listening now. Tell me what you know."
"Not moving dark. Bwoken man."
A loud thump, followed by shattering glass, came from somewhere overhead. There was a brief silence as the four looked up the stairs toward the source of the noise.
"Um, dude? Please tell me you have a cat. You do have a cat, right? Maybe a dog?"
"No," Link said, never moving his watchful gaze from the stairs that led to the kitchen above. His bedroom door remained open. From where he sat on the bed, the only thing Link could see was the kitchen ceiling.
"Is someone home?" Celia asked hopefully. "When does your dad get home?"
"It's not my dad."
Without warning, the bedroom door slammed shut.
"You sure?" This time Panch's voice cracked as he asked the question.
"How do we get out of here?" Celia said in a calm tone, trying to conceal the trembling in her voice.
Both Ayden and Link looked in the direction of the door just as the lights in Link's room switched off.
33
Fangs in the Shadows
Darkness swallowed the small group, making movement difficult. Link maintained a tight hold on Ayden as a cool dampness saturated the air.
"Don't suppose you have a maid concerned about savin' electricity?" Panch asked, still trying to find some rational explanation.
"Shhhh" the other three said in unison.
"Ayden," Link whispered, "what should we do?"
"You're asking a four-year-old?" Panch said, not even attempting to mask his disdain. "Wonderful. For a second there, I was worried."
Link could feel Ayden's movement, but it was too dark to tell what he was doing.
"Ayden, where are you going? I can't see you," Link said, careful to keep his voice low.
Ayden felt around for the photo. Then he placed it into Link's hand and said, "Picture."
"Not a good time, Ayden. We can talk about the picture later. We need to figure out what to do."
The door above them began to squeak.
"You not wisten!"
"Link, where's the camera you took this picture with?" Celia asked.
"On my dresser. Why?"
"I think now might be a good time to get it."
"But I still don't see why-"
"Just do it!" Celia snapped. She amplified her words with as much emphasis as she could muster without actually raising her voice.
A deep growl cut through the quiet. Whatever had closed the door now hid behind it. Slowly the door creaked open, but the lights were out in the kitchen too, so all Link could see was a dark shadow coming through the doorway. The stairs began to groan beneath the weight of something large. The growling grew louder. The click clacking of long, sharp nails scratched on each new tread, tearing into the silence.
Link stood on his tiptoes and snuck over to the dresser, trying to avoid any sudden movements. Even if the camera could imprison a shadow thing, what good would it do against some crazed pit bull or wolf? Most likely, the only thing the camera would accomplish would be to snap a photo of one of his friends being eaten alive. Not exactly the kind of keepsake he wanted.
What if the creature attacked Ayden? The once-rapid beating of Link's heart sped up even faster. The fear that coursed his body was replaced by the familiar kindling of anger. Nothing messed with his baby brother. Not while he was still alive.
The beast's devilish growl reverberated around the room. What was this thing? It sounded more like the roar of a lion than some stray dog.
Aside from a low rhythmic breathing from the thing, silence had again grabbed hold of the darkness. Link held the camera with steady hands. The brief, suspended moment of quiet collapsed into a thunderous pounding as the beast crashed down the remaining stairs with reckless abandon.
A shriek of pain shattered Link's confidence as he fumbled around the top of the camera for the switch to turn it on. It was Panch. Link could hear a tumult of noises and thuds, tinged with cries of anguish and fear.
Panic once again gripped Link's heart, making his actions clumsy and slow. Frustrated, he nearly chucked the camera at the beast before finally finding the switch. Without even focusing the shot, he began snapping off pictures. Reminiscent of one of those silly flipbooks, the flash strobed through the room before wedging its way into the midst of the tumult of bristled fur, dripping fangs, and terrified faces.
Then, as quickly as it had begun, it was over. The growling, the screaming, everything stopped. The air stank of decaying flesh and burnt hair. In the quiet stillness of his room, Link froze, too scared to discover what awaited him in the lingering darkness.
"Ayden?" he called. "Are you there?"
34
The Face in the Mirror
Link called out again, more urgently this time, "Ayden? Where are you, buddy?"
"I'm otay," came the response.
