by Brian Brahm
His eyes had just closed when he heard a loud thud. This time he was alarmed, and his attention was brought immediately to the door. The luggage bag was lying on its side. Scott’s eyes quickly shifted to the door—it was closed. If the door was closed, what pushed over the luggage?
Cody was still sleeping and oblivious to anything that was going on around him. Scott shined the flashlight on the door handle—no movement.
Bringing the light down to the base of the door due to another noise he heard, he noticed that one of the wood chips had been pushed in, and sat at least three inches from the inside of the door. Something had pushed the wood chip and knocked over the luggage, but what? Pop! Another chip seemingly ejected itself out from underneath the door where it was tightly pressed by Cody’s stubby desperate hands.
Grabbing his already loaded .45, Scott sat the flashlight down and positioned it so it pointed at the door, and took aim.
He kicked Cody’s foot with zero results. Pop! Another wood chip went flying from under the door with more force than the last, and struck Cody in the head. Alarmed, Cody rolled over to his knees and scurried his way to Scott’s side of the room.
Staring at the area of the door where the flashlight was focused, Cody asked, “What’s happening? Why is the luggage knocked over?”
Scott didn’t say a word—Cody knew.
After he realized what had happened, Cody began to cry like a small child. “We should have never slept in this house!” He said in a shaky voice.
Both terrified at what awaited them on the other side of the door, they sat and stared motionless, waiting for another wood chip to fly across the floor.
“Shoot it!” Cody yelled while pointing at the door.
Scott wasn’t about to shoot anything unless he knew exactly what it was and whether or not it meant them harm. What if it was just a cat, or another animal, like a raccoon?
Flick. Another piece of wood—and then another—until just one remained. Staring at the final wood chip, waiting for whatever it was to enter, and wondering if he would have to shoot it, Scott thought to himself, What if it’s not of the physical realm, and bullets have no effect? The thought terrified him, and Cody was on the brink of losing it, so Scott didn’t dare share his thoughts with him.
An unwelcome sound suddenly came out of nowhere; it was as if the door was being sucked off of its hinges while being pulled towards the hallway.
They both watched the door handle and the last wood chip for any signs of movement. At first, nothing, and then the wood chip squirmed like a maggot riding on fresh kill. The door again pulled away from the hinges, and then the piece of wood quickly vanished underneath the door.
Quiet filled the house, the door relaxed, and the only noise to be heard was heavy breathing conducted by both Cody and Scott. Still, they waited for a sound, movement, any sign at all of life other than their own.
Two hours had passed by ever so slowly. It was 5:00 A.M. and there was still no movement on the other side.
“Cody, you open the door while I stand ready with the gun.”
“Are you kidding? Something had the strength to pull that piece of wood under the door, hard enough to nearly take the door off! And you want me to open it? No! The answer is No!” Cody forcefully replied.
“We’ve got two hours before sunrise. Do you really want to wait here, staring at the door for that long?”
“I’ll hold the gun, and you open the door!”
“You’ve never held a firearm in your life. I’ve fired over a-thousand rounds through this gun, and I’m certified, so I’m the only one that is handling a firearm tonight.”
Cody gathered his confidence and slowly rose to his feet. He carefully planted one foot in front of the other in an attempt to keep the wooden floor from creaking. Slowly inching his way to the door, Scott stood behind him in a stable firing stance with the .45 pointed down at an angle so it wasn’t aimed at Cody.
Grabbing the handle, Cody took a deep breath, and then squeezed the handle tightly with his sweaty palm. Yanking the door open as fast as he could, Cody quickly stepped out of the way while Scott raised his gun at the black hole that was the hallway. Tension was high, and his nerves caused him to nearly squeeze the trigger.
Staring into the dark, he waited for a sound indicating movement—anything at all that would give him reason to send a .45 slug into an unsuspecting beast. There was nothing—no glowing eyes, no movement, no breathing, and no footsteps—nothing.
Cody held the flashlight, but forgot to point it in the hallway out of fear. “Cody! Shine the light in the hall!” Cody kept his back to the wall, refusing to look into the hall as he extended his arm, and pointed the light into the dark narrow abyss.
Scott’s eyes didn’t deceive him, the hall was vacant. He didn’t know whether to feel relief or frustration.
Glad that there was no immediate danger, he was also upset that they might never find out what lurked on the other side of the door.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Morning finally came; casting light throughout the catacomb where evil dwells, and transforming it to a welcoming place that looked more like home.
Like zombies, they appeared lifeless from lack of rest—having spent an entire evening in the house of horrors.
Hesitant to spend another night, Scott contemplated packing up and driving home. Pride quickly overwhelmed his initial feeling of flight and the decision was made to stay and complete his mission. Nothing would push him away from his own home and stop him from finally being able obtain answers to questions that haunted him for so many years. He would not falter.
Surprisingly, Cody didn’t have anything to say—he just followed Scott’s lead like a mute servant.
