Tommy’s breath hitched, trying to remember all the things he learned as a child to protect himself and Allison. His heart felt as if it would burst out of his chest; he froze, not knowing what to do. He knew deep down that the shadow, or whatever it was, had been following them for a long time. The realization hit Tommy: the chill down his spine and the eerie darkness of woods was because of the shadow. It had to be.
He looked back at the shadow, now appearing more creature-like. Standing halfway behind a tree stood a long, dark figure with a crooked neck and disturbingly long fingers.
Staring directly at them, the creature bent its neck and smiled wide. Its teeth were sharp and dripping with blood. Tommy felt bile rising in his throat just as Allison screamed.
“Tommy!” Allison screeched. Tommy whirled around to see Allison surrounded by a dozen dark shadow creatures hovering over her.
“No,” Tommy whispered to himself, defeated and hopeless. “That’s too many. We can’t outrun all of them.” With a surge of anger, Tommy ran toward his sister. “GET AWAY FROM HER!”
Then, just as Tommy reached out his hand to tear Allison away from the grasp of the creatures, he felt his own arm being yanked back. Tommy fell to the ground, feeling as if his arm was pulled right out of its socket.
Determined to get to Allison, Tommy tried to get on his feet. In the blink of an eye, he was pushed back against one of the trees. In front of him, holding him against the rough bark of a tree, was the creature.
“Run, Allison! Get out of he-“
The creature wrapped its long fingers around Tommy’s throat, its face inches from his. Drool dripped down the side of the creature’s mouth as it gave Tommy another sinister smile. In an ear-splintering, demonic voice, the creature spoke.
“Bye-bye…big brother.”
With a hard blow to the head, Tommy blacked out.
Tommy woke up to a harsh ringing in his ears and the taste of blood. As he blinked to clear his vision, Tommy looked around. “Allison?” he called out despite the ache in his throat.
“Allison! Where are you?!”
Struggling to stand up, Tommy yelled out in pain. He didn’t see Allison anywhere; he had to get help. “Mom. Dad,” he said as he pushed himself up against the tree. Limping as fast as he could, Tommy left the woods to get help.
Hobbling his way down the sidewalk, Tommy heard the loud sound of crickets. The noise seemed to vibrate in his head, becoming louder and louder. “Shut up!” Tommy screamed, intent on figuring out what he was going to do and how he would get Allison back.
As Tommy stumbled up to the front door and jiggled the handle, he remembered that Allison had the key. “No, no, no!” Banging his fists on the door and ringing the doorbell, Tommy started wailing.
“Mom! Dad! Open the door!”
After what seemed like an eternity, Tommy’s dad opened the front door with a look of confusion. “Tommy? What are you doing out so late? We thought you came home hours ago! What happened to you? Why are you bleeding?”
“Dad!” Tommy said, trying to catch his breath. “You need to call 911!”
“Tommy…what are you talking about?” As Tommy was about to explain everything, his mother came rushing down the stairs.
“My boy! Are you alright? What’s going on?”
“Mom! Dad! I’m fine. Please, just listen to me! You need to call 911. Something’s out there. It took Allison! It took her!”
There was an eerie silence as Tommy’s parents looked at one another, confused. His father spoke. “What did you just say?”
Tommy shook his head, furious. “What is going on? Did you not hear what I just said? Something took Allison!”
Looking back and forth between his parents, Tommy noticed his mother starting to cry; his father’s eyes becoming glassy.
“Son,” his father spoke with caution. “Allison is dead. She has been dead for a year.”
