The Wraith
It was cold. It was always cold when the Wraith appeared.
Cory shivered beneath her blankets, pulling them as tightly around her body as she could manage without causing herself too much discomfort. She had tried to warn them about it, the grown-ups. She had seen it as soon as they moved into the old house. She had told them it wasn't happy about the renovations they were doing. It wanted walls to stay as they were. It didn't like Mommy's new paint. It didn't like Daddy's hammer. It was getting madder and madder.
They didn't see it though, they couldn't. Not like Cory could. She could always see them, the other things. Things that seemed invisible to most people. The grownups, and bigger kids called them ghosts and ghouls and specters. Cory just saw them for what she new they were, people, animals, deva's. They had never frightened her. Mommy said she was being silly.
"Ghosts aren't real Cory." She would state blandly.
Once Cory heard Mommy and Daddy talking in the downstairs of the house. After she tried to tell them how mad the Wraith was getting at them.
"When will she grow out of this Steve? I mean shes nearly 8 years old." Mommy said.
"She's just a kid. kids make stuff up when they want attention. Just ignore it. She'll find something else." Daddy replied.
So she stopped telling them the things the Wraith told her. Stopped warning them how mad it was. This made it even angrier. Now it wanted to hurt her for not saying anything. It pushed her down the stairs last night when she got up to go to the bathroom. She had bruises everywhere, and twisted her ankle.
"Oh my god! What happened sweety?!" Mommy exclaimed when she found her sobbing at the bottom.
The Wraith looked on in satisfaction. Cory pointed at it, towards the top of the stairs. She had almost told Mommy about what it had done, but when Mommy looked, she didn't see the Wraith.
"I fell." Cory replied, shoulders hunched in defeat.
It's going to burn............
Cory was shaken from her reverie. The Wraith's voice echoing through her mind. It felt as if her brain was freezing up, her eye's watered involuntarily.
It's going to burn............
"Go away!" Cory rasped, unable to yell, her throat clenched by fear. She flung back the blankets and ran into the hallway, where the small nightlight cast a faint yellow glow from the wall socket. It was no where in sight. But she could feel it watching her. Cory ran down the stairs, taking them two at a time. Her heart felt almost numb, it was beating so hard.
It's going to burn............
The chilling voice shuttered through her. Cory made a mad dash to the sitting room, she could feel it's presence following her. Why couldn't she see it? She hid herself behind the heavy linen curtains, and closed hers eyes shut as hard as she could. The air began to warm, was it going away?
BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP!
The fire alarm shrilled, crushing the silence of the night. Cory lept out from behind the curtains, as a searing heat made her recoil. They were ablaze. Smoke was quickly consuming the living room. The Wraith, finally visible, danced about in the flames. It's eyes on her, glowing in triumph, with a cruel and twisted grin on it's distorted face. Cory started to cough, but was tranfixed by the astonishing and surreal sight. Did it do this?
"Cory!" She heard her mothers voice from behind her. She turned. Her mother's eyes widened with disbelief. Cory smiled. She could see it! Mommy could see the Wraith. Cory could hear Daddy's feet thumping down the stairs. He was yelling something.
"Baby.........." her mother said shakely. "Baby, give me those matches............."
Finished.