Peek A Boo
“Peek a boo, I see you,” came the whisper. Rolling over in his bed, Dylan squinted his eyes, trying to see through the dark. “Dad?” he asked groggily. No response. Reaching over to the night stand, he turned on the lamp, flooding the room with light. Hearing a shuffle as if feet were scrambling too fast and were slipping on the slick wood floor, he sat up looking around. Nothing. Groaning, he pulled the blanket over his head going back to sleep in less than a minute, forgetting to turn off the light.
Walking home after school, Dylan told his best friend Carter about the weird whisper dream.
Putting on the worse Dracula imitation in history, Carter says in a low tone. “It’s called the Creeper. Because it creeps around creeping you out while whispering, “Peek a boo, I see you.” Dylan picked up his jaw off from the sidewalk. Watching his reaction, Carter laughed, “You must have heard the story.”
“Where did you hear a story like that?” Dylan asked.
Carter shrugged his shoulders up and down in a non-caring way, “Around. There’s more than one local ghost story in this town. It’s about the only thing to talk about when bored to death at a bon fire.”
“Legends come from some truth don’t they?” Dylan says more as a comment to himself rather than a pointed question.
It was Carters turn to look stunned, “What’s wrong with you? It isn’t real man, just another urban legend.”
Dylan was puzzled over the dream and the connection to the local legend. “Just think it’s weird that I don’t remember hearing about it. Kind of messing with me.”
“Don’t let it” Carter replied back. “It’s all in your head, dreams, visions, whatever they are. Next time, just tell yourself it isn’t real.”
Dylans response, “Thanks mom,” led to a wrestling match between the two.
Dylan dreamed of whispering coming from the darkness. “Peek a boo, I see you,” over and over. He woke up scared, something he hadn’t done in years. Taking a deep breath to calm down, he repeated to himself it was just a dream. “Peek a boo, I see you.” Came the words, sounding like a horrible high pitch whisper from a bull horn with a metallic scrape to it, giving it an ear piercing edge. Took him a moment before it registered he wasn’t dreaming anymore. Almost knocking the lamp over in his haste, he managed to turn it on without breaking it. Again, that same shuffling noise and it was coming from the shadows near his closet door. Moving fast, Dylan grabbed the lamp, and pulling off the shade, pointed the bulbs light in the direction of the noise. Nothing. He moved off the bed and sneaking up to the closet, opened the door fast with a Hulk howl. Nothing jumped out at him. Checking, it only held his shoes and clothes.
The following day being a Saturday, Dylan met Carter at the baseball park. Standing next to the empty bleachers, Dylan told Carter what he experienced last night. “You should have heard the sound of that sound. I am not kidding, creepy doesn’t even come close.”
“Come on Dylan, you’re making this up. No way is the creeper real.” Carter insisted, having a hard time believing his friend. It was a ghost story after all.
“You know what Carter?” Dylan moved into Carters personal space and with each word spoken next, he pushed his forefinger into Carters chest. “I don’t care what you believe. I just need your help. Get it?”
“Got it,” smacking Dylan’s hand away. “No need to get mad. Come on, I’m taking you to see someone. Don’t laugh but she is a medium.”
Dylan chocked out, “A medium!”
“You know, someone who can do paranormal stuff. Listen, she may be a little bit of a nut but it doesn’t hurt to ask, besides she’s my Aunt, I trust her,” Carter insisted.
They walked in silence to her house. His aunt turned out to be a serious, much older lady that had the style of a little bit of hippy and new age with all her crystals in her living room. Sitting Dylan down, she had him tell her his experiences, him insisting he had been awake each time. She watched him closely as he talked. Once finished, she waved a hand in front of her saying, “Ignore it is what you need to do. It’s feeding off your fear, delighting in it. Once it can’t feed off of your energy or get enough to fill up, it will move on.”
With a lump in his throat, Dylan asked, “Why me?”
“You are just unlucky enough to be on its hunting trail is all,” she scared Dylan with the news.
“What is it?” Dylan had no idea why he asked, really not wanting to know.
“A dark spirit,” and with those words, got up and went into the kitchen, indicating she was done.
“This is just not happening. It’s happening to me and I don’t believe it!” Dylan shouted into the air before continuing to pace back and forth in frustration since returning back to his house.
“She told you what to do,” Carter reminded him.
Dylan’s face tightened even more in anger. “Do you really believe it’s that easy? Ignore it?” he taunted.
“Why are you so angry at me? Is it about the medium or the fact that a real live monster is hunting you?” Carter stood to get face to face with Dylan. “I get it. We learned monsters do exist and to never sleep without the lights on EVER AGAIN”, stressing the last two words. Dylan let out a chuckle, his features softening. “It’s time to stop questioning our beliefs and fight back. Let’s start by following my Aunt CC’s instructions and make you a less tasty piece of meat.”
“You are bad and sick,” Dylan said smiling and shaking his head slightly.
3 days later, Carter had come up with an idea and was coming over with supplies. He heaved the heavy overnight bag onto Dylan’s bed. Eyeing the bag with disbelief, Dylan watched as Carter unloaded. All different sizes of flashlights, batteries, candles, lighters, fishing line, empty coke cans, tech devices he had never seen before. “I borrowed my dad’s stunner”, Dylan pulled a grey box about the size of a deck of playing cards out from its storage container.
“I can’t believe you brought your dads stun gun.” Dylan was in awe.
“You wanted me to help, remember. This is me helping. It won’t hurt anyone, just shock him. That’s what he deserves if he is sneaking in your room trying to scare you. Am I right?
“I’m tired of being tired,” Dylan admitted studying the stunner. “How does it work”?
“Whoever it is, he to be pretty close for you to use it.”
Dylan eyed the device in Carters hand. “How close?”
“Close enough to touch him.” Carter pushed a button and an electrical light blue arch was seen between two prongs coming out from one side.
Dylan winced, “That’s close but what if it’s my dad?”
“Listen, if he’s close enough for you to touch him, he’s close enough for you to tell if it is your dad. Stun him if he’s not. Get it?”
Taking the stunner, Dylan replied, “Got it”.
“The best offence is a defense. Besides having all this will make you feel safer, less scared.” Carter explained.
He was right, Dylan already felt safer, less stressed. They spent the rest of the afternoon setting up trip wires tied to cans to make sure Dylan woke if anyone crossed his floor. He also had use of a video and voice recorder to set up before he went to bed. Whoever was sneaking into his room was going to get a surprise or a shock depending on how close he gets. Feeling more relaxed than he had in days, Dylan was able to fall asleep within minutes.
The horrifying whisper woke him, “Peek a boo, I see you.”
Part 2 coming soon