SWNOVELS Chapter 17: The Dark Army
Cameron was standing alone in the kitchen a phone to his ear, annoyed that he was awake.
For some reason, he had been unable to fall asleep, and then was even more annoyed when he came back out to find that everyone was gone. They all had to be complete idiots to think it was a good idea to keep investigating the dark.
But then again, Jordyn was known for doing things like this…
“Hey. This is Jordyn. Leave a message or whatever.”
BEEP.
Cameron hung up without leaving a message and sighed, rubbing a hand over his face in exhaustion. He froze when he thought he heard something from outside. The house was quiet, but now there was a slight tapping at the window.
Tap.
Tap.
Tap.
Slowly, Cameron approached the curtains.
Tap.
Tap.
Tap.
Quickly, he ripped open the curtains and peered out the window and into the night to find…
Nothing there.
Tap.
Tap.
Tap.
Now the tapping was coming from a different window.
Cameron was starting to get a horrible feeling that something was about to happen. He just wasn’t sure what. Maybe he should find somewhere else to hide out. He looked over to the table and then grabbed Joey’s journal that had the information about Imaginary Friends and the keys to Jordyn’s car.
This town wasn’t too big. Maybe if he drove around he could find that idiotic ghost van that weirdo drove around. What was his name again? Brandon? He couldn’t remember. He couldn’t care less. Quietly, he opened the door and looked around in the dark, making sure that nothing was going to jump out at him and then snuck over to the car. Then he got in and put Joey’s journal in the passenger seat, and started the car.
It was when he looked behind him to put the car into reverse that he realized he was in trouble. Quickly, he jumped out of the running car and gawked at the scene before him.
The house was surrounded by dark shadows of people.
At least, he guessed they were people.
Cameron backed up, and then ran back into the house, slamming the door shut behind him. As soon as he was inside, he heard it again.
Tap.
Tap.
Tap.
Cameron cursed, and then ran towards the closet that they were keeping Shahwa in.
“Hey-what’s with all these figures outside the house?!” he demanded as soon as he had access to the talking teapot. At the sound of this, the genie chuckled.
“Oh… that must be the citizens of this wonderful town… Elizabeth must have sent them.”
“What are you talking about?!”
“Well all those nasty emotions had to go somewhere didn’t they? Those figures outside are simply the parts that was extracted from everyone here in town.”
“Well then-reverse it!” Cameron seethed, banging the teapot against the wall.
“I’m afraid I can’t do that. I’m currently trapped in a teapot.” the genie said snarkily. Cameron growled and then looked out the window to see the figures were coming closer.
BOOM!!
Cameron lost his balance as the entire house shook.
“What the hell-.”
Suddenly, the living room ceiling a few feet away collapsed in pink flames. Cameron stepped back in horror. Shahwa let out a gleeful whistle.
“Oh you better run boy. She’s here…”
Cameron dropped the teapot as the front door burst open and the dark figures started to come in. They looked like shadows, but staticky. Some of them moaned in despair and some of them cried with rage. Others gave sounds of disgust. They had no faces or features about them. They all looked the same…
Cameron ran towards the back as pink flames started to envelop the house and the shadow people came for him. He jumped out of the way just in time as another fireball hit the house and came through the wall. He stumbled out the back door and tripped on the patio. But before he could get up, he heard a little girl laugh.
Cameron looked up to see a dark spirit with pink flames for hair that he guessed was Elizabeth.
“Hello Detective Warrick. I came to get my helper back.”
At that moment, there was another explosion from within the house, but instead of pink flames, Cameron looked behind him to see what seemed to be puff of blue clouds. A deep bass voice sounded in the night air, and he guessed that the fire consumed house must have gotten to the teapot… melted it.. and released Shahwa.
“Ahhhh. That feels better…” the blue spirit stretched, floating down to hover next to the imaginary friend. “You know they call me a genie? I kind of like it.”
“Where’s everybody else?” Cameron demanded, the house burning behind him in the cold night air. Elizabeth laughed as her dark army of figures came out from the shadows.
“Oh you’ll see them soon enough.”
Cameron was at a loss of what to do as the house burned behind him and the figures surrounded him.
No one was there to watch what happened as the smoke billowed into the sky and darkened the stars. No one was there to hear the laughter of what sounded like a little girl. And no one was there to help Cameron.
A few minutes later, all was quiet except for the crackling of the flames and the steady hum of Jordyn’s car in the front yard, which was still running. Joey’s book still lay in the passenger seat, illuminated by the pink flames.