The Haunted

Originally published on Yahoo Voices

The evening sun was shining nearly horizontally down the dirt road in Salsbury. Salsbury was a small town with a population of 25. Everyone knew each other. A slim leather faced man came riding into town and tied his horse to the post. He was hungry and broke. He looked up and down the deserted road. The folks of the town were in their homes eating their suppers. The slim man entered the store. He saw the bearded owner behind the counter reading a newspaper. No one else was in the store.

He took out a gun and pointed it at the owner. He directed the owner to put all the bills from the cash register into a paper bag. The owner dropped the newspaper to the floor and opened the cash register drawer. He did not glance at the gun sitting on a shelf below the counter top. He had bought the gun because he had been robbed too many times and wanted something to defend himself in a robbery. He slowly put the money in a paper bag and handed it to the leather faced man..

The leather faced man backed toward the door warning the owner not to do anything foolish. He was distracted by a horse-driven wagon passing by.

The owner knew this was his only chance. He reached down and quickly grabbed his gun, keeping it below the counter top. He fired one shot.

The robber suddenly grimaced in pain, fired a bullet and fell to the floor. The owner collapsed behind the cash register.

Fifty years later that road was paved with asphalt. The store was still standing and was operated by the owner's son, Fred, who was ten years old when the robbery took place. The town was rapidly growing. New homes were being built everyday. Fred had heard that a family was moving into a newly built home on Abbey Hill. He hadn't met them yet.

Abbey Hill was a half mile away. It wasn't a large hill. People were busy every day chopping down trees on that hill. The new home owner, Jim, had a job working for the Goldman construction company. His current work was just beyond his back yard. Jim's wife, Mary, was not fond of the new home. For some reason, she was uncomfortable staying there. Jim thought perhaps it was just being in a new place. But it was much more than that ...

In the evening Mary was in their bedroom. "Jim! Jim! Come here quick!"

Jim came up the cellar stairs and ran down the short hallway to their bedroom. He turned the door knob but the door wouldn't open. "Take the stuff away from the door!"

"I can't!"

Jim ran down the hallway and opened the back door. Then he ran around the corner of the house and peered in the bedroom window. Mary was pinned to the wall. All the furniture was piled up against the bedroom door.

"Stop fighting it." Jim yelled as he attempted to open the window. It wouldn't open.

Mary stopped struggling. After a few moments she found herself free to move around the room.

Jim tried to open the window again. It opened without a problem. After climbing in the window, he asked, "What happened?"

"That's what I'd like to know."

Suddenly they heard a lot of loud noises coming from the kitchen. Mary looked at the furniture.

"That will take too long." Said Jim, "Stay here."

Jim climbed out the window and ran to the kitchen window. He looked in to see all the appliances up side down. He didn't believe his eyes. He ran back to the bedroom window. "Come on out now."

Mary climbed out the window. "What are you planning?"

"I don't know. But one thing is for sure. We can't stay here." He looked at his wrist watch. "It's six o clock. Let's go."

Mary wanted to ask where but she figured he did not know where to go.

"What do you think happened?" Asked Mary.

"I think we have a ghost."

"From what I've read, ghosts can't move furniture" Mary commented, "Whatever it is, we have to get rid of it."

They were walking around the block.

"Or find out what it wants."

"How?"

"I'll tell you soon as I find out."

"You really know how to make a girl feel better." Mary paused, "Where are we going?"

"The library."

They walked five blocks to the library. As they entered, Mary asked, "What kind of book are we looking for?"

"Communicating with the dead."

She gave him a quizzical look. "Do you know what you are doing?"

"Absolutely not."

Mary stopped. "You search for a book. I'm going back home."

Jim looked at her.

"It's a two pronged approach. You do research. I try to communicate with the ghost." Said Mary.

"Let's do both together." said Jim.

They found information about contacting a clairvoyant or a psychic. They also found information about how to make contact with the dead.

"We need a history of the area." said Jim, "Let's see what I could dig up at the local bar." He handed Mary ten dollars and pointed to a diner a block away. "Go there and get something to eat. I'll be there in a half hour."

As usual on a Friday night, the bar was loaded with people. Jim started chatting with folks while drinking a beer. He didn't ask any questions. He just made comments about how peaceful and quiet the town was. He mentioned all the violence in the city he came from. That's when someone mentioned the robbery of the hardware store.

"You may not believe this, but other than a small fight here or there, this town has been pretty quiet since that robbery. I was ten years old when it happened. My dad was at the store." The man was drunk. "As I understand it, my dad shot the robber and the robber shot back as he was falling. My dad passed away. The robber -- folks didn't give a rat's ass about him. They buried him."

