Our 31 Days of Horror series kicks of with Wall Crawler, part of Demons Never Die, a collection of artwork and flash fiction from David Paul Harris & P.J. Blakey-Novis.
Wall Crawler
I woke to the sounds of clacking feet, scurrying up the wall beside my bed, disappearing into the darkness of the corner. That corner. It wasn’t the first time I’d heard that dreaded sound, it had been almost nightly for weeks. At eight years old, nobody listened to my claims of a monster in the dark, nobody cared as the tears fell every night before bed. I’d leave the light on but always awaken in the dark. I didn’t know if my parents turned it off or if the wall crawler did it. It doesn’t like the light, I know that. The monster’s legs click, beginning beneath my bed, working their way up my wall, always to that same spot. I open my eyes, I can’t help it, and they grow wide both in adjustment to the darkness and in terror. Click. Clack. Click. Clack. I can make out the multi-jointed legs as the evil thing disappears into the impenetrable blackness of the corner. I feel the unseen eyes as they fix on me, studying, wanting. I know it’s only a matter of time before it makes its move, before it comes for me. And all I can do is wait, duvet pulled up to my chin, heart hammering, skin clammy. I almost welcome it, I’m almost ready to face the wall crawler if it means an end to this nightmare. Almost, but not tonight.
Demons Never Die is available from Amazon for Kindle and in paperback here. Special edition signed hardbacks are available exclusively through our website here.
Learn more at David Paul Harris’ website and find more stories from P.J. Blakey-Novis on Amazon.
Red Cape Publishing 