The Dark Stalker

Ron Harrison and his family are typical suburban citizenry moving through life without many worries. But a simple purchase could place their lives in danger.

Many women have used the simple phrase, “Men will be boys,” and that pretty much described forty-two-year-old Ron Harrison.  From an early age, Ron was enamored with comic books, all types of comic books, and he found it very easy to escape into their world.  Over the years, he managed to collect and store some of his favorite comics from the past in his basement.  His limited collection varied from super hero comics to haunted tales, including a few classic MAD and Cracked magazines, but by far his overall favorites were the comics dealing with haunted tales.   And the fact that he was middle aged never mattered, because mentally, he still felt as if he was nineteen or twenty years old. 

 

*****

 

It was a blustery, sunny Friday afternoon and his wife, Keisha, sat at home in the family room captivated by an article in one of her women’s magazines explaining why men act the way they do, and although she had read many similar articles in other magazines, she always tried to learn a bit more about the male species.  For her, discovering how men think was an enjoyable challenge for her.  Keisha’s concentration was soon interrupted when she heard the sound of the garage door opening signaling Ron was home. 

 

She remained silent, perched on the couch, and listened as she heard the car pull into the garage followed by the garage door closing.  The door knob rattled before the side door opened.  Footsteps slowly slid across the kitchen floor, then there was faint rustling followed by a soft thud as if something was being set on the kitchen counter.  More footsteps followed until Ron’s figure stepped out of the kitchen, making her smile.  His disheveled shirt and wrinkled Khaki pants were tell-tell signs that he had been driving for a while, and although his appearance wasn’t spectacular, she was relieved to see his face. 

 

Ron ogled his wife with loving eyes, admiring how well her dark blue jeans clung to her thighs even as she sat.  She was a beautiful woman with perfect teeth and eyes to die for, and Ron’s eyes gleamed every time he gazed upon her smooth chestnut skin. 

 

Hastily, she folded the corner of the page in her magazine and rose to greet him, still clinging to the newly acquired information from the article.  She paid no attention to his clothing.  All she saw…all she wanted to do was hold her man in her arms.  They walked towards one another and gave each other a nice deep kiss.

 

As they headed to the family room, Ron glanced around and began listening.  Then he asked,

 

“Hey, are the kids home?” after noticing the house was unusually quiet.

 

“Nope!  They left to go to the mall with one of their friends,” Keisha answered in a tone of relief since a childless house was a rarity these days. 

 

They both sat down on the couch, and Ron reached for the television remote.  Then Keisha asked,

 

“Hey I wanted to surprise the boys this evening.  How about some KFC for dinner?”

 

Keisha wanted this to be a nice relaxing weekend for her entire family, and she was willing to do everything she could to make her wish come true.

 

“Ohhh yeahhh!  Man, that sounds good.  Do you need some money?  Buy a lot so I can have some for tomorrow.  Both original and grilled,” an excited Ron exclaimed. 

 

He dropped the remote and reached for his wallet. 

 

Keisha shook her head saying,

 

“Nahh, I have enough money, and I had already planned to have some left over for tomorrow too!  I’ve had the taste for that chicken all day.  Traffic is dying down now so I’ll go pick some up.” 

 

She stood up and headed towards the side door, gathering her purse from the dining room table along the way.  Ron gawked at Keisha’s round butt as she strutted away and shook his head in disbelief and gratitude.

 

As the door closed behind her, Ron dismissed the television for now.  He rose up and head to the small computer desk situated next to the television.  He took a seat in the comfortable high-backed chair, turned on the computer, and began his nightly routine, checking his bank account and investment balances.  This routine also included reading the many local, national, and world news articles on the numerous websites he had previously bookmarked.  When he was done, he randomly started clicking on interesting links to see where the Internet would take him.

 

Daylight was fading so Ron got up and turned on the overhead light.  Then he returned to the computer to resume his random web surfing.  His uncharted surfing led him to a webpage which he’d never encountered before.  Scrawled across the webpage’s deep black background, in a large, red, eerie font were the words Haunted Pages.  Ron was mystified by the webpage.  “What a dreary looking page!  It looks like the covers of some of my old comic books,” he thought to himself.   Beneath the heading, in a smaller but an equally eerie font, were descriptions of some of those old novelty toys he remembered seeing in his comic books as a kid.  He cherished the memories of those cheap toys just as much as he cherished his comics.  His inner child surfaced as he read through the nostalgic descriptions of items like X-Ray Specs, bathroom parking meters, and live sea monkeys.  Those multi-functional toys always piqued his interest like the miniature 10-in-1 optical instrument and the 7-piece pocket toolkit.  As a goof, he clicked on some of the items to see their prices. 

 

Then, without thinking, he made an impromptu decision to purchase a couple of these useless toys to show off to his sons, and give them an idea of what he could buy when he was growing up.  He returned to the main webpage and read how to place his order.  To his surprise, he discovered these items were not being sold by a company, but by an individual.  How could one person have collected and stored these things from so long ago?  Then he rationalized that it was probably an eBay-like vendor that didn’t want to use eBay to sell his merchandise. 