"Where?"

"Abbey hill. He didn't deserve any respectful wake or funeral after what he did. They just buried him. No gravestone. No nothing."

"Did anyone try to contact his family?"

"Like I care." The conversation continued for another twenty minutes. Jim learned that the town was new at the time and had no real law enforcers.

Jim was twenty minutes late arriving at the diner. He saw Mary at a table. Mary's dish was empty.

"What did you find out?" asked Mary after gulping down her soda.

"A lot. I'll explain it on the way home." Jim ordered a steak.

One hour later, they came out of the diner and started walking home, not being sure of what they would find.

After telling Mary about the conversation at the bar, Jim said, "But something isn't making sense."

The lock on the front door wouldn't work.

"It does make sense." said Mary, "It doesn't want us here."

They walked around the house searching for a way in. All the windows were boarded up with wood.

They went to the back door. The back door lock wouldn't work either.

"Get the ax out of the garage." Mary said.

Jim was able to get into the garage. He came out with the ax a few minutes later and started chopping down the back door. They entered the hallway and went to the kitchen. All the appliances were back in their respective places.

A light hovered in the corner beside the refrigerator. A bearded man in the light was barely visible. He signaled them to exit and disappeared.

Jim hesitated. Then they heard a rumbling in the cellar.

"We should leave." said Jim.

"Why?"

"Because I never told you how we should deal with a poltergeist."

"You mean that ghost isn't the only one here?"

"Right." They walked out the back door.

"How do you know?"

They stood in the backyard.

"The ghost told me." Jim said as he looked at their house.

"You mean the ghost is trying to protect us from the poltergeist?"

"Exactly."

"I think I'm beginning to understand. The poltergeist is what's left of the one who robbed the hardware store fifty years ago." Said Mary.

"And the ghost is the store owner. They are locked together because the robber never even got a proper burial. No one cared."

"Could we dig up the body and -- "

"We'd have to move the house."

"Oh shit!"

They entered the hallway through the back door and opened the first door on the right. They climbed down the cellar stairs and Jim collected several of pieces of wood, a board, a brush and some paint. First, he whitewashed the board. Then he used the black paint to write a name date of birth and date of death.

"How do you know that?" asked Mary.

"The ghost let me know." He paused, " It's getting cold in here. We'd better hurry."

"It talks to you?"

"Sort of. Not really talk. He just lets me know things."

A wind started blowing down the stairway. The wind became stronger and stronger until they couldn't stand without hanging on to the stair rail. The hail began. Jim and Mary felt the sharp cold stings as the ice hit their face and head. Jim was struggling to hold onto the board. wood and the stair rail. The cellar floor was getting icy. One of the water pipes cracked and water started dripping on the floor. Jim's foot slipped as he climbed onto the first stair. He scrapped his knee against the edge of the stair. He struggled up to the second stair, keeping his head low. He hung onto the rail with one hand and the board and wood with the other hand. His fingers and toes were aching.

Mary reached out and grabbed the hammer and nails. She fell down. She tried to get up, but she kept sliding and falling back down. She crawled to the stairway and raised herself up, holding on to the rail with one hand. She was breathing heavily.

They got half ways up the stairs when Jim slipped, tumbling backwards into Mary. The wood, board, nails and hammer fell to the cellar floor as Mary and Jim grabbed the rail with both hands. Her feet slipped out from under her and she slid down the rail to the first step with Jim following her.

"This isn't gonna work." said Jim.

"Don't we have a tarp down here?"

"A tarp?"

"Yeah. Remember? From when we use to go hiking."

"We threw it out long ago."

The ice was building up on the cellar floor.

"We can go out that way." Mary pointed to the cellar wall.

Jim looked and realized that Mary was becoming confused. He needed to find shelter. He scanned the cellar for anything that would give them some shelter from the biting wind.

"There!" He said, pointing the work bench. It was a heavy wooden work bench. Jim picked up the board and they slowly made their way toward the bench. Jim knocked all the stuff off of it and tipped it over. The he moved it so it was blocking the wind. They knelt behind the bench and waited. They hugged each other to stay warm. That's when Jim remembered the cellar windows. They were a small windows eight feet above the cellar floor. They couldn't escape through them, but the air outside was warmer and dryer than the air inside. Jim picked up a piece of wood and threw it hard toward the window. The window shattered. The wood fell to the ground. One by one, he smashed all the cellar windows.

