Morsambula: Destruction

The recently divorced Isaiah was coming to grips with the fact that his new home is haunted… but it's getting worse. He continually has a late night visitor, a sinister visitor, one who wishes him harm.

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This is Part 2 of the Morsambula series. Head here if you haven't read Part 1 yet.

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Among the destruction of the house, the clattering of more wooden boards flung about carelessly just adds insult to injury.

Isaiah feels this emotion deep down inside, but it's buried underneath fear, confusion, shock, and more fear… so, he says nothing. Another cop examines a slab of broken wood from Isaiah's dresser, and then tosses it into a pile of wood. Regarded as trash, but it was once part of Isaiah's home and new life.

"Yeah, bear attack. Has to be." One cop calls out nonchalantly. "These claw marks, the destruction. Bear. A big one."

Isaiah knows it wasn't a bear. Granted, he only saw the feet and legs of the beast that wreaked havoc in his home, but those were not the feet and legs of any bear. Nor were they the feet and legs of any identified animal. But what was he going to do? Describe what he saw to the cops? Dive into the deep-end of the pool of insanity, brand himself as the town laughing stock?

"Mm." Isaiah lets out an agreeing mumble.

"It only seemed to touch your bedroom and your office." Another cop mentions.

"Two rooms on the side that are off the reservation." Adriel throws out there.

"Yeah, maybe it was bad luck for that guy to build off the reservation." One cop snorts a demeaning laugh. "Look, it isn't safe to live here with the place in this state. You'll have to get it fixed up… live somewhere else in the meantime…"

"Yeah, I'll get a hotel." Isaiah says. "Probably just fix it up myself."

"Wrong." Adriel states loudly. "You'll come stay with me and Nev and the kids… and I'm gonna help you fix the place up… and I can wrangle up a few other guys on the reservation."

"Adriel, that's too much…"

"My friend's house just got destroyed by a bear. It's just enough. Maybe even not enough. Don't give it a second thought."

Right. A bear. An upright, hairless, white-skinned bear.

*******

"Thanks for dinner, Nev." Isaiah says as he gets up from his chair.

"Welcome… but you sit." Nev holds her hand out from the sink. "You've had too much to deal with… you're not helping us clean up."

Isaiah laughs for the first time in a long time. He sits down. Adriel grabs two beers from the fridge, kisses Nev on the cheek on the way back to the table. He pops them open and slides one to Isaiah. He starts to slide the other beer down the table in the direction of Brandon and Ray. They both reach out for it and Adriel yanks it back while making a little "yoink" noise.

Brandon and Ray laugh, their plans to taste a beer foiled. Adriel takes a hearty sip. He points to Brandon, then Ray. "Not for another seven years, not for another nine years."

"I think you got that math wrong." Isaiah chuckles.

"Adriel thinks he's giving them beer on their 18th birthdays." Nev calls rejoins the group. "10 years. 12 years. Those are the real numbers, boys."

It's a fine night. Isaiah enjoys spending time with Adriel and Nev, and he hasn't seen the kids in a while. They watch a family movie. Isaiah really appreciates it. It takes his mind off of what happened. Until he heads to sleep in the guest room. One window faces in the direction of his house, off in the distance. It's barely bigger than a dot in his perspective. He peers out and watches his house for a few minutes before he drifts off to sleep.

*******

Isaiah and Adriel are at Isaiah's place immediately after breakfast. Adriel took a day off from work and convinced two other friends, Tommy and Forrest, to do the same. Luckily, Isaiah's new job hasn't started yet.

The four assess the damage and gather materials on the first day. Isaiah takes a close look around his bedroom. He had taken careful notice of every single piece of damage yesterday. He notices a new indentation in the wall, cracks spider webbing from it.

This had to have happened last night.

"Isaiah, come check this out!" Adriel calls out.

Isaiah joins Adriel in the office to see a hole the size of a very large fist in the ceiling, over in the corner of the room.

