Haunted
by Leslie Johnson
Five year old Lisa crawled into her bed, hugging a soft teddy bear to her chest as her mother pulled the cover up tight to her chin. “Make sure Buttercup and Cuddles are tucked in too, Momma.” She implored. Her mother reached behind the girl and tucked the other two stuffed teddies under the covers. Lisa couldn’t bear the thought of either of them being alone and scared - especially in this new house. Everything here was strange and unsettling and her brother told her the house was haunted.
Her mother stepped to the door and turned off the light. Lisa looked at her mother’s silhouette and wished she had the courage to ask her to stay. But she knew she was meant to be a big girl - she was supposed to be strong. So she stuffed her fear deeper as she hugged Fuzzy Wuzzy closer.
The door slowly closed and the room dropped into darkness. For a few minutes, Lisa panted in fear. She reached behind her and pulled Buttercup and Cuddles under the covers in front of her - all three fluffy friends squished into her tight embrace. Comforted by their presence she allowed sleep to catch up to her and she drifted off.
~ ~ ~
The sun felt warm on her face as Lisa rode her horse toward the barn. She loved Paddy, her big bay gelding. Leaning forward, she lay down across his neck, dropping her arms down to hug him. Sitting up, she encouraged her horse to step into the barn. She knew she was supposed to lead him in, but she preferred using the manger to dismount since the ground was a long way down.
In the center of the barn, Paddy stood for a moment before the floor opened up beneath them. Hurdling downward, they crashed through one floor, then another and another. Too many to count. When they finally stopped falling, they were in a dark pit - seemingly unscathed. Though it was too dark to see where they were she knew there was no way out.
~ ~ ~
With a shudder and a muffled scream, Lisa awoke. It was the fourth time she’d had that dream. Laying there, her heart pounding in her ears, she slowly opened her eyes. The hair on her arms stood on end as she saw an orange glow near the foot of her bed. When she sat up she knocked Buttercup toward the light. She noticed that her bed and the other one in the room were positioned end to end in the corner. The beds and the wall formed a square where the light was coming from.
Her heart skittered in her chest. She didn’t know what was happening, but everything in her was screaming at her to run. Buttercup lay exposed near the foot of the bed - she needed to save him. Rising to her knees she reached out to grab him just as a shadowy black arm slithered out from the orange glow and snatched the teddy bear, dragging him out of sight.
A little scream escaped her lips. “Buttercup!” Scrambling to the edge of the bed, she looked down into a pit. It seemed to go on as far as her eyes could see. There in the bottom, stood a horse and rider. The horse edged nervously in a circle - the little girl clinging to his neck and sobbing quietly. She didn’t know how - but she knew she was seeing herself in her dream.
She forgot about her lost teddy bear and the dark arm that had snatched him off her bed. She stared at her lost self as she slipped her feet over the edge. Suddenly, two arms reached out and grabbed her ankles. She screamed and kicked but it was no use. Those cold hands held fast.
Still shrieking, she twisted onto her belly and grabbed hold of the covers trying to pull herself toward to top of the bed. The blankets proved useless as they gave way. The shadowy arms pulled her off the bed, the covers falling down on top of her.
Landing hard on the floor, Lisa started to cry. Moments later, her mother was there, hauling her back onto the bed and yanking the covers off the floor. Buttercup lay where he’d fallen near the foot of the bed and Lisa hugged him close to her chest when her mother rescued him. It was a dream - it was all a dream, Lisa told herself as she curled her tiny body around her three fluffy friends. Her mother tucked the covers tight around her before stroking Lisa's soft hair off her forehead. Neither noticed the long shadowy fingers slithering out of sight under the bed.