 

He glided his mouse towards the website’s order button and noticed some small red lettering appeared, then disappear, near the bottom of the screen.  What was that?  He backtracked the mouse’s path, and the letters appeared and disappeared again.  I know I saw it that time.  Once again, he followed the same path, much slower this time, until the letters appeared, and he paused.  It was a hidden link that could only be highlighted if the mouse passed directly over it, and the word ENTER was displayed.  Damn! A web link in black type with a black background.  Who the hell would do that…and why?  He clicked on the peculiar link, and a new webpage with a similar black background popped up.  There was a list of some very scary comic books that he knew nothing about.  These were very, very dark comics with gruesome cover graphics all pertaining to unusual and taboo subjects like torture, strange disappearances, and unnatural occurrences.  As he maneuvered his mouse over the comic titles, small pop-up windows appeared next to them containing very brief descriptions of the comic’s contents, and these descriptions gave Ron an uneasy feeling.  He’d never encountered any comics like these before and wanted to know more.  The comics were for sale, but the prices were unusually steep.  In addition to strange comics with high prices, there was a strict non-return policy, and a very confusing disclaimer stating that the seller accepts no liability for the products or subsequent events after purchase.  What the hell does that mean?  What could possibly happen after purchasing a little comic book?  That crazy disclaimer didn’t make any sense to him.  Nevertheless, he was doing this for his kids.  He located a bizarre one…something about unnatural occurrences.  He chose to use a credit card in his own name for this purchase, to keep it secret from his wife because if she knew, she’d kill him.  Three items were in his shopping cart…two nostalgic toys and that bizarre comic book. 

 

While finishing the online order form, he noticed the seller’s address was located in Scottsdale, a northern suburb of Phoenix.  Since Ron lived in the city of Maricopa, about twenty-five miles south of downtown Phoenix, he knew his merchandise would be arriving in a day or two since it only had to be delivered across town, which pleased him.  He completed the purchase and read the online order confirmation.  Again, he was stumped by its contents.  His order would be split into two parts, one for the comic book and the other for the nostalgic items.  That’s just f*****g crazy!  Why split the damn order?  It’s only across the goddamn valley, for Christ sake!  He wondered if he had been taken…ripped off…scammed.  Who in their right mind would split the shipment?  He regretted making the order, but fell back on the fact that he did it with a credit card so his purchase was protected somewhat.

 

Now that his purchase was complete, he closed the web browser and headed back to the couch, anxious to forget about the website.  Time for some television.  The craziness of that online purchase drained him.  Just as he was sitting down, he heard the front door knob clink a few times, then open.  His sons, fifteen-year-old Travis and eleven-year-old Troy, entered the family room, each holding a couple of plastic bags.  Both boys sat down next to their father and began emptying their bags, showing him what they had purchased.  Both boys looked up to their father with great admiration because he seemed to know how each of them felt at any given time, and he was so easy to talk to.  Troy pulled out his Superman and Spiderman comic books, which made Ron’s eyes light up.  Then, Troy’s stomach let out a rumble that was so loud, both Travis and his father heard it.  They both turned to him and began laughing.  Troy just smiled, handed his comics to his dad, leaned back on the couch, and placed both hands on his stomach trying to smother any further sounds of hunger.  All of them were hungry, but Ron was the only one that knew what would be served tonight. 

 

The television was tuned to the news allowing Ron to catch up with the local action while Troy went back to reading his comic book, still trying to settle the rumbling in his stomach.  Travis joined his father to watch the news, but he could not care less about any of the stories being presented.  The weather report was just kicking off when Travis caught a whiff of something delicious, mouthwatering delicious. 

 

“Do you smell that?” Travis said.

 

“Smell what?” Troy answered, not flinching from his comics.

 

Travis sat up and turned his head towards the kitchen and jumped when he spotted his mother standing there with three large bags of KFC.

 

“Look!  Mom’s got KFC,” Travis said prompting both Troy and his father to shift their attention to the kitchen.

 

Ron said, “We didn’t even hear you come in the door.”

 

“I walked in a while ago, and when I looked in, everyone was busy, so I just stood and watched for a bit.”

 

“That was sneaky, mom,” Troy said.

 

She smiled and turned, setting the bags and her purse down on the dining room table.  The shuffling of footsteps behind her indicated that she was about to be trampled if she didn’t lay the scrumptious dinner out on the table quickly.  Instead, she received a nice surprise as the boys came over and assisted her, sparing no time trying to be neat.  Two large containers of mashed potatoes with gravy, a large container of corn, large container of mac-n-cheese, a box of biscuits, a chocolate chip bundt cake, and two large buckets of chicken.  She heard Ron rummaging in the cabinets, pulling out plates and glasses.  He set them on the table and headed over to the drawers.  Silverware clinked as he retrieved everything they would need.  All the bags were emptied, and she crumbled them all up into a tight ball and threw them in the trash.  When she turned around, everyone was already sitting down, passing containers, buckets, and boxes of food, which brought a smile to her faces.  Her relaxing weekend was beginning on a good note.  It was a pleasant dinner with little conversation.  Everyone was busy trying to get their fill for the night.  They spent the rest of the night in front of the television catching up on sitcoms that had been recorded on their DVR over the past week.

