The story I’m going to share with you is not one I had locked away in a vault or dark crevice of my brain. It was always at the forefront but never fully put together. I apologize for the length in advance but I need to share not only my story but the people around me. This is an attempt at closure and would appreciate input in helping me put it all together.
- Thank you
The house I was born in was an alright one, that’s how I would describe my home town too. Just alright, the worst part of living in my house was the window. It faced out into our big backyard. The fence in the backyard was rotting and had been for as long as I could remember. Giant holes in all sides of the fences caused unease in my child’s mind. The giant metal chain link fence we’d set up for our dogs sat in the middle unused because my dad loved the dogs too much to leave them out there. This story takes place when I was 10.
I woke up to a flash, the 1st time this week, for years now on and off, I’d been seeing flashes outside the window. I checked the time on my dad’s old tablet he lent me to watch TV till I fell asleep. 11 pm ‘Only 2 hours since I fell asleep’ I thought of rolling over to huddle under my blanket away from the window. Most of the time the flashes woke me up or would catch me on the verge of sleep and snap me right out of it.
I never trusted that window and Dad knew it but wouldn’t let me swap rooms or sleep on the couch. I’d tell him tomorrow that it was back, ‘Flash’ I saw it from under the blanket, I dare not move just like every time I see the flash. I waited and waited until 1 am when my eyes couldn’t bear being open anymore. Morning came and the sun woke me up through the black-out shades on the window. That’s how I know the flashes are serious; they are black-out.
I stepped into the hallway my dad’s door was closed and I couldn’t hear his snores, he’d either left or was smoking outside, I made my way into and out of the bathroom and into the narrow hallway-i swiveled around the wall that cut off sight to the kitchen and “DIE’’. my dad jumped from behind the wall sending my heart into panic and sending me back onto the floor. I sat there horrified him cackling.
“Sleep well pickle?” his favorite nickname for me, I rose to my feet still shaking
“No, the flashes, twice last night” I muttered, horrified and half-awake. “You and that window,” he said. Any sign of fun he was having gone.
“You need to get over that fear bud, or we can’t keep watching scary movies together.” He was very stern in tone. He knew how much I loved those movies.
“Get ready for school” When we arrived at the school he told me he loved me and motioned me out of the car. When I was inside I found my friends and we grouped up in a circle.
“How the fuck are ya gentlemen,” Ty said, messing with his perm that sat neatly on his head, he was the kid whose parents fought 24/7 and he had picked up swearing to use it as a way to vent.
Without missing a beat. “The flashes are back,” I said looking deep into his eyes, we were the closest in the group and to avoid having too many pointless people in this story he and my father were who we needed to know right now. He grabbed my wrist and asked to speak to me privately.
“Dude, that’s amazing!” he said, leading me to the supply closet.
“How is that amazing? I’m scared. What if someone or something is watching me or planning to get me?” I said in a hushed tone I wasn’t scared no one would believe me I was scared it would know. “Because tonight I’m coming over and we’re gonna see it.” He was excited.
“I can borrow my sister’s camera and we’ll set up a fort in the cage” He was very proud that he had thought of this plan. “I don’t know man what if it doesn’t come or knows we’re there outside with it?” “We’ll be prepared leave it to me” He pushed past me to the door. He reached out his hand and put it on the door. “I’ll catch you later,” he said, flipping me off and leaving the closet.
After school, I was walking down the big steps when I stopped at the bottom.
My dad wasn’t there; he was always first in line. I could hear Ty fumbling his way down the steps until he ended up right next to me. “Woah! Your dad’s not here?” he said, shooting me a look of awe. Before i could even speak Ty’s mom rolled down the window to her blue SUV and motioned us over, we followed, when we got to the car Ty’s mother Mrs. Harrington told us my dad had an incident at work and that he was ok but we had to hang out at Ty’s house till he had finished up there.
When we got to Ty’s house he told me to go wait in his room so he could snatch his sister’s camera while she was at choir. “Wait, what if she notices? Won’t she be mad, what if we break it or it gets stolen?”
“Always thinking of the worst man.” He said, shaking his head. “I got this” He assured me, he was confident I was not.
A couple hours later my dad finally called and said he was outside and we piled into the car homebound. When we got there we told my dad we wanted to set up a fort in the dog cage and he was surprised.
“I didn’t think y’all were the camping type and I’ve known y’all all y’alls life, i remember camping out back with my friends.” He said with a twinkle in his eyes.
“Well, Mr. Noctar it’s not the 90s anymore” Ty could never help himself, he thought it was hilarious.
“Still as sharp and funny as ever huh Tyler?” he walked away annoyed.
As night fell we got settled. An old tarp blocked all four sides of the cage and blankets and two sleeping bags were on the ground the old tablet to tell time and the camera were set up on a makeshift shelf using another rolled-up sleeping bag. We had made it so that the door to the cage was facing the back. We cut a small hole in front of the cage to watch for flashes and to take a picture.
Time got progressively slower, waiting, waiting, the crickets grew quieter. 11 pm rolled around, nothing. I must’ve fallen asleep when ‘Flash’ I was jostled all the way awake by Ty’s finger over my mouth. I checked the tablet, 2 am, my head swiveled to him, he raised the camera and pointed it to the hole ‘Flash’. The immediate horror that filled me when he turned to me and said “Whatever it is, It’s walking over here” He looked horrified. I know I did too. The crunches of leaves under feet got closer. The cage started shaking violently, we screamed ty dropped the camera, we heard my dad throw open the door and a swoosh.
I could hear the dogs barking over me screaming, eyes clenched shut, when my dad reached the cage he grabbed me “WHAT HAPPENED!?” He was scared and I knew it. I didn’t know why, “th…the…” I couldn’t make words through sobs. He carried me and Ty in the house and set us down on the couch. Ty had picked up the camera
“What happened boys?”
“We…we….we..we had the id. idea to catch whatever was flashing outside my window” My dad’s face stooped into a frown “I told you pickle it is nothing, ur imagination, you’re done with those scary movies.”
“Dad, wait NO!” I pleaded “Let’s see what’s on the camera ‘’ I pleaded even harder.
He gestured towards it and Ty loaded it up and held it up for us to see.
In the picture, there was nothing other than an open back door with two fingers lingering on the doorway.