The Banishing Read Online Free PDF Page B

Melissa strained her ears, listened closely, but she couldn’t discern what it was. Slightly nervous but now suddenly wide awake, Melissa peeled back the duvet carefully and lifted her legs over the side of the large bed, until her bare feet met the floor.
    She stood up and inched slowly to the bedroom door. She pressed her ear to it, listening. Yes, there is something, she thought, wondering whether to wake Mark. What if someone had broken in? Something about the sound stopped her. It didn’t sound like robbers salvaging through her belongings; it sounded light, careful, deliberate. Had a cat managed to get in, scratching at the door?
    Melissa realized she had been holding her breath, and she released it. She reached for the door handle and twisted it, pulling it open. It squeaked into the night, echoing through the room, and she turned to Mark to see if it had woken him. He seemed undisturbed, lost in his dream.
    Stepping into the hallway, into the darkness and shadows, Melissa pushed away thoughts of night-intruders and robbers. It was stupid; they had an alarm, which was set each night. It would have been blaring by now, barking its siren into the night. It wasn’t that they had much to steal, although the property was nice—a large, two bedroom home with a large lawn, conservatory, and a lounge to die for, according to Mark—but the charm and look of the home probably told people passing by that it might contain plenty of valuables. In truth, other than an expensive sound system and a 50” widescreen television, there was nothing of significant value at all.
    Melissa closed the bedroom door behind her and started descending the stairs. She paused, half-way down, listening. More noise from downstairs. It sounded like someone walking…no, shuffling along the carpet. It scared her. Was there somebody there?
    “Hello? I will call the police. My husband is upstairs.” Her voice sounded small, gulped up into the dark silence around her. If anybody had been there, they wouldn’t have felt frightened by her. Not sounding like that.
    She continued down the stairs, more loudly, trying to display a feeling of confidence. She fumbled for the light switch and snapped it on. Light flooded the hallway. Nobody was there.
    Melissa walked toward the lounge, feeling more reassured. She started to push open the door, when she heard another noise from within. Shit. She took a deep breath and pushed it open.
    The room was a blanket of pitch black, but her heart thudded wildly—too fast—when she saw the outline of a figure standing in the corner of the room.
    Chapter Six
    Melissa let out a wild, guttural scream and flipped on the light switch. She looked about her, frantically scanning the room in front of her, but the tall, shadowy figure had disappeared, as if it melted away by her very presence.
    Mark came pounding down the stairs, tying the strings of his robe together. His eyes were wide, scared. “What the hell is going on?” he cried, breaking into a run toward her. “What’s happening?”
    Melissa turned from Mark back to the lounge, staring, a hand against her chest. “There was somebody here.”
    Mark reached her, peering into the lounge. The empty lounge. “What? There’s nobody here.”
    His tone angered her—so controlled, enlightened. You didn’t see what I saw , she thought, as she crept quietly into the room. She checked behind the door, behind the sofa, then turned back to Mark. “I saw somebody. I’m not lying. I swear. Somebody tall was standing right in there in the room, as if…”
    “As if what?” Mark asked, padding into the room and plopping himself onto the sofa.
    “As if he was waiting.”
    “He?”
    Melissa sighed. “Yes, he.”
    “So, you saw this person? You know it was a man?” he asked, as if he was an investigator, trying to pry the facts from her.
    Melissa left the lounge and headed into the kitchen. She turned the light on there and peered around the room, cautious,