La Llorona- The Curse of the Valley

12

Glenn heard the scream, it stirred him out of his slumber. He heard a noise and it woke him but he didn't know what woke him. He thought Matt might be having another dream so he lay quietly listening. He didn't hear any more screaming but there was another sound that he wasn't sure he was hearing correctly. "Is that the bathtub?" he asked aloud to himself. He knew the sound but it being the middle of the night, he wasn't expecting to hear it. He climbed out of bed to investigate. He knocked on the closed door but when there was no answer he opened it to see Matt laying face down in the bathtub. He dove in after him slipping on the wet floor. "Matt! Matt! What are you doing? Are you OK?" There was an ache in his heart as he started CPR. There was an overall feeling of remorse, fear, anxiety all rolled in a ball that formed in the pit of his stomach as he pressed down on his sternum. Finally, Matt coughed and water rolled out of the side of his mouth but he still hadn't gained consciousness. He was breathing and Glenn couldn't hear any fluid in his lungs.

"Huh?" Matt started opening his eyes and saw his father had a hold of him and not the lady. "Dad! God! Dad!" Matt was trying to talk but all he could say was the same word over and over. He was shaking. He looked around the bathroom and saw the water on and overflowing out of the bathtub. He started to see what it looked like to his dad. "Dad, it was the woman she was in here. I woke up and I went to the bathroom and I saw JP, he went to talk and water came out of his mouth and then the lady. She is after me Dad! She had me the other night and Jack made her let go! Now, she wants me back. Jack had a dream about her last night too." Glenn was listening but he didn't know what to believe or what to think. He shuddered to think if he hadn't heard Matt scream. He would have found him dead in the tub. He knew something was wrong with his son and he didn't know how to fix it. He just hugged him and held his trembling, wet body in his arms. He looked at his watch and it was 3:30 AM.

**********

Jordan sat straight up and started leaning forward to get a better look. It looked like a face between knees. He started to climb out of bed. He walked slowly, carefully towards the closet. "Hello?" As he crossed his room into the hallway he noticed wet footprints on the floor. He looked back and the darkened silhouette was lightened up by the tv. "JP? Is that you?" Jordan was confused. He knew he watched JP go under the water. Being in the closet didn't make sense. "Dude, why are you in my Mom's closet?" As he approached he saw JP was in his underwear, soaking wet and terrified. JP was trying to get away from Jordan by scooching back into the closet but he couldn't go back any further. Jordan started to smile "Dude? Why are you scared? You're alive!" The wet footprints and him in his underwear hiding in the closet made sense on one level but they were absolutely baffling on another. Either way he was happy he was there. As he crossed the threshold, JP sat up on his knees, stood, and ran to the darkness in his mother's bathroom. The sound of the shower curtain opening was clear, then the water started to run from the faucet. Confused, Jordan walked towards the bathroom. The light of the TV flickering behind him was the only light that he had. As Jordan entered the bathroom he saw the silhouette of JP and reached for him. "You alright? If you wake my Mom up, she's gonna be pissed." That is when Jordan saw him clearly. His eyes were rolled into the back of his head and his mouth was open, stuck in a perpetual scream. His hair and his upper body were dripping wet.

"Help me!" JP said without moving his lips and reached out for help. Jordan scrambled towards him and JP fell further back into the darkness of the tub. The light from the tv flashed off and the room settled into darkness. Jordan was on all fours reaching to grab JP. He felt his arms and started to pull. He felt fabric on his palm. It registered, but he was moving too fast to think. When the light from the tv flashed back on Jordan froze. He couldn't speak. His heart felt like it was going to fly out of his mouth.

"Mi hijo" Jordan was face to face with the woman from the Valley. Her earthen, tinted breath hit him in the face and he thought he was going to puke. "Ven conmigo, mi hijo" She wanted him to come with her. Her eye sockets were empty while blood dripped down on her leathery, pale blue skin. She smiled an evil smile and her tongue fell out of her lips. "Te protegeré, hija mía, ven conmigo y vivirás para siempre. Quédate, y sufrirás." Jordan pulled back but she was too strong she was pulling him into the tub.