Chapter 5

A Guest Uninvited

All the blinds in the house had been pulled down and the lightsturned off. A sickening feeling gripped my stomach as my eyes took in the grim scene. The coffee table in the living room was overturned and the corners of the couch cushions were shredded, spilling their fluffy innards all over the floor. The shelves of our entertainment center had been unceremoniously emptied, with books, DVDs and picture frames tossed carelessly about the room. It was probably much worse than I could see in the shadows.

I had just reached for the light switch when a loud crash from the kitchen stopped me dead in my tracks. I was not alone. Whoever had destroyed the house was still lurking nearby, rummaging through our things.

My first instinct was to run for help, but in our neighborhood it could be nearly thirty minutes by the time the cops arrived, and by then it would be too late. I had to have more to go on. I needed to catch a glimpse of the intruder so we had a chance at capturing him. Then, I could run.

Swallowing hard, I slipped into the hallway and pressed myself against the wall to listen. I heard pots and pans spill to the floor with a terrible clatter. What a clumsy crook, I thought to myself. Then again, maybe it wasn’t a thief. The thought suddenly struck me that this might be the same shrouded stalker who had attacked me at school. He apparently had not found what he was looking for in my bag and now he was searching my house! This new revelation made the hairs on my neck stand on end.

Calm down, Hunter. Don’t let your imagination get the best of you. He doesn’t know you are here yet. Just one look, that’s all you need, I reassured myself. Despite my pep talk, my imagination still ran wild with possibilities until a small squeaky voice shattered them all.

“Yum, yum,” the voice said happily, amidst obnoxious smacking and crunching. From the sound of things, my uninvited guest had helped itself to a snack from our kitchen. Now, more curious than afraid, I turned the corner and entered the room.

A hazy white cloud billowed in the air like a dense fog. Apparently, one of the sounds I had heard earlier was Mom’s porcelain container of flour, which had been smashed on the floor, spreading flour-dust throughout the room. A trail of three-toed footprints led through the powder to the far side of the center island where the munching sounds originated. From where I stood I couldn’t actually see the other side, but I knew something was there. The pantry door was wide open and a variety of snack foods were being flung out in every direction, some landing near my feet.

“Come out of there!” I shouted, flicking the lights on, hoping to catch the thief red-handed.

Whatever it was let out a terrible scream and scurried away.

Before I could catch sight of the thief, the basement door shot open, followed by a painful tumbling down the stairs.

I made my way across the kitchen, carefully stepping around the mess of crackers, cereal and other snack foods the intruder had torn into. A cold draft blew up the stairwell as I stared into the darkness below. I grabbed the flashlight that we’d hung inside the door, switched it on and started my descent with cautious, creaking footsteps.

At first glance the dim basement appeared unoccupied, lit only by what little light spilled in through the small below-ground window cracked open above the dryer.

“I know you’re down here!” I yelled. “Come out where I can see you!”

A scuffling sound seemed to come from behind one of the shelves. I targeted my flashlight in the general area and watched for movement in the shadows. Not finding anything, I continued down and clicked on the single pull-chain light.

The basement was an organized mess, a clutter of junk we had accumulated through the years. Piled high on several rows of slightly bowed shelves meant to hold half the weight we had put on them, was all our junk. It was here many of our childhood memories were stored. Boxes of sports cards, winter coats, toys we had outgrown, and of course, Emily’s old trophies from past years in gymnastics, track and basketball. There were even a few choice items Dad had left behind, like his bowling balls, fishing rods and a pair of rubber boots still covered in mud. A pile of freshly folded laundry sat atop the dryer, pressed, folded and ready to be delivered to our rooms. Everything seemed to be okay.

A gurgle of water rushed out of the basement boiler and up into the pipes overhead. The sound startled me for a moment, but it stopped nearly as soon as it started and everything was quiet again. That’s when I heard something that didn’t belong.

Shrump. Shrump. Shrump.

A dirty grinding sound seemed to be coming from behind one of the three rows of shelves. It was the kind of sound that made you grit your teeth and tighten your fists.

Shrump. Shrump. Shrump.

Stepping slowly forward, I peered down each aisle of shelves, hoping to find the source of the sound. The first aisle was empty; the second was occupied mainly by a large roll of spare carpet. The third and final row seemed empty as well until something short and square scooted out from beneath the utility sink and bumped into my foot.

