Post by Gee on Jun 3, 2015 1:07:53 GMT -6
Hey guys, this is just a little creepy story I've had in my head for 5 years i finally decided to write down. Hope you like it, and at least understand it lol.
S-H-A-D-O-W
A telephone ring. The most dreaded noise anybody could hear in the middle of the night while they're trying to get a much needed sleep, as the ringing persisted, Detective Andrew Laurence became more and more awake and aware of his surroundings. He rolled onto his side, rubbed his eyes and picked up the phone.
“This is Laurence” he answered with a slight crack in his voice, not completely awake yet. “ Yes, Detective Laurence this is Dr. Metz from St. Dymphna's Psychiatric Care Facility, he's ready to talk now.” With that reply, Laurence quickly sat up and ran his fingers through his hair. “Thank you, give me fifteen minutes.” Laurence quickly hung up the phone and got out of bed, waking up his wife who was sleeping peacefully beside him. He pulled open the closet and took one of his suits off the hanger, and got dressed as fast as he could. “I'm going over to St. Dymphna's for an interview, I'm not sure how long it's going to be” he hurriedly explained to his wife while tying his tie. Wit her eyes squinted, she glanced over to the alarm clock. “Andy it's 3:30 in the morning, I'm sure this can wait until later.” Without even turning to look at her, he frantically began looking for his watch in the darkness of their bedroom. “Yeah, maybe with any other case, Tina. This kid hasn't said two words about what happened in ten years, so I'm running there while he's still willing to talk.” Tina pulled herself up and rubbed her eyes. “Is this the kid who ate his parents?” She asked in hesitation while opening the end table beside her and pulling out her husbands watch. Laurence turned around and saw his wife holding his watch, he quickly walked over and nodded at her to help him put it on. “Allegedly. I guess we'll find that out” He kissed his wife goodbye and in a quiet storm, headed out the door.
There were no words to describe the feeling a mental hospital brings in the middle of the night. Although Dr. Metz was leading him through the hall, Laurence couldn't help but feel anxious as if something can come out and attack him at any moment. In his head he laughed at himself, at how foolish he was being, but yet his eyes couldn't help but wander every square inch of the hallway that seemed to never end. After what seemed like forever, Dr. Metz brought Laurence down a more narrow hallway and in front of a door to a very secluded room. “You'll be on surveillance, so if anything happens we'll have security in there. He's been gentle the past ten years, but the kid also said jack shit to anybody so who really knows. Also, don't put anything near the walls, it's a trigger for him. He will always be in the direct centre, furthest from any wall don't ask why. We're hoping you can find out. Good luck, Detective.” And with that, Dr. Metz patted Laurence on the shoulder and opened the door.
“Henry?” Dr. Metz said while opening the door slowly. Henry Rollins lifted his head from the desk in the dead centre of the room, and stared at Laurence. The boy looked sickly with his pale skin and his eyes so tired they wore black circles underneath. Laurence gave a good look at the boy, then turned to Dr. Metz and nodded to him. Slowly and carefully, Laurence walked over to the opposite side of the desk, pulled out the chair and took a seat. “Hi Henry, my name is Detective Andrew Laurence, I'm here to talk if you want to.” Henry just continued to stare at him. For ten minutes they both just stared at each other. Laurence was beginning to lose hope, until the dead air filled with the sound of Henry's small, shaky voice. “I was eight years old when we moved in the house on 46 Portage Road.”
My mother loved that house, everything about it was perfect. Dad just started a new job, so money was tight but the owners were eager to sell it so the price was right. I remember being so excited because my new room was way bigger than my old one, and I finally had room for all my toys. The house itself had a mind of it's own it seemed, every wall of that house had it's own personality, and little did I know I would make a new friend the very first night I moved in.
