Them By: Reese-Leon

  One gray foggy night while leaving her office; the CEO of Farming INC. is heading to her car. This night is particularly cold for a September evening. The clouds were dark and the sky darker. The trees grow tall and cast a yet darker shadow on her parking space all the way in the back. As Donna approached her car there was a noise in the bush, a small shake. A kid runs out covered in blood, clothes ripped and torn and there is a sound of barking in the distance. “Please ma’am I need help…”

She turns her head up in scoff “Dirty children have no right talking to adults” Donna Parelle starts her car and pulls out the parting lot. In her rear mirror sees the child fall down and laughs. The lamp over the child flickers and goes out leaving nothing but darkness behind. While driving down the parkway; her car stalled. “Work you stupid hunk of junk” She yelled as other cars whizzed by.  Donna had a reputation for being the worst and meanest person so no one stops to try to help. In the dead of night stuck on the park way Donna calls people for help. Her brother is waiting for his new duarutar, Her sister is across the country in school, her poor mother is sick in bed while her father looks after her.

“Great, just great everyone is being selfish and I am stuck thirty minutes from home” She yells and calls a tow truck. The company is small with one guy on staff tonight: so she has to wait for the new employee. She huffs and puffs angrily that he is new. The night grows colder, so cold she could see her breath. She waited in the car trying to stay warm. But then she sees the kid again, all clean and new. There was something different in his eyes they were gone and all that was left were two black voids 

The clock strikes one as the radio turns on and in a murmur a little boy's voice speaks “Am I clean now, can we talk,”? Wanting whatever just spoke to stay where it is, Donna didn’t respond. “I am too quiet I see” The tow truck comes around the corner hitting the child; in seeing Donna smiled. A young man around Donna's age sticks his head out the window and smiles. 

“About time it’s…” Donna looks at her phone “almost two in the morning” The man gestures to the truck indicating for her to get in. She rolls her eyes climbing into the truck. The young man loads her car on the back and asks for her address?

“It’s 394 Harpy Street, the biggest house on the block” Donna says with a gloating tone. The ride was bumpy and slow. Every light they hit was red and the young man stopped for every squirrel, fly and dust particle so that nothing got hurt. “Go faster…” The driver stopped and turned around in his chair wordlessly “what, cat got your tongue go”. He motioned towards the window and faced the front once more. The air still as Sonna looked over and saw her house covered in eggs and toilet paper.

The neighborhood teens egg her house all the time so the state in which her house was in wasn’t really that surprising. She slid out the truck, nearly falling in her keys and almost twisting her ankle. She yelled at the driver and told him to take her car to the repair shop. He nodded and drove down the road disappearing in the darkness. She walks up to her steps and hears children laughing from next door. It seemed to be a slumber party “Little brats” she whispered as she marched over her lawn and banged on the door.

Her friendly neighbor answered the door with his husband hanging off him. The noise from inside gets softer as one of the men turns to quiet the children. “What can I do for you Ms. Donna?” he asks in a chipper tone, “Are the kids being too loud?”

“Again” his husband says, rolling his eyes.

“Yes” Donna yells pointing at his chest “Now quite down or I will call the police on you”

“Yes Ma’am” He says backing away and closing the door “but the cops said that they aren’t going to come a tenth time this week remember”? As the door fully closed she heard laughter and shushing. She kicks the door and spits on the door mat. Walking back to her yard she sees a shadowy figure standing at her door, staring. She takes a step back and falls over a bike. The shadow hears her and turns its head. A chill runs down her spine as the thing starts running on all fours like an animal. 

The wind picks up and the sound fills her ears and the thing stops right in front of her, its teeth beard and drool running from its mouth dripping on her chest, pools forming under her feet. “Here Luci,” a voice calls and the thing leaves, running into the woods; Disappearing as soon as it hits the tree line. Donna jumps up and runs towards her house. At the door a note written in…red crayon? It reads:

Dear Ms. Donna,

We are coming for you…not just your soul, you are really mean and the powers that be really don’t want you to be happy (we are not sorry and can’t find blood on short notice hence the crayon) we will be there soon.

                                                      From, THEM

Donna froze, her feet felt as if they had grown roots; stuck she heard a child's voice from behind her head, “See me now?” Donna pulls out her keys and tries to open the door. The voice, that voice, Donna fell to the ground and held her chest. Her heart was beating like a humming bird’s wing. The darkened room got darker and the figure of a little kid stood in the doorway leading towards the kitchen. Their long hair as black as her eyes  swayed. With every step a loud thump rang in Donna’s ears. Donna rushed to stand and the child stopped and tilted their head, “What…scared of the dark?”