It didn't help. His clothes were freezing. The pain in his toes and arms was subsiding. He was losing consciousness. He struggled to stay conscious but failed. Mary and Jim fell over and lay on the icy floor. Jim became conscious for a moment to see a bright light where the workbench use to be. The bearded man was smiling at him. Then the bearded man disappeared.

Jim remembered his playing with the other kids in his backyard. He remembered his first day in high school. That was the first time he saw the bearded man. Only for a moment. He didn't know who it was until today. He was becoming very confused.

Suddenly two warm loving arms brought Jim back to the present. He looked down at the hands and saw a puncture wound in each palm. The hail stopped. The wind stopped. The warm loving hands lifted him and Mary up the stairs and out into the back yard. The ground was dry and warm. The paint, wood, brush and board were on the lawn alongside a hammer and some nails. Jim repainted the sign, nailed a piece of wood to it and hammered it into the ground.

Mary woke up and read the sign aloud. "Richard Koenig. Born 1820. Died 1875." She kissed Joe.

Then they went inside the house. Everything was calm.

For some reason Mary and Jim were no longer troubled. The sign became a town curiosity, but no one took it down. Only three people in the town understood the meaning of the sign: Jim, Mary and the ghost of a bearded man.

             

Creature In The Attic

Originally published on Yahoo Voices

Tommy and Jimmy were sound asleep. It was 2:00 AM. A thumping sound began in the attic. Tommy woke up, listened for a moment and then woke up Jimmy. The two boys sat up in their bed listening to the thumping.

"What's that?" asked Tommy.

"I don't know." Said Jimmy, "I never heard it before."

"Neither have I. Do you think we have an animal up there?"

"I don't think so. How would an animal get in?"

"Maybe Jerry is hiding one up there?"

"If mom finds it, she'll be angry."

"Let's go up and take a look."

"Okay. I'll get the flashlight." Jimmy left the room and returned a few minutes later with a flashlight in his hand.

Then the two boys headed for the attic door. The opened the door. It was very dark. Jimmy turned on the flashlight. Slowly they climbed the stairs. The thumping sound stopped. Once they were in the attic, Jimmy scanned area with a flashlight.

"You think we got a ghost?" Tommy asked.

"Maybe." Jimmy answered in a trembling voice

"We could talk to it if we had one of those boards."

"No way."

"Why not?"

"Mommy said we should never use one of those boards because it is a sin."

"What's a sin?"

"A sin is when you make God angry."

"Honest?"

"Yeah."

"So what should we do?"

"Maybe we should ask Mom."

They went down the stairs and knocked on mom's bedroom door. Their mom, Mary, opened the door.

"What's the matter?" asked mom.

"I'm hearing sounds in my room." said Tommy.

"Maybe you were just dreaming?" Asked mom.

"No I wasn't. Jimmy heard it too."

Mom looked at Jimmy. "Okay, boys. Let's go to your room."

They went to the boy's bedroom and the boys jumped into bed.

"There's no sound now." She said. "Now I want both of you to go to sleep." She kissed each boy. "It's probably just an animal."

After mom left, their older brother, Jerry, came into the room. "Hey guys. What's happening?"

"We're hearing noises in the attic." said Tommy.

"You are?" asked Jerry.

"Yeah." Said Jimmy, "Maybe a ghost."

"Ya think we got a ghost? Why would a ghost be up stairs?"

Both boys shrugged their shoulders.

Mom suddenly appeared behind Jerry. "Everyone to bed. No more talk."

The thumping started again. Mom frowned, grabbed the flashlight and approached the attic door. She opened it and slowly went up the stairs.

Tommy, Jimmy and Jerry approached the attic door. The thumping was getting louder and louder. The floor vibrated with each thump. Suddenly a loud scream. They heard someone scrambling down the stairs.

Mom came out, slammed the door behind her and leaned against it. "Jerry, get some wood, nails and hammer from the garage." Her face was pale. Her hands were trembling.

"What happened?" asked Jerry.

"No time for questions. Go!"

Jerry ran. A few moments later he came back with the wood, hammer and nails. Something started banging on the door as mom nailed the door shut.

"Okay." She said, "Everyone outside."

The boys went down the stairway to the first floor. Suddenly the wall near the attic door shattered as a large claw came through and grabbed mom's arm. She screamed and hit it repeatedly with a hammer until it let go. Then she scrambled down the stairs tripping on the last step.

"Are you okay?" asked Jerry.

"Yes. Go! Go!"

The claw and a hairy arm was tearing apart the wall near the attic door.