That night I lay in my bed, tuckered out after a day of exploring my new home. It wasn't even five minutes before I could feel my eyes getting heavy and me slowly but surely start to drift off into sleep. For reasons that I still can't figure out, the air in the room changed and it seemed like even the dead silence got quieter. Just above my head, I heard three knocks on the wall. I hid under my blankets in fear of what could be on the other side. “Don't be scared, Henry” is all I heard in my head. His voice wasn't audible that you could hear it in the room, just in my head, clear as daylight. “Where are you?” was all I could manage to ask back, still afraid and hiding under my blanket. “I'm in the wall” He responded as he knocked again on the wall, this time in a more cheery tune. I peeked my head out from underneath the blankets and saw nothing, feeling comforted, I knocked a cheery tune back. “How do you know my name? I asked, pulling myself upright, closer to the wall. “I know all my friend's names.” He answered with a smile in his voice. “Well, I don't know yours.” I answered back, pulling myself a little further away. Then all of a sudden, like magic, handwritten letters were appearing on the wall in front of my face, as if he were drawing them on from inside:
“Your name is Shadow?” I asked back in awe at what was happening. “Yes” he answered shortly. A moment of silence passed until he asked: “Do you want me to come out of the walls? I want to play with you, Henry. Take you on magical adventures.” Judging by what Shadow just did in front of me now, as an eight year old boy I was excited to see what other tricks he could do. Tomorrow night, I will come back and knock on the wall. If you want me to come out, you just have to ask me really nicely at the vent on the ceiling, and I'll come out and play!” Shadow said with excitement. I laid back down in bed with a smile. “Okay, Shadow! I can't wait for tomorrow night!” I said as I drifted off to sleep.
The next day at dinner, I begged to go to bed early. When my mother questioned why, and asked if I was feeling well, I felt compelled to tell her about Shadow. She just laughed and looked at my father. “I'm glad you have a new friend and that you like the house, but there isn't a person living in your walls. You probably dreamed it, honey.” I just looked down on my plate, I guess to a grown up it could sound a little odd. Later that night my mother let me go to bed a little bit early, as I crawled in bed and my parents said goodnight, I could hear them talk in the hallway. “I'm worried about Henry, James. It's not like him to want to go to bed early.” I could hear my mother say as she opened the linen closet. “Christ, Alice don't worry. He asked to go to bed early, it's not like he asked to join a drug cartel. Besides that leaves more time for just you and me.” My mother laughed and they walked down the stairs.
When the coast was clear I sat patiently waiting for the knock on my wall, after what seemed like forever, I heard that familiar tuneful knocking. With a smile on my face, I leaped out of bed and ran to the other side of my room where the ceiling vent was and as nicely as my eight year old self could word it. “Shadow, can you please come out from the walls to play?” I looked up to the vent and saw it gently move around, afraid of what might happen. All of a sudden this stream of black came falling down from the ceiling. When it all fell through, it slowly gathered itself into a form that molded into a fully grown human man. Shadow was completely black, but wore a red overcoat, and had a face that resembled a mannequin, completely blank. I admit I was startled when I first looked at him, but he was my friend. “Now we can play forever, Henry! I'm free!” Shadow said, his voice booming in my head louder and more excitable than ever. He gestured himself much like a mime whenever he spoke, elaborate and just slightly eerie. That night, Shadow used his magic to turn my bedroom into a spectacular display of space, and we played astronauts until I couldn't stay awake anymore and drifted into sleep. To me, Shadow was the most magnificent thing I had ever seen.
For the days that followed, I spent every minute I could with Shadow. Now that he wasn't in the walls, we did everything together, but only I could see him and hear his voice in my head. I remember my mother grew more concerned because whenever I would be with my parents, Shadow would tell me a joke and I would laugh. “Henry I don't want to hear anymore about this Shadow nonsense. School is starting up soon and I don't want any phone calls from the teacher saying that you're misbehaving because you're too busy with your imaginary friend.” My mother said one night over dinner. Shadow was standing in the corner, flailing his arms in protest and making sad gestures. Before I could even think, my plate all of a sudden left my hand and flew into the wall right beside my mother's head. My jaw dropped, I looked up to my mother, who's face had gone white. My father slammed his fork into the table, grabbed me by the collar and threw me upstairs, grounding me for the night. I turned to see Shadow who's voice was filling my head with maniacal laughter and making funny gestures. “You can't do that, Shadow! You could have hurt my mom!” I shouted at him, he just slumped his shoulders and tilted his head. “I didn't throw the plate, Henry. You did.” Shadow replied in a menacing voice. “You made me do it!” I yelled back as I jumped in my bed. “Shadow, I don't wanna play anymore. Leave me alone.” In what felt like two seconds, Shadow ran and started floating above me, making wild frightening gestures as his voice boomed in my head. “You can't get rid of me! I'm always here, I'll never leave, but I can get rid of you and your whole family as fast as you came.” and with that as his final words, he disappeared above me but as I looked around my room, I saw it was covered in spiders, every last inch. That's when I realized how evil Shadow truly was.
