When He Calls (Moons of Nibiru - Book #1)

chpt - 18: when you think you're alone

IN THE BLINK OF AN EYE the monster was gone, and Olivia was alone again.

"Okay." she said to herself, slowly moving back. It was when Doubleday disappeared right before her eyes, and she sensed him all around her, that Olivia came to the realization that, "None of this is real."

A theory came to mind, one that required a dangerous test. Olivia stopped moving back and remained in the same spot. She inhaled, her breath shakily entering her lungs. Doubleday's presence was creeping up on her, pretty soon it would cling to her skin and she'd be overwhelmed by him; completely devoured.

Olivia closed her eyes and repeated the words out loud, "This is not real. None of this is real."

The hairs on her arms rose to the feeling of dread surrounding her, closing in like a predator lurking in the grass.

She couldn't falter. There was no room for error. One mistake and she was sure she'd be killed. As quickly as she could Olivia erased the thought of dying, because she needed to focus.

"This is not real. None of this is real."

"Are you sure about that?" The words were carried by a warm breath directly into her ears. Gloved fingers hovered above Olivia's shoulder, ready to land.

Olivia ignored the Mickey-Mouse-with-a-cold voice and readjusted her attention on the nine words she needed her mind and body to believe. The second phase of the test was her right hand reaching out. "This is not real. None of this is real."

The gloved fingers were teasingly lowering down on Olivia's shoulder, the ends of the fingertips slowly ripping as black claws pushed through the fabric.

Olivia's hand reached out, wide open. She didn't know what she was about to grab hold of, but she was sure it wouldn't be a shelf with unnamed books.

The claws broke through the fabric, touched down on Olivia's shirt and immediately sank into the soft skin underneath.

Her hand touched cold brick. Her palm relaxed against the cold wall and her eyes shot open. No longer was she in a room of archived books. Instead, Olivia was in a small broom closet with three buckets, a worn-out broom and a broken mop.

Tears sprung on her eyes. She was safe. Her theory had been proven correct. And thank God for that.

Her eyes fell on a patch of neatly flattened dirt near the right corner of the broom closet. Her knees met the floor almost immediately afterwards and her fingernails dug into the dirt.

Olivia shovelled the dark-brown dirt aside and continued her excavation. Then her fingernails struck leather.

Her breath stuttered as it exhaled from her nostrils. With both hands, Olivia picked up the book. Small clumps of dirt fell back into the hole it was buried in.

"Holy shit." Olivia breathed when she feasted upon the item they nearly sacrificed their lives for.

There wasn't time to marvel at its appearance. Olivia's disbelief in the matter made her forget to bring a backpack, so she carried the book close to her chest when she went for the door.

She pushed the door, expecting the toys to weigh it down. To her surprise the door opened without a struggle.

"Kendrick?" she asked, cautiously peering into the basement. There was no ocean of toys and most definitely no demonic marionette puppets. "Noah?"

Her eyes met the light of the only active flashlight first. She saw the two boys second, Both Noah and Kendrick were on the dirty floor, clearly unconscious.