Free Unidentified by Mikel J. Wisler

dream. But then, she heard the slight tapping sound! And she knew it was there.
    She didn’t need to turn. She knew it was in the room with her. Her breathing came in short gasps now. What choice did she have? Ignoring them never sent them away.
    Stephanie whirled around in time to catch a glimpse of a silhouetted figure moving in front of the window and into the corner with her mirror. She had only a second to take in the moving slender frame, the large head, and lanky arms. She screamed, knowing it lurked in the shadows just out of sight.
    From the hallway, she heard the commotion of her father and mother rushing to her room. Her door flew open and the lights came on. And in the light she saw … nothing.
    The mirror stood in the corner as it always did, and there was no being there. There was no place it could have gone, but it wasn’t there. She was absolutely positive she’d seen it. But where was it now?
    “What is it, sweetie?” her mother asked. “What happened?”
    Stephanie turned and flung her face into her pillow. All her pent-up fear rushed out of her lungs as she sobbed. It was as if her body reacted of its own will to the vile poison that was all that fear rushing through her. She muffled her cries in her pillow. She could feel her mother and father sit down on the bed on either side of her, but she couldn’t stop herself from crying.
    “Steph,” her mother said, “Everything’s okay. It was only a dream. You’re safe.”
    No. No, she wasn’t safe! She was sure of that now. She fought the sobbing, trying to form words. All that came out was, “No! No!”
    She fought harder against the emotions, struggling to breathe. Pushing herself away from her pillow, she at last managed to spit out, “No. I’m not safe!” She fought against the dizziness that threatened to overrun her consciousness. “It was here! It was in the room!”

 
    CHAPTER SIX
    The ringing of her cell phone had pulled Mitchell out of the dream she must have been having that morning. The dream evaporated instantly, leaving only a slight sense of heaviness, of regret. Her eyes had opened and she had tried to focus on the world around her. For a second everything seemed off until the memory of where she was came to her. She had reached over and picked up her smartphone, unplugging it from the charger cord that ran to the outlet on the lamp that sat on the bedside table. The call had been from the North Woodstock police station. Now driving down the road in her car with Evans in the passenger seat, she felt more awake. The heaviness of her dream slowly evaporated.
    Next to her, Evans yawned. She had called him immediately after hanging up with Officer O’Conner. Then she’d quickly jumped in the shower. He appeared to have done the same, but still struggled to seem alert.
    “So, what time did this happen?” Evans asked her.
    She’d only given him minimal information so far. “According to Officer O’Conner, just after 3:00 AM. Stephanie claimed someone was in the room with her. Her parents found no evidence anyone was there.”
    Evans looked out the window as they came upon an intersection. “Don’t we turn there to go to the Clark’s house?” he pointed.
    “We’re not going to their house,” Mitchell said as she maintained speed.
    She proceeded to fill him in on what details of whatever had happened to Stephanie last night had been relayed to her over the phone as they drove. They had a ways to go yet. Apparently Stephanie had dreamed, woken up, and then claimed to have seen someone or something in her room.
    “But how do we know it wasn’t all a bad dream?” Evans asked.
    “That’s what I’m hoping you can help determine” Mitchell smiled at him.
    “You still haven’t told me where we’re going,” he pointed out.
    “St. Jerome,” she answered.
    “Hospital?” Evans said, looking off and searching his mind for any recollection of such a place.
    “It’s an old mental ward,” she said.
    He looked over at