The next day I was outside in the backyard with my father who was chopping wood. I could see Shadow standing right behind him, perfectly still. My head began to fill with these horrible images of something happening to my father playing rapidly as if on a Rolodex, but the last one stayed in my mind and overpowered everything else, it was of me holding the axe over my father, getting ready to strike down and kill him. I screamed, and as I opened my eyes in pure terror I saw my father on the ground screaming my name as I stood over him with the axe above my head. Tears ran out of my eyes as I dropped the axe. I begged my father to believe me, that I would never hurt him, that it was Shadow who made me do these things, but he just ran inside. I fell to my knees in tears, fearing what was to come next.
That night I was told to stay in my room, but I didn't want to be in there in fear of what Shadow would want to do to me alone. I crept onto the staircase and could hear my parents argue downstairs. “He needs a Doctor, Alice! The kid's gone crazy! This is not the Henry we know!” My father shouted, and I could hear him loudly pace through the living room. “The people we bought the house from.” My mother said calmly between her tears. “They said they needed to move because they were having problems with their daughter.” she continued. My father let out a nervous laugh. “What? You think that their kid saw a fucking Shadow too?” He continued to pace. “I know it sounds insane James but listen, maybe something is wrong with this house. Something evil!” That was the last I could hear of the conversation, as Shadow's darkness took over the entire stairwell, and he let out a scream so loud I thought my head was going to explode. This seemed to go on for forever, until it all went silent and I heard my mother's voice call “Henry, dinner!” I ran down the stairs holding my ears, but was paralysed in horror at what I saw when I reached the kitchen.
My parents lay there on the floor, there heads spun out of proportion, and completely lifeless. “I'm hungry, aren't you?” Shadow asked along with his elaborate gestures. Shadow forced me to sit in a chair at the dinner table, and drove my hands to the fork and knife. Shadow sat down across from me continuing to make elaborate gestures displaying joy and hunger, as my parents were levitated from the floor to the table. Shadow ripped my parents limbs apart easily, as if they were made of air, and played with their ligaments as they hung there. I glanced in horror at my hands when I found them also working away into my father's chest, cutting into his heart. “Open wide” Shadow sang in my head as he clapped maniacally. My body tried to reject it as hard as it could, but Shadow had total control over every aspect of my body and mind. I closed my eyes as hard as they could to try and regain my own control, to try and find a way to stop this. Maybe it was a sign from God or something, when Shadow was interrupted by a shatter in the kitchen window. Shadow let out a scream of frustration and disappeared into the vent in the ceiling. With the knock on the front door that followed, I got up out of my chair and bolted to answer it. The man and his son looked at me in horror, as my body from head to toe is covered in blood, I remember yelling at them to call the police, as I ran as fast away as I could to escape the horror that lived in those walls. The rest was darkness.
Detective Laurence readjusted his tie, and ran his hand through his hair. When he looked up at Henry, he was still sitting perfectly still, staring at the wall. “Why now? After ten years of saying nothing, why now?” Laurence asked, getting his pen and notepad ready. Henry shifted his gaze, as his eyes began to water. “After what happened in that house it was left abandoned and taken care of by the city for the last ten years. I looked at the paper yesterday and it said that they were finally putting the house back up on the market. It's not safe there, Shadow goes after anybody who is willing to knock back. That's why I won't go near a wall, he remembers me, I know he does. If I'm in here forever, fine. But nobody deserves to go through what I did. Please, you have to do something!” Henry began crying uncontrollably. Laurence put his hand on his shoulder, and looked into Henry's eyes. “Listen kid, as long as you're here. Nothing will hurt you. And I don't think anything will get anybody else.”Laurence got up out of his chair, thanked Henry for everything and left.