Mom and the kids raced for the front door. She tried to open it. "It won't open." She then tried to open a window.

Something was coming down the stairs. Jerry grabbed a chair from the kitchen. "Get out of the way." He flung the chair smashing the window.

"Okay. Jimmy and Tommy first." said mom.

Jimmy and Tommy climbed out the window followed by Jerry. The mom climbed out with the flashlight. They ran as a claw reached out the broken window. When they reached the corner, they stopped and looked back. Nothing was following them.

"What was that?" asked Jerry.

"I'll tell you this much." said mom, "That's no ghost!"

She hugged Jimmy and Tommy and then hugged Jerry. "We need to decide what to do." She paused, "There's the diner ...." Her voice faded. The kids wouldn't sleep well tonight anyway. "Let's go."

They walked to the diner, entered and sat at a table.

After ordering food, mom asked to see the manager. Her brother, Fred, came walking out of the kitchen. "Hi Mary. How are you?'

"Not so good." said mom, "Fred, we need your help."

"I'll help if I can. What's the problem."

"You have some time?"

"Yeah."

"Sit down."

Fred pulled up a chair and sat at the table.

Mary told him what happened.

"Do you know where this creature came from?"

"I have no idea." said mom.

"Can you describe the claw?"

"All I was interested in was getting the boys to safety. I wasn't about to stop and take a good look at a claw coming out of the wall!"

"Hmmmmm." Fred scratched his chin, "How large was the claw?"

"About the size of a twelve inch pizza would be my best guess."

Fred was silent for a few minutes. "When have you been in that house now? A week maybe?"

"More or less."

"Could you describe what you found when you moved in?"

"What we found?"

"Yeah. I'm interested in the attic."

"Nothing." said mom,"Nothing unusual"

"Mom." Interrupted Jimmy.

"Hold on, honey. This is important."

"Mom, the cross."

'Jimmy, I said to -- "

"Let him speak." said Fred. "What cross?"

"Oh it's really nothing." said mom, " Seems the last owner left a crucifix up in the attic. But let's get back to that creature or whatever it is."

"That's exactly what we're doing." said Fred. "Where was the crucifix?"

"It was on top of a wooden box." said Jimmy.

"A wooden box?" asked Fred

"Yeah." Said Jerry, "I think the box was nailed to the floor."

"And one more thing." said Tommy, "There was this white stuff all over the floor."

"What stuff?" asked Fred.

"I don't know." said Tommy.

"What did it look like?" Asked Fred.

"Ummmmmm" Tommy was thinking.

"Salt," said Jerry, "Mom asked us to clean the attic. So we swept up the salt."

"Did you remove the crucifix from the box?" asked Fred.

"Yeah." said Tommy and Jimmy.

"Where is it now?" asked Fred.

"In our bedroom." said Tommy.

"Why are you so interested in a crucifix and some salt?" asked mom.

"Because it may reveal how your problem came about."

Silence. Fred kept scratching his chin. He looked like he was in deep thought.

"You know something we don't?" asked mom.

"Listen." said Fred. "We don't have much time."

"Much time for what?" asked mom.

" To get rid of that creature before more appear." answered Fred.

"Now you're scaring me. Before more what appears?" asked mom.

"I'll explain later." said Fred. He gave some directions to his crew and then turned to Mary and the kids. "Come with me."

They left the diner and got into Fred's sedan. He drove them to his house. He went inside and got a crucifix, a large container of salt and a gallon of water. From there he drove to the church and brought the salt, water and crucifix inside. A few moments later he came back to the car and drove to another home a block away from mom's house. A few moments later Fred and another man came out. Fred got into his sedan and the man got into his truck. The man followed Fred to mom's house.

They parked and everyone got out.

Fred turned to the kids. "Stay in the car."

Then he turned to mom. "Mary, this is Joe."

Mary and Joe greeted each other.

"Okay." said Fred, "Before we get started, let me explain what we are about to do. When the kids swept up the salt and removed the crucifix from the wooden box, they unwittingly freed the creature. The creature came up through a portal which you know as a wooden box."

"So you had the crucifix, the salt and the water blessed." said Mary.

"Exactly." said Fred. "We have to trap the creature near the box. Then comes the tough part. We have to force it back down the portal, cover the box and place the crucible on top of it." He paused. "Mary, this is an extremely dangerous task. I prefer you stay with the kids."

"Fred, thanks for the consideration. But I've never backed down from anything and I'm not about to back down now. I want my home back."

