Word of the day: Jump
“Terry,” Marty said, “I’d like to speak to my wife, please.”
Leslie stood and stepped toward Marty. Her sinister expression caused him to take a slight stumble backward, a move that surprised him given this condition. He fought to curtail the tremble that consumed his body. He steadied himself against the china cabinet behind him as Leslie continued her approach.
“Mommy?” Mason asked. “What’s wrong? What are you doing?”
“I don’t think I like him.” The mix of childlike innocence and dreadful menace in her voice chilled Marty’s blood. He wondered when the hell Tanner was going to show up.
“I want to talk to Leslie,” he insisted.
“Stop, Mommy,” Mason stood and grabbed his mother’s hand. “You’re scaring me. Don’t.”
“Yeah,” Marty offered a half smile, “you’re scaring us.” The lame joke didn’t land.
Marty slid along the cabinet to the wall and found himself in the corner. He stopped and once again wondered where the hell Tanner was.
“Mommy. Don’t!”
Marty was trapped. He glanced at the chair and wondered if perhaps he could jump to it and destroy it. The futility of the brilliant plan was underscored by his lack of something with which to destroy it and no guarantees that it would solve the problem of a malevolent spirit of a child possessing his wife. Fear gripped his body as Leslie moved on him and pinned him down. Her face contorted into an awful, evil grimace and she pulled a fist back.
Marty’s world faded to black.