Don't Open the Door...Chapter 2

The chill in the air was far cooler than what it should have been in mid-September. Derek knew it was not about the time of year nor was it the darkness that had descended on them so quickly. He wrapped his arms around himself and rubbed his shoulders, trying to ward off some of the coldness that he felt. It did little good. He looked at Sarina as she moved closer to him.

"It is here, Derek. We did not beat the clock once again. Now, we will have to face the fear again and pray that we survive another night."

"Sarina, the only way for us to fight this thing, to actually win the battle, is to make me remember everything. We know what we saw that day and yet you, you were not effected in the same way I was. Why?"

"I did not touch it like you did, Derek. I asked you not to. I pleaded with you that day to just slam it shut and walk away. You did neither and so now, here we are, 20 years later, trying to close that door you left open."

Derek held on to Sarina tight. He could feel her trembling as he kissed her and silently wished it would all go away. A wish he knew would not ever come true without help.

"Take me back again, Love. Make me remember as only you can. Do it before it comes again."

Sarina placed her hands on Derek's face. She kissed him slowly and watched him close his eyes. She knew he was ready to go back again.

"The night was nearly on us. We played hide and go seek with the kids from the neighboring farm. Remember that Derek?" He nodded his head in affirmation of the past. "We needed a place to hide, somewhere that no one would find us. You saw the shed and ran towards it."

Suddenly, Derek was there, standing in front of the old shed, looking at the door. He smiled back at Sarina, such a pretty ten year old girl and so full of life. He could see the fear in her eyes as he pulled her nearer to the shed.

"Grandma said it was private and very dangerous for us. Let's find some place else to hide."

"No, no, it will be alright. I am sure that the warning is just to keep us from snooping. We won't stay inside any longer than we need to. As soon as we can get to base, we will run as fast as we can."

"No Derek, we are not allowed to go inside."

"Sh-h-h-h-h-h, It is o.k., I promise you."

Derek remembered taking the door handle in his hand. He had turned the handle slowly, pushing the door open. His eyes became fixated on what he saw when the door was opened. He could hear himself screaming loudly. He could feel the cold from inside the shed, pouring out and chilling his body. "It" moved with lightening speed. The swipe was so quick, Derek barely felt it. He could hear Sarina screaming for him to close the door. He reached up and touched his cheek. Staring into his palm, the blood looking more like thick chocolate pudding than blood. There was enough to cover his entire hand.

"Please, please Derek, close the door! There is something evil inside the shed! Close it before it kills us!"

"I want to know what it is, Sarina! I will close the door as soon as I get a look at it. It is just an animal of some sort. Don't know why Grammie is keep..."

Derek's words were cut short by the sound he heard. The low growl was becoming a voice. Derek and Sarina looked at one another as the voice grew louder in the darkness. "I can smell you, child. Like a Rose or a honey-suckle, only sweeter." The voice was unlike any the two had ever heard before. It resonated through out their heads and made Sarina so frightened she had wet herself. "Step aside Boy and let me nearer the girl! I need you, boy, simply to open the door wider! Do it, Now!!!"

"What are you??? Why did Grammie lock you up in here?" Derek could hear what ever was inside the shed inhale long and deep. A sound came from the darkness that was more of pleasure than anger.

"Just a little wider and you will know what I am. Come now, Derek... do not make me hurt you more."

Just as Derek moved to pull the door open more, Sarina screamed behind him. The scream was a mix of pain and total fear. It reminded Derek of the sound his rabbit made when an owl had swooped down from a tree one evening and snatched it from the ground. Derek watched as the owl carried the rabbit to a tree branch and began to eat it before the rabbit was even dead. The sound was so horrible and now, the same sound was being made by the girl he loved.

"I can see what it is, Derek! Please listen to me, I am begging you! Don't open the door!!!!!!!"

In the dark of the room where Derek and Sarina stood, the windows began to shake. Derek could feel himself being pulled back in to the present, the smell of cigarette smoke thick in the air. Sarina was staring at him. She touched the dried blood on his face. Using her own tears, she washed away what blood she could from his cheek.

"Please tell me you did not open the door again. Tell me you closed it for good this time, Derek."

"He did not, child," was the answer she received, but it was not Derek that answered her. "He left it open again and though the night will end soon, I will be back. To bad Derek didn't see what you saw that day. Perhaps he would have closed the door for good. You really should tell him of us or maybe, I should tell him just before he dies."

Sarina tried to breath in a breath of air but her heart was pounding so hard, she could barely manage to keep herself from passing out. She knew if she did that Derek would be gone forever.

"Why can't you leave us alone?!?!? Haven't we suffered long enough? Derek never even saw you. He is no threat to your existence. Only I know what you really are."

"He is nothing more than a snack to me, Sarina. You are how-ever, my ticket to freedom." The voice grew louder and the room began to shake. I will have you both soon. Ah-h-h-h-h-h, how deliciously wonderful that will be. M-m-m-m-m-m-m-m..."

Sarina felt her clothing become wet. The fear was more than she could control for the second time in her life. She stood in front of Derek... and cried.