"I don't remember there being a hole in the ceiling." Adriel says with confusion.

That's because there wasn't.

The rest of the day goes well. The four get a decent amount of work done. Tommy and Forrest are nice guys. Isaiah thanks them a thousand times for taking time off from work to help him out.

In the evening, Isaiah and Adriel head back to Adriel's home. Isaiah thanks Adriel a thousand times for everything, to which Adriel repeatedly cuts him off. He's so nice, he won't even let Isaiah thank him.

Another nice dinner prepared by Adriel and Nev. Isaiah tries to help, they won't let him. Instead, he's on kid duty. Entertaining the kids, playing video games with them. After dinner, another lovely family movie. As the kids are getting ready to head to bed, Isaiah says he wants to go take a walk and clear his mind.

He steps outside into the brisk night air. It's a fun house to stay in, but it's nice to get a moment to yourself and feel a touch of peace and quiet. But mainly Isaiah wants to head down to his house. So, he does. He ambles along the street as if he has no direction or purpose… but he knew as soon as he stepped outside he'd make his way towards his house.

It's a long, quiet walk. Isaiah nears his house… and stops. Beyond his house, past the open field, just before the mountains… the forest. Dark and dense. Amidst the darkness, one single bright, glowing light emanates from the forest floor, just beyond the tree line. The light is brightest at the base of the forest floor, but faint glowing lights stretch up into the air, a cylindrical tube of light, cut off by the tops of the thick trees.

Isaiah watches the light for five minutes. At first glance, the light is still. But when one is still… watching the light… the slightest flickers and movements occur. Isaiah gets a bad feeling about this light… and about his house. He heads back to Adriel's home and goes to sleep.

*******

The next morning, Isaiah, Adriel, Tommy, and Forrest are back on the job. Before they start, Isaiah notices more damage done to his place that wasn't there before. Minimal enough that no one else notices, but enough that Isaiah does. Broken floorboards in his bedroom that were previously intact. The four get a lot of work done.

During the break they take for lunch, they get word from someone in the neighborhood that another kid has gone missing. The parents are distraught, everyone is looking for the kid. Everyone is still looking for the last kid that went missing weeks ago. Isaiah doesn't even know who this kid is or who his parents are… but he gets a really uneasy feeling when he receives the news. The four of them talk about it for about five minutes, saying how awful it is. Nothing more. They eat silently. Then, they return to work.

Isaiah and Adriel head back home in the evening. Another lovely dinner. This time the kids do homework after dinner. Adriel watches a baseball game. Isaiah watches with him until after the kid goes to bed. He excuses himself to go for another walk. Another walk down to his place.

Sure enough, there it is again. The glowing light on the edge of the forest. Slight flickers, slight movements. Isaiah realizes the light could be seen from one of his bedroom windows in his house.

That's reassuring.

*******

"That's most of our work just ruined!" Tommy yells out with frustration.

The four stand in Isaiah's place, looking at new destruction. New broken floorboards, walls smashed in, furniture scratched, clawed, and dented. Fixes they had made previously, broken again.

"That bear got in again!" Forrest shakes his head.

"Did you leave the door open, Isaiah?" Adriel asks.

"No, I… I locked it." Isaiah knows he locked the door, but it doesn't matter. This wasn't a bear. It was never a bear. It's that thing again. Isaiah is certain that locking his door will do nothing to stop it. "I'm not sure what happened… but I locked the door…"

"You obviously didn't lock the door! Or a window or something!" Tommy yells. "Otherwise, how did it get back in?"

"Yeah, Isaiah." Adriel's voice is stern. "We're happy to take some time and help you out. But you gotta be smart. Keep all the doors and windows locked. Otherwise, bears get back in here and undo all the hard work we put in."

"Ah… I…" Isaiah has no idea what to say. No one will believe him about this. But there's nothing he can do. Everything was locked up tight. There's no signs of forced entry, no open doors or windows. But why even bring that up? "I thought I locked everything up…"

"Make sure you lock everything up this time!" Tommy stomps off.

