Chapter 16 - The Siege
Before they could even pack an overnight bag for the mountain, night fell hours earlier than it was supposed to.
The sky over the suburbs turned a sickly, unnatural black, blotting out the sun and the stars completely.
Every light in Rachel’s apartment suddenly blew out, showering the floor in sparks and plunging them into darkness.
The neighborhood dogs, which had been barking frantically all afternoon, fell dead silent.
"They are here, they know we are trying to close the door!" Elias shouted, ripping open his worn leather satchel.
He pulled out jars of coarse sea salt and a strange, crimson powder, frantically pouring lines across the windowsills and the front door.
Detective Aris drew his service weapon, knowing bullets were useless, but needing the heavy weight of the gun to steady his nerves.
"Get into the center of the room, right now!" Elias commanded Rachel and Madison.
The pounding started moments later.
It wasn't a single knock; it was dozens of heavy, violent thuds echoing from the walls, the roof, and the glass windows simultaneously.
Tall, shadowy silhouettes pressed against the windowpanes, their faceless heads seeking a way inside.
One of the glass panes shattered, and a smoky black arm reached through.
The second the smoke touched the crimson powder Elias had poured, it hissed like burning flesh, and the entity shrieked in a deafening frequency, pulling back.
"The barrier will only hold for a few minutes!" Elias yelled over the chaotic pounding.
"Her presence is drawing every entity within a hundred miles like a moth to a flame!"
Madison clung to her mother, her small eyes glowing faintly with violet energy in the pitch black.
"Mommy, they are so angry," Madison cried. "They say Daddy stole what belongs to them."
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"We are breaking through the line and making a run for my SUV," Aris ordered, jingling his car keys.
"I will drive straight through them, just be ready to run!"