They each took a crucifix. Joe had two and gave one to Mary. Then Fred and Joe each took one box of salt and Mary took the holy water. They opened the front door. The house was quiet. Joe put some salt in the area by the door. Fred checked the kitchen and put salt across the kitchen entrance. Each of the three now carried the crucifix and a container of salt. They checked every closet, every room and every hallway. After each area was checked, the blessed Dead Sea salt was spread across the entrances. Finally they reached the attic door.

They opened the door and slowly climbed the stairs, spreading some salt on each step. Then they looked around the attic. There was no sign of the creature. They walked over to the wooden box and placed the cover back on it. Fred placed his crucifix on the cover and turned to face the stairway. Suddenly the creature appeared seemingly out of nowhere and swung it's arm hitting Fred in the head. Fred flew across the attic and landed on the floor unconscious. Joe and Mary held their crucifixes in front of themselves. A piece of wood flew across the room hitting Joe in the head. Joe fell to the floor unconscious. Mary was alone now. The creature stood before her. It was bent over because of the slanted roof. It looked somewhat like a human except for it's rugged leather skin, huge eyes and large claws.

Suddenly the creature hit Mary's hand with another piece of wood. The crucifix fell to the floor. The creature grabbed Mary by the arm and dragged her away from the crucifix as she screamed.

Outside, Tommy, Jimmy and Jerry were waiting inside the car.

"I don't like this." Said Jerry. "They have been in there for too long."

"What do we do?" asked Tommy.

"Maybe we should call the police." said Jimmy.

"The police can't help us. We need a priest." said Jerry.

"We do?"

"Yes. Lets go to the church." said Jerry.

Jerry got out of the car. "Come on! Let's go."

Jimmy and Tommy got out of the car. "Where?"

"There's a church about three blocks away." said Jerry.

They ran to the church and looked to the priest's residence.

They found it and knocked on the door. Father Benjamin opened the door.

The three kids spoke at once.

"Hold on. One at a time." He turned to Jerry, "What is this about?"

Jerry explained it to the priest. The only reason the priest believed the boys was because of the petrified look on their faces. Father Benjamin blessed himself and the boys. He excused himself saying he'd be right back. He came back with a blessed crucifix and holy water. "Let's go." They got into a car.

When they reached the house, the priest asked, "Did you say this creature was in the attic?"

"Yes." they answered.

"Okay." He said, "I hate to say this but I need your help." He pulled three more crucifixes out of his pocket and gave one to each of the boys.

"What are the chains for?" asked Jerry as he saw the priest pull four chains out from under the seat. Each chain was two feet long.

"If this creature outsmarted your mom and her companions, we need to be creative. Do they have holy water?" asked the priest.

"Yes." said Jerry.

"You have any water?"

"There are two buckets of water in the truck." said Jerry.

"Good." The priest got out of the car. Jerry opened the truck door which was unlocked. The priest blessed the water and then blessed the chains. "Okay." he said, "If you encounter the creature, dip the chain in the holy water and hit the creature with it."

"I'd rather throw the whole bucket of holy water on the creature." said Jerry.

"Don't miss." said the priest.

As they stepped on the front porch, the priest asked, "Has this creature ever come out of the attic?"

"Yes," said Tommy, "When it chased us out of the house."

They repeated the actions of their mom and companions, checking each room and closet on each floor. Finally they were at the bottom of the attic stairs.

They slowly climbed the stairs. The priest was the first one up the stairs. The kids followed. They found Fred and Joe unconscious on the floor.

"Where's mom?" Asked Tommy.

"Over there." The priest pointed to the corner. He cautiously walked over to checked her. "She was knocked out. I think she'll be okay."

The kids sat the buckets of water on the floor between them They dipped their chains in the water. The priest did likewise. They waited.

"What is it waiting for?" asked Jerry.

"For us to put down our guard." said the priest. "This is a smart creature."

"So what do we do?" asked Jimmy.

Before the priest could answer, the creature jumped out from behind the boxes and threw a wrench at him. The wrench hit the priest's arm and the priest dropped the cross. The creature reached for the priest as Jerry picked up the bucket of holy water. He dumped it on the creature. The creature screamed and dropped the priest. Jimmy and Tommy picked up the second bucket of holy water. As the creature lowered to the floor, they dumped the second bucket of holy water of the creature. Then they dumped the rest of the holy water, left by Mary, Fred and Joe, on the creature. The creature screamed constantly as it slowly melted down to nothing.

Father Benjamin blessed himself in thanks. Then he went to the aid of the three people on the floor. He took out his cell phone and dialed 911. He calmly stated that there were several injured people who apparently have head injuries and then gave the address.