It was a small box, turned upside down to cover whatever hid beneath. The box spun around and shuffled back toward one of the shelves, bumping into the side of it as well. What lay beneath was not nearly as threatening or large as I had once imagined.

Sh-rump. The box slid to a stop.

“Well then,” I wondered aloud, “what do we have here?”

Bending low I grasped the box with one hand and lifted it gently, aiming the bright beam of the flashlight beneath it to reveal the intruder. A ghostly burst of black smoke rushed out into the room, followed by a horrible high-pitched shriek that chilled me to the bone.

“Ah-eeeeeeeee!”

The sound alone made my heart skip a beat and I stumbled back from the shock of it, nearly falling on my backside. The dreadfully angry racket, filled with terror and rage, seemed to circle the room with incredible speed. A powerful gust of wind blew past my face, shattering the light bulb in the socket. With the light gone, the room fell silent once more.

What was that? I wondered, suddenly very afraid of what I had just released. This was no ordinary creature.

I stood up and listened for any sound of life nearby. My heart drummed loudly in my ears, pacing off each second with its heavy beat. Just then, something cold touched the back of my neck, and my stomach dropped another inch.

“Stay back,” I whirled around in fright, swinging the flashlight in self-defense. Nobody was there. The only thing moving in the darkness was the dancing chain of the ceiling light. I sighed in relief and caught the chain mid-cycle to stop its swinging.

With the light bulb shattered, all I had left was the light from my flashlight. I traced the bright beam anxiously across the wood ceiling overhead then down the walls and all around the room.

A clattering of aluminum cans in the corner directed my attention to the toppled recycle bag. Uncrushed cans were rolling every direction across the cement floor. I followed one of them with my light as it landed beside a ratty old blanket that was lumpy with movement.

“Hey, I know you’re under there!” I shouted. My voice warbled nervously. I grabbed a shovel for protection with my free hand and added, “Whatever you are, come out now or I’ll…I’ll pound you flat!”

The lump stopped moving, but there was no response.

I balanced the flashlight on the edge of a shelf, carefully aiming its beam toward the blanket. Then, gripping the rough wooden handle of the shovel with both hands, I stepped forward to face the lump. As I approached the blanket, the thing moved again and started cooing softly. The sound was surprisingly friendly and cute—like a small helpless kitten.

“Sure…now you act nice!” I muttered to myself as I approached the blanket with shovel in hand. What kind of cold-hearted person could smash a purring kitten? Now, I had to see what hid beneath before I attacked it.

Thinking better of my “pounding” idea, I lowered the shovel and lifted the edge of the blanket with the tip. Another horrid blast of wind and black smoke blew past me as before. Only this time, the high-pitched squeal that came with it sounded closer to a word than a scream.

“Liiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiie!” the invisible thing shrieked.

The flashlight fell to the floor, spinning in place and casting a dizzying array of shadows on the walls. I dropped the shovel and covered my ears at the sound. A second gust of wind passed overhead, blowing my hair back with its force. I ducked and covered my head in fright.

“Liiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight!” the scream wailed again.

This time I understood it.

“Light?” I said, eyeing the flashlight that was still spinning. Maybe this thing was afraid of the light. Of course, it all made sense now. That’s why all of the blinds in the house had been pulled shut. I reached out and grabbed the spinning flashlight, putting a stop to the crazy display of light and shadow.

“Liiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight!” the scream grew unbearably stronger.

I covered my ears in pain. As much as I wanted to keep the light on for protection, I couldn’t possibly stand the sound much longer.

“Okay, I get it. You don’t like light!” I screamed back.

I flicked the light off, but knew I had to come up with another plan quickly. Sitting alone in the dark was not an option either. Grabbing a dark sock out of the dirty clothes pile, I pulled it over the end of the flashlight to diffuse the beam to what seemed like a safe level. Perhaps the diminished light wouldn’t be a problem. I flicked the flashlight back on, satisfied with my quick thinking.

“There…no more light…” I said aloud, wondering where the thing might pop up next. “You can come out now!”I caught a brief flutter of motion out of the corner of my eye as the pile of laundry Mom had neatly folded toppled to the gritty cement floor.

Something moved beneath the heap of clothes.

Aiming the now dull light beam at the fallen pile, I watched with amazement as a small creature, not much bigger than a fat guinea pig, popped out from a T-shirt and peered at me with two enormous blue eyes shining in the darkness.