 

*****

 

Keisha was the first to rise the next morning, feeling a little tired but clear headed.  She turned and cast a lovingly gaze at her handsome husband still asleep, fortunate that she met someone so wonderful.  Quietly, she rose from bed and tiptoed into the bathroom, not wanting to disturb Ron.  After washing up, she crept out of the bedroom and headed downstairs to prepare breakfast, first stopping by the boy’s rooms to see if they were stirring.  Only silence. 

 

Keisha began her morning routine preparing everything downstairs for the upcoming day, starting with opening the curtains and blinds in the family room, allowing the sunlight to enter.  Next were the blinds in the kitchen, followed by the curtains and blinds in the living room.  Their house sat on the corner and anyone peering out their large living room window could see any activity all the way down the street.  Right after opening the living room blinds, she gazed down the street, admiring the neighborhood.  Just as she turned to walk away, she stopped and took a second look, moving the blinds aside this time.  There was a figure at the far end of the street.  She couldn’t quite make it out.  It could be a person dressed in black and standing very still, or some strangely shaped boxes.  “What the hell is that down there?” she thought.  She continued to stare and the figure never moved.  She turned away and walked back towards the kitchen to make her typical Saturday breakfast of scrambled eggs, bacon, hash browns, and toast.  The rest of the family awoke as the savory scent of bacon crept upstairs and stimulated their olfactory organs.  That was all they needed to coax them to arise.  She heard the bumping and shuffling overhead and knew they would be downstairs shortly, foregoing washing themselves.

 

Troy was the first downstairs followed by Travis, and bringing up the rear was an exhausted Ron, all in their robes and slippers.  All three men retrieved their plates and formed a nice queue, each taking a turn loading up their plates and sitting in their usual spots at the glass kitchen table.  The morning banter took an odd twist when Keisha to Ron and said,

 

“Sweetheart, when I opened the living room curtains this morning, I saw something very strange way down the street.  I’m not sure what it was, but it looked like it could have been someone dressed in black and standing perfectly still.”

 

“Really?  It’s over 90 degrees, way too hot to be dressed in black at this time of the year.  Is he still there?” Ron questioned before taking a bite of his toast. 

 

The boys turned to their mother, curious about her response.

 

“I don’t know.  I came into the kitchen after I opened the curtains and blinds, but it was really weird.”

 

“I’ll be right back.  I’m going to take a look.”

 

Ron took a quick sip of coffee then scooted his chair back.  He didn’t expect to see anything, but to appease his wife, checking it for himself could quell their curiosity.  The boys were intrigued also so they followed their father into the living room.  Keisha followed close behind.  Ron and the boys moved the curtains and blinds aside and scanned the street in both directions, not spotting anything out of the ordinary.

 

“Mom, we don’t see anything,” Troy said.

 

Keisha made her way to the window and looked towards the direction where she had seen the figure. 

 

“Hmmm…something was down there,” she reiterated.

 

“Well, whatever it was, it’s gone now,” said Ron while still scanning the street.

 

“It was really, really strange!  I’ve never seen anything like that before, but I’m glad it’s gone,” Keisha said with relief.

 

They all headed back into the kitchen to finish their breakfast.  The boys began telling silly ghost stories, trying their best to scare their parents, but they were failing miserably.  Instead, laughter dominated the conversation.

 

After breakfast, everyone trudged back upstairs, bellies full, to get dressed and go about their day.  The boys planned on returning to the mall to hang out with their friends again.  Keisha planned to relax and watch her home improvement and cooking shows, while Ron planned to visit the local hardware store to pick up some needed items.  The boys were the first ones ready to leave, but stopped by their parent’s room to say good-bye, before dashing downstairs like a couple of race horses then out the front door. 

 

*****

 

Travis was very athletic and loved playing basketball.  He was fairly quiet in school, and a lot of the girls had secret crushes on him.  Being such a good basketball player, many of the popular guys let him hang out with them. 

 

Troy looked up to his older brother and had a knack of convincing Travis to include him whenever he left the house.  Many of Travis’ friends were fond of Troy, but he tended to get on their nerves at times with his smart mouth.  Nevertheless, Troy became the little joker of the crew.  

 

The boys walked a short distance down the street and stopped at Carl’s house to see if he was going to the mall today.  Carl Henderson was Travis’ best friend, and they had known one another since elementary school.  Carl was a smart-a*s and gave everyone some lip at one time or another.  He also had a tendency to make everyone laugh all the time, and Travis had a lot of fun hanging out with him.  The boys strolled up the short walkway leading to the stairs and climbed.  Travis rang the doorbell.  Soon afterwards, the door opened.

 

“Hey Butthead!” Carl said very sarcastically when he saw who was at his door.

 

“You’re such a loser dude!” Travis snapped.

 

“So what’s up?” Carl asked.