"He'll be fine." Adriel assures Isaiah. "Let's just make sure we use our time wisely."

The four get back to work, fixing up the house, refixing the fixes they already fixed. It goes on like this for the next few days. The group of four fix up the house, each day Isaiah notices new damage in the house when he arrives. Usually something minor enough that no one else notices. Clearly, this beast keeps coming back. Each night, Isaiah heads back to Adriel's place with him, spends time with their family. Each night Isaiah goes for a walk to his house and stares at the light in the forest.

After a few days, Tommy and Forrest can no longer offer their services. But Adriel continues to help Isaiah. Isaiah feels so guilty. They're good friends, so that's why Adriel is doing this for him. But it would be better for Isaiah if he had once saved Adriel over in Afghanistan, rather than the reverse being true. If Adriel was doing this to repay a debt, Isaiah would feel a little better. But as it is, he feels he owes a debt to Adriel… and Adriel continues to do more for him.

But Isaiah and Adriel continue making decent progress. Isaiah continues his nightly walks, staring at the light in the forest. Until one night, he walks to his house, peers into the forest… and there's no light. Isaiah waits a good 10 minutes, wondering if it will show up, that perhaps he arrived early, even though he arrives around the same time every night. But he never sees the light.

When Isaiah and Adriel head to the house the next morning, there's no additional damage in the place upon arriving. First time that's the case.

That night, Isaiah goes for another walk. Once again, no light. The next morning, once again, no additional damage in the house upon arriving. And Isaiah and Adriel have made such progress… that they finish all their work on this day.

"Looks like she's all ready for you to live here again!" Adriel says cheerily.

Isaiah puts on a fake smile. He knows he'll stay here tonight. No reason for him not to. But he wishes he had one more day… one more day just to see if the light is still in the forest or not… one more day to see if there's no additional damage in the place. Two days in a row in which there have been no signs that the beast showed up in the middle of the night. Almost enough for a pattern. A third night would've made Isaiah feel more at ease.

Adriel hangs around for a quick beer after they finish… then heads home. Isaiah is left alone in his house for the first time in about two weeks.

That first night is horrifying. Nerve-racking. Isaiah is certain he won't be able to sleep. He even gulps down a coffee while he sits in bed watching TV. He checks out the window two dozen times, glancing out to the forest. He never once sees the light. His house stays quiet with the exception of the sounds from the TV droning on.

Isaiah blinks his eyes and realizes he's horizontal. He's laying in his bed, blankets half-pulled onto his body, clutching his empty coffee mug in his hand. It's morning. He's slept through the night.

He jumps out of bed and inspects the place. No damage. Nothing at all. His place is absolutely fine.

The next night is the same. No light in the forest. No intrusions in the night. Next morning, no damage. Isaiah feels good, he's had two decent nights of sleep. Perhaps, life is back to normal.

The days and nights continue on like this. No changes at all. The only change to Isaiah's life is that he starts his new job. He begins to get into a rhythm with his new life. Work in the morning and through to the evening. Come home, make himself dinner, enjoy some TV in his bedroom, perhaps a game and a beer, off to sleep early, wake up in the morning, do it all again.

He visits with Adriel and Nev once again and brings a cake to their house for an after-dinner thank you. They have a pleasant night together. The kids get all hopped up on sugar from the cake. Everyone has a good time.

And the days continue on normally.

Isaiah and Adriel's friendship grows stronger. They talk about baseball a lot. Adriel brings up a big game that's on one night. He's watching from home, Isaiah is watching on the big TV in the living room. The two text back and forth about the game. The game is close the whole way through. It goes into extra innings. Luckily, Isaiah had just purchased a whole new 12-pack of beer. IPA. Strong stuff. Still tied after the 10th inning, after the 11th inning, after the 12th inning…

…Isaiah blinks his eyes open. He's horizontal… on the couch. The TV is on… a rerun of the game he'd been watching. It already ended. It must be late. He tries to focus his eyes and looks out the large living room window. The black night sky holds a bright full moon resting on top of the clouds.

