The Terror that Flaps in the Night

Based on a True Story

I brush the sleep from my eyes. Getting my bearings, I realize my sister is standing at the foot of my bed.

“What?” I ask her.

She answers in a rushed whisper, “I think there is a bat in the house.”  

The response wakes me like a splash of ice water to the face. It’s 4:00AM. Nothing good ever happens at 4:00AM.

“What am I supposed to do? I hate those things.”

She ignores my question and explains how the creature landed on her face to wake her up. I shudder at the thought of those tiny claws clinging to my face and burrowing into my hair.

“Where is the cat?” I ask.

She shakes her head and shrugs.

By this time, I am out of bed, armed with a sheet and ready for battle. As I open the door the cat bolts downstairs. The intruder is no longer in the hall.

We tiptoe to the stairs. My sister using me as a human shield. As I poke my head around the corner, I see it whiz by, the cat chasing after it, unable to jump at an altitude to catch his prey.

Its naked wings swoop in my direction. I panic. We both race back to my sister’s room, it’s closest to the stairs.

Time to regroup.

“I hope you know how to list a house because we have to sell this one now.”

She laughs.

We take a few moments to get our blood pressure under control. As we inch back down the stairs, I am wearing my sheet like a cloak to protect my head, muttering under my breath “Buy a house they said… It’ll be fun they said.”

We search downstairs turning every light on in the process. The cat is wondering aimless from room to room.

“Where is it?” I ask him.

He glances at me and licks his paw.

“You’re worthless.” I say bending to scratch between his ears.

The three of us have lost track of the enemy. I know it is near I can feel the hairs on the back of my neck standing up. I turn to my sister and we shrug simultaneously.

“Well, we know it isn’t in either of our bedrooms…”

We scurry up the stairs back to our respective rooms.

Barricaded inside we text our “goodnights.” Resigned to deal with the beast in the morning when it is asleep and vulnerable.

Coming Soon
Part 2: I Once Was Lost, and Now I’m Found