Shadow of Death (SOD)

Chapter 6

"AHHHHH!"

Asher screamed in pure, undiluted shock.

Thud!

He crashed onto his backside, the impact jarring through his body as he desperately shuffled backward across the floor.

Beads of sweat rapidly formed across his face.

His phone remained clutched in his trembling hand, its flashlight flickering in and out as though even the device itself was struggling to stay on.

But Asher barely noticed.

His entire attention was fixed on the thing standing outside his window.

The twisted face slowly stretched into an increasingly wide smile.

Wider.

And wider.

The corners of its lips seemed to stretch toward its hollow eyes, creating a grotesque expression that looked completely unnatural.

Bam!

The door to Asher’s room suddenly flew open.

Every member of the Reid family rushed inside.

"Asher! What’s wrong? We heard your screams."

Asher quickly turned his head toward his family.

"Th-that-that thi—"

His words stumbled over one another as he frantically pointed behind him.

Jack and Jayden immediately rushed toward him, grabbing his arms and helping him back onto his feet.

"What’s wrong? Why do you look so panicked?" Jay asked, his face filled with concern.

"That th—"

Asher froze.

Slowly, his head turned back toward the window.

"Ba...thump."

His heart seemed to stop.

He stared.

Seconds passed.

Then more.

The room remained painfully silent from Asher’s perspective as his eyes stayed locked on the window.

The twisted face was gone.

There was nothing outside.

Not even a trace that something had ever been standing there.

The glass was completely empty.

His mouth went dry.

His fingers trembled as the realization slowly settled in.

He had seen it.

He knew he had.

But now there was nothing.

"Asher...?" Jack called out.

Asher didn’t respond.

His eyes remained fixed on the window for several more seconds before he finally turned around to look at his family.

"Asher... you’re beginning to scare me." Jesse’s voice carried a hint of fear.

"Th-There was a twisted face at my window."

Asher swallowed hard.

"It-it almost looked like a horrific clown. It was smi-smiling and staring at me."

"..."

Silence descended over the room.

Everyone simply stared at him.

For a moment, nobody said anything.

The look exchanged between Jack and Jayden made Asher’s stomach twist.

It almost seemed as though they thought he had lost his mind.

Then—

"Pffff..."

Jayden suddenly burst into hearty laughter.

"Hahahaha!"

He reached over and smacked his younger brother lightly on the back of the head, wearing an amused expression.

"I have already told you to stop watching horror movies and anime, but you wouldn’t listen. Also... I think those cemeteries you kept visiting at night with Rick have affected you too."

"Cemeteries?" Clara asked.

Her brows furrowed immediately.

She stepped toward the boys.

Jayden froze.

So did Asher.

The two brothers looked at each other with the same expression.

They had just been caught.

When they lived in their former city, Asher used to sneak out of the house at night to visit the cemetery with Rick, his best friend.

Why?

Because Rick kept insisting that ghosts and mythical creatures were real.

Naturally, Asher had decided to accompany him to prove otherwise.

It wasn’t something they did every night.

Just once a week or so.

Whenever Rick became convinced that he had discovered something supernatural again, Asher would reluctantly tag along.

Their parents had never found out.

Only Jayden had caught Asher once.

And after plenty of begging and a little bribery, Jayden had agreed to keep it a secret.

Until now.

"What’s that talk about a cemetery?" Clara asked again, her frown deepening.

"Uh... cemetery?"

Jayden suddenly put on a fake look of shock.

"Did I say ’cemetery’?"

He paused.

Then smiled awkwardly.

"I meant to say... there was this, uh... cinema back in the city that showed realistic horror movies. You know, the kind that brought viewers directly into the scene. It was super realistic. You should try it sometime."

"But how does a cinema correlate with a cemetery?" Jesse inquired, raising a suspicious brow.

"That’s the name of the cinema. ’Cemetries.’" Jayden replied smoothly.

The others stared at the two boys.

Once.

Twice.

Then again.

Neither brother said anything else.

Eventually, they simply shook their heads and let the matter go.

Jack’s attention shifted toward Asher.

Unlike everyone else, the boy hadn’t said a single word.

His head remained lowered, his expression hidden as he seemed completely lost in his thoughts.

"Ash... you okay?"

"..."

No reply.

Asher remained still.

Jack reached forward and lightly shook his shoulder.

Asher almost yelped.

His entire body shuddered from the sudden contact before he quickly forced himself to calm down.

"Ye-Yes?"

"Are you okay?" Clara asked, worry evident in her voice.

Asher nodded quickly.

"Ye-Yes. I’m okay."

"Sure?" Jack asked, studying his son carefully.

Asher nodded again.

"Mhm."

Then he fell silent.

Jack stared at him for a few seconds before letting out a quiet sigh.

"You must have had a pretty long day. Rest up. All of you too. Go get some sleep. Tomorrow, I’ll get a new fuse and fix the thing up. Okay?"

He looked around the room as he spoke.

Everyone nodded.

Jayden calmly walked away, followed by Jesse.

Clara and Jack lingered for a few more seconds.

Neither of them seemed willing to leave Asher alone just yet.

"Asher...?"

Asher finally lifted his head.

He nodded.

"Goodnight."

He forced a smile onto his face.

It lasted barely a second before faltering.

His parents noticed.

They exchanged a brief glance, but neither knew what they could do.

Eventually, they simply left.

The door closed behind them.

Click.

The moment Asher was alone, he released a shaky breath.

His eyes immediately drifted back toward the window.

He half expected to see that twisted face waiting for him again.

But there was nothing.

Absolutely nothing.

Only the dim darkness of his room stared back at him.

His phone’s flashlight was still on, casting a weak glow across the room.

"What was that? Was that real?" he muttered to himself.

His voice sounded strangely small in the silence.

Asher swallowed.

Then, with shaky footsteps, he slowly approached the window.

One step.

Then another.

Slowly, but steadily.

Soon, he stood directly before it.

He hesitated for a moment before reaching out.

The window creaked as he pushed it open.

Asher leaned forward and cautiously peeked outside.

He waited.

Several seconds passed.

Nothing.

No movement.

No twisted face.

Nothing.

He lifted his gaze.

The entire world outside seemed to have been swallowed by darkness.

There were barely any streetlights illuminating the neighborhood, leaving large portions of the streets hidden beneath the night.

Even the neighboring houses were strangely dark.

Most of their windows were completely devoid of light.

Asher slowly pulled the window shut.

He remained there for a while, staring at the glass as if expecting something to suddenly appear behind it.

Nothing happened.

Eventually, he turned away.

After looking around his room one last time, he switched off his phone’s flashlight and released a heavy sigh.

"Maybe it was just my imagination? Probably I imagined the whole thing and nothing was really there."

He tried to convince himself as he sauntered toward his bed.

The moment he reached it, he dropped onto the mattress.

His heart continued to rise and fall beneath his chest, gradually settling into a steady rhythm.

His phone slipped from his hand and landed softly on the bed beside him.

His eyelids grew heavier.

He shuffled farther into the bed before pulling the blanket over his body.

The warmth immediately wrapped around him.

For a moment, the events of the night continued replaying inside his head.

That face.

That smile.

Those hollow eyes.

But exhaustion was slowly overpowering his fear.

His eyes fluttered.

Once.

Twice.

Then they remained closed for longer.

’Maybe I just had a pretty rough day. I should ge-get...’

A yawn escaped him.

’I should get some sleep.’

And with that final thought, Asher allowed himself to drift into sleep.

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