On the drive home, Laurence couldn't shake Henry's story and it occupied his mind the whole time. His phone began to ring, saw it was his wife and turned on the bluetooth. “How did it go?” She asked, Laurence shook his head. “He's a really disturbed kid, he doesn't realize what he did. It's pretty sad, really.” Laurence looked at the street signs and noticed Portage Road coming up at the next intersection. “Listen honey, I just am gonna check something out really quick and I'll be home right after.” he exchanged goodbyes with her and turned right onto Portage Road.
Laurence pulled into the driveway of house 46 and was greeted by a realtor. Laurence rolled down his window “Looks like you just missed the open house! We're having another one on Tuesday evening though if you're interested here is my” Laurence cut him off as politely as he could. “Yeah, no thanks I'm actually here from the FBI, I just wanted to know if it's okay I take a quick look at the house?” the realtor laughed nervously as Laurence got out of the car. “Anything I should be worried about Detective?” Laurence gave him a smile. “Not at all” With a smile in return, the realtor gave him the keys. “Just bring them back when you're finished.” Laurence took the keys, nodded in agreement and walked inside.
Much like the psychiatric home, there was an eerie feeling in this house. In his mind he was able to reenact all of Henry's story and visualize the horrors that went on at the kitchen table. Laurence began to make his way up the stairs and turned into the second bedroom, Henry's. Everything seemed relatively normal, he imagined a young Henry playing with his imaginary friend, while listening to his parents argue about the mental state of their son. Laurence walked along the walls of the bedroom, reliving the steps Henry took as a child, until he was distracted by a faint knocking. “Who's here?” he asked quickly, sweat beginning to collect under his brow looking all over the room for somebody he turned back to face the wall and his heart stopped.
S-H-A-D-O-W
A telephone ring. The most dreaded noise anybody could hear in the middle of the night while they're trying to get a much needed sleep, as the ringing persisted, Detective Andrew Laurence became more and more awake and aware of his surroundings. He rolled onto his side, rubbed his eyes and picked up the phone.
“This is Laurence” he answered with a slight crack in his voice, not completely awake yet. “ Yes, Detective Laurence this is Dr. Metz from St. Dymphna's Psychiatric Care Facility, he's ready to talk now.” With that reply, Laurence quickly sat up and ran his fingers through his hair. “Thank you, give me fifteen minutes.” Laurence quickly hung up the phone and got out of bed, waking up his wife who was sleeping peacefully beside him. He pulled open the closet and took one of his suits off the hanger, and got dressed as fast as he could. “I'm going over to St. Dymphna's for an interview, I'm not sure how long it's going to be” he hurriedly explained to his wife while tying his tie. Wit her eyes squinted, she glanced over to the alarm clock. “Andy it's 3:30 in the morning, I'm sure this can wait until later.” Without even turning to look at her, he frantically began looking for his watch in the darkness of their bedroom. “Yeah, maybe with any other case, Tina. This kid hasn't said two words about what happened in ten years, so I'm running there while he's still willing to talk.” Tina pulled herself up and rubbed her eyes. “Is this the kid who ate his parents?” She asked in hesitation while opening the end table beside her and pulling out her husbands watch. Laurence turned around and saw his wife holding his watch, he quickly walked over and nodded at her to help him put it on. “Allegedly. I guess we'll find that out” He kissed his wife goodbye and in a quiet storm, headed out the door.
