The dragging sound came at last, faint but present, acknowledging her approach. The closer she got, the louder the sound became. Draaag thump! Draaag thump! Erick moved above her agitated and pacing, pulling his crippled leg along the floor.
“I’m coming Erick. Please don’t hurt me. I mean you no harm.”
She unlocked the third floor entrance and peered up the stairway. She crept up the steps, vigilant to the possibility of Erick’s displeasure at her intrusion.
She had reached the top of the stairs without incident. Heather searched the room for mist in the filtered sunlight.
“God’s peace be in this home and in all who live here,” Heather said.
Erick spoke to her mind.
“There is no god; there is no peace,” said Erick, demonstrating a forlorn disbelief in an all-powerful being.
“Erick,