 

“Yo, you goin’ to the mall today?” Travis inquired as he opened the screen door.

 

“Yep.  Ya’ll leavin’ now?  If so, let me tell my folks, and I’ll go with you,” Carl said as he turned around to inform his parents that he was leaving the house.

 

“Okay Beavis!  Hurry up dude!” Travis demanded still holding the screen door open.

 

Meanwhile, Troy paid little attention to the exchange between the two friends.  Instead, he stared down the street at a dark figure, all in black it seemed to him.  It didn’t move.  Troy continued staring at it, wondering what it could be.  He was just about to tell Travis, but was disrupted when Carl bolted out of the door.

 

“Alright, let’s get to steppin’ guys!” Carl said hopping down the stairs.

 

Travis and Troy followed Carl, and once on the sidewalk, Carl and Travis began their usual back and forth of put downs like they always did.  Troy looked down the street again and was astonished to see the figure was gone.  He wondered how it could move so quickly since it was so far out in the open and there were only a few places for it to hide.  He contemplated it a while longer, but eventually joined in the back and forth between Carl and his brother. 

 

Carl’s attention span was about as quick as a fly escaping a flyswatter, always jumping from one subject to another, but this time he noticed Travis’ brand new shoes. 

 

“Dude, your new kicks are hot!” he commented.

 

“Yeah, boy!  I know!  I love these things,” Travis boasted.  “I’m gonna run everybody ragged on the b-ball court next time we play.  Wait and see.”

 

“Travis, what would you do if I step on them right now?” Troy asked, trying to get a rise from his older brother and being a total pain in his butt.

 

“First, I would throw you down and step on your face with them, then I’d kill you!” Travis said in a threatening tone, lunging at Troy, and causing him to run away with a stupid grin across his face.  “Come here you little snot!” Travis said as he started to chase Troy.

 

“Get him!  Get that little snot!” Carl shouted as he joined Travis in the chase.

 

Troy turned to see how far they were behind him, but they were closing in.  Carl and Travis soon caught up to him and began playfully beating on him.  All three of them were laughing while Troy let out occasional screams of “Stop!” and “Let me go!”  After a short while, Carl and Travis released Troy, and they resumed their journey to the mall with Troy continuously teasing both of them.

 

*****

 

Back at the Harrison household, Ron came downstairs ready for a quick trip to the local hardware store.  His eyes gleamed once more when he saw his wife sitting on the couch watching the Food Network.  He crept over and softly gave her a peck on the cheek.  She turned, looked at him with a loving smile, and her eyes followed him as he walked out the room towards the side door.

 

The hardware store was less than a mile away, just down the street and around the corner.  At the stop sign at the end of his street, he looked left, then right, and left again to make sure it was clear.  The road was empty, so he slowly moved forward to make a right-hand turn.  Then, out of the corner of his eye, something moved, and when he turned his head, a large SUV was bearing down on him at a high rate of speed.  It came out of nowhere!  He slammed on the brakes, jerking forward then back in his seat.  The SUV barreled right through the stop sign, just missing the front of his car. 

 

“You dumb muthafucker!  Asswipe!” Ron shouted from inside of his car, exasperated by the driver’s ignorance. 

 

The sudden rush of adrenaline curtailed his calm demeanor, and he thought of giving chasing, but decided against it, trying his best to release his anger.  He was physically okay, and so was his vehicle, but he was still a bit shaken up.  Nervously, he looked to his left again then continued his right turn.  His music had a soothing effect, and he proceeded, without further incident, to his destination.  In the parking lot, he quickly pulled into an empty space, got out the car, and stepped inside the hardware store. 

 

“Hello sir!  Is there something I can help you find today?” the store employee politely asked as he walked through the sliding door.

 

“Not right now, thanks.  I just want to look around for a bit, but if I need anything, I’ll come and get you,” Ron said as he headed to the far left aisle.

 

“Fine, sir.  Take your time to explore.”

 

Ron took his time moving up and down the aisles, spotting and grabbing some scorpion repellant.  He also picked up an LED UV flashlight that makes scorpions glow at night.  He wished he’d made a list because his memory failed him, and his short trip would be extended as he tried to remember what he needed.  He found a plastic carrier and continued shopping.  When he was done, he approached the checkout area and immediately regretted taking so long in the store.  Six people were queued in the only line available, and it wasn’t moving very fast.  Slightly frustrated, he took his place in line and passed the time by gazing out the store’s large windows to watch traffic.  Something outside caught his attention.  Across the street from the store was a stationary figure, all black.  He couldn’t tell if it was a person or not, but he was dismayed at how still it stood.  He kept staring at the figure, not noticing the line moving in front of him.  The gap between him and the customer in front of him grew fairly large when the man behind him tapped in on the shoulder, breaking his stare, and said,

 

“Excuse me sir!  Sir!  The line is moving.”

 

“Oh, I’m sorry.”  He quickly closed the gap and turned towards the man behind him to explain himself.

 

“I was just looking out the window across the street wondering what that black thing was.  Do you see it?”

