The Knocking
By Dan Schlueter
Weeks ago Jenny had sat at her desk scrawling out the invitations to her sleepover birthday party. The negotiations with her mother had been tense but she had finally caved. All it cost her was two weeks worth of dishes and no dating until she was thirty-five. She was pretty sure her mom was joking about that one but she had enough doubt to consider it before laughing at her own ridiculousness.
Her mother had allowed her to invite four girls. April was a bit of a brainiac that Jenny had met in chess club in fifth grade. She had since moved onto more popular circles but she remained friends with April despite the occasional protests from some of her more popular friends. Becca was the alpha female of the group. Head cheerleader and dating the quarterback, there was no doubt that Jenny and the others followed her lead.
The twins, Amie and Ally, had moved into the neighborhood a few months prior and quickly bonded with Jenny when they found out she could drive. Since then they had formed a solid friendship and the girls became as inseparable as the three musketeers.
The girls had arrived hours before and after dancing to some forgettable pop songs coming from the cd player they had settled in to watch a movie.
BOOM BOOM BOOM
The thunderous sound of the knocking startled the girls that had gathered for a sleepover at Jenny's house. The air in the room seemed to thicken as the banging at the door grew louder and louder.
Stephanie stormed into the room expecting to yell at the girls to keep it down. Her face was red with anger caused by the thought that her daughter could not control her friends long enough for her to make the popcorn they had requested. She walked into a far different scene than the one she had expected. One could easily see the fear on their faces. Their color reduced to a pale white. They trembled while huddled in the corner of the sectional sofa, gathered into a semicircle as if to keep watch in all directions.
BOOM BOOM BOOM
The knocking grew still louder, becoming loud enough that thinking was a difficult task. Tears started to stream from the girls eyes. Lighting crashed outside the house as if to signal a very strong presence was near. Another crash was heard as the ceramic mug of green tea Stephanie had been nursing fell to the ground and broke into a hundred pieces.
BOOM BOOM BOOM
Stephanie fell to her knees and began to cry. It was not fear that gripped Stephanie but sorrow. She knew what lay beyond the door. She knew it to be an unspeakable, unexplainable thing. She could not answer the door. She would not answer it.
"Go away!" She screamed as if she thought it would do any good but she knew that it would not. This was not the first time she had heard the knocking. With every part of her being she hoped she would never hear it again. That deafening pounding that struck her to the core of her soul as if all the wind hand been knocked out of her body.
BOOM BOOM BOOM
The pounding would not stop. It demanded to be answered. It would not be ignored.
BOOM BOOM BOOM
Jenny moved to her mother and wrapped her arms around her. As she did one of the girls retrieved a cell phone from her purse and tried to dial 911. Her fingers were shaking like a frail old woman causing her to have to dial again to depress the right buttons on the pearl white cell phone. Finally she was able to get the correct sequence of digits but the phone would not dial. The no signal message that flashed on the screen would normally have been nothing more than an inconvenience. Tonight however it added to the feeling of dread that consumed her whole body.
Jenny looked to her mother for hope but saw nothing but sadness and despair in her hazel eyes. Stephanie wanted to explain but she could not, she didn't know how. How could she explain to her daughter that there was nothing outside. In her mind she corrected herself. There was no one outside but there was definitely something. Something better left unexplained, a secret that had haunted her family for years. Death's messenger was at that door.
BOOM BOOM BOOM
Finally she gathered the courage to open the door. As expected no one was there. The knocking had always been followed by a death in the family exactly one hour later. All that was left of Stephanie's family was her daughter. She would protect her the only way she knew how. She kissed her daughter and told her she loved her before going upstairs to take every pill in the medicine cabinet. Stephanie died exactly one hour after the knocking. Her daughter would never know why she took her own life.
- - -
I am a software engineer that has had stories in my mind for decades that are finally fighting to free themselves.
By Dan Schlueter
Weeks ago Jenny had sat at her desk scrawling out the invitations to her sleepover birthday party. The negotiations with her mother had been tense but she had finally caved. All it cost her was two weeks worth of dishes and no dating until she was thirty-five. She was pretty sure her mom was joking about that one but she had enough doubt to consider it before laughing at her own ridiculousness.
Her mother had allowed her to invite four girls. April was a bit of a brainiac that Jenny had met in chess club in fifth grade. She had since moved onto more popular circles but she remained friends with April despite the occasional protests from some of her more popular friends. Becca was the alpha female of the group. Head cheerleader and dating the quarterback, there was no doubt that Jenny and the others followed her lead.
The twins, Amie and Ally, had moved into the neighborhood a few months prior and quickly bonded with Jenny when they found out she could drive. Since then they had formed a solid friendship and the girls became as inseparable as the three musketeers.
The girls had arrived hours before and after dancing to some forgettable pop songs coming from the cd player they had settled in to watch a movie.
BOOM BOOM BOOM
The thunderous sound of the knocking startled the girls that had gathered for a sleepover at Jenny's house. The air in the room seemed to thicken as the banging at the door grew louder and louder.
Stephanie stormed into the room expecting to yell at the girls to keep it down. Her face was red with anger caused by the thought that her daughter could not control her friends long enough for her to make the popcorn they had requested. She walked into a far different scene than the one she had expected. One could easily see the fear on their faces. Their color reduced to a pale white. They trembled while huddled in the corner of the sectional sofa, gathered into a semicircle as if to keep watch in all directions.
BOOM BOOM BOOM
The knocking grew still louder, becoming loud enough that thinking was a difficult task. Tears started to stream from the girls eyes. Lighting crashed outside the house as if to signal a very strong presence was near. Another crash was heard as the ceramic mug of green tea Stephanie had been nursing fell to the ground and broke into a hundred pieces.
BOOM BOOM BOOM
Stephanie fell to her knees and began to cry. It was not fear that gripped Stephanie but sorrow. She knew what lay beyond the door. She knew it to be an unspeakable, unexplainable thing. She could not answer the door. She would not answer it.
"Go away!" She screamed as if she thought it would do any good but she knew that it would not. This was not the first time she had heard the knocking. With every part of her being she hoped she would never hear it again. That deafening pounding that struck her to the core of her soul as if all the wind hand been knocked out of her body.
BOOM BOOM BOOM
The pounding would not stop. It demanded to be answered. It would not be ignored.
BOOM BOOM BOOM
Jenny moved to her mother and wrapped her arms around her. As she did one of the girls retrieved a cell phone from her purse and tried to dial 911. Her fingers were shaking like a frail old woman causing her to have to dial again to depress the right buttons on the pearl white cell phone. Finally she was able to get the correct sequence of digits but the phone would not dial. The no signal message that flashed on the screen would normally have been nothing more than an inconvenience. Tonight however it added to the feeling of dread that consumed her whole body.
Jenny looked to her mother for hope but saw nothing but sadness and despair in her hazel eyes. Stephanie wanted to explain but she could not, she didn't know how. How could she explain to her daughter that there was nothing outside. In her mind she corrected herself. There was no one outside but there was definitely something. Something better left unexplained, a secret that had haunted her family for years. Death's messenger was at that door.
BOOM BOOM BOOM
Finally she gathered the courage to open the door. As expected no one was there. The knocking had always been followed by a death in the family exactly one hour later. All that was left of Stephanie's family was her daughter. She would protect her the only way she knew how. She kissed her daughter and told her she loved her before going upstairs to take every pill in the medicine cabinet. Stephanie died exactly one hour after the knocking. Her daughter would never know why she took her own life.
- - -
I am a software engineer that has had stories in my mind for decades that are finally fighting to free themselves.
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