There were no words to describe the feeling a mental hospital brings in the middle of the night. Although Dr. Metz was leading him through the hall, Laurence couldn't help but feel anxious as if something can come out and attack him at any moment. In his head he laughed at himself, at how foolish he was being, but yet his eyes couldn't help but wander every square inch of the hallway that seemed to never end. After what seemed like forever, Dr. Metz brought Laurence down a more narrow hallway and in front of a door to a very secluded room. “You'll be on surveillance, so if anything happens we'll have security in there. He's been gentle the past ten years, but the kid also said jack shit to anybody so who really knows. Also, don't put anything near the walls, it's a trigger for him. He will always be in the direct centre, furthest from any wall don't ask why. We're hoping you can find out. Good luck, Detective.” And with that, Dr. Metz patted Laurence on the shoulder and opened the door.
“Henry?” Dr. Metz said while opening the door slowly. Henry Rollins lifted his head from the desk in the dead centre of the room, and stared at Laurence. The boy looked sickly with his pale skin and his eyes so tired they wore black circles underneath. Laurence gave a good look at the boy, then turned to Dr. Metz and nodded to him. Slowly and carefully, Laurence walked over to the opposite side of the desk, pulled out the chair and took a seat. “Hi Henry, my name is Detective Andrew Laurence, I'm here to talk if you want to.” Henry just continued to stare at him. For ten minutes they both just stared at each other. Laurence was beginning to lose hope, until the dead air filled with the sound of Henry's small, shaky voice. “I was eight years old when we moved in the house on 46 Portage Road.”
My mother loved that house, everything about it was perfect. Dad just started a new job, so money was tight but the owners were eager to sell it so the price was right. I remember being so excited because my new room was way bigger than my old one, and I finally had room for all my toys. The house itself had a mind of it's own it seemed, every wall of that house had it's own personality, and little did I know I would make a new friend the very first night I moved in.
That night I lay in my bed, tuckered out after a day of exploring my new home. It wasn't even five minutes before I could feel my eyes getting heavy and me slowly but surely start to drift off into sleep. For reasons that I still can't figure out, the air in the room changed and it seemed like even the dead silence got quieter. Just above my head, I heard three knocks on the wall. I hid under my blankets in fear of what could be on the other side. “Don't be scared, Henry” is all I heard in my head. His voice wasn't audible that you could hear it in the room, just in my head, clear as daylight. “Where are you?” was all I could manage to ask back, still afraid and hiding under my blanket. “I'm in the wall” He responded as he knocked again on the wall, this time in a more cheery tune. I peeked my head out from underneath the blankets and saw nothing, feeling comforted, I knocked a cheery tune back. “How do you know my name? I asked, pulling myself upright, closer to the wall. “I know all my friend's names.” He answered with a smile in his voice. “Well, I don't know yours.” I answered back, pulling myself a little further away. Then all of a sudden, like magic, handwritten letters were appearing on the wall in front of my face, as if he were drawing them on from inside:
S-H-A-D-O-W
“Your name is Shadow?” I asked back in awe at what was happening. “Yes” he answered shortly. A moment of silence passed until he asked: “Do you want me to come out of the walls? I want to play with you, Henry. Take you on magical adventures.” Judging by what Shadow just did in front of me now, as an eight year old boy I was excited to see what other tricks he could do. Tomorrow night, I will come back and knock on the wall. If you want me to come out, you just have to ask me really nicely at the vent on the ceiling, and I'll come out and play!” Shadow said with excitement. I laid back down in bed with a smile. “Okay, Shadow! I can't wait for tomorrow night!” I said as I drifted off to sleep.
The next day at dinner, I begged to go to bed early. When my mother questioned why, and asked if I was feeling well, I felt compelled to tell her about Shadow. She just laughed and looked at my father. “I'm glad you have a new friend and that you like the house, but there isn't a person living in your walls. You probably dreamed it, honey.” I just looked down on my plate, I guess to a grown up it could sound a little odd. Later that night my mother let me go to bed a little bit early, as I crawled in bed and my parents said goodnight, I could hear them talk in the hallway. “I'm worried about Henry, James. It's not like him to want to go to bed early.” I could hear my mother say as she opened the linen closet. “Christ, Alice don't worry. He asked to go to bed early, it's not like he asked to join a drug cartel. Besides that leaves more time for just you and me.” My mother laughed and they walked down the stairs.