 

The man smiled then looked out the window and asked,

 

“What thing?  I don’t see it.”

 

Ron pointed and said,

 

“That thing right over…” 

 

The figure was gone.  He stared and looked around some more.  It disappeared.  Thoroughly perplexed, he said,

 

“I know I saw something across the street.”

 

“Well, whatever it was, it’s gone now,” the man said.

 

Ron was perplexed.  Did he hallucinate the whole thing?  He was sure he didn’t.  The thing was there but disappeared as soon as he tried to show it to someone else.  He wondered if that stop sign runner had affected him more than he thought.  He was next in line and began unloading his hand carrier.  After paying for his goods, he carried his plastic bags out to his car, placing them on the seat.  He gazed across the street one last time to see if the black figure returned, but was disappointed.  He entered his car, turned on his music, and headed for home. 

 

*****

 

A full parking lot at the mall is a clear sign that a lot of money is exchanging hands between shoppers and shop owners, but the people occupying those cars are only a portion of the mall’s total cliental.  There’s a large subculture without wheels, and they were at the mall for one reason, to socialize.  The mall had become a teenage hangout long ago, and different cliques talked, joked, and courted one another, with shopping being a distant thought.  Carl, Travis, and Troy were members of this subculture with Troy learning the membership rules from his big brother.  As they entered the air-conditioned structure, a sea of faces, young and old, moved like a churning ocean along the wide walkways, and a unique acoustic sound was heard where no single voice stood out over the others.   Care was taken as they merged in with the wave of people going in their direction, wary of being swept up within the mob and losing sight of one another.  Travis tried holding Troy’s hand as they all dodged moving feet, swinging bags, baby strollers, and other obstacles that created pedestrian hazards.  Occasionally they became separated, forcing Troy to stop, turn around, and locate his brother’s face.  During those moments, he realized, after a few shoves and bumps, that he had become a pedestrian hazard.   Travis always found Troy, and they both followed Carl, wondering where the hell he was leading them.  This day, Carl took an unexpected turn to the right, again forcing both Travis and Troy to become pedestrian hazards.  After a few dodges and stutter steps, numerous “Excuse me’s,” and evil stares, they found themselves in FootLocker.   Apparently, Carl knew what he was looking for, but it was a mystery to Travis.  Soon the mystery was uncovered as he watched Carl bend down and admire some red Air Jordan’s, an item he’d been wishing for.  Travis could have taken advantage of Carl, stating that Carl’s mother could not afford those shoes for him, but instead, he remained quiet and quickly glanced at Troy, indicating he should refrain from commenting also.  Troy knew it was his new shoes that influenced Carl to enter the store. 

 

“Man, one day I’m gonna get a pair of these things,” Carl said.

 

“I know you will dude, and you’ll look awesome in them.  You’ll be runnin’ up and down the court and flyin’ through the air just like Jordan,” Travis said in support of his best friend.

 

Carl spotted a Footlocker salesperson walking in his direction, so he returned the shoe to the display and headed out the store followed by Travis and Troy.

 

After rejoining the shopping crowd, they were fortunate to find a nice hole where the three of them could walk abreast, and it also allowed them to see the walkway on the other side of the mall.  The second level was visible too.  That’s when Carl spotted Carmen, a schoolmate he’d always had a crush on.  She was standing on the second level talking with a few of her girlfriends, and Carl knew this was his chance to talk to her outside of school. 

 

“Dude, there’s Carmen up there!  I need you to run interference for me with her girlfriends while I talk to her for a while,” Carl pleaded.

 

“No way man!  You know she won’t talk to you.  She never has.  She’s gonna shoot you down, clown,” Travis replied, being very sure of the outcome.

 

“Come on, man?  Do this for me?  Quit being such a d****e.  I won’t take too long.  I just wanna see what she’s up to,” Carl said as he gazed back up at her, staring like a lovesick puppy.

 

“What a butthead!  Come on then.  I’ll do it just to see your expression when you crash and burn, brother,” Travis joked.  Travis turned to Troy and said, “Troy, watch this.  This is gonna be good.  Carl is gonna go down in flames!”  Then both boys started laughing.

 

Carl kept an eye on Carmen’s whereabouts as they headed for the escalator.  The girls were standing next to the railing outside The Limited women’s clothing store, possibly chit chatting about clothes they wanted to add to their wardrobe, Carl supposed.  He knew they could leave at any moment so Carl started walking up the escalator stairs as it moved, squeezing by the other patrons, on a mission to catch her before they walked away.  Travis and Troy stayed behind and watched Carl’s antics with anticipation from the escalator.  Carl slowed his pace as he approached Carmen. 

 

Trying to be nonchalant, he casually looked around and acted surprised to see Carmen.  With a broad smile, and his arms outstretched, he said,

 

 “Hey Carmen!” 

 

“What’s up Carl?” Carmen replied with a sweet smile while her friends turned to see who she was talking to.

 

“Nuthin’ much.  I’m just cruising the mall looking around with Travis and his younger brother,” Carl said as he stepped closer to the girls, trying to join their little circle.  