Then he turned to the box and prayed a prayer of protection. Then he piled the remains of the salt on the box. Then he placed a crucifix on the box. He turned to the boys and said, "That should keep the portal shut."

The ambulance arrived. Father Benjamin, the boys, Joe, Fred and Mary were taken to the hospital. They were all fine. Father told Mary to paint a warning sign on the side of the wooden box in the attic.

Father smiled at the boys, "Keep the crucifixes, boys. Ya never know when you're gonna need them!"

Back at the house, things were not quiet. In the attic, sounds of the creatures within emanated from the wooden box. But the box remained sealed below the crucifix.

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Tommy and Jimmy were sound asleep. It was 2:00 AM. A thumping sound began in the attic. Tommy woke up, listened for a moment and then woke up Jimmy. The two boys sat up in their bed listening to the thumping.

"What's that?" asked Tommy.

"I don't know." Said Jimmy, "I never heard it before."

"Neither have I. Do you think we have an animal up there?"

"I don't think so. How would an animal get in?"

"Maybe Jerry is hiding one up there?"

"If mom finds it, she'll be angry."

"Let's go up and take a look."

"Okay. I'll get the flashlight." Jimmy left the room and returned a few minutes later with a flashlight in his hand.

Then the two boys headed for the attic door. The opened the door. It was very dark. Jimmy turned on the flashlight. Slowly they climbed the stairs. The thumping sound stopped. Once they were in the attic, Jimmy scanned area with a flashlight.

"You think we got a ghost?" Tommy asked.

"Maybe." Jimmy answered in a trembling voice

"We could talk to it if we had one of those boards."

"No way."

"Why not?"

"Mommy said we should never use one of those boards because it is a sin."

"What's a sin?"

"A sin is when you make God angry."

"Honest?"

"Yeah."

"So what should we do?"

'Maybe we should ask Mom."

They went down the stairs and knocked on mom's bedroom door. Their mom, Mary, opened the door.

"What's the matter?" asked mom.

"I'm hearing sounds in my room." said Tommy.

"Maybe you were just dreaming?" Asked mom.

"No I wasn't. Jimmy heard it too."

Mom looked at Jimmy. "Okay, boys. Let's go to your room."

They went to the boy's bedroom and jumped into bed.

"There's no sound now." She said. "Now I want both of you to go to sleep." She kissed each boy. "It's probably just an animal."

After mom left, their older brother, Jerry, came into the room. "Hey guys. What's happening?"

"We're hearing noises in the attic." said Tommy."

"You are?" asked Jerry.

"Yeah." Said Jimmy, "Maybe a ghost."

"Ya think we got a ghost? Why would a ghost be up stairs?"

Both boys shrugged their shoulders.

Mom suddenly appeared behind Jerry. "Everyone to bed. No more talk."

The thumping started again. Mom frowned, grabbed the flashlight and approached the attic door. She opened it and slowly went up the stairs.

Tommy, Jimmy and Jerry approached the attic door. The thumping was getting louder and louder. The floor vibrated with each thump. Suddenly a loud scream. They heard someone scrambling down the stairs.

Mom came out, slammed the door behind her and leaned against it. "Jerry, get some wood, nails and hammer from the garage." Her face was pale. Her hands were trembling.

"What happened?" asked Jerry.

"No time for questions. Go!"

Jerry ran. A few moments later he came back with the wood, hammer and nails. Something started banging on the door as mom nailed the door shut.

"Okay." She said, "Everyone outside."

The boys went down the stairway to the first floor. Suddenly the wall near the attic door shattered as a large claw came through and grabbed mom's arm. She screamed and hit it repeatedly with a hammer until it let go. Then she scrambled down the stairs tripping on the last step.

"Are you okay?" asked Jerry.

"Yes. Go! Go!"

The claw and a hairy arm was tearing apart the wall near the attic door.

Mom and the kids raced for the front door. She tried to open it. "It won't open." She then tried to open a window.

Something was coming down the stairs. Jerry grabbed a chair from the kitchen. "Get out of the way." He flung the chair smashing the window.

"Okay. Jimmy and Tommy first." said mom.

Jimmy and Tommy climbed out the window followed by Jerry. The mom climbed out with the flashlight. They ran as a claw reached out the broken window. When they reached the corner, they stopped and looked back. Nothing was following them.

"What was that?" asked Jerry.

"I'll tell you this much." said mom, "That's no ghost!"

