Demon at the Door

 

It was just two more days until Halloween. My daughter Cleo and my son Ryan were choosing their costumes. Cleo decided to go as a witch, while Ryan chose a demon costume. Seeing their faces light up made me miss the days I had that same excitement for the holiday; I wished I was a kid again.

Even after we arrived home, they put the costumes on once again and were playing around the house for a little while. However, as it was getting late, I told them they needed to go to bed, and that otherwise, there would be no Halloween for them. They wished to sleep with their costumes on, and I didn’t see any harm in it. I kissed them goodnight and left the room. 

Moments later, I heard a knock on the front door. I opened it expecting to see my husband George back from his official visit to another state, but there was no one there. He called me afterwards and told me he was running late; his car had broken down on the way, so he said he would stay at a nearby hotel and come the next morning. I got ready for bed right after, but was woken up by Rayn’s screams. I rushed to his room; he was sweating and shaking at the edge of his bed. I hugged him tightly.

“What happened, hun?”

“Th—there was a monster here,” Ryan said.

I waited with him a little while longer and told him to try and sleep again, but he cried, asking me not to leave his side. Cleo also woke up and came into the room and, after hearing what Ryan had to say, she asked if the two of them could sleep with me. Neither of them wanted to sleep alone, so I let them sleep with me. My husband came back the next morning and everything was back to normal.

On Halloween, Ryan asked to sleep in his demon costume yet again and I allowed it. Around 3:00 a.m., I was awoken once again by his screams. I turned to talk to George, but he wasn’t there. I leapt out of bed and ran into the hallway, only to find him lying on the floor in a pool of blood. Ryan stood next to him: his eyes piercing the dark as blood dripped from his face.

I couldn’t speak, I couldn’t move; I just stood there, trembling at what was unfolding before my eyes.

“Hello there, Gabriella,” Ryan said, greeting me with a menacing grin.

“Mommy, what's going on?” Cleo asked, walking towards me while rubbing her eyes. She then saw Ryan’s face and stood there stupefied.

“Honey, go back to your room!”

“No, Cleo, you stay where you are.”

Cleo ran to me and hugged me tightly. I grabbed her hand and ran with her into the kitchen. Ryan caught up with us right next to the kitchen table and grabbed my hand. I pushed Cleo away from us right after.

“Run, Cleo!”

“Mommy, no!”

“Go get help! Go!”

I held Ryan back as Cleo ran outside.

“I will not forgive you for this,” he said, bringing me to my knees and gripping my throat. “I’m going to bleed you dry.”

As he choked me, I reached out and grabbed a knife. I stabbed him in the neck before he could block, but he snapped mine right after. I woke up gasping and covered in sweat. 

What? Was it a nightmare?

 

I wiped my face, trying to wrap my head around what I had just seen. I then realized that Halloween was still two days away, and that George was still stuck in a hotel a few states away. Right then, I heard my room door creak, and from the shadows beyond it approached a silhouette I dreaded to see again. It was Ryan, and he was covered in blood.

“Oh, no...”

“One down, one to go,” he said, chuckling as he locked the door behind him.