They ate a breakfast consisting of dry whole grain bread, chocolate flavored whey protein powder mixed with water, and a banana.
Scott brought very basic foods that didn’t require refrigeration, and that were healthy and nutritious—a long cry from Cody’s usual fast food diet.
“How about we set-up the recording equipment throughout the house, and then get some sleep while there’s still light?” Scott suggested.
“What are we going to do after the sun sets?”
“We’ll sleep during the day, and monitor at night. I need to capture something convincing before leaving.”
“I’m not sure I can do another night in this house. No offense, man, but there’s something in here—something other than cats and mice.”
“We can drive around the neighborhood, and locate something that we can use to barricade the door. I’ll also remove the window screen so we can escape if needed. How does that sound?”
“Well . . . I don’t know.”
“Come on, Cody! Aren’t you just a little curious? Do this for me, and I’ll introduce you to that personal trainer at my gym. What’s her name?”
“Laura. Her name is, Laura.”
“That’s it! You’ve been begging for months, now here’s your chance!”
“We can try another night and see how it goes, but you’re introducing me to Laura the second we get back! I won’t forget!”
Cody despised working out, but would join Scott at the gym from time to time, specifically on days a particular trainer was working. It became painfully obvious that he was only there to gaze upon the unattainable beauty, with no intentions of actually speaking with her, and certainly no intentions of working out.
They set up three cameras in the basement: one pointed at the dining area and fireplace, one in the bedroom facing the adjoining door to the second bedroom, and one facing up the stairs to capture the landing and door that led to the garage.
In the upstairs they set up three more cameras: one in the room where they made camp, one in the hallway, facing the door to the room where they were staying, and one in the living room facing the front door.
All of the cameras were wireless, and ran off batteries. Each camera had two backup batteries, as did Scott’s laptop/monitor. If the equi
pment were to die before capturing the needed footage, he could drive to the nearest gas station, and recharge the batteries. The rest of the equipment was set up in the room in hopes that they would capture the demonic horse.
The alarm on Scott’s cell phone went off at exactly 6:20 P.M.—the time the sun laid to rest behind the Rocky Mountains that silhouetted the October sky.
They woke from their uninterrupted slumber feeling somewhat rested after receiving five hours of creep free sleep.
Running to set all six cameras to record, Scott had a sick feeling as dark fell upon the bleak home.
They met back at the room just moments before dusk, giving them little time to set up the audio recorder, thermometer, and EMF detector.
Managing to get everything set up before dark completely blanketed the home; they pushed the small freezer they found two houses down against the door. Weighing approximately a-hundred pounds, the freezer offered more resistance than the luggage, and if something should manage to push the door open, the freezer was bulky enough to only allow about six-inches of clearance before hitting the wall. Nothing larger than the average cat could enter, and if anything larger reared its ugly head through the limited opening, Scott could easily blow its evil, maggot laden brains all over the walls with a well placed .45 hollow-point.
Feeling more secure than the night before, Cody was actually able to relax.
“This is more like it. I can actually sit here without my heart pounding out of my chest.” Cody said.
“I concur. If something comes near our door tonight, it’ll have a rude awakening.”
“You need a nick name. How about, Spookster?”
Cody’s sense of humor was returning.
“I like it. What shall we call you?”
“You’re the one heading this expedition, I don’t need a moniker. Cody will do just fine, thank you.” He said with a smirk on his round squinty-eyed face.
Six hours had passed, and there was no activity detected by the high tech equipment, or their natural, organic, God given senses. It was almost as if the creatures of the night knew what a camera was, and were avoiding them.
Midnight was now upon them, and Cody’s eyelids were becoming heavy. Every once in a while they would stand up and walk around to get their blood pumping, but the confinement was getting to both of them.
“Did you see that?” Cody asked. He pointed to the monitor, which had the basement bedroom on display.
“I thought I saw movement on camera-six! It looked like a shadow—nothing clear.”
Scott looked closely at the monitor, hoping and praying that something would show itself. His prayers were answered. The door the camera was facing was open. A black, blurred object came from the lurid adjoined room, and closed in on the camera lens. Suddenly, the blurred image was gone. The camera started to shake violently, and then the picture from the camera became lined and grainy, as if something had interfered with the signal. A few moments later, the monitor went black. They lost their signal completely.
“What was that, Spookster? There’s no way that was a cat!” Cody fearfully said.
“I don’t know. I couldn’t make it out. Maybe tomorrow we can review the footage and enlarge it.”
“Whatever it was went right for our camera and disabled it! What if it finds the rest of the cameras?”
Cody made a good point. The camera sat four feet above the ground, which ruled out any type of small animal. Besides, whatever it was, it appeared shapeless, formless, and was intelligent enough to take out the camera.
“We’re going to be all right. Even if it takes out the cameras, it won’t be able to open our door far enough to enter, and I have the ability to blow a hole right through it.” Scott said in an attempt to convince Cody.
