Sadie's Nightmare

Chapter Twenty-Seven: Weakness

Rosemary had finished sewing up the blanket. It was time to leave.

Steven opened the door, just enough to look out and check if the coast was clear.

The monsters were still not approaching. They seemed to be fussing and constantly moving about. Pacing in the hallway. As if they were waiting. As if they were... stuck.

All but the one that had seen him before he'd shut the door. It was staring at him through the railing. Its intimidating eyes followed his every movement.

Then Steven had a thought, or perhaps it was a realization. The monsters were not approaching the light shining out of Sadie's bedroom. They'd stopped at the line of light on the carpet.

He turned around excitedly to talk to Rosemary. "You know these things, right?" He asked.

Rosemary was startled by his sudden enthusiasm and didn't respond.

"You must know if they have a weakness?" Steven continued. He waited for her to reply and he could see that she was trying to remember. "Is it light?"

"What?" Asked Rosemary.

"Does light hurt them?"

She met his gaze and they shared a look. His questions had sparked something.

"I think light is only the first step." Rosemary started. "Does it hurt them? Yes. Will it kill them? No. Not unless there is a lot of it. But to even be able to penetrate their skin, it must first be weakened by light." Then her brow twisted as she examined his face. "How did you know?" She asked him.

"They've stopped at the stairs. Like they can't get past the light coming out of Sadie's room" He replied. "So, if we're gonna leave. We'd better go now."

Steven opened the door and stepped out. He held the door open for Sadie and Rosemary to exit.

The monsters had seen them. They started whooping and screeching. Partly because they were excited and partly because they were frustrated. Their meal was escaping.

The three of them were half way to the front door, before Sadie cried out, "Luna! We forgot Luna."

"I'll go get her." Steven groaned.

Rosemary grabbed his arm, stopping him. "I will do it."

Steven didn't argue, he could tell by the look Rosemary gave him, that there would be no reasoning with her.

She handed the magic blanket to Sadie and she said, "No matter what. You mustn't be afraid." Then she wasted no time, turning on her heel and heading back to the laundry.

Steven bent down to speak to Sadie. "Wait here."

She shook her head and went to step closer to him.

"I'm just going to grab the flashlight." He said and placed a hand on her shoulder. "I will be back in less than twenty seconds. You can even count to make sure."

She nodded, and Steven hurried to the kitchen. The torch he was after was in one of the drawers.

Sadie started to count, "One...

Two...

Three...

Four...

Five...