Shadow of Death (SOD)

Chapter 5

The family sat around the dinner table with different dishes spread across it. Everyone served themselves before settling back down to enjoy their meal in peace.

There was one rule Jack had laid out for the entire family.

[Absolutely no technology at the dinner table.]

They were expected to eat their meals without glancing at any form of technology. During dinner, their attention was supposed to remain on the food and on each other.

Which was why there wasn’t a single device at the table as they all ate calmly and quietly, each person occasionally lost in their own thoughts.

"Darling? Did you call the truck driver?" Clara inquired, causing the man to look up.

"Actually, I tried. His number wasn’t going through for some weird reason."

"Mhm. Maybe he is at the bar, or his phone has been drained of battery?" Jayden uttered before shoving his spoon into his mouth.

Jack shrugged.

"I will try again tomorrow."

After thoroughly chewing his food, he looked at Asher and Jesse.

"By the way, I will be taking you both to register you in your respective schools in two days’ time."

The two kids nodded without saying much.

’I wonder how my university will turn out? Ha! It will be fun to make new friends and acquaintances.’

Asher took a sip of his water.

"...."

The family became quiet again as they enjoyed their meals in peace, without interruptions or unnecessary discussions.

Until—

Flicker—! Flicker—! Flicker—!

The bulbs suddenly began going on and off, causing everyone to lift their eyebrows in confusion.

"Huh? What’s going on?" Jesse asked as she watched the lights flicker repeatedly.

Asher glared at her.

"The lights are unstable, blind dumbass."

"Asher... that’s no way to speak to your little sister." Clara scolded sternly.

"I’m sorry. I couldn’t help it. She was asking a dumb question."

A chair scraped against the ground as Jack rose from his seat and looked toward the lights.

"I will go have a look. Jay, come with me."

"Sure."

Jayden rose from his seat, and the two men left the dining room.

Asher continued his meal, seemingly unbothered, while Jesse silently fumed over the words her brother had used for her.

Then, a few seconds later—

Every light in the house went out at once.

Asher’s spoon slipped from his fingers.

His mouth fell slightly open as his attention was immediately drawn toward the darkness surrounding them.

’Huh? Didn’t Dad say that the electricity here is twenty-four-seven? What’s going on?’

"Mu-Mum?" Jesse called out while looking around the darkened table with a raised brow.

Soon after, the wind began rustling through the room, causing the curtains to sway eerily and startling the girl.

"Is-Is there a-a ghost here?" Jesse stuttered while staring at the curtains as they continued blowing.

"Oh, sweetie, you know ghosts aren’t real. I’m sure there must be a storm coming or something." Clara replied with a small chuckle.

Asher wasn’t even spooked.

Instead, he turned his head from side to side, curiously searching for the source of the wind.

But all the windows were closed shut.

So how was the wind being generated?

Something didn’t feel right.

Then—

Tak. Tak. Clack. Clack. Tak.

The sound of footsteps heading their way grew louder with every passing second, their unhurried rhythm somehow making them even more unsettling.

Jesse forcefully gulped down her saliva.

"I-I-I don’t like the feeling of that."

Even Clara was now worried. Her heart began beating softly against her chest as she stared into the darkness beyond the dining room.

’Why haven’t they come back yet?’

The footsteps continued.

Closer.

Louder.

Each step seemed to echo through the house, accompanied by the curtains blowing furiously beside them as if they wanted to tear themselves free from whatever was holding them in place.

Asher slowly rose from his seat.

The sudden scrape of his chair against the floor made Jesse scream in fright.

"Relax. It’s just me." He calmly uttered.

"Asher? The hell are you doing scaring me like that? My heart is already in my mouth. Don’t make me cough it out, damn it!" Jesse barked at him furiously.

"My bad. I just wan—"

"A-A-A Asher...."

The words came out with a slight chill in the air.

And that chill definitely hadn’t come from either of the two people sitting around him.

Asher froze.

His head lifted slowly before he turned around.

A bright light suddenly shone directly into his eyes, startling him and forcing him to throw up a hand to shield his face.

"Ahem... I’m sorry. Something got stuck in my throat there."

Asher slowly lowered his hand.

The light was now pointed downward, allowing him to finally see the person standing before him.

"Jayden?"

"Of course, it’s me. Who would it have been? A ghost? Hahaha!"

Asher’s brows knitted furiously.

Before he could say anything, his father appeared behind Jayden.

In his hand was a fuse, while the flashlight he held swept across the dining room and briefly illuminated the worried faces around the table.

"Well, it seems like the fuse was blown." Jack sighed.

"So-So we will sleep in this creepy darkness?" Jesse asked worriedly, glancing around the room.

"Don’t worry, it’s nothing." Jack assured her.

Asher heaved a tired sigh, then grabbed his plate.

"I will clean up and head over to my room."

He turned and walked away.

"Can I come sleep with you?!" Jesse shouted after him.

"Nope. Go to your room."

"Tsk." Jesse clicked her tongue.

.....

A few minutes later, Asher walked into his room.

The darkness inside was almost complete.

With barely enough light to see his surroundings, he moved around blindly, carefully tracing his steps toward where he had left his phone.

His hands brushed across the bed.

Patting the mattress several times, he moved around blindly until his fingers finally touched something familiar.

His phone.

Asher breathed a quiet sigh of relief.

He turned it on and was just about to activate the flashlight when—

His head snapped toward the window.

Something had moved at the very edge of his vision.

His eyes narrowed.

Hurrying over to the window, he opened it and leaned forward slightly.

Nothing.

There was no one outside.

No movement.

Nothing that could explain what he had seen.

He looked to the side.

Waited.

Several seconds passed.

Then something flashed across the other corner of his vision with startling speed.

Asher immediately snapped his gaze toward it.

Nothing.

Again.

Just darkness.

He remained there for several seconds, staring into the empty space before finally shrugging.

Maybe he was imagining things.

Slowly, he closed the window.

His gaze remained fixed on it for a few moments longer before he finally dropped his eyes back to his phone.

Then—

— Graaahhhh!

Asher screamed.

His head yanked upward.

A twisted face was glaring directly at him through the window.

Its features were distorted into something horrifying as a thin mist escaped its mouth and spread across the glass.

Asher’s blood ran cold.

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