 

At that moment, Travis and Troy strolled up to the join the group.

 

“Hey Travis.  Hi Troy,” said Carmen. 

 

She was very fond of both boys.

 

“Hey Carmen,” both said in unison standing just outside the circle.

 

“Are you here shopping or just hanging out?” Travis asked as Carl and the other girls turned, looking at him.

 

“Oh, a little of both but mostly hanging out,” Carmen replied. 

 

Carl was both stunned and envious at how easy Travis spoke to Carmen and it started to bother him. 

 

“Hey Travis, do me a favor and get me a pop from the pop machines over there.  If you do, I’ll get one for you and your brother,” Carl requested trying his best to get rid of the brothers for a little while.

 

“Alright man.  What flavor do you want?” Travis asked. 

 

Troy smiled because he knew he was going to get one of those fruity flavored pops like orange, cherry, or grape.  He hated colas and ginger ales.

 

“Anything but root beer.  I’m just thirsty,” Carl replied.

 

“Alright, give me some scratch dude,” Travis said, holding his hand out, waiting for money from Carl. 

 

Carl reached into his pants pocket and pulled out two $1 bills and gave them to Travis.

 

“Come on Troy.  You can tell me what you want when we get there,” Travis said, motioning with his head. 

 

Carl watched as Travis and Troy walked away, feeling satisfied that his little scheme worked.

 

As Travis and Troy walked over to the vending machine, Carl resumed his conversation with Carmen.  Travis turned to see how Carl was doing, snickering all the while because he knew this was going to be hilarious, but to his surprise, Carmen was smiling back at Carl.

 

“That lucky SOB!” Travis said beneath his breath, totally disappointed and shocked that Carl may be making some headway with Carmen.

 

“What? I didn’t hear you,” asked Troy looking over at Travis.

 

“Oh nuthin’.  Carl just got lucky.  That’s all,” Travis said in a smart voice.

 

Standing in front of the vending machine, Travis purchased three sodas and pocketed the left over fifty cents.  He gave one to Troy, and they sat on the bench next to the vending machine while watching Carl and Carmen from a distance.  The large glass doors, at the end of the corridor to their right, allowed in enough sunlight to brighten that part of the mall.  It also gave them a clear view of the parking lot outside.  Troy popped the top on the can and started in on his cherry soda.  Travis opened his and tilted it up, allowing the cool sting of the bubbles to slide down his throat.  After that initial drink, he sat the can on his lap, and watched people pass by, either heading deeper into the mall or exiting it.  A group of very cute teenage girls caught his eye, and he stared at them until they exited through the glass doors.  As they walked around the corner, out of sight, he noticed a dark figure standing very still in the parking lot.  He couldn’t make it out, but it seemed unnatural, unworldly.  He couldn’t look away.  It never moved, and people passed by it without anyone acknowledging its existence.  This wasn’t right, and he didn’t like it one bit, so he turned to Troy and said,

 

“Troy, look out there.  Do you see that?”  Troy looked over and gasped. 

 

It was the same figure he had seen earlier, down the street from Carl’s house, but this time it was much closer.

 

“Oh no.  That’s the same thing I saw when we were at Carl’s house,” Troy said while turning to Travis with a scared look on his face.

 

“You did?  Why didn’t you say something?” Travis asked with a hint of anger in his voice.

 

“I didn’t know what it was plus it was way down the street and disappeared when I looked back.  What is it?”

 

“I don’t know, but I don’t like it.  Come on, let’s get back to Carl,” Travis said, grabbing Troy’s hand and stepping quickly over to where Carl was flirting.

 

Carl was finishing his conversation with Carmen, and the girls were just preparing to walk away when Travis and Troy arrived.  Travis had concocted a crazy story that would convince Carl that they needed to go home.

 

“Um, hey dude.  I…I just remembered…ahh…ahh, my father wanted me to help him with some work around the house today.  I forgot all about it, so we gotta go, like now,” Travis said trying his best to create a believable lie.

 

“Really dude?  Ahh man, that sucks!  We just got here.  Damn!  Alright.  Well, at least I got a chance to talk to Carmen.  I can’t wait to see her in school,” Carl bragged.

 

“You just got lucky dude.  I still don’t think she’s into you.  Come on, let’s get outta here before I get into trouble,” Travis said while turning towards an alternate exit to leave the mall.

 

Troy kept looking over his shoulder trying to find the thing outside but there were too many people milling about behind of him.  Now his singular thought was to go home.  He’d forgotten about his soda and didn’t take another swig until they were outside the mall.

 

*****

 

Keisha and Ron relaxed in the family room, watching television when the boys walked through the front door. 

 

“Hey, we’re home” Travis said as they both sauntered into the family room slightly overheated. 

 

“Mom!  I’ve got something to tell you.   Remember what you said this morning after we came downstairs?” Travis asked.

 

“What did I say?”

 

“You said you saw some black thing down the street that didn’t move?  Remember that?” Troy asked as he moved in front of her.

 

“Yeah, I remember.”

