Above our heads the thunder reverberated once more, shaking the house right down to its foundation. I looked up from my thumbs, which I had been twiddling, only to see my friend's features hauntingly illuminated by the strke of lighting that followed. In the sudden burst of yellow light his green eyes seemed to glow. His face appeared hollow with dark shadows highlighting his already sharp cheekbones.

“You can’t stay here forever, Niya.” He whispered into the darkness. “Only a crazy person would wait for the monster to come find them.” The darkness of my room almost seemed to fill the empty air in the pause that preluded my response.

“Isn’t what you’re doing just as bad?” I whispered back, quitely as was in my nature, but also becaues I was so afraid to let it know we were here. Even I could detect the panic in my voice as the words shivered out of me. I promised myself I would not break down in front of him, but what he was suggesting frightened me down to my core. Go find the thing that had been terrorizing me for weeks? On purpose? Why in the hell would I want to go looking for it?

“We’re going to figure this thing out. I promise.” His words did little to put me at ease. I knew that it would change him too, but Elliot was more determined than anyone I knew. Maybe that’s why I loved him so much.

The house creaked around us, making unwelcome sounds of pain and discomfort. It sounded like it was hurt. It wasn't neccessarily an old house but everything creaked and moaned around me, mostly at night when I was trying to sleep. I hadn’t lived here for long but I already knew that those sounds meant it was near. It was hiding behind a door or under a bed. It might even be behind me, laughing at my blatant stupidity. Sometimes, I think it liked to make me afraid. Maybe it thought of my fear as a prize to a game that only it knew the rules to. I think that Elliot wanted to play with it, but I had no way to warn him on how well it could cheat.

I watched carefully as Elliot produced a small digital tape recorder from his pocket. He set it on the wood floor of my bedroom and then backed away, gesturing for me to sit down on my bed with him. It was odd being this close to him, still. We had been best friends since we were only preschoolers but my feelings had morphed into something unexplainable in the last year. I had no way to voice how he made me feel when he gently brushed my hair away from my face and whispered, “Now watch this.” I closed my eyes, bracing myself for its presence and the fear that accompanied it. “I know that there is a spirit living in this house,” he yelled to the empty room, “I know that something from the other side has been trying to make itself known to this innocent girl beside me. I want you to speak into that recorder in front of us and tell me why you hate Niya so much.” A silenced followed his words, with nothing but the continued rumbling of thunder to accompany it. “See Niya? There was never anything here. If it was intelligent as you think it is it would have thrown the tape recorder or some crazy s*** like that.” He stood up then, making his way across my room to retrieve his recorder. “I’m pretty sure that this entire nonsense was in your head.” He smirked playfully at me and that seemed to calm my racing heart. Maybe this entire thing was just a prolonged nightmare.

”I’m sorry I made you come all the way out here El. You’re probably right. It has been kind of scary to live in this house and I’m probably just making it up in my head. You know? Mind tricks.”

“Exactly, Ni. Now let’s go see if we can’t flip the breaker and get the power back on.” The moment the words escaped his lips it appeared before me. Its genderless form, only about the size of a small child, glared at me from behind Elliot’s back. It smiled because it saw my fear painted on my face. Its eyes glowed in the darkness like burning embers and in them I saw what Hell is. Beneath its sneer lay a set of rotting yellow teeth that were bared gruesomely.

I watched, stunned with sheer terror, as the thing brought one long and slender finger up to its lips and whispered, “Shhh…” Elliot quickly wheeled around, only to find empty space. It was gone.

“Hey did you hear something? What the hell is wrong with you? You look like you just saw a ghost or something.”

“Worse,” I managed to choke out. I was relieved that it was gone, that I no longer had to stare at its empty eyes, but I also knew that it would be back. It always came back.

“What was it Ni? You’re acting really weird. I mean you don’t have to go around making up s*** and pretending to be scared just to get my attention.” He stormed over to me, and grabbed my shoulders so hard that I let out a small whimper of pain. “I like you, Niya, but you’re seriously starting to scare me. You can cut the crap and just ask me out already.” I just stared up at him, dumbly, his words made no sense to me at all. I could only stare back. A swift movement from across the room caught my eye and I jerked my head towards it, breaking his grip on my shoulders.

“It’s over there.” I said. ”Hiding from you in the shadows.”

“Have you gone insane? There is nothing over there!” Here, I’ll prove it.” He flicked his flashlight on and pointed the light upon the corner of my room and when he did the beam immediately illuminated it. It grinned at him, so happy that Elliot was playing along. I screamed then, louder than I have ever screamed before. He, however, only stood in a shocked silence as the creature darted from its corner and proceeded to rip into Elliot with its razor sharp, yellow teeth.

It saved his heart for last, as it always did. I don't think it ever ate the hearts, maybe not eating them kept it alive. I won't pretend to know anything about this creature that lives in my home. It always makes sure that I am watching as it licks up the gooey brain matter from the cracks in the floor. I could never forget it. Never.

When it was done it picked El’s stringy muscles from its teeth with long fingernails and backed slowly away, back under my bed. Back into the shadows to wait for me to bring it another victim. Our unspoken agreement saved my life.

Alone, I gently weep into the darknes that surrounds me. I know that the only person that will ever hear me is it.