Shadows

Shadows

"Upon the wicked He will rain fire", thundered the pastor from the pulpit. "Fire and brimstone and burning wind will be the portion of their cup!"

David tried to surreptitiously loosen his necktie to get some relief in the stifling church. His four-year-old twin brothers, Luke and Mark, weren't helping matters with their fidgeting. David always had to sit between them to keep them from fighting, and their constant brushing against him was annoying. He wanted to give them both a good shove but knew father would never approve. He glanced at the stern-faced man at the end of the pew, and out of the corner of his eye saw the shadow men.

They were dark, vaguely human forms that he never seemed able to see when he looked straight at them. There were two of them, swooping around the pastor as he shouted his condemnations. David couldn't remember when he'd started seeing them, but he would catch glimpses of them from time to time. He was pretty sure nobody else could see them. At the end of the last school year in the fourth grade he'd casually mentioned them to his friend Josh, who had looked at him like he was nuts. He'd quickly covered it up by saying it was something he'd seen on TV.

Their six-month-old sister Mary started crying, like she always did, and David looked over towards his mother, who was sitting in the pew and staring straight ahead, seemingly unaware. She had been doing that a lot lately, just staring into the distance without seeming to notice anything else. It was starting to make David uneasy.

The baby gave a louder scream, and his mother flinched, then turned and picked her up out of her carrier. As David turned back towards the front, he stiffened. A shadow man was hovering over his mother.

After church he went to summer bible school with the other kids. Their teacher was Miss Sarah, a cheerful blonde high school girl with a bright smile, and David's sometimes babysitter. David liked her. There were never any shadows around her.

They got home shortly before noon, and David was finally able to get out of his suit and into jeans and a t-shirt. As he left his room, he almost ran into his father, who was exiting his parents' room and closing the door behind him. Before he did, David glimpsed his mother lying on the bed.

"Father, is mother okay?"

His father hesitated, then gave a slight smile. "She'll be fine, son. She's just a little tired. Remember, the Lord never gives us more than we can handle. Now you go on and play."

David nodded and headed down the stairs, trying to ignore the shadows in the hallway.

He went into the living room and flopped down on the couch, pulling out his phone to play some games. He hadn't gotten much playing time in when his brothers ran in and pounced on him.

"Come on David, play wif' us!"

"Can't you guys just do the twin thing and play with each other?" David asked as he shoved Mark off his chest.

"No, we want you too!"

David sighed. He loved his brothers, but there were times...

Luckily, they were easily distracted. After a couple games of hide and seek (in which he had to resist the strong temptation to NOT look for them), he turned on the TV and was able to get them to watch their favorite cartoon, while he went back to his games. That was one nice thing about Sundays. After church, they were pretty much allowed to do what they wanted. David didn't have to vacuum the living room or sweep the kitchen floor like most days. Father said Sunday was a day of rest, so rest he would.

After completing a few levels, he went into the kitchen for a glass of water and was surprised to see his mother standing at the sink facing the window. He hadn't seen her come down. As he went around her to get a glass, he noticed she was holding a butcher knife. She was just staring at it as she held it over her left wrist, with no expression on her face.

"Mother, are you okay?"

She turned towards him. The point of the knife was aimed right at his throat. Her vacant eyes stared over his head. David had the feeling she didn't see him at all.

"Mother," he said again, taking a couple steps back. "What's going on? Are you alright?"

She looked down at the knife, then put it back in the drawer.

"Yes, fine," she said, and turned around to go back up the steps. From the corner of his eye, David saw a shadow man floating in the air. It turned towards him and seemed to be looking right at him. He forgot to breathe. Then it floated after his mother.

David forgot about the water. He went to find his father.

He found him in the workshop in the back yard, sanding a table. His father didn't like them coming into his shop, supposedly because of all the sharp tools, but David had a feeling he just didn't want them to break anything. He knocked at the door.

"Yes, David," his father said, looking up and taking off his safety glasses.

"I think something's wrong with mother," David said. He went on to relate the incident in the kitchen. His father looked down a moment, then gave a heavy sigh.

"I understand your concern, son, but I'm sure she'll be fine. You know she was depressed after Mary was born, and her being colicky doesn't help. The Lord will give her the strength to overcome this tribulation."

David nodded and headed back into the house. He hoped his father was right.

That night at dinner, they all got a shock. Father was cooking. Father never cooked, and on Sunday their mother always made roast beef. Yet there was their father at the stove, making macaroni and cheese. David looked at the twins, who seemed equally confused.

"Where's mother?" he asked.

"Your mother's still not feeling well," his father said. "Go ahead and sit down. Dinner will be ready soon."