 

“Well, me and Travis saw something like that when we were at the mall.  It was outside in the parking lot.  It was all black and didn’t move at all!” Troy explained. 

 

“We saw it while we were getting some pop from the pop machine.  It was the weirdest thing I’ve ever seen.  I grabbed Troy, and we walked back to where Carl was standing.” Travis added.

 

Ron’s was astonished as he listened to the boys talk about what they’d seen.  He couldn’t believe his ears.

 

“Hey, are you guys telling the truth or just trying to mess with your mother?” Ron asked seriously.

 

“No.  It’s the truth!  We both saw it,” Travis replied.

 

“I saw it twice!” Troy added. 

 

His mother and father both turned to Troy when he said that.

 

“Oh yeah, Troy told me that he saw the same thing when we were on Carl’s porch picking him up.”  They turned back to Travis.  “He said it was down the street standing perfectly still and then, all of a sudden, it disappeared.”

 

Ron faced Troy and said, “Wait, Troy you saw this thing twice today?  Once while you were at Carl’s house and then while you were at the mall?  Is that right?”

 

“Yep!  It was scary looking and all black.  It looked like a person, but it never moved,” Troy repeated.

 

“Okay, something strange is happening here, and I don’t know what’s going on,” Ron replied, visibly upset. 

 

He stood up and walked toward the front of the coffee table to face his family.

 

“What’s wrong sweetheart?” Keisha asked, sensing that Ron was worried about something.

 

“D****t!  I saw the same thing while I was standing in line at the hardware store!  It was across the street, and I couldn’t make out what it was.  It was all black, and it just stood there very still.  I watched it so hard that I didn’t know the line had moved, and someone behind me had to tap me on the shoulder.  When I moved up in the line, I looked back out the window, and it was gone!”

 

Keisha, Travis, and Troy were speechless.  All of them started staring at one another trying to make sense of each other’s encounter with this thing.  Travis was pretty intelligent, and he posed a key question,

 

“Okay, Mom, you saw the thing this morning.  Dad, you saw it while you were at the store.  Troy, you saw it twice…once while we were at Carl’s house and then when we both saw it at the mall.  But when Troy saw it at Carl’s house, dad saw it at the hardware store.  That has to mean there’s more than one of them, right?”  Travis deduced.

 

“That makes sense but why is this the only family that can see it?” Ron inquired.

 

Everyone fell silent again.  After some rehashing of each incident, they arrived at the conclusion that no one else could see the entity, even though they were in public places.

 

“You mean no one else saw it?” Keisha asked Ron.

 

“I tried to point it out to the guy behind me, but when I looked back, it was gone.  He didn’t see it.”

 

“The same thing happened to us at the mall.  Everyone outside just walked by the thing like they didn’t see it!  That’s when I got scared,” Travis added.

 

“What the hell is this?  Are we all going crazy?  Why are we being singled out?” asked Ron.

 

Silence filled the room once again. 

 

“Knock…knock…knock.”

 

Keisha yelped after hearing the knock on the front door, making everyone jump.

 

“I’ll get it,” Ron said since he was already standing. 

 

Peeking through the window, he saw it was a UPS driver dropping off a package.  Ron opened the door and waved to the driver as he was pulling away in his truck. 

 

“Hey, this can’t be those items I ordered yesterday, could they?” Ron thought.

 

He bent down to pick up the package and was startled upon standing back up.  There it was…the entity…the obscure thing was standing directly across the street!  It was motionless, dressed in black, and seemed to be facing at him.

 

“Hey ya’ll, come here now and look at this,” Ron shouted back inside the house. 

 

From his tone, the rest of family could tell something wasn’t right, and they hurried to the front door to see what was going on.  All of them froze when they saw it.  Their eyes were wide, mouths were open, and their hearts fluttered.

 

“That…that’s it!  That’s what I saw this morning!  What is it?” Keisha said trembling.

 

“Yep!  That’s what we saw too at the mall,” Troy said as he gripped his big brother’s arm.

 

Ron knew it was the same thing he’d seen at the hardware store, and his fear began to transform into anger.  For some odd reason, this thing was terrorizing his family, and he wanted to put a stop to it now.  He was just about to speak when the entity suddenly began moving in his direction.  The jet-black figure wasn’t walking, but gliding slowly across the ground.  They were petrified watching the entity as it approached them, moving over the curb across the street effortlessly, and continuing across the road.  Keisha grabbed the kids and ran back inside the house while Ron held onto the door, ready to close it if he felt too threatened.  Ron’s anger reverted to back fear as it came closer, but he couldn’t help staring at it.  It had a figure similar to a man but there were no discernable features.  The location of its face, if it truly had one, was hidden underneath the black shadow of its large black hat, or something similar to a large top hat.  It was completely wrapped in a very long, pale black outer garment that absorbed sunlight.  No sleeves or feet could be seen at all.

