The Shadow

 It was there again. She could see it out of the corner of her eye. This time, instead of turning to look, she froze. Why couldn’t it just leave her alone. She knew that if she turned to look at it, there would be nothing there. A chill ran up her spine. Even her birds fell silent and still in their cages. Out of the corner of her eye she continued to watch it. The shadowed form of a person hoovered about six feet from her. She could tell that it was watching her, standing still as she was frozen at her desk.

She had been seeing this thing for about a week now. The time of day didn’t matter. Even in the daylight, with the sun shining through the large windows of her house, it would be there. It was probably her imagination, but it seemed that the light in the room would dim, and the air would grow cold when it appeared. Sometimes she sensed it before she even saw it. She could feel its gaze prickling the back of her neck. She hadn’t told anyone, even though she knew that there was one person she could tell. He would know that what she saw was real without question. Of course, she was terrified, but she somehow knew that it wouldn’t harm her. It was just standing there watching her, curious and waiting for something. Stacy was already on edge. She had broken up with her crazy boyfriend. The last time he came over, he had gone off on her because she didn’t want to go out this past weekend. He started raging and throwing things. She was hoping that he would not come back. She really didn’t want to have to involve the police.

Stacy worked from home, and she lived alone. She had been working for the same company for nearly ten years. She didn’t love her job, but most days she didn’t hate it either. She was middle-aged with blonde curly hair and hazel eyes. She had spent time living in homes that were chaotic and loud, so she enjoyed her home, the comfort and quiet that it gave her. She was content to be in her own home with her four birds that kept her entertained. They would squawk their demands when they wanted something. They sometimes perched on the ceiling fan above her where they would look down at her.

So, she sat, frozen in front of her monitor and there the thing stood, watching and waiting. She looked down at her hands that had stilled over the keyboard; they shook. Every other time that it appeared she shut her eyes tight and would ask it to go away; she asked nicely. She was scared, not stupid. This time would be different. This time she would not ask it to leave, not yet. She would ask it what it wanted. So, turning very slowly, she looked straight at the thing. This time it didn’t disappear; it was still there. She wanted nothing more than to jump out of her chair and run screaming for her bedroom where she would barricade herself in and hide under her covers. But this time, gathering every bit of courage she opened her mouth to speak.

“Umm…hi. I’m hoping that you don’t want to scare or hurt me. And if you’re here to take me to the light, I would prefer to stay here for a bit longer.” The image shimmered before her as though it was acknowledging her. “Do you want something from me? Why are you here?” Stacy gathered her resolve and prepared herself for whatever was going to happen.

The reply came slowly, as though the shadow had to find each word. Its voice was raspy, there was no emotion in its speech. “Coming for you.”

“Oh, hell no!” Stacy jumped out of her chair and ran down the hallway. She slammed her bedroom door behind her and dove under the covers. She didn’t breathe, didn’t cry, didn’t make a sound. She listened for any kind of movement, any sound to suggest it had followed her. Her mind raced. “What the actual fuck!” she thought. “I need to tell Tony, I need to tell someone.”

She had the presence of mind to have her phone with her. She sent a text to her uncle. She wouldn’t call him because he would hear the hysteria that she couldn’t tamp down.

 Are you home?

Yup

Mind if I come by?

Come on over!

Stacy peaked out from the covers and finding nothing in her room, she went to the door. She turned the knob slowly and opened the door just enough for her to be able to look down the hallway. There was nothing there. She crept out into the hallway where she hugged the wall until it opened up to the living room. She slowly peered around into the living room. There was nothing in the spot that it had been before. She stuck her head out a little further around the corner and screamed. Her legs gave out beneath her, and she slid down the wall. Her heart pounded in her chest. She was breathing rapidly but as terror gave way to irritation she stood back up and stormed into the living room. “You goddamn stupid bird,” she yelled. “I nearly had a heart attack because of you!” Her bird Nira had been perched outside the end of its cage that was adjacent to the hallway. When she looked around the corner, she saw one little eye staring back at her. “Whew, lord that was a close one.” She was holding her chest. She glared at Nira, “I suppose this was payback for leaving you out here with the creeper.”

Being satisfied that the shadow was gone, Stacy grabbed her keys and purse and went out to her car. After a fifteen-minute drive she pulled up in front of her uncles’ house. Luke would be at work right now, so it was just Tony at home. She let herself in. She stepped into the living room and startled when the dogs started barking. “Look you,” She stared down at the one called Pazuzu. “My heart can’t take any of your shit right now.”