She hugged Jimmy and Tommy and then hugged Jerry. "We need to decide what to do." She paused, "There's the diner ...." Her voice faded. The kids wouldn't sleep well tonight anyway. "Let's go."

They walked to the diner, entered and sat at a table.

After ordering food, mom asked to see the manager. Her brother, Fred, came walking out of the kitchen. "Hi Mary. How are you?'

"Not so good." said mom, "Fred, we need your help."

"I'll help if I can. What's the problem."

"You have some time?"

"Yeah."

"Sit down."

Fred pulled up a chair and sat at the table.

Mary told him what happened.

"Do you know where this creature came from?"

"I have no idea." said mom.

"Can you describe the claw?"

"All I was interested in was getting the boys to safety. I wasn't about to stop and take a good look at a claw coming out of the wall!"

"Hmmmmm." Fred scratched his chin, "How large was the claw?"

"About the size of a twelve inch pizza would be my best guess."

Fred was silent for a few minutes. "When have you been in that house now? A week maybe?"

"More or less."

"Could you describe what you found when you moved in?"

"What we found?"

"Yeah. I'm interested in the attic."

"Nothing." said mom,"Nothing unusual"

"Mom." Interrupted Jimmy.

"Hold on, honey. This is important."

"Mom, the cross."

'Jimmy, I said to -- "

"Let him speak." said Fred. "What cross?"

"Oh it's really nothing." said mom, " Seems the last owner left a crucifix up in the attic. But let's get back to that creature or whatever it is."

"That's exactly what we're doing." said Fred. "Where was the crucifix?"

"It was on top of a wooden box." said Jimmy.

"A wooden box?" asked Fred

"Yeah." Said Jerry, "I think the box was nailed to the floor."

"And one more thing." said Tommy, "There was this white stuff all over the floor."

"What stuff?" asked Fred.

"I don't know." said Tommy.

"What did it look like?" Asked Fred.

"Ummmmmm" Tommy was thinking.

"Salt," said Jerry, "Mom asked us to clean the attic. So we swept up the salt."

"Did you remove the crucifix from the box?" asked Fred.

"Yeah." said Tommy and Jimmy.

"Where is it now?" asked Fred.

"In our bedroom." said Tommy.

"Why are you so interested in a crucifix and some salt?" asked mom.

"Because it may reveal how your problem came about."

Silence. Fred kept scratching his chin. He looked like he was in deep thought.

"You know something we don't?" asked mom.

"Listen." said Fred. "We don't have much time."

"Much time for what?" asked mom.

" To get rid of that creature before more appear." answered Fred.

"Now you're scaring me. Before more what appears?" asked mom.

"I'll explain later." said Fred. He gave some directions to his crew and then turned to Mary and the kids. "Come with me."

They left the diner and got into Fred's sedan. He drove them to his house. He went inside and got a crucifix, a large container of salt and a gallon of water. From there he drove to the church and brought the salt, water and crucifix inside. A few moments later he came back to the car and drove to another home a block away from mom's house. A few moments later Fred and another man came out. Fred got into his sedan and the man got into his truck. The man followed Fred to mom's house.

They parked and everyone got out.

Fred turned to the kids. "Stay in the car."

Then he turned to mom. "Mary, this is Joe."

Mary and Joe greeted each other.

"Okay." said Fred, "Before we get started, let me explain what we are about to do. When the kids swept up the salt and removed the crucifix from the wooden box, they unwittingly freed the creature. The creature came up through a portal which you know as a wooden box."

"So you had the crucifix, the salt and the water blessed." said Mary.

"Exactly." said Fred. "We have to trap the creature near the box. Then comes the tough part. We have to force it back down the portal, cover the box and place the crucible on top of it." He paused. "Mary, this is an extremely dangerous task. I prefer you stay with the kids."

"Fred, thanks for the consideration. But I've never backed down from anything and I'm not about to back down now. I want my home back."

They each took a crucifix. Joe had two and gave one to Mary. Then Fred and Joe each took one box of salt and Mary took the holy water. They opened the front door. The house was quiet. Joe put some salt in the area by the door. Fred checked the kitchen and put salt across the kitchen entrance. Each of the three now carried the crucifix and a container of salt. They checked every closet, every room and every hallway. After each area was checked, the blessed Dead Sea salt was spread across the entrances. Finally they reached the attic door.