Isaiah is groggy. He pulls himself up vertically. His first sight is of all the empty beer bottles he plowed through. Time to head to bed.

He peels himself off the couch and begins to lumber towards his bedroom… but before he can make it out of the living room… the recliner in the corner of the room flies towards the doorway! Isaiah jumps back. The recliner skids to a stop just before the wall… aptly placed in front of the doorway.

Isaiah spins around. He sees nothing in the room. But the air is getting colder. Isaiah realizes he's in the dead center of the room. He feels vulnerable. Chills tickle his spine… then, his left arm. He spins to his left… a thin cloud of mist dissipates before his eyes. He scans his surroundings once more.

"No." A whisper from another corner of the room.

Isaiah's heart rate is jacked up. He clenches his fists. He sees nothing. No one.

"No."

From another corner of the room. Isaiah whips his head towards the voice. Nothing.

More whispers sprinkle throughout the room… more cold chills run down Isaiah's spine. The room is dropping in temperature rapidly. He looks to his last bottle of beer, the one he didn't quite finish. The one with an inch of liquid at the bottom… slowly freezing over.

Isaiah inches closer to the beer bottle, examining the frost building around the lip of the bottle. He grabs the bottle, clutching it, feeling the iciness.

A loud crashing noise from his bedroom has Isaiah spin back around to face his room. And then… the roar. That bellowing roar he remembers all too well.

That beast is back… in the bedroom!

Isaiah breaks out into a full sprint for the doorway to the hallway. He leaps over the recliner like an Olympic hurdler. He lands in the hallway awkwardly. He props himself back up, still clutching the beer bottle, now as a weapon. He quickly turns to the doorway and flings the front door wide open! The cool air smacks Isaiah in the face, though, not as cold as his living room. He races around the house and into the front yard. He sprints across the grass, moist with dew, his socks getting damp. He runs all the way to the edge of the yard, just before the street, stops, and turns around to face his house.

The house looks so still. But Isaiah hears a distant thumping in the house. Back in his bedroom.

Isaiah looks at his car. He can jump in and make a run for it. He steps carefully towards his car… and stops. He doesn't have his keys on him. They're in the house.

He hears more thumping in the house. But the rest of the house is still. Especially the side on the reservation. So, Isaiah sits down on the cool grass. His body is overheated from his bursts of sprinting and jumping. The cool grass feels good. He examines the beer bottle in his hand… no more frost… beer at the bottom is liquid again. He takes a sip. The beer is colder than it was when he first drank it. So, he isn't losing his mind… probably not, anyway.

Isaiah blinks his eyes open again… intense light all around him. His eyes ache from the unwelcome intrusion. He holds his hand up to shield his eyes from the light and he accidentally drops the beer bottle he was apparently clutching. It thumps in the grass… and Isaiah realizes he fell asleep on his front yard. The morning sun hangs in the horizon and standing in front of him is Adriel, Nev, Ray, and two other couples in the neighborhood.

"Oh, hey." Isaiah's voice is hoarse and gruff. "What's going on? What time is it?"

"What the hell are you doing?" Adriel asks.

Isaiah realizes the other two couples are shaking their heads at him. Of course, he's asleep on the front yard with a beer bottle, stinking of the IPA he was downing last night. Nev watches on with a mix of fear and worry as she holds Ray close.

"I uh, I don't know…" Isaiah really has no idea what to even say.

"Listen, it doesn't matter." Adriel cuts him off, taking a serious tone. "We came here to ask you, have you seen Brandon?"

"Brandon? No. Why? What happened?" Isaiah manages to pull himself up onto his feet in a stumbling fashion.

Adriel points an angry thumb at Ray.

"These two snuck out last night. Ray snuck back, he said he thought Brandon would be back later, but he never came back. We're looking for him. Have you seen him?"