The boys had settled in at the table and the baby was in her highchair when their mother suddenly appeared in the doorway. She looked around without seeming to see them, then walked over to the stove.

"Are you feeling okay?" their father asked.

"Yes, I'm fine. Go ahead and sit down."

Their father said something else that was too low for them to hear. David thought he heard the word "medication".

"I said I'm fine!" their mother snapped, then looked down.

"Please just sit," she said in a calmer tone. "I'll serve the meal."

Their father sat at the table, and their mother began spooning the macaroni onto their plates. As she got to David, the baby screamed suddenly and their mother dropped the pan, spilling macaroni all over the floor. She stood stunned for a moment, then ran sobbing from the room. Shadows followed her.

That night, when father was reading to them from the Bible, David tried to listen, but kept glancing at his mother. Whenever he looked away, he saw a shadow man floating over her. It would sometimes move from side to side, but always stayed near.

"Now, what did we learn from this reading?" their father asked as he closed the book. "David?"

Great. Their father didn't always ask about the reading, but he would have to do it the one time David had been distracted. He tried desperately to remember what it had been about. Something about teaching a man to fish. He decided to fall back on one of his father's favorite quotes.

"Um, the Lord helps those who help themselves?"

"Not paying attention, I see," their father said, in a disapproving tone, then in a softer voice added. "Although I can guess why. Actually, your answer is close to being correct. It also means we should help our fellow man help himself. Okay, bedtime boys."

They dutifully got up and went to kiss their mother good night. She didn't seem to notice. David made a wide detour to avoid the hovering shadow man as they trooped up the stairs.

The next morning they had another surprise, this time a pleasant one. Sarah was there.

"Your mother's still not feeling well," their father explained as he picked up his laptop case. "I've asked Sarah to keep an eye on you while I'm at work. I trust you will all behave."

They all assured them they would. After their father left, Sarah turned to them with a grin and said, "Okay, who wants to make smores?"

Naturally, she was answered with an enthusiastic chorus of "I do! I do!" She got out the chocolate and marshmallows, and they all had a sticky time of it. Then they cleaned up, she turned on the TV for them and went up to check on the baby.

David sat watching TV, occasionally checking his phone. When the next show came on, he realized Sarah had been gone for awhile. He looked towards the stairs, and out of the corner of his eye saw shadow men floating around the TV. He looked at his brothers, then away. The shadows were definitely there. His brothers seemed completely engrossed in the show. David started to worry.

He got up and headed up the steps. The hallway was dark, but he saw a light on in the bathroom at the end of the hall. A sudden chill ran up his spine. He took a deep breath, and walked to the bathroom and opened the door.

The floor was covered with water. His mother stood in the middle of the room, her clothing drenched, holding his sister in her arms. His sister wasn't moving. Her skin was blue.

"She needed a bath."

David turned and ran into his parents' room, slammed and locked the door. He stumbled back from the door and tripped and fell over something on the carpet. It was Sarah. She lay there on her stomach, her vacant blue eyes looking into his. There was blood on her forehead and a heavy book end lay on the floor beside her.

David scrambled backwards, coming up against the bedroom wall. He grabbed the large Bible off the end table and started saying the first prayer that came into his head.

"Now I lay me down to sleep."

The door rattled.

"I pray the Lord my soul to keep."

The door shook again from a heavy blow.

"If I should d-d-die before I wake."

The door shook again. There were splintering sounds.

"I pray the Lord my soul to take."

The door smashed open. His mother stood in the doorway.

"Bath time, David." She took a step forward.

David staggered to his feet. The Lord helps those who help themselves. He threw the heavy Bible at her as hard as he could.

It hit her full in the face. She staggered backwards, hands to her face, blood streaming from her nose. David jumped over Sarah, ran to the stairs, and skidded to a stop. A shadow man was blocking the stairway.

He could see it clearly this time. A shadowy figure with deeper shadows where its eyes should be, and a gaping deeper darkness that was its mouth. David stood petrified as it reached towards him with clawlike hands. He heard the step of his mother behind him.

David charged forward, feeling a chill as he ran through the shadow man. In the living room, his brothers were still engrossed in the shadows on the TV. He ran to the TV and hurled it off the stand. It exploded in sparks on the floor, and his brothers looked at him in shock.

"Run! Out the door! Move it!"

The boys scrambled to their feet and he ran to the front door, threw it open, grabbed their hands and hauled them outside.

Their neighbor Mrs. Hendricks was out watering her flowers. She looked at them in surprise as David and his brothers ran towards her, into the sun, away from their mother and away from the shadows.