Pond Party Week 2

The lights were clicking on and off. On and off. On and off.

And Quincy couldn't see who was doing it when the lights were on, but in the brief half-seconds where they were off he could see a figure, darker than the gloom, standing there by the door.

They had no face.

And they were not alone.

In the beats when the lights were on Quincy could see them, squirming torsos with arms and legs chopped off at the knees and elbows, struggling across the carpet towards his bed.

He couldn't move. Breath. Scream.

Not until the first one made it to the edge of his bed and heaved its head up past the edge of the mattress and it stared at him. It didn't have eyes but it was staring at him, not moving. Breathing. Anything.

Then Quincy found his voice and he screamed. Screamed as loud as he could.

And the lights kept flicking. And the bodies kept staring.

Then the door slammed open, the room went dark, and the bodies vanished.

"*Quincy*," Bennet hissed out his name, silencing him, "You can't keep doing this, the neighbors are going to complain again."

"They were back," Quincy croaked out, "They were messing with the lights."

"They were messing with the lights," Bennet repeated, his tone fatigued, "Quince-"

"And they were right next to the bed, staring-"

"Quin, please," Bennet sank down on the edge of the bed, "You know they're not real."

"They are," Quincy could feel the tears start to flow and he was too upset to even care, "I know they are."

Bennet sighed, "Right, well they've never hurt you have they?"

"You don't know that they won't!"

"I'm going back to bed Quin."

"Please stay," Quincy lunged forwards and latched onto his older brother's arm, "Please, please they never come when you're here."

"You're too old for this man, you're like sixteen."

"Seventeen."

A groan, but Bennet didn't pull away, "Fine. I'll stay. But you gotta promise not to yell again."

"I promise."