We Got Demons! Apartment 239 Part III

Chapter Seven: Meeting a Forgotten Friend

The cat paced in the dining room, guttural growls and enraged shrieks echoed off walls scoured in claw marks. They could hear the scratch and crunch of wood as it battered the door before resuming its pacing. The cat howled in frustration, followed by a cacophony of broken plates and shattered trinkets as unleashed its anger on the kitchen and dining room.

Madeline and the small creature moved most of the furniture to block the door. Looking at the windows behind her, she realized they were safe only as long as the cat was willing to wait by the door.

Ted sat up. He held his head in his hands, squeezing his eyes and opening them wide.

"Honey, are you okay?" Madeline asked. She dusted some drywall from his shirt. "You've had a lot of head injuries in the past year, when this is all sorted we should probably really go to a hospital."

The small creature ambled to Ted, looking him over, its nose twitching.

"Are you, DB?" Madeline whispered.

The creature nodded. It pointed to Ted.

Ted is my friend. You are my new friend.

"My name is Madeline," Madeline said. "He'll be okay, Ted will be okay. But what do we do?"

Bad cat.

"I know, very bad cat. I didn't even invite it in! Technically. I guess that whole 'invite them in' thing is pretty subjective."

"Shit!" Ted said. He slid away from DB, then grabbed his head in pain. "That thing. I saw that thing in the attic. Madeline, you okay?"
"It saved us," Madeline said. "I think it lived here with you."

"I don't remember it," Ted said.

The creature turned down its eyes.

"I'm sorry," Ted said. "I just don't."

"Great, you hurt DB's feelings," Madeline said.

Ted stood up, bracing himself against the wall. "Okay, what's next?"

Mr. Brown.

"Summon Mr. Brown?" Madeline asked.

Th creature nodded.

"The paper is in the kitchen, how do we get out there?"

I'll help. Distraction. Then you get paper.

"Where do we go?" Ted asked. "Where's Mr. Brown?"
Small house. Through trees. That way.

"He's pointing at the backyard," Madeline said. "There must be a trail or something. Okay, so-"

But the creature had vanished. Before they could ask one another, they heard the cat screech in the dining room. Then another sound, a roar, much deeper, seemed to vibrate the house.

In their heads, they heard DB's voice.

Fuck you, Cat!

The house shook, they heard the sound of splintering wood and crumbling drywall. Then the echo of wails and growling filled the attic space above them.

"They're in the attic," Madeline said.

The sound of more wood splintering, the growls grew distant.