Screen Time
Short Story, Paranormal Fiction, Horror
"Mom."
She's sitting right there, her fingers tapping across her phone screen. I wait for her to look up, but she doesn't. Big surprise.
"Mom."
She shifts a little. Maybe she heard me this time. I lean forward.
"Mom."
Nothing.
"MOM!"
Her head snaps up, eyes narrowed. "For Christ's sake, can't you see I'm busy?" Her voice slices through the silence.
"Sorry. I just… I wanted to get the Halloween decorations out."
She sighs, rolling her eyes. "It's still three weeks away."
"I know, but everyone else is putting up their decorations. Please?"
"Tony, I..."
"Please. Please. Please. You won't have to do anything, I promise. I'm so bored!"
She looks at me, then back at her phone. Another sigh. "Good lord. Will you let me be then?"
"Yes!" I spring up, already halfway to the closet. "Promise!"
She dismisses me as she sinks back into her phone, gone again. I feel like I'm alone all the time. That's why I got so excited when I found the video. I'd been scrolling through YouTube, watching my favorite Halloween videos, when a new one popped up. This one was different from the others. It was like a how-to video called Summon a Friend.
The guy had this long, scraggly beard and wore a cape with an epic hood. That hood was enough to catch my attention. But his voice was calm and soothing, and he talked like he was letting me in on a big secret. He called it a fun trick. A way to bring a shadow friend to life. Any friend would be nice. At least I'd have someone to talk to. He posted a list of supplies.
I pull the Halloween box from the top shelf and start sorting through it. Ahha! I knew we had a black candle and a box of matches. Just what I need. "What?!" I can hardly keep quiet when I see a long cape with a hood. It's not as epic as the guy in the video, but I feel like a real warlock when I put it on. I grab a piece of chalk from my school stuff. This oughta get her attention! "Check it out, Mom!"
"That's nice, Tony," she says without looking up.
The video plays right in front of her, and she doesn't even lift her head. The guy's face starts flickering in and out like it's a super old film or something. Then the screen goes all grainy for a second, and this weird symbol—a star—appears.
"This is The Shadow Star," the bearded man explains. It seems like his voice is right next to me. I check Mom. She's oblivious. A prompt appears on the screen: Step One: Draw the Shadow Star. He demonstrates.
Mom's chair is in the middle of the room, so I draw the star around her.
"What are you doing now?" She actually noticed.
"I'm conjuring a friend."
"Oh, Tony. Just go outside. I'm sure there's someone to play with. What about Billy?"
"He's at his dad's."
"Okay, well, keep it down, I want to concentrate." Dismissed again.
The man is urging me on. I'm so excited; I'm vibrating! But I'm trying to be quiet. Step Two: Place the Offering. He tells me to put something important in the middle of the star. Something I love. I love mom. She's in the middle of the star, so I call that good. The screen flickers again as we move to Step Three: Light the Way. I light the black candle in front of Mom's chair. She doesn't move. I can't believe she didn't even notice I lit a match. The flame flickers, casting long shadows on the walls. The room feels colder all of a sudden.
Step Four: Say the Words. The guy on the screen leans in, his voice dropping to a whisper. I repeat after him, speaking low so I don't bother Mom.
"Tivash, Ournah, Xul-thar'sh,
Come forth from the world of ash.
Shadows deep, and darkness wide,
Cross the veil, and do not hide."
I say it again. This time, I feel weird. There are butterflies in my stomach. Maybe I shouldn't be doing this. But I keep going.
Step Five: "Look into the shadows and wait."
I wait. The candle flickers like someone is blowing on it. Mom looks up in time to see the shadows in the room stretching and bending in ways that don't seem right. The walls look further away, like the room is bigger somehow. Colder too.
"Tony, what have you done?" Mom's voice cuts through the air like a slap. I glance up at her. The candle goes out. Mom's face is lit up by her phone screen. She's looking down at me, but there's something wrong with the way she's standing—her shadow.
Her shadow doesn't match her.
It moves, not like a normal shadow, not like it should. It's creeping toward me, slowly stretching across the floor like it's reaching out.
"Mom?" My voice cracks.
Her eyes are black. She drops the phone. I feel the air around me thick and cold. The shadow—it moves again, slithering across the room toward me. I want to scream, but nothing comes out. It rises up from the floor, dark and cold, forming into something. A shape. No… a person. A friend. And it's here for me.