"I'm okay, too. Thanks ever so much for asking," Celia said. "Nice to know where I fall on your list of concerns."
"Panch? What about you? Are you okay? Panch?" When he didn't answer, Link hurried over to the switch plate at the base of the stairs and restored the lights. What he saw, after his eyes adjusted, sent another wave of panic rippling over him. Panch's body slumped awkwardly over the top of the bed. All his muscles were limp and unmoving. Penny-sized puncture holes littered his body where the creature had bitten his arm and chest. Blood was everywhere. Next to the bed was the massive carcass of what Link assumed to be some kind of dog. He nudged it with his foot, but the beast didn't move. There weren't any visible signs of a fatal blow. Link marveled as the realization fully blossomed in his mind that somehow the camera had killed it.
Snapping him from his contemplation, Celia said, "Panch. Is he..." she began, not wanting to complete her thought.
Link leaned over and felt his friend's neck and breathed a deep sigh of relief. "No, he's alive. There's a pulse."
"Then make him wake up," Celia said. "We need to get him to the hospital."
"He's probably unconscious. I'm going upstairs to get some antiseptic. We need to clean those wounds. Use my sheets or whatever else you can find. Do what you can to stop the bleeding. Ayden, you stay with Celia and help her out with whatever she needs, okay?"
"Link, what just happened?" Celia asked, as she carefully wrapped Panch's arm in one of his sheets. "Was it the camera? Do you think it really worked? How could a monster that huge simply drop dead because of a camera flash? But that's what happened, right?" She glanced down at the beast's remains and took an involuntary step back.
"Did you get a good look at it?" Link asked.
"Not really. I think it was some sort of monster...a dog...I don't know. It was attacking us one minute, there were a bunch of flashes from the camera, and then it was dead. Do you think it's trapped inside a picture like that thing with those horrible eyes? Does the camera suck out their soul or something?"
Link knew all too well the horrible eyes to which Celia referred. They were the devilish, onion eyes that had haunted his dreams for months. "I guess. Maybe. I don't know. I'm sort of winging all this as I go. Just take care of Panch. I'll be back as soon as I can."
Celia reached out and grabbed his arm. "What if there's another one of those monsters out there?"
"I think if there were two of them, they both would have attacked."
"All the same, why don't you take the camera, just to be on the safe side?"
"What about you?"
"What, just because I'm a girl you think I can't defend myself? Besides, I have this guy to keep me safe, don't I?" She playfully punched Ayden on the arm. "He seems brave enough for the both of us."
Link watched his brother sidle up next to her and smile. "Fine. But don't be a pair of heroes. If you hear anything that's even the slightest bit suspicious, scream. I'll come running."
Link skulked through the kitchen with the camera raised and his finger poised over the button, ready to snap a picture. He rummaged through a couple of drawers but didn't find what he was looking
for. Not even bothering to close them, he headed for the medicine cabinet in the bathroom.
The living room was an absolute mess. The back door had been smashed inward from the outside. The force had rocketed shards of glass clear across the room. Link grimaced. His father was not going to be pleased.
Continuing to the bathroom, he paused by the sink. The reflection he saw was frightful. His face looked worn and haggard. At least the swelling around his eye had gone down. He clasped the handle of the cabinet door and pulled. Unlike before, the door opened easily without the slightest hint of resistance.
He quickly retrieved the antiseptic and shut the door. When he did, his reflection winked. Wait a minute...He hadn't winked.
He was about to shrug it off when his reflection smiled a sinister, pointy-toothed grin similar to the creature Ayden from earlier. Before Link had a chance to raise the camera, the cabinet door ripped free from his hand and slammed into his head, knocking him backward. Link tried to regain his balance by waving his hands in big circles while he searched for something to grab, but his calf struck the edge of the tub, and he tripped headlong into the tiled backsplash. The last thing he saw before the room blurred into darkness was the plastic lining of the shower curtain as it fell over his head.
When Link awoke, he was no longer in the bathroom. Instead of the hard, porcelain tile, a soft cushion comfortably propped up his head. From the busted TV and floor of shattered glass that filled his vision, he assumed that he was lying on the living room couch.
"His eyes are open! I can't believe you, Link! All you had to do was find some antiseptic, and you manage to