“Le…leave right now” Donna yelled, turning on the lights. The child disappeared like the beast that attacked just right outside the door. “I must be tired from the long day” She took a deep breath and started towards the kitchen, but there, plain as day, two muddy footprints, the floor still wet. The air turned cold and a chill ran down her spine. 

“It’s…it’s in my head” she walked past through the doorway. The pale light of the full moon shone though her kitchen windows, reflecting off her plates she had left in the sink. She ran the water over the food stained plates and that smelled of the old fish. The only sound throughout the hose was the sound of running water. Deep in thought Donna loses track of time. Minutes pass by as she stares into the shine of her plate, looking at the women she had become and how she got there, who she lost.

“Donna?” a little voice says from behind her, snapping her back to reality. The night sky was darker than it had ever been. 

“Ye…yes? She said with a quiver of a lip, she placed down the plate she had washed and breathed “You're not he…”

“It’s nearly the witching hour” the cute voice of the child darkened and grew into into a growl. Darker yet the night grew, Donna looked over out the window to see if could run out and get help but, outside a face of unimaginable evil stood looking into her soul and was not pleased. As red as blood the eyes of the beast’s master hungered her soul. His pale white face and sharpened teeth held her gaze, it was unyielding. It raised its hand and tapped the glass; it cracked under the monster's hand. Frighted Donna runs out of the kitchen, her body getting heavier with every step.  “Your soul is mine” the monster's voice grumbled as the ground shook, knocking her to her knees.

“Who is dirty now?” The child from the parking lot says, smashing her face into the ground.

“Who is quiet now?” the child from the parkway laughs. The sounds of hellish howling drowned out the children’s laughter. Getting louder every second, her ears begin to bleed. The lights go off and all the sounds stop, no laughter, no howling not even ringing in her ears; it’s as the sounds of the world are gone. The patter of small wet feet comes from behind.  Donna tries to move but her actions prove fertile. Laying on the floor of her home she is helpless.

“I was helpless you know” A girl's voice low and sweet softened the pain of Donna’s ears, “I needed you to say something…anything”.

“I didn’t care b…but…” The words just barely leave her lips “Lies”. The air starts to leave her lungs. Hands grow from the ground trying to grab her, but somehow she is able to jump up and move. The lights turn back on as the sun rises. There is no trace of the horror that befell her. The beast in the window, the crack in the glass, even the muddy footprints, all disappeared. The house fell silent and Donna stood and laughed “I knew it was in my head.”

The light that was shining through the window dimmed and turned a reddish hue. Bang, Bang, Bang there was a thumping at the door accompanied by the sound of scratching. “Donna…” a sickening sweet voice sang through the door. “It’s time to go, it’s nearly the witching hour.” Donna ran up the stairs, but the top of the stairs was gone; just a black void, nothing. She stumblies back down, plagued by the horrid monster’s call from the outside.

“I am a good person, I never did anything wrong,” Donna cried. The clock struck three, once again the house fell quiet. Five ghost children appear and laugh. The child on the far right is messy and is wearing torn close “You could have got me away from them”.

The boy next to him, smaller and more fragile, chuckled, “If you didn’t sign that paper, my family wouldn’t have starved.”

In the middle, the eldest of the spirits yelled “I WOULDN’T HAVE TO FIGHT HIM IF YOU DID ANYTHING AUNT DONNA”. Donna's eyes teared up and whispered a name. The spirit was not pleased and “too little to late”

The fourth spirit grabbed his dress and turned away “you said too much” his hair fell and the older spirit hugged him. Donna fell down and covered her mouth. Once again she whispered a name. “That’s not my name,” the spirit cried.

 “I was hurt and being hunted” the fourth spirit says walking over to her, “I died because of you we all did.

“The…the fifth spirit she…” The fifth spirit looks into her eyes and smiles, “N…no, it can’t be”

Her hair flowed in the wind, the flowers on her blood stranded dress danced as she walked forward, “Welcome home...mother”. The floor cracked open and ate her. 

***

The towing company tried to reach Donna but got her Voice mail. Sorry Ms. Donna but we have reached the bridge and you nor your car are here, next time if you get a jump call to cancel the tow. Have a blessed day.