 

The entity moved closer, then stopped within ten feet from the door and remained motionless.  Ron stood there staring, unable to move although he wished he could step back and slam the door shut. The thing suddenly released an object it must have been holding, but Ron could not find out where it fell from.  The object made a soft thud when it hit the ground, and then the entity began to retreat from the door, without turning around.  Ron was stupefied as the entity glided backwards in the same manner it approached him.  When he felt it was far enough away, he reached down and cautiously retrieved the object, testing its weight and discerning its shape.  It was very light and felt like a booklet.  He gazed back up towards the thing, but it was gone.  Again, Ron was stupefied, thinking “How does this thing disappear like that?”

 

“What was that thing, dad?” Troy yelled from the family room.

 

“I don’t know what the hell that thing was, but it’s gone now.  It left a package.  It feels like a magazine or booklet or something,” Ron replied as he closed and locked the front door, then headed back to the family room to join the others.

 

“Are you going to open it?” Travis asked as his curiosity began to surge.

 

“Yeah, but I’d better take it outside to the backyard, just to be safe. “

 

Ron headed out into the backyard, closing the sliding glass doors behind him and removed the package’s black wrapping.

 

“What is it?” Keisha shouted through the glass doors.

 

Ron pulled out a comic book…it was the comic book he ordered yesterday.  The tension drained from everyone then Keisha slid the glass door open allowing Ron back in.

 

“It’s the comic book I ordered yesterday, but what was up with that delivery man or whatever it was?  Why did it stalk all of us just to deliver a comic book, and why was it so weird?” Ron asked having more questions than answers as they all stood around gazing at the book.

 

“We went through all of this because of a comic book?” Travis asked, disgusted.

 

“I’m still scared!” Troy added, still feeling confused.

 

“You ordered that yesterday?” Keisha asked, giving Ron a puzzled look.

 

“Yep, I ordered it yesterday right after you left to get KFC, and the boys were out of the house.  It was sort of expensive, so I didn’t want to tell you about it.  I found it online at this strange website.  I knew I would get it soon because the seller is up in Scottsdale, but I didn’t think I would get it today.  Come to think of it, I just remembered that website stated that there were no returns and the seller was not responsible for any strange things happening.  I don’t know why that last part was printed there, because it didn’t make much sense at the time.”

 

Ron sat in the chair beside the computer desk and examined the cover page of the comic as Keisha headed towards the kitchen.   The boys sat on the couch to watch television, trying to forget what happened today.  Just as Ron was about to turn from the cover page, he spotted something.  There was a very small black figure drawn near the comic’s spine at the bottom.  He moved the comic closer to his eyes and that little figure resembled the thing that left it at their front door.  But it couldn’t be, he thought.  It must be part of the cover art.  That’s all.  He slouched back in the chair and began reading, forgetting that he purchased the comic for his boys.   After a short while, he sat up quickly.  Troy noticed his father’s movements and asked,

 

“What’s wrong Daddy?”

 

His father didn’t answer.  He kept reading as a frightened expression took over his face.  It’s as if he could not believe what he was reading.  Troy, in shock, shook Travis’ shoulder and pointed to his father without speaking.  Travis called out,

 

“Dad, what’s wrong?  What do you see?”

 

Again, Ron remained silent and continued reading.  His breathing quickened as he turned each page, but he was turning them too fast.  The boys became unnerved watching their father’s reactions, and they bolted from the couch to get their mother.  Keisha came from the kitchen with the boys and stood at Ron’s side.

 

“Sweetheart, what’s wrong?  What’s wrong baby?” she asked.

 

“What the hell is going on here?  What is this s**t?” Ron shouted.

 

“What are you reading, d****t?  What’s it say?” Keisha shouted, grasping Ron’s arm to spin him around.

 

“This book is telling the story of everything we experienced today.  It has you seeing the figure from the living room window, Travis and Troy seeing it from the mall, and me seeing it from the hardware store.  How in the hell did all of that get in this comic book when it only took place today and how would anyone know about it in such detail?” Ron questioned angrily.

 

They all gathered around and stared at the book’s pages in disbelief.  Suddenly, Keisha’s had a strange feeling come over here, and she quickly turned around.  The dark figure…the entity…was standing behind them, and then it lunged at all of them…

 

*****

 

Three days later, the police showed up at the Harrison household because Ron had missed a couple of days of work, and his boss had become concerned.  After knocking and getting no answers, they entered the house.  Everything was in order except for a comic book that was lying on the floor beside the computer desk.  The television was still playing.  The rest of the house was empty.  Photos were taken of the interior.  One of the officers picked up the comic and started sifting through the pages.  He was perplexed at the similarities between the drawings throughout the book and the house, but what really surprised him were the names of the people in the book.  They matched those of the missing homeowners and their children. 

 

“Hey Bill, come over here and take a look at this,” the officer said as he held the comic book open.

 

“Yeah, whadaya got!”

 

“Take a look at this.  This is the weirdest thing I’ve ever seen,” the officer said pointing at one of the panels near the back of the book.

 

Both men read through the book’s last pages then turned to one another mortified.  Those pages showed a black figure enveloping the entire family and disappearing, leaving only the television playing and a comic book sitting on the floor by a computer desk…

Author's Note

Any feedback will be greatly appreciated.