Ruby 9

Ruby sat, dazed in the darkness of Gran’s house. Mostly for comfort, she had wrapped her arms around herself and had started rocking back and forth. She quickly stopped.

“There’s no use in going completely crazy,” she muttered to herself. She had a vision of herself in the looney bin, screaming and sitting in a puddle of her own urine. Maybe she was there already…and just didn’t know it. Maybe that would be better. She smirked.

With that….thing….outside, they all needed their wits. She shuddered as she thought about how close she had come to letting the creature into the house. But it had sounded just like Joe. God…she wished that he were here right now! How had the monster even known what she was thinking? Could it read her thoughts?

“Well, read this!” she gritted her teeth together while thinking some of the most horrible thoughts that she could. But then she quickly ceased. What if the thing fed on bad thoughts? God! She was so confused.

Gran was lying down on her couch, trying to get some sleep. The boy was asleep in Gran’s old blue recliner. Usually, Ruby would have been stretched out in it herself, but she couldn’t think of anything but that dark shadow. She hadn’t heard anything from it in over an hour…none of them had. But she knew that it was still out there. She could feel it.

She heard Gran shift on the couch, the sound of rustling cloth filling the darkness. She felt so sorry for the old woman. What if the stress of all this got to her? What if she had a heart attack? She prayed for strength…not knowing if God was even listening. But it was just too much for her. Whenever she tried to think about what was going on, her head would start to ache.

But the good thing was that the creature had not tried to break into the house. According to the boy, it couldn’t come in…unless it was invited. Maybe they could just wait until the morning. Would daylight drive it away? She prayed that it would. But how long would it be before the dawn?

***

Asleep in the recliner, Andrew Jones was unaware of what was going on around him. In his dreams, he was walking in a brightly lit meadow. Mommy was walking beside him. She was talking to him. He knew that Mommy was dead…that he would never see her again…and he started to cry.

“Hush now baby,” Mommy said, rubbing his tears away with her hand. She was much prettier in his dream than she had ever been in real life. She looked at him with eyes that seemed to be happy and sad at the same time.

“Now listen to me Andrew,” Mommy was saying again, “I don’t have much time. That thing outside the house won’t stop until you are dead. It won’t wait much longer. It has been searching all over the house to find a way in. And it is going to find a way in very soon.”

“But the little white man said that it couldn’t come in unless it was invited,” Andrew said crossly. He didn’t want to hear what Mommy was saying. Why didn’t she just tell him that everything was going to be okay? Isn’t that what she was supposed to do?

“I know honey,” Mommy said, “And usually it couldn’t. It can’t come in through windows or doors or anything like that unless it is invited. But it is sneaky…it will find a way. And it is strong!”

And then the Pillsbury Dough Boy was with him again, standing beside Mommy in the field. The day wasn’t as sunny as it had been. Dark clouds had started to roll overhead. Mommy was whispering in his ear….telling him what he had to do. He looked over at the Pillsbury Dough Boy. The little white man had started to cry….and his tears were red…like blood. Andrew kept listening….but he was crying also. He was a good boy….and he didn’t want to do what Mommy was telling him that he had to do. She was telling him something very important….and it was about the woman that he had run into.

“Her name is Ruby,” Mommy said. And then she told him what he needed to do.

***

She was young again. Looking in a mirror, she gave a little yelp of pleasure to see that the wrinkles were gone…the gray in her hair had vanished. Instead, there was the visage of youth staring back at her. She reached up to feel the smoothness of her skin….the fullness of her lips….her bosom.

“Grace?” came a voice that she hadn’t heard in years…a strong, young, masculine voice.

Twirling around on legs that felt as light as air (and why shouldn’t they….they were young, strong legs), she saw Tom….her darling husband. Only…he wasn’t her husband yet. That wouldn’t be married for at least 6 more months. He was staring at her through the open window….grinning in that mischievous way that made her heart flutter and her knees shake.

“Tom!” she mock scolded, “What are you doing out there? If my daddy catches you sneaking around here….”

“You’re home all alone,” Tom grinned, a summer breeze blowing in the intoxicating scent of him toward her. God….she loved how he smelled.

“So?” Tom asked.

“What?” she replied, knowing what he was going to ask before he asked it.

“Can I come in?” Tom was leaning toward her. And she wanted him to come in. She wanted him to take her in his arms and kiss her...to make love to her. She felt warm all over. It was delicious. She hadn't felt this way in years! And before she could even think about it, she invited him.

“Come on in big boy,” she smiled.

But as the door knob started to turn, she knew that something was wrong. Tom had been dead now for 7 years. And she wasn’t young anymore. She looked in the mirror…and saw that old age had once again settled onto her face.

And still the door knob turned.

***

Ruby sat in the darkness, waiting for the light of dawn. Surely they would be safe then…they could escape from this living hell and get to town. Maybe things would turn out alright.

From across the room, she heard the low moan of the boy as he slept. It sounded like he was having a bad dream…but then again, who could blame him. And then…she heard Gran sigh out in her sleep.

And her heart froze as she heard Gran’s voice whisper in the darkness, “Come on in big boy.”

What had Gran just done? Who…or what…had she invited into the house? But she knew the answer. Downstairs, in the basement, she heard the creak of the hinges. A door was being opened….slowly. Something was in the house!

Until next week….class dismissed!