The sound of the crash woke her up. Lillian sat up in her bed and watched the breeze sweep through her open window and her blue curtains to do their midnight dance. Her heart raced, the thudding sound pounding in her ears. Her house was suffocated with silence and left nothing to be heard but the nighttime song of the crickets that crooned by her window.
She heard another thud that came from the living room. Curiosity struck the five year old and forced her feet to touch the cold hardwood floor. Her father could have made it home. He usually worked late in a factory when he wasn’t in his general store. He would trip over toys in the dark, his attempt at sneaking so that he wouldn’t wake up the family. Lillian would wake up and meet him in the living room where he would give her a hug and kiss before he sent her back to bed.

Her nightgown tickled her ankles as she tiptoed through the door. She felt the breeze as she passed the window; the fresh scent of lilacs and tulips wafted through as she touched the golden plated doorknob. She opened it a crack and peeked into the darkened hallway. Slowly, her feet met the nap of the runner that lined the hardwood and led through the dark corridor. She touched the wall to guide herself through the hall and touched warm wetness as she passed her brothers’ bedroom. It was slick and sticky and made her quickly wipe her hands on her nightgown. The groans became louder and more pained.

Stepping into the living room, she found her father, James on his side and curled into a fetal position. Her first instinct was to run to him and when she did, she saw the open wound in his stomach. His body shook and his face was covered in a sheen of sweat while he tried to take a breath. In his eyes, she saw fear and it was something that she’d never seen in them before.

“Lil,” James grunted, “go on now. Go back to your room and close the door.

Lillian watched her father bite back another stab of pain. She reached around to hug him as much as she could. She had the terrifying feeling of letting him go as tears threatened to fall. The youngest of three children and the only girl, she was her daddy’s princess.

“It’s not safe baby.” He brought a shaky hand to hers and gently squeezed before trying to push her slowly away. His breath hitched as he coughed and turned on his back to look up at her.

She started to protest and say that she wouldn’t leave him but she noticed something. Out of the corner of her eye and frozen between the nothingness of the darkened room were two red glowing eyes in the form of slits staring directly at her.

“Daddy. Get up.” She whispered.

Her soft plea fell on deaf ears as she looked down at her father lifeless expression and far off, glossy stare. It told her exactly what she feared. Her father was dead. She shook him with tears running tracks down her cheeks. He couldn’t be gone. He was Daddy, her protector. With no response, she collapsed beside him, the pain and exhaustion finally consuming her.

A loud, rumbling chuckle came from the corner. Lillian’s body rose, followed the sound, and found nothing in the void of the darkness. Someone else was in that room. Someone that wasn’t there before. Something that had hurt her father. She heard laughter again, this time louder and echoing throughout the room. She stood and slowly moved away from her father’s body. The scream she felt was lodged so deep in her throat that she was sure that she would choke on it. She wanted to move but her feet felt like they had been bolted to the floor. An outline appeared from the corner. A man. He moved closer, his face hidden within the shadows. He was moving near her and a beam of moonlight streaked across the floor as he laughed again. That’s when she saw the long white teeth like the neighbor’s dog, but never anything more.

“What a waste.” The man in the shadows said as he stopped just before she could see his face.

“Please don’t hurt me.” Lillian pleaded, closing her eyes.

“Now why would I do a thing like that?” He smiled and all she saw were his teeth again. “Trust me, dear. You are far too important to me. Go, child. I’ll be back for you soon enough.”

Somehow, she finally got the power to move her legs. Nothing stood in front of her except the blurs of the room and her father lying in front of the couch. She felt her back against the wall, her tears falling as laughter made her feet take off. It grew louder as she bumped into the table in the hallway and slammed the door behind her.

She stood in the middle of her bedroom, the sinking darkness creeping over her. The eerie silence rang loud in her ears and forced her to listen to the drumming of her heart. She grabbed the ratty teddy bear that her father gave her and hugged it close. She thought to hide to get away from the bad man that killed her father. He said he would come back to get her. She heard another thump and she ran to her closet, pushing herself into the deepest, furthest corner and pulled her winter coats in front of her.

With her knees pulled all the way to her chest and her forehead resting on her knees, her tears fell uncontrollably. She covered her mouth to muffle her cries, fearing the red-eyed monster that killed her father. She knew that she should have gotten up to go get her mother and brothers, James Jr. and Thomas but for the life of her, she couldn’t move. Something told her to stay right where she was. She did the one thing her grandmother always told her to do. Pray