When the coast was clear I sat patiently waiting for the knock on my wall, after what seemed like forever, I heard that familiar tuneful knocking. With a smile on my face, I leaped out of bed and ran to the other side of my room where the ceiling vent was and as nicely as my eight year old self could word it. “Shadow, can you please come out from the walls to play?” I looked up to the vent and saw it gently move around, afraid of what might happen. All of a sudden this stream of black came falling down from the ceiling. When it all fell through, it slowly gathered itself into a form that molded into a fully grown human man. Shadow was completely black, but wore a red overcoat, and had a face that resembled a mannequin, completely blank. I admit I was startled when I first looked at him, but he was my friend. “Now we can play forever, Henry! I'm free!” Shadow said, his voice booming in my head louder and more excitable than ever. He gestured himself much like a mime whenever he spoke, elaborate and just slightly eerie. That night, Shadow used his magic to turn my bedroom into a spectacular display of space, and we played astronauts until I couldn't stay awake anymore and drifted into sleep. To me, Shadow was the most magnificent thing I had ever seen.
For the days that followed, I spent every minute I could with Shadow. Now that he wasn't in the walls, we did everything together, but only I could see him and hear his voice in my head. I remember my mother grew more concerned because whenever I would be with my parents, Shadow would tell me a joke and I would laugh. “Henry I don't want to hear anymore about this Shadow nonsense. School is starting up soon and I don't want any phone calls from the teacher saying that you're misbehaving because you're too busy with your imaginary friend.” My mother said one night over dinner. Shadow was standing in the corner, flailing his arms in protest and making sad gestures. Before I could even think, my plate all of a sudden left my hand and flew into the wall right beside my mother's head. My jaw dropped, I looked up to my mother, who's face had gone white. My father slammed his fork into the table, grabbed me by the collar and threw me upstairs, grounding me for the night. I turned to see Shadow who's voice was filling my head with maniacal laughter and making funny gestures. “You can't do that, Shadow! You could have hurt my mom!” I shouted at him, he just slumped his shoulders and tilted his head. “I didn't throw the plate, Henry. You did.” Shadow replied in a menacing voice. “You made me do it!” I yelled back as I jumped in my bed. “Shadow, I don't wanna play anymore. Leave me alone.” In what felt like two seconds, Shadow ran and started floating above me, making wild frightening gestures as his voice boomed in my head. “You can't get rid of me! I'm always here, I'll never leave, but I can get rid of you and your whole family as fast as you came.” and with that as his final words, he disappeared above me but as I looked around my room, I saw it was covered in spiders, every last inch. That's when I realized how evil Shadow truly was.
The next day I was outside in the backyard with my father who was chopping wood. I could see Shadow standing right behind him, perfectly still. My head began to fill with these horrible images of something happening to my father playing rapidly as if on a Rolodex, but the last one stayed in my mind and overpowered everything else, it was of me holding the axe over my father, getting ready to strike down and kill him. I screamed, and as I opened my eyes in pure terror I saw my father on the ground screaming my name as I stood over him with the axe above my head. Tears ran out of my eyes as I dropped the axe. I begged my father to believe me, that I would never hurt him, that it was Shadow who made me do these things, but he just ran inside. I fell to my knees in tears, fearing what was to come next.
That night I was told to stay in my room, but I didn't want to be in there in fear of what Shadow would want to do to me alone. I crept onto the staircase and could hear my parents argue downstairs. “He needs a Doctor, Alice! The kid's gone crazy! This is not the Henry we know!” My father shouted, and I could hear him loudly pace through the living room. “The people we bought the house from.” My mother said calmly between her tears. “They said they needed to move because they were having problems with their daughter.” she continued. My father let out a nervous laugh. “What? You think that their kid saw a fucking Shadow too?” He continued to pace. “I know it sounds insane James but listen, maybe something is wrong with this house. Something evil!” That was the last I could hear of the conversation, as Shadow's darkness took over the entire stairwell, and he let out a scream so loud I thought my head was going to explode. This seemed to go on for forever, until it all went silent and I heard my mother's voice call “Henry, dinner!” I ran down the stairs holding my ears, but was paralysed in horror at what I saw when I reached the kitchen.
