Only At Night

Chapter 4

Peter moved toward the bookshelf. He stood about a foot away from it, preparing himself for what he could find. Once he had the courage to, he quickly stepped around the bookshelf, his gun aimed. There was nothing but empty space behind it. Peter stopped for a minute, confused. He lowered his gun. There was a weird scrambling sound from across the basement. It was getting louder and closer. Peer turned to his left, the gun aimed. His flashlight illuminated something crawling on all fours. He couldn’t make out any details, just that it was on all fours. He was crawling toward him.

“Freeze!” Peter could hear the shakiness in his own voice. “I said free-”

When he realized the thing only seemed to get faster, he panicked. He turned and looked at the wooden bookshelf. He aimed the gun at the bookshelf. Bang! Bang! The bullets flew through the wood, weakening the shelf. With all of his body, he slammed into the bookshelf. The shelf exploded as he ran through it. He turned and saw the thing turn the corner around the bookshelf. He spun around, looking for another way out. In the far corner sat the open window. Peter sprinted for the window. He heard the thing behind him getting closer and closer. He stopped about a foot from the window. He leapt into the air, using his arms to grab up on the ledge. He pulled his body through the window. Once his feet were through, he rolled away from the window. He lay in the grass for a moment, catching his breath. There was a low growl from inside the basement window. Without hesitating, Peter turned the flashlight toward the window. He scanned around in the basement. There was nothing there.

The Next Day

Noah and Jeremy met up at Noah’s house. They were both dressed in the same outfit. A black suit with a white shirt underneath as well as black pants. Noah fixed his tie as Brodie entered the kitchen.

“You guys ready?” Brodie asked.

“I’m not sure,” Jeremy replied.

“Never thought this day would come.” Noah said.

“Well, it's here.” Brodie said as he grabbed his keys. “Lets go.”

They drove for about five minutes until they came to Saint Andrew’s Church. It was a tall, brick church that towered above most of the other buildings. Behind the church was the graveyard. Hundred of tombstones stuck out of the ground, all marking the loss of someone from the community. Noah and Jeremy got out of the car. Brodie pulled away and began to head for Reese’s house.

The boys were slightly late to the funeral. The line was already formed to go up and see the body. The funeral wasn’t that big. In fact, it was pretty small. About twenty people in all were either sitting down or waiting to see James. Noah and Jeremy instantly got at the end of the line. As they got closer to the casket, they realized something.

“Do you see Ms. Howell anywhere?” Noah asked.

“Not that I see.” Jeremy replied as he began to scan around the area.

“There she is.” Noah said as he pointed to the front row of chairs.

“Should we say something?” Jeremy asked.

“I don’t know.” Noah said as he looked around.

“The hell are they doing here?” Jeremy asked as he spotted a police car along the road.

“They know it was us from yesterday! They are coming to get us!” Noah started to panic. “Man I knew we shouldn’t have followed Finn!”

“Just play it cool.” Jeremy said as he turned to the casket but watched the car through the corner of his eye.

It was their turn to see his body. They walked up to the casket. Laying on top of the red smooth fabric was James, but his body was covered by a white sheet. Jeremy closed his eyes, holding back tears. Noah couldn’t help it. Two tears rolled down his face. Noah turned and walked away. Jeremy stood up there for a moment, staring down at the cloth. Then, Jeremy followed Noah to the back where there was an open seat. They sat down as did everyone else. Ms. Howell stood up from her chair. The crowd went dead silent as she approached the casket. Everyone watched as the woman stood over the sheet, crying.