Three Nights

Third night

    After two murders in two days, the police were hesitant about letting Hunter come home with me, and I was too. But he threw a top-notch tantrum when they even suggested he stay with someone else for a little while. It was around noon when they allowed us to leave, no evidence to pin any of the murders on me. In the car, Hunter went back to being radio silent, not that I felt like talking either.

 I was told by the police to stay in the town until the investigation ended. They tapped off the motel room as they did with the house. With Hunter glued to my side, we walked up to the front desk for a new room. The owners almost kicked us out but they didn't want a little boy sleeping out in the dirt for the night.

   When we stepped into the new room I let my mind go blank while I turned the Tv on some wacky kids show and poured myself a little whiskey. The second the glass touched the table It hit all at once. Not even sparing a glance back at my son I rushed to the bathroom, emptying my stomach in the toilet. My face turned burning hot, wet tears running down my cheeks as I sobbed, choking on more tears. Realization hit like a bus going downhill at full speed, my child- my little girl was dead. 

   The mother of my children, love of my life, my wife was dead, they were both dead while I could have stopped it. I should have fought to move just a single toe, I should have screamed until no more breath was left. Something to help them, but that didn't happen. What did happen is that I laid there helpless witnessing the deaths of my family. And tonight they're going to take the rest of them. 

  Hundreds of possibilities pass by my eyes, but one made the most sense. Stay up all night, protect Hunter, leave him with the police in the morning. Just the thought sent a wave of grief crashes into my body, I can't leave him. I don't want to leave him, but in order to keep him safe, I have to survive the third night, then leave and take the curse with me. After a few hours to calm down I staggering out the bathroom, glancing towards the clock, 9:30 pm. 

   Shifting my view to Hunter, he was sitting in front of the television sucked into the strange colors and animation. A content sigh escaped from me, giving him one last full look. Tears threatened to spill out once more, so I grabbed my whiskey taking a few sips thinking of what to give him for dinner. After about a minute of searching for restaurants on my phone, the room started to move. 

   Everything started to get blurry, the room started to spin faster throwing off my balance and I fell into darkness. I stayed floating in a room of pure black for what I believed was about an hour. My heart started pounding so hard I thought it would pound out my chest. I don't even remember falling asleep, I wasn't even tired so what am I doing here? In the dark my body was weightless, but my mind was heavy with thoughts of waking up to dead Hunter.

  All anxious thoughts halted when a piercing white light blinded me. Standing in the fading light stood Sophia and Amelia, they looked at me smiling. Sophia walked up to me getting close to my face, her mother right beside her. She reached up lying her hand on my cheek, she looked towards Amelia who did the same. I didn't notice I started crying until their cold hands wiped away the tears.

    My daughter looked deep in my eyes using the same whispery voice from before " I tried to warn you, Daddy." More tears wiped away, their hands left my face before I could protest. Amelia put her hand to her lips saying only " Hunter," before I woke up back in an all too familiar way. But this time I was motionless on the floor lying face down, half-drunken whiskey lying next to my face. Hunter was nowhere in sight, every molecule in my body fought to move, to scream to something. I saw movement out the corner of my eye, and I fought harder.

   All my effort stopped when Hunter sat down cross-legged in front of me. I tried to yell out a warning, but his face stayed emotionless while he placed a small pill bottle in front of me. Rohypnol, "You were going to leave me, so he said I could go with him. I just had to put this in your happy juice," he said. Almost all emotion drained out of me, confusion the only left, " We gave you your wish, but you didn't like it." tears trickled out of his eyes but he stayed stoneface.

   "But he said you would like this one," He wiped his eyes with his hand, giving me a longing look before walking over towards the door. Unheard screams range out through my head, anger, confusion, and grief creating a whirlwind of emotion through my paralyzed body. A tall black shadow appeared where Hunter had sat. It turned its blank face towards my son, the thing was speaking to him but its words were unintelligible. 

   Hunter smiled, shaking his head eagerly like he understood what it was saying, " Bye daddy!" The black figure reached out towards me, red hot hands gripping my chest digging in until it ripped out my heart. My body was on fire, and feeling nothing but red hot fire. " Third of Three," someone spoke, I couldn't tell who. They were the last words I would ever hear until the fire is put out and everything is black once again.