My parents lay there on the floor, there heads spun out of proportion, and completely lifeless. “I'm hungry, aren't you?” Shadow asked along with his elaborate gestures. Shadow forced me to sit in a chair at the dinner table, and drove my hands to the fork and knife. Shadow sat down across from me continuing to make elaborate gestures displaying joy and hunger, as my parents were levitated from the floor to the table. Shadow ripped my parents limbs apart easily, as if they were made of air, and played with their ligaments as they hung there. I glanced in horror at my hands when I found them also working away into my father's chest, cutting into his heart. “Open wide” Shadow sang in my head as he clapped maniacally. My body tried to reject it as hard as it could, but Shadow had total control over every aspect of my body and mind. I closed my eyes as hard as they could to try and regain my own control, to try and find a way to stop this. Maybe it was a sign from God or something, when Shadow was interrupted by a shatter in the kitchen window. Shadow let out a scream of frustration and disappeared into the vent in the ceiling. With the knock on the front door that followed, I got up out of my chair and bolted to answer it. The man and his son looked at me in horror, as my body from head to toe is covered in blood, I remember yelling at them to call the police, as I ran as fast away as I could to escape the horror that lived in those walls. The rest was darkness.
Detective Laurence readjusted his tie, and ran his hand through his hair. When he looked up at Henry, he was still sitting perfectly still, staring at the wall. “Why now? After ten years of saying nothing, why now?” Laurence asked, getting his pen and notepad ready. Henry shifted his gaze, as his eyes began to water. “After what happened in that house it was left abandoned and taken care of by the city for the last ten years. I looked at the paper yesterday and it said that they were finally putting the house back up on the market. It's not safe there, Shadow goes after anybody who is willing to knock back. That's why I won't go near a wall, he remembers me, I know he does. If I'm in here forever, fine. But nobody deserves to go through what I did. Please, you have to do something!” Henry began crying uncontrollably. Laurence put his hand on his shoulder, and looked into Henry's eyes. “Listen kid, as long as you're here. Nothing will hurt you. And I don't think anything will get anybody else.”Laurence got up out of his chair, thanked Henry for everything and left.
On the drive home, Laurence couldn't shake Henry's story and it occupied his mind the whole time. His phone began to ring, saw it was his wife and turned on the bluetooth. “How did it go?” She asked, Laurence shook his head. “He's a really disturbed kid, he doesn't realize what he did. It's pretty sad, really.” Laurence looked at the street signs and noticed Portage Road coming up at the next intersection. “Listen honey, I just am gonna check something out really quick and I'll be home right after.” he exchanged goodbyes with her and turned right onto Portage Road.
Laurence pulled into the driveway of house 46 and was greeted by a realtor. Laurence rolled down his window “Looks like you just missed the open house! We're having another one on Tuesday evening though if you're interested here is my” Laurence cut him off as politely as he could. “Yeah, no thanks I'm actually here from the FBI, I just wanted to know if it's okay I take a quick look at the house?” the realtor laughed nervously as Laurence got out of the car. “Anything I should be worried about Detective?” Laurence gave him a smile. “Not at all” With a smile in return, the realtor gave him the keys. “Just bring them back when you're finished.” Laurence took the keys, nodded in agreement and walked inside.
Much like the psychiatric home, there was an eerie feeling in this house. In his mind he was able to reenact all of Henry's story and visualize the horrors that went on at the kitchen table. Laurence began to make his way up the stairs and turned into the second bedroom, Henry's. Everything seemed relatively normal, he imagined a young Henry playing with his imaginary friend, while listening to his parents argue about the mental state of their son. Laurence walked along the walls of the bedroom, reliving the steps Henry took as a child, until he was distracted by a faint knocking. “Who's here?” he asked quickly, sweat beginning to collect under his brow looking all over the room for somebody he turned back to face the wall and his heart stopped.
S-H-A-D-O-W