"No… no. I haven't seen Brandon. Not since I was last at your place."

"Okay, you're positive?" Adriel asks. "Because Ray said they came over this way, past your place, over to the forest back there."

"What?! The forest?!" Isaiah's eyes bulge out.

"Yeah, it's not enough that two kids have already gone missing after going off the reservation! These two thought they'd go out exploring, past midnight! Go ahead, tell Isaiah what you guys were up to!"

Ray shifts uncomfortably in his place. Nev holds onto him tightly.

"We heard from some other kids… about this light in the forest." Ray explains. "At night… so we wanted to see it. We snuck out. We took some snacks. We went past your house and towards the forest… but then I got scared."

"Did you see the light?" Isaiah asks. He then realizes everyone looks at him strangely.

"Yeah, we saw it." Ray answers after gulping. "It was scary and I told Brandon I wanted to go back. But he still wanted to check it out."

"Yeah, so apparently…" Nev's voice is a little shaky. "Brandon made fun of Ray. Ray came back home but Brandon told him that he'd be back after he got a closer look. And Brandon never came home–"

Nev cuts herself off and covers her mouth so she won't cry.

"He was supposed to come back after!" Ray yells. "That's what he told me!"

"Anyway, I don't know what the hell that kid is up to but he's gonna have a size 11 up his butt once I find him." Adriel tries to mask his worry with anger. "We're gonna be spending the day looking for him. Let me know if you see anything… hear anything…"

"I'll help you look!" Isaiah yells out.

"Why don't you just take care of yourself, get yourself cleaned up." Adriel points at the mess that is Isaiah.

"No, really, I'm fine." Isaiah says. "I just need a shower and–"

"We're heading into the forest now." Adriel says.

Everyone walks past Isaiah's house and towards the forest.

"Yeah, I'll shower and then catch up with you all!"

Isaiah has a quick shower, a quick coffee to try to jolt himself back to sanity… or at least to be partially awake… and then a quick brush of the teeth. As he attempts to throw some clothes on, he sees some damage in his bedroom once again. Minimal… but unmistakable. The beast is back. He throws a clean shirt on and bolts out the door to catch up to Adriel and the others.

Isaiah is slightly hesitant to head into the forest, but he realizes the light isn't there. He doesn't remember the last time he saw it. It had to be before they finished up with his place. Still, it must've been back. Ray said that he and Brandon saw it.

Poor Brandon. I hope he's alright. I hope he didn't go into the forest.

Isaiah forgets to call out of work, but he gets a call from his boss later on in the day. He apologizes and explains the situation to his boss. It sounds like his boss is okay with this. No matter, Isaiah is going to help Adriel and Nev look for their son. How could he not?

But hours and hours searching the forest and the surrounding area and they find nothing. The forest has an overpowering stench of cedar and eggs. It's strange. Ray is frightened the entire time, even though he stays right next to Nev. He says he doesn't remember where the light was, but Isaiah remembers where he saw it. Of course, he doesn't tell anyone he ever saw it. He does check the area where the light would've been… everything looks ordinary.

The group gives up searching the area as the sun sets. Nev is fighting back tears so that Ray won't cry. Adriel continues to grunt angry-dad comments about how much trouble Brandon is going to be in when he finally returns home. He hopes he can speak this into existence. But behind the gruff exterior Adriel is putting up, he's desperate to find his son, he's worried he won't find his son, he's horrified if he does find his son… what condition he'll be in.

Isaiah offers his sympathies… and encouraging words he can think of… Adriel doesn't want to talk. He walks home silently. Isaiah says goodbye to Nev and Ray. Nev silently says goodbye… and Ray turns back and looks directly into Isaiah's eyes as he shuffles home. His eyes are filled with terror and worry. Isaiah nods at little Ray, hoping to instill some confidence in him.

