Free Revenge of Cornelius by Tanya R. Taylor

on a solid blackness. The thought of what
would come was too much for Alex to bear, yet he was helpless,
alone, too frightened to make the slightest attempt to run out of
there. He squeezed his eyes shut and silently prayed the prayer he
had been taught to say every night: 'Now I lay me down to
sleep…'
    Reluctantly, he opened his eyes again;
curiosity had taken hold of him. The shape was still there that was
now the height and perfect form of a very tall man—one he had
clearly seen wandering through the halls of that very house for
months.
    Alex yanked the covers over his head
and squeezed his eyes shut again. The bold decision lasted only a
few seconds as curiosity prevailed a second time and he could not
stop himself from peeking. He could see the slight glow through the
thin sheets, but to his horror, found that it was now right above
him. He shivered with fear beneath the covers, hoping that his
parents would somehow know he's in trouble and come to his
rescue.
    The whispers were louder now: Voices
of men and women—young and old. All the while, the unwelcomed
silhouette remained stationary, just inches away from him. The
boy's breathing became more strained; his chest heaved with fright
and at the very moment he felt himself about to black out into
utter nothingness, the light disappeared from the sheets and the
voices suddenly stopped. Alex shot up out of bed, swung open the
door and ran toward his parents' bedroom.
    He darted through the open doorway and
found his mother sitting up in bed with the lamp on. She had an
inexplicable grimace on her face. His father was lying next to her,
snoring loudly.
    "Baby, what's wrong?" Andrea welcomed
her son with open arms as he climbed up next to her.
    "He was in my room again, Mama! They
were all there!" He sobbed.
    "Who was in your room? The shadows?"
she probed.
    "I heard voices; I think it was them,
but I didn't see them this time. He was there too and he was
mad."
    "Who was, honey?"
    "Mister Koney."
    The burning on Andrea's back felt most
uncomfortable. A fresh one rendered again that night and Theo slept
right through her painful shriek. Sometimes, new ones were clawed
on top of old ones and the skin of the back was where their focus
mainly was. More than ever now, she was convinced the shadow people
were set to make her life miserable in that house and possibly
drive her out of her mind.
    "Who is this Mister Koney?" she
questioned the boy.
    "You know him, Mama. He's with you
everywhere you go, but only in the daytime and only when you're
here at home," Alex explained.
    An ice-cold shiver went through her.
The very thought of what Alex had described was terrifying to the
core.
    "Are you sure about this,
Son?"
    "Yes, Mama. I'm sure. He really scares
me. He doesn't like me and I don't think he likes you
either."
    Andrea held him closely.
    Just then, Theo rolled over and peeled
open an eyelid. "Why is he in here?" he muttered between sleep and
wake.
    "He's going back to bed now," Andrea
said as her husband turned over again—his back facing
them.
    She looked at Alex. "You know your
father wants you to sleep in your own room. How about I stay in
there with you again tonight? Would you like that?"
    "Yes, Mama," the boy
replied.
     
    Andrea slipped out of bed and
accompanied Alex to his room. She found that the more she and her
son were terrorized by these ghastly forces, the more she was
despising her husband and wishing that somehow, these same forces
would drag him down to the pit they must have crawled out
of.

 
     
     
     
     
     
    8
    _________________
     
     
     
    Saturday morning, bright and early, Bobby arrived at the Cullens'
house dressed in yard clothes and ready for the weekend routine.
Michael and Sara were in their bedroom when they heard the
lawnmower going.
    "He didn't bother to check with you
first as he always does. Wise boy," Sara remarked.
    "That's because Mira already laid down
the law to me and he obviously knows it." Michael shook his head.
"I'll be