They opened the door and slowly climbed the stairs, spreading some salt on each step. Then they looked around the attic. There was no sign of the creature. They walked over to the wooden box and placed the cover back on it. Fred placed his crucifix on the cover and turned to face the stairway. Suddenly the creature appeared seemingly out of nowhere and swung it's arm hitting Fred in the head. Fred flew across the attic and landed on the floor unconscious. Joe and Mary held their crucifixes in front of themselves. A piece of wood flew across the room hitting Joe in the head. Joe fell to the floor unconscious. Mary was alone now. The creature stood before her. It was bent over because of the slanted roof. It looked somewhat like a human except for it's rugged leather skin, huge eyes and large claws.

Suddenly the creature hit Mary's hand with another piece of wood. The crucifix fell to the floor. The creature grabbed Mary by the arm and dragged her away from the crucifix as she screamed.

Outside, Tommy, Jimmy and Jerry were waiting inside the car.

"I don't like this." Said Jerry. "They have been in there for too long."

"What do we do?" asked Tommy.

"Maybe we should call the police." said Jimmy.

"The police can't help us. We need a priest." said Jerry.

"We do?"

"Yes. Lets go to the church." said Jerry.

Jerry got out of the car. "Come on! Let's go."

Jimmy and Tommy got out of the car. "Where?"

"There's a church about three blocks away." said Jerry.

They ran to the church and looked to the priest's residence.

They found it and knocked on the door. Father Benjamin opened the door.

The three kids spoke at once.

"Hold on. One at a time." He turned to Jerry, "What is this about?"

Jerry explained it to the priest. The only reason the priest believed the boys was because of the petrified look on their faces. Father Benjamin blessed himself and the boys. He excused himself saying he'd be right back. He came back with a blessed crucifix and holy water. "Let's go." They got into a car.

When they reached the house, the priest asked, "Did you say this creature was in the attic?"

"Yes." they answered.

"Okay." He said, "I hate to say this but I need your help." He pulled three more crucifixes out of his pocket and gave one to each of the boys.

"What are the chains for?" asked Jerry as he saw the priest pull four chains out from under the seat. Each chain was two feet long.

"If this creature outsmarted your mom and her companions, we need to be creative. Do they have holy water?" asked the priest.

"Yes." said Jerry.

"You have any water?"

"There are two buckets of water in the truck." said Jerry.

"Good." The priest got out of the car. Jerry opened the truck door which was unlocked. The priest blessed the water and then blessed the chains. "Okay." he said, "If you encounter the creature, dip the chain in the holy water and hit the creature with it."

"I'd rather throw the whole bucket of holy water on the creature." said Jerry.

"Don't miss." said the priest.

As they stepped on the front porch, the priest asked, "Has this creature ever come out of the attic?"

"Yes," said Tommy, "When it chased us out of the house."

They repeated the actions of their mom and companions, checking each room and closet on each floor. Finally they were at the bottom of the attic stairs.

They slowly climbed the stairs. The priest was the first one up the stairs. The kids followed. They found Fred and Joe unconscious on the floor.

"Where's mom?" Asked Tommy.

"Over there." The priest pointed to the corner. He cautiously walked over to checked her. "She was knocked out. I think she'll be okay."

The kids sat the buckets of water on the floor between them They dipped their chains in the water. The priest did likewise. They waited.

"What is it waiting for?" asked Jerry.

"For us to put down our guard." said the priest. "This is a smart creature."

"So what do we do?" asked Jimmy.

Before the priest could answer, the creature jumped out from behind the boxes and threw a wrench at him. The wrench hit the priest's arm and the priest dropped the cross. The creature reached for the priest as Jerry picked up the bucket of holy water. He dumped it on the creature. The creature screamed and dropped the priest. Jimmy and Tommy picked up the second bucket of holy water. As the creature lowered to the floor, they dumped the second bucket of holy water of the creature. Then they dumped the rest of the holy water, left by Mary, Fred and Joe, on the creature. The creature screamed constantly as it slowly melted down to nothing.

Father Benjamin blessed himself in thanks. Then he went to the aid of the three people on the floor. He took out his cell phone and dialed 911. He calmly stated that there were several injured people who apparently have head injuries and then gave the address.

Then he turned to the box and prayed a prayer of protection. Then he piled the remains of the salt on the box. He turned to the boys and said, "That should keep the portal shut."

The ambulance arrived. Father Benjamin, the boys, Joe, Fred and Mary were taken to the hospital. They were all fine. Father told Mary to paint a warning sign on the side of the wooden box in the attic.

Father smiled at the boys, "Keep the crucifixes, boys. Ya never know when you're gonna need them!"

Back at the house, things were not quiet. In the attic, sounds of the creatures within emanated the wooden box. But it remained sealed below the crucifix.