It's futile. Brandon may be long gone. Isaiah wants to help. But he has no idea what he can do. Meanwhile, he has his own problem. There is no way he's sleeping in his house tonight. He's getting a hotel. However, it would be strange, what with everything that has transpired, for him to leave the reservation at this hour. To go get a hotel now. It's a close-knit community. People would find out that he left and didn't return. And people are already viewing Isaiah in a different light.

Isaiah decides he'll pack a bag and leave for a hotel once it's late enough. Sneak off the reservation… sneak back early in the morning. He cannot sleep in his house tonight. This monster is back, terrorizing the half of his house off the reservation. Those ghosts have come back, terrorizing the half of his house on the reservation. Isaiah isn't sure what any of them want… none of it can be good… and no portion of his house is safe.

Isaiah eats dinner even though he isn't hungry. He makes pasta. He finds some vegetables in his crisper, chops them up, and tosses them in. He attempts to add salt, but in his stupor, he confuses the sugar with salt. The sugar makes for a strange savory and sweet pasta. It isn't bad. It isn't good. He finishes a little more than half of what he prepares and leaves the rest on a plate on the kitchen counter.

Isaiah figures he'll leave in a couple hours… around the time most people go to bed… but not too late. He heads to his bedroom and begins packing a bag with clothes and toiletries. It's evening and slightly dark, nowhere near pitch black outside, but Isaiah is still terrified. Every creak and groan of the floorboards under his weight has his eyes darting around, expecting to see the beast.

A floorboard beneath his feet is peeled up. This beast is so strong, it's horrifying. Isaiah tosses his bag down on the floor and goes through his mental checklist.

Deodorant!

He grabs his deodorant from the bathroom, tosses it in the bag, and then grabs the bag by the handle. He tries to lift it up but it's caught under the loose floorboard. Isaiah tugs the bag… it's really wedged under there. It still won't budge. Isaiah feels so aggravated with everything going on… just one more annoyance to deal with! He yanks with all his might, ripping the bag free from the floorboard. The floorboard breaks and Isaiah's momentum flings him backwards into the wall. He smacks the back of his head hard into the wall.

It's painful. It's hot. He's queasy.

And now… he's cold. A cold feeling… on the front of his face?

Isaiah blinks his eyes… he's laying on the floor… face first. His nose is smashed into the cold floorboards. He peels his face off the floor, the back of his head aches as he moves. He blinks his eyes again, trying to focus. It's so dark in the room. Isaiah scrambles to his feet. He checks his phone. Hours have passed.

Cold sweats drench Isaiah's entire face as his heart lurches!

I wanted to be out of here already!

He rushes out of his bedroom and goes straight for the front door. He stops. He realizes he doesn't have his wallet or his keys.

He's in such a fog, his head aches. He doesn't remember where he left them. He checks the office. Nope. He heads into the bathroom… some toiletries scattered around the edge of the sink… but nope.

He rushes into the living room, rummaging through all the junk on his coffee table. There's his wallet! He grabs it. Now, he just needs his keys.

Where the hell are they?!

He can't find his keys anywhere on the table. Then… he hears it. That familiar thump.

Off in the bedroom.

Another thump.

That thing is back.

Isaiah steps quietly out of the living room. He thinks maybe he should just head out the front door… walk to the hotel. Just escape now while he can. But that will take forever.

The thumping continues in the bedroom. Isaiah sneaks through the kitchen… slowly stepping towards the entranceway. Suddenly, a glint of something metal catches his eye. He turns towards it and realizes he left his keys on the counter next to his plate of half-eaten food.

He steps quickly and quietly towards his keys. Another loud thump in the bedroom. Isaiah freezes. Quiet.

I need to make a run for it.

He grabs the keys on the counter and yanks them… but doesn't realize the keychain was wedged underneath the plate of food. He inadvertently flings the plate of food into the hallway. It shatters on the floor in a noisy racket, food flung all over the floor.

