Lights Out

Storm Warning

It was the biggest storm that hit her city in the last 50 years. Amy's mother was a young kid when it hit and she still remembers the strength of the wind and the rain stinging her eyes. And now, Amy is living through it with her daughter.

"Amy, did you board up your windows? It may not keep the water out if it gets really bad but it will help." Her mother was driving home the last nails in the door frame, the sound feeling oddly like closing a coffin. Amy's daughter wriggled in her arms, wanting to be put down.

"I did, I did the kitchen windows, too. What about taking down all the china and everything small?"

"I brought everything of sentimental value into the storm cellar. If the rest of the stuff breaks, it breaks. We can always get more." Her mother took Lilah from Amy's aching arms, bouncing her to break up the monotony. Amy took the hammer and nail bucket, bringing it to the barn.

The wind began to pick up as Amy boarded up the barn windows and made sure all the horses were in their stalls. Her pony Sugar neighed from her mound of sawdust, angrily shaking her head at being brought inside. Amy patted her haunches, scratching in a way that always soothed Sugar.

"It's okay, girl. You're safe in here. We will go for a ride as soon as it's better outside." Amy kissed the pony's forehead, slipped her a sugar cube from the stash beside her grain bucket, and ran back to the house. The rain was coming down now, pelting Amy like millions of needles pricking her exposed skin.

She opened the cellar doors, making sure she called down to see if her mom was down there, and then latched the doors tight above her head. It was the safest place for them to be but Amy always got the creeps being down here. She didn't know why it scared her so much but she felt watched, like something was waiting to grab her and drag her down the steps. One time, she fell down the last few and swore she felt hands at her lower back. That was when she was pregnant with Lilah, and while neither got hurt from the incident, the stress of the situation caused early labor. Seventeen and pregnant was enough stress but Amy knew something had pushed her. She didn't think it had meant to harm her but it still managed to.

Amy look Lilah from her mother, feeling her unease grow by the second. Lilah quieted, turning her cherubic face to the ceiling and listening to the rain beat down on their little house. Her mom set up their table and chairs, cranking an old boombox to drown out the sounds of the storm. Amy took the pack of playing cards from her back pocket and spread them out for Lilah to play with while she helped her mom. The cellar was sturdy, built long before they moved in, but it still had a dirt floor and cobwebs hung every few inches.

"They upgraded this storm this morning, Cat Two. I don't know if the barn will make it...I hope it does."

"Should we have let the horses out? I thought it was only a Cat One so I locked it up." Fear reared its ugly head, Amy's heart exploding like a race horse out of the gate. Sugar was in the barn; if the storm was really going to be that bad, she would die. They all would.

"No, let's wait and see. It's getting worse out there and I don't need one of us getting hurt when we can't get to a hospital. Everything will be fine." The radio crackled as her mom spoke, a news anchor coming on saying trees were down and state wide power outages were happening all over. Pile ups were happening on the highways because of visibility and trees laying in the road. Amy sent a silent prayer that everyone survived.

"Hi, baby." Lilah's voice echoed in the small space, her small body wobbling as she stood and pointed into a dark corner. Amy's hair rose on her arms and the feeling of someone lurking over her shoulder came back. She stared into the corner Lilah was pointing to and saw the shadows move, barely but enough. It swirled like a cloud of smoke, coming closer to her baby.

Amy shot forward and grabbed Lilah as she was reaching for the thing. An angry scream pierced her ear drums and she felt her mother's arms wrap around Amy and pull her away. The three tumbled over each other, Amy's grip on her daughter coming loose and Lilah rolled away. The shadows lunged for the child, coming from every direction while the rain howled outside their safe haven. Lilah cried as she was engulfed by black until Amy grabbed her once again. She felt her stomach roil as her skin touched the cold blackness and felt her daughter come unstuck like Velcro ripping.

Amy took shelter in her mother's arms, the shadows continuing to stalk around them. She felt like when she was ten and her parents brought her to the zoo. There was a lion pride behind the glass and Amy had turned her back to her parents to watch the cats, and saw the male was eyeing her while slowly coming up to the glass. It pounced and Amy squealed with laughter as it hit the glass, but those seconds before were the epitome of fear and terror. She had felt like prey, and now she felt that way again.

A tree crashed down close by and then the lights flickered, the radio crackled and stuttered, and then everything was dark and silent. Amy couldn't see anything but Lilah's bright blonde hair under her chin. Her mother pulled both closer to her chest but it was too late for comfort; Amy couldn't see that the shadows were almost on them but she could feel it. The presence she felt all those times before venturing into the cellar came back with a vengeance and there was nothing for her to do. She couldn't see it to begin with, but it just seemed more perilous now that they didn't have light or sound to guide them.

Her mother picked up Amy and scuttled back into a corner. Cold air swept over them and made Lilah start up fresh with whimpers, but feeling the hard wood behind their backs gave them a sense of relief. They couldn't be snuck up on. But as Lilah became more antsy to walk or play, Amy had a harder time hanging onto her. Amy's mother tried to take Lilah but as she was passed off, she wriggled her body just enough to slide out of reach. She quickly crawled to the middle of the room and Amy couldn't see her anymore. 

"Lilah! Stay where you are." Amy left the comfort of her mom's embrace, aiming where she last saw Lilah.

"Amy, come back. You don't know where you're going." Her mother reached to yank her back, but something beat her to it.

Amy was pushed so forcefully she flew back to her mother, bowling her over until they slammed into the wall. Amy groaned while her mother was knocked unconscious, a cut over her eyebrow bleeding steadily. Amy rolled to find Lilah, the only thoughts in her head were for her baby, and saw a practically see-through figure crouched by her child. It curled a gnarly finger under Lilah's chin, turning her face. Lilah giggled and Amy's skin crawled.

The figure turned its face to Amy but it wasn't a face, it was nothing. Smooth and blank as a chalkboard with just as much emotion. But it frightened Amy to an extent she had never felt. She moved along the floor until she was only an arm's length from her daughter. She snagged the baby's jumper and tried to pull her, but Lilah wouldn't budge. It was like she had weights in her diaper gluing her to the floor. 

"Give me my daughter. Give me back my child! You can't have her." Amy tugged again, her ears tuning into the wailing of the wind and ghosts around her but her eyes focused on Lilah. She needed to save her daughter.

The creature, ghost, whatever it was wailed so loud it felt like Amy's whole body was vibrating. And then it was all gone. Lilah was gone and so was the creature, and outside Amy heard gentle patters of rain on the roof. Her baby was no more and had vanished just like the storm. And it hit her. That creature was what she felt every time she had come down here; it had tried to kill Lilah, not Amy. It had wanted Lilah all along for whatever reason. And it finally had her.

Amy screamed.