Summoner: The Book of Dimension

67 Shadow Monsters’ Attack

The whole lobby was silenced.

The whispers and banging from outside came to a sudden stop and everything was normal.

“What the f**k was that?” Zack cursed and looked at Peter who was in deep thought. “Are those the shadow monsters?” he asked him.

Peter gave Zack a look that told his answer must be “yes”. What made him worry was the sudden silence. It was long and waiting for anything to happen was what everyone could do at that moment.

Violet and Linda walked towards them with worry and fear. “What was that noise?” Linda asked Ray.

Ray glanced at Peter and then looked back at Linda. “I don’t know yet but everyone could be in danger,” he said.

The light started to flicker and every time the light was gone for a second, most of the ladies would squeal in fear. “Everybody, take out anything you could use as a torchlight,” Peter yelled. Most of them started taking out their phones some of the few started taking out their torchlight. Ray, Zack, Linda, and Violet took out their phones and turned on their phone’s torchlight. “Get ready. The light of this house might die,” he warned.

“This should be normal,” Violet said. Peter turned to her. “I mean, the electricity. Josh said once that this mansion is powered by solar panels. The electricity doesn’t run out and it should last until the sun comes to restore its power,” she explained.

He nodded. “That’s a relief, then,” he smiled and touched his pockets for his phone but he remembered his phone was unfortunately left in his car. He took out his dying torchlight and tested if it could still be good to use but he estimated it could only last for less than an hour. “Should’ve changed it with new batteries,” he said.

“I have extra batteries on my bag,” Linda said with a small smile. “Would you want some?”

He wondered why she was carrying new batteries and nodded when he thought it didn’t matter. “Yes, please,” he said and watched Linda get her bag and came back with a new and sealed pair of batteries. She handed them to Peter and he accepted it with a smile.

“Thanks,” he said and opened the cap of the torchlight.

Ray peeked to the window where he couldn’t see what was outside. “What do we do now?”

Peter shook his head while changing the battery. “I don’t know. We should wait and watch out,” he said and glanced at the others anxiously looking around while flashing their phone’s torchlight in front of them. “We should all gather in one place.”

Right after he said that two people were seen upstairs. It was the housemaid and Mr. Benedict. Peter and Zack came to help the old man to be brought downstairs. Ray carried Benedict on his back and Zack carried the wheelchair.

Peter didn’t waste time and went to the other attendees. “Everyone, we should all gather at the center,” he said. “We should gather close where there is the most light.”

“What about Josh?” one of them said in worry.

He chuckled. “He won’t be touched. If he would be, he won’t be hurt anymore,” he said. Although it sounded harsh, it was the truth

“What’s happening?” Benedict came to Peter as the older was pushed by the housemaid in a wheelchair. “I was just taking a rest and I heard loud noises from the outside—“ he stopped when he noticed the stains in Peter’s face, arms, and pants. “What happened to you?”

He glanced anxiously at Ray and Zack who was behind him. “It’s a long story, Benedict. We have no time for long stories right now,” he said.

As they had decided, they gathered at the very center where the light was, on top of them. The surroundings were silent ever since the banging had stopped.

“I think it stopped now,” Linda said.

Peter shook his head. “No. We shouldn’t think that quick. The silence was too sudden and suspicious,” he said. “Everybody, stay at the light as much as possible. Ready your torchlight and be alert.”

Everyone sat on their chairs and this time, they listened to Peter. They didn’t let their guards down and prepared for whatever it was to come. He was actually glad. Because he had fewer things to take care of.

It was past 11 pm and nothing was happening. Some of them drifted to sleep on their seats while the rest, among them, was Peter and his friend, stayed awake to stay on watch.

“Should we at least plan how do we get out of here?” Violet asked. “Nothing’s happening. It should be safe outside, too.”

Peter shook his head. “No, we can’t. We should wait for the sunrise. That would be the safest time we should leave,” he said. “The time will pass by quickly without us knowing. It wouldn’t be too much or us to wait for 7 hours.”

Violet sighed. “I want to go home.”

“We all do,” Linda smiled faintly.

At exactly 12 am, Peter heard something along with the silence. He looked at everyone and just like the first time, it was like, it was just him who heard it. He heard soft rustlings in the background, something that was alike to a rattling snake or maracas.

Few seconds and the soft rattling continued. Ray turned to Peter. “Did you hear that?”

“I thought it was just me,” Linda said when he heard Ray.

Peter stood up. “I think they’re here again,” he said. There were footsteps that could be heard from the outside, loud and distracting. Those who were sleeping woke up when they sensed that everybody else was moving, looking, and finding where was the sound coming from. “They waited for midnight. It must be the time they’re more powerful,” he concluded.

Suddenly, all the vehicles outside were honking there were rattling. The house was yet again banged by the shadow monsters outside.

Some women started crying in fear, some kept their fears inside.

The engines of the vehicles outside started whirring as if they were driven by individual people. Some worried about their car, hoping their car wouldn’t be somehow ruined by the shadow monsters.

Everyone couldn’t see outside, but since the engine of the vehicles outside was on, so as their lights. The shadow monsters didn’t expect those and didn’t have the choice but to stop.

The whirring of engines stopped, but the banging on the walls and doors except for the windows became louder than how it was earlier.

“I can’t see anything,” Violet said while squinting her eyes as she looked at the window. “There seemed to be nothing outside. But what were they? Ghosts?” she asked Peter.

“Either you can’t really see it, or it’s because there is light passing through the window that’s why they couldn’t be seen there. Ghosts? You can say that. But they are no ‘nothing’,” Peter said.

Violet continued to walk close towards the window. Everybody was alert and scared for her.

“Violet, don’t get too close to the window,” Peter warned her.

She shook her head. “No, it’s okay. I have my phone’s torchlight,” she turned and showed them the torchlight of her phone. But when he turned back to the glass window, she froze and her eyes opened wide in surprise. “There’s—Ah!” she screamed when she was dragged to the window and with the force, the glass broke into pieces and she was thrown outside.

Her loud continuous scream was heard until it came to a stop. Loud growls could be heard from outside and everybody was afraid.

“No!” Peter yelled. He wanted to come to her rescue but he couldn’t gamble his life. Some people wanted to come and help but he stopped them. “No, don’t! Stay where you are. Prepare your torchlight.”

They waited and some continued to cry in much fear.

“Where is she?” Zack asked.

Peter’s eyebrows creased. “I don’t know. How would I know?” he said in annoyance. “This is stupid. I told her not to get close to the window.”

What made him angrier was, she had something important. A piece of important evidence to Josh’s death. She was the one who hid it.

His eyes widened when he suddenly realized something. Memories of her just a little earlier when she was walking toward the window. She had her phone as her torchlight.

She had the phone with her. He covered his mouth in shock. She had the phone all along. She just said she hid it somewhere so they won’t bother her. He needed to get her phone. If she’s gone, then no one would reveal whatever evidence she had.

“Why didn’t I realize earlier?” he pulled his hair in frustration when he didn’t notice her phone when he told everyone to take out their torchlight.

Then everyone saw something thrown by the big window. Violet.

Her eyes were opened and they were gray. Her mouth was wide opened as well, and her limbs and arms were broken. Her face was filled with cuts but they weren’t bleeding.

Peter approached her and felt her pulse. She was dead. Violet was dead. People who were crying earlier started bawling intensely because of fear.

Another thing was thrown back inside, by the window where Violet was dragged and thrown back. Broken pieces of electronics. They landed beside her dead body.

Peter picked it up and stared at it. Everything just turned more serious than he thought.