A low and confused grumble emanates from the room. Silence. Then, a massive roar. Isaiah starts towards the front door, but then he hears the thumping of footsteps leaving the bedroom. Across the hallway, on the other side of the entrance way, on the other side of the front door, he sees the massive shadow in his room. Growing larger as it moves closer to the bedroom door.

Isaiah skids to a stop. The beast would surely get to him before he gets to the front door. He spins around and runs back into the living room… it doesn't seem as if the beast has ever gone in the living room. Isaiah dashes behind the far side of the couch and ducks behind it, positioning himself between the arm of the couch and the large window.

Isaiah stifles his shallow breath. The thumping enters the entranceway. It stops. He hears heavy breathing… animalistic sniffing. Isaiah peeks out from behind the couch to take a look.

His gaze heads across the living room, through the doorway into the entranceway, and there it stands. Those same porcelain white, hairless, muscular legs with those long claws extending out from the toes. The body is almost entirely hairless with the exception of some ragged hairs coming off the arms and chest. This beast stands eight feet tall, built like a cross between a gorilla and a man. Atop the muscular legs, even more muscular arms and chest. The chest heaves with irritated breathing.

Isaiah lifts his gaze higher to see the face of this thing. Its neck is craned as it sniffs the air. It's the most horrifying sight Isaiah has ever seen. Its face is ape-like, a pushed in snout, its jaws extend out, squared-off, jagged teeth. An almost lizard-like quality to this thing exists, the head is shiny and smooth. But the eyes. They're so horrifying. Because they're not like that of a monster. They're not like that of an animal.

The eyes are like that of a human's.

They're a piercing powder blue, black pupils with thought behind them as they shift back and forth as the beast sniffs. The beast extends an arm and lands its heavy hand on the wall, running its claws down the wall and leaving four symmetrical slash marks. It sniffs again, moving its head in the direction of Isaiah, eyes still gazing upward. Chest still heaving from its rapid breaths.

The beast sniffs harder, head turned towards Isaiah, and takes a step forward. Its foot crunches right down on the broken plate and spilled food. The beast grunts. Isaiah gasps… holds his breath, unable to move, watching in sheer horror as…

…the beast just stops. As if it froze. It holds its pose. Nose and eyes pointed up. It stops sniffing. Chest not heaving. Not a muscle is moving. It just stands there.

Isaiah is afraid that this is some tactic it uses to lure its prey in. He waits. Probably five seconds… and then the beast moves so suddenly Isaiah almost jumps out of his skin. The beast moves back, grunts in anger, and swings its hand at the wall. It leaves a bowling ball sized dent in the wall, spins around, and lumbers back into Isaiah's bedroom.

From Isaiah's bedroom, a light flashes, the same color as the light he saw in the forest. This beast is absolutely connected with that light in the forest… and those missing kids…

Isaiah listens. It's quiet. He waits… unwilling to even trust himself right now. It's still silent. Absolutely no noises.

He attempts to stand up from behind the couch when suddenly two deep brown eyes are right in front of his face. Isaiah screams nonsensically and stumbles backwards, falling on the floor. He looks up. The eyes belong to a face… transparent… but clearly an older person's face. The face on a body, also transparent, floating over him.

"Morsambula." The face says in labored breaths.

Isaiah scuttles backwards, trying to clamor to his feet, but only able to make it onto his butt. He sits between the couch and the coffee table. This spirit floats closer to him.

"We have a common enemy. Morsambula." The spirit struggles to speak.

"Morsambula, what is that? The thing? The monster?" Isaiah is panicked.

"Morsambula must be stopped." The spirit says.

Isaiah tries to catch his breath. The spirit is calm, though speaking is difficult for him. Isaiah studies the spirit closely, he looks to be an old Native American man.

"How do I stop him?" Isaiah asks.

"Morsambula. I must hide." And just like that, the spirit vanishes.

Isaiah is left alone on the floor… for the first time in a long time… he is alone… and he hates it.

**************

This was Part 2 of the Morsambula series. Head here for Part 3.

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