“What up girl!” her uncle called from the kitchen. “Zuzu, be nice. You know who that is.” Stacy rolled her eyes because that line was not going to work with that yappy little dog. Pazuzu, how could Tony not know that was the name of an actual demon. Who names their dog after a demon? Stacy walked through the dining room and into the kitchen.

“I am seriously about to pee myself,” Stacy said. She marched right into the half bath that was just off the kitchen. Her uncle snickered. After doing her business she came out of the bathroom, walked right past her uncle and went into the dining room where there was a lovely bar fully stocked and a bottle of vodka with her name on it.

Tony walked around the kitchen island and into the dining room. He had an eyebrow raised and an amused look on his face. “So, bad day at the office?”

Stacy downed her first shot. “Well, if you consider the shadow thing in my living room then yes, it’s been a bad day.”

“Shadow thing? Could you be more specific?” He raised an eyebrow. Stacy down another shot.

“Okay, so there’s this thing that I’ve been seeing. It’s like, the shape of a person. I usually only see it out of the corner of my eye and when I turn my head, it’s gone!”

Her uncle frowned, instantly believing her. “How long has this been going on?”

Stacy hadn’t thought this confession through. “Ah, about a week?”

“You’re not sure?” Tony looked amused.

“It’s been about a weeks. It just kind of stands there and then it disappears when I turn to look at it.”

“Why didn’t you tell me sooner, why wait so long?”

“Well, it could have been my imagination, so I didn’t want to make a big deal out of it.”

“Uh huh.” He no longer looked amused. “So, there’s an entity…”

“Please don’t call it that, it gives me horror movie vibes.” She downed another shot of vodka.

“So, this thing. You’ve been seeing it for about a week and you’re telling me this now, why?” Since it didn’t look like Stacy was parting from the bar anytime soon, Tony plopped into one of the dining room chairs.

Stacy finally put down the bottle. “Well see, I may have tried speaking to it and it may have answered me.”

Tony blinked and looked at her, not knowing quite what to say. He went with his usual snark. “Sounds to me like you need a priest.” It was mean but he really couldn’t resist. For whatever reason Stacy thought that it would be a good idea to watch the movie The Exorcist when she was eight years old. She’d been emotionally scarred ever since. And who the hell was taking care of her to let her watch that?

Stacy put down her shot glass. “Don’t even joke about that! It’s not a, you know.”

“It’s not a demon who is going to possess you, now that you’ve acknowledged its presence.” Stacy paled.

“That’s not funny! It’s not a, what you said.”

“And you know this how? Did you check for horns and hooves?”

“Ugh! It’s not a DEMON! It doesn’t feel like it wants to hurt me. It just lingers there until I try to look at it.”

“And what did this not demon, shadow thing say to you?”

She flinched when she remembered the sound of its voice. “It said that it was coming for me.”

Tony looked confused. “It told you it was coming for you, wouldn’t it have just possessed you by now?” He smirked.

“IT IS NOT A FUCKING DEMON! Will you stop saying that.”

“Okay, okay. So, what are you going to do? I would say smudge the house, but that’s bad for the birds. I don’t know if salt would help. Hmm….”

“Well, I…” Stacy’s phone rang. It was her neighbors from across the street. She answered the phone. “Hello?”

“Stacy! Oh my god, you’re safe.” Stacy could hear her neighbor speaking with her husband.

“Yes, I’m at my uncles’ house. Why, what happened?” Stacy was feeling dread from the tone of her neighbor’s voice.

“Jesus, Stacy. I didn’t see your car, so I thought you were away, but I was so scared. Stacy could now hear sirens in the background.

Stacy’s hand began to visibly shake. “Barb, what’s happened?”

Stacy could hear more sirens. “This crazy guy, he looked familiar, was running down our street. He was yelling and screaming. He stopped right in front of your house, pulled out a gun and started shooting through your front window.” Barb sounded like she was trying not to cry.

Stacy suddenly felt her knees wobble and she sat down, or rather collapsed onto the floor. “Barb, you said he was yelling.” Her voice was breathy. “Was he saying anything?”

Stacy could barely hear Barb over the sound of the sirens. “He was a nut job! He kept yelling, ‘Coming for you’ over and over.” Stacy dropped her phone and blacked out. “Stacy, are you still there? They’ve caught him. Stacy?”