Cody calmed down a little, but Scott wasn’t convinced. If what they were dealing with came from the spiritual realm, his gun would be of no consequence.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Watching the number-four camera closely to see if their mystery guest would attempt to head up the stairs, Scott contemplated whether or not Cody and he should leave out the front door while, IT was still in the basement. Scott didn’t dare mention his thoughts to Cody, as he knew he would jump on the idea and be out the door before he could finish his sentence. He had to think things through before suggesting anything.
Camera-four started moving forward and backward, as if the tripod sat atop a rocking horse that had been put into motion. Ever so slightly, the image displayed on the monitor—via the camera—swung in a downward motion and then upward. Gradually picking up speed, the camera went from rocking only a few inches to nearly touching the ground, and then as it rolled back it pointed directly at the ceiling.
The movement became violently nauseating. Faster and faster it rocked, until finally . . . the camera thrust forward one final time, smashing against the floor. The image on the monitor went blank.
Another camera signal down, and this time there wasn’t even a glimpse of what had caused the damage.
Petrified, Scott and Cody stared at the dead screen, uncertain of what their next move should be.
Only one camera remained that could possibly capture the image they so desperately sought out: camera-two, which aimed directly at the entrance to their room.
At that point, they had no idea if this thing was still in the basement, or if it had already made its way upstairs to continue stalking them.
Leaving the room was no longer an option. They were stuck—waiting.
Pouring with sweat, hair matted to his head, and eyes about to pop out of his squinty eyelids; Cody nearly lost his mind with anticipation until remembering that they had an escape route. “The window!” Cody said, as he rushed to pull the window open.
Scott was too focused to respond to Cody’s sudden glimpse of hope. He needed to keep watch on the visual aid that guarded the gateway to their stowage.
Camera-two still focused at the door they barricaded. Scott watched its perspective, while from his peripheral vision, he could see Cody shaking frantically with his entire body, trying to pry the window open.
He couldn’t bring himself to ask Cody what was the matter, or if he needed any help. Scott’s senses were distracted by what he feared was a dangerous if not deadly enemy within the very dwelling he then occupied.
“Scott! Help! The window is stuck!” Was all Cody could muster in his panicked condition.
Still focused on the monitor, Scott gave no reply to Cody’s cries for help. He would have to find something to smash the window with if it wouldn’t open, but Scott could not take his eyes off of the monitor. He needed desperately to see what it was he was dealing with. More than a morbid fascination, it was an obsession.
Exhausted, Cody took a moment to catch his breath. Still waiting, motionless and silent, Scott watched for the much anticipated arrival of what might explain the many unanswered questions that festered in his brain. Reveal yourself to me; he thought over and over, as if by doing so he would summon the entity for a face-to-face encounter.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Pulling and pounding on the filthy web covered window, Cody looked back at the monitor.
“See anything? Let me know if you see something! I’ll smash the window with the flashlight! I’m serious!”
“Nothing yet. Don’t worry, I’ll definitely let you know.” Scott replied.
Except for a breeze outside, the house was quiet. The roof creaked, and the tree limb tapped an uneven beat on the window, but there was nothing stirring outside the bedroom door.
Cody gave up on pulling the window open. It had remained closed for too long, and was stuck.
With flashlight in hand, Cody waited by the window, catching his breath, and gathering his strength for when he might need to smash his way outside.
Over two hours had passed by, and still nothing. They knew it was still in the house with them, but they didn’t know where, and they weren’t about to investigate.
They had two
choices: stay in the room until sunrise, or go through the window and into the backyard.
“Cody?”
“Yeah?”
“Sorry man, I didn’t mean to ignore you earlier. I was just focused.”
“No sweat. Don’t worry about it. I—“
Cody stopped mid sentence while looking at the monitor. Looking to see what had stopped him cold, Scott too was speechless. It had been rendered completely black. The camera looked to be still functioning, but they could no longer make out the hall or the door—everything was pitch-black.
“It’s there, blocking the camera! We’ve gotta go!” Said Cody.
“Don’t smash the window! Not unless the door moves! Just wait!”
Not wanting to persuade the unknown entity into entering our room, Scott thought it best to remain still and not panic. Breaking the window prematurely may have caused it to rush the bedroom door.
With any luck, maybe it would leave them alone. Then again, what if it could sense them? Smell them like a half-starved wolf? What if its hearing was so intensely keen, that it could hear their whispers, their breathing— sense their fear?
They still wanted to see the thing, but had no desire to find out its true intensions.
The monitor was still black, and they couldn’t detect any movement outside the door.
Suddenly, there was a methodical but subtle scratching at the door. The noise was long and painfully slow, as if it meant to torment them with the sound of the scraping.
They sat silent and motionless, praying it would go away. Drawn out clawing noises went on for minutes, and then stopped. They looked at each other—both anticipating something horrible—looking for the other to show strength or hope, but finding nothing but fear in each other’s eyes.
They both shook frantically, still staring at each other, waiting for the door-handle to turn, but there was nothing.