Those eyes. The eyes in the orb, I thought at first. But there was something different about these eyes…they didn’t frighten me. For some reason, I felt at ease as I looked over the creature.

Amidst a frazzle of grey, fluffy hair was a round little blue face. Its gleaming eyes bulged out of its face like oversized orbs, gazing back at me with unblinking wonder. A long furry tail curled up behind it, making it look more like a monkey than a rodent—but definitely a cross between the two.

“Light gone?” it asked curiously in a weak voice.

“Uh…yeah…it’s okay, see? I covered it!” I said, feeling more than a little awkward talking to a creature I had never seen before. It cocked its puffy head to one side and watched me with nervous anticipation of my next move.

“So you don’t like light, huh?”

It shook its head and turned around to groom itself, tending to the singed hair that covered its body. From the looks of things, it had seen better days. Something had burned the little creature from head to toe, leaving patchy spots of missing fur all over its body. I began to wonder if it wasn’t the light itself.

“Light bad!” it said, as if reading my thoughts.

“Listen, I’m sorry if I hurt you,” I said, trying to sound as comforting as possible. “I had no idea the light was doing that.”

My response seemed to calm the little thing for the moment. The charred portions of its fur had already begun to miraculously heal and grow at a surprising rate. In no time at all it looked as if the creature had never been harmed.

“Wow, how did you do that?” I wondered.

The creature returned what looked like a smile and stood up on two feet, shaking the last edge of the shirt sleeve from its ear. Any reservations I had about the uninvited guest quickly vanished. All I could think about now was how charming it was. I reached down in hopes of petting the critter, but it scooted away and curled up into a perfect ball before I could touch it.

“Oh, it’s okay, I’m not going to hurt you—I just want to feel your fur,” I said gently, making a petting motion with my hand. It peeked out of its ball shape and trembled as I approached with a slower pace. When at last we touched, it relaxed and uncurled, cooing under the palm of my hand and leaning into each stroke I offered. Its fur was warm and soft, like the down of a bird.

“You’re so soft, what are you anyway?” I wondered.

“Yor,” it replied in a squeaky little voice.

“A yor, huh? I’ve never heard of a yor before; you must be from another realm,” I reasoned. “Maybe from Solandria?” I stopped petting the thing for a moment, and it fell over into the laundry again.

“Are you from Solandria?” I asked.

“Yors, yours!” the creature repeated, this time pointing at me with one of its oversized five-fingered hands.

“Mine? Are you saying you are mine?”

It nodded enthusiastically, “Yours!”

“Oh no…no, no, no. There is no way on earth that is happening. I can’t have pets.”

To my surprise, the creature made the most pitiful face and burst into tears, sobbing much louder than its size should permit.

“Whoa, wait a second. It’s not like I don’t want you…it’s just that I’m not allowed to have pets—at least not furry ones anyway. We had a bird once and Em has her fish, but Mom is allergic to animal hair and she’d freak if she found out I had a rodent in the house.”

The little thing seemed only slightly comforted at my explanation. He dried his eyes with one of my socks and blew his nose into it. “Me yours,” it insisted, “not Mom.”

“Listen, I really wish I could,” I admitted, trying to ignore the fact that my sock was now covered in fur ball slime. “It’s kind of nice to have someone from Solandria to keep me company. I don’t feel so…alone.”

No sooner had I said this than the creature scurried up my leg like a monkey and perched on my shoulder, rubbing against my cheek. With each brush of his soft fur I began to think harder about how I could manage to keep him. I had always wanted a real pet and this thing was way cooler than a dog or a cat.

“Then again, maybe if I had somewhere to hide you,” I thought aloud.

“Yes, me hide…no Mom see! Flee!” it said excitedly, disappearing in a puff of smoke.

“Hey where did you go?” I said, surprised at how quickly he had managed to disappear. In a matter of minutes he reappeared on my other shoulder.

“See? Flee!” he said with a smile and what looked like a bow.

I had to admit, it was pretty impressive.

“Awesome, this might actually work! If you stay out of sight when Mom’s around, she would never have to know! Then you could be…”

“Yours!” it cheered, nodding emphatically.

Just then I remembered the mess we had left upstairs.

“Oh man, we’ve got to clean up, or she’s bound to find out you’re here. Come on!”