Howie shivered.  His blanket was curled on the floor. He didn't know  if it was at the foot of his bed or by it's side.  It could've been atop him  for all he knew.  Howie's eyes were clenched shut. -late last night and the night before, tommyknockers, tommyknockers knocking at the door, wanna go out, don't know if i can, cause i'm so afraid of the tommyknocker man- Howie's eyes remained shut.  Cautiously, he groped for a blanket.  His sweaty palm found only the wall. A bedpost.  Mattress. Wall again. Cold skin. He nearly screamed. -late last night and the night before, tommyknockers, tommyknockers knocking at the door, i'm not going crazy, cause I used to be sane but that was before the Tommyknockers came- His leg. His leg. It was alright. It was just his own leg.  He willed his heart to stop jackhammering in his chest.  He was definitely losing it. -late last night and the night before, tommyknockers, tommyknockers knocking at the door, can't keep them out with your picket fence, don't know if they exist in the physical sense- Howie didn't know what to do. He never had, nor did he think that this was gonna change any time soon.  He was rooming with AJ.  AJ would know what to do. A creak came from near the window on his left. -late last night and the night before, tommyknockers, tommyknockers, knocking at my door, they're in my head and the hotel too, lots of bad things those tommyknockers do- He tried to ignore everything. He tried to explain everything. The creak was AJ tossing and turning in his squeaky hotel bed. So what if the noise was to his left and AJ to his right? Sounds carried funny in these rooms...Howie groaned. -late last night and the night before, tommyknockers, tommyknockers knocking at the door, you can't do nothing once you've been heard, cause then the tommyknockers got you for sure- He thought he heard a whisper from the room's closet, indecipherable. Shaking, he tried to surmise how big the thing -the tommyknocker- could possibly be. There was lots of room in the closet, his stuff was still packed. -it could be big, it don't have to be small, cause my clothes are in my suitcase with brian's basketball- Oh shit. His suitcase. Oh shit. Shit shit shit shit shit. His clothes were packed in his suitcase. He couldn't unpack them because there was nowhere to put them. There was no closet. -they all know that you wouldn't be missed, the places where they are don't have to exist- Another creak. Another whisper. Almost discernable this time. Almost. Silence. Creak. Whisper. Oh no. It didn't just...no. He tried his hardest to pretend he hadn't heard- "Howie." -you know it's over, that you've lost the game, when you've heard the tommyknockers calling out your name- "Please no." He whimpered, then stiffened. They had heard him speak. Now they knew where he was, if they hadn't already. -you can't run and you know you can't hide, they whisper your name from your bedside- His name again. It was unmistakable. The scratchy voice that he wanted to pretend was AJ's had said his name. It was over. -you can't pretend, and you can't deny, when you see them out of the corner of your eye- Creak. "Howie." Creak. "Howie." Creak. "Howie." He tried to pray, but he had forgotten how. -someone has to help, has to break through, cause i'm scared of what the tommyknockers do- He could see it. Shrouded and gray. Closing the distance from the non-existant closet to where he lay at a steady interval. -you shouldn't be scared, shouldn't have no fear, you'll be ok cause the tommyknocker's here- Howie began to cry, silently and without motion. -you got tears rolling down your face, cause you know the tommyknockers own this place- Something--a last minute hope--clicked in his brain. "Our Father, Who art in Heaven," -late night and the night before- "Hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come," -tommyknockers, tommyknockers- "Thy will be done, on Earth," -breaking down the door- "As it is in Heaven. Give us this day our" -can't save your self- "Daily bread and forgive us our" -not even with prayer- "Trespasses, as we forgive those" -you think you're safe" "Who trespass against us. Lead us not into" -but- "Temption" -the- "Deliver us" -tommyknocker's- "from evil." -there- "A-" A cold hand clamped over Howie's mouth, and his screams were lost, if AJ had been there to hear them. Non-slash Index Home