My hands were shaking as I tried to remove the vent. The screws that were fixed on the four corners were already loose. It didn't take much effort to remove them. I examined the dark space hesitantly. The glimmer I saw was a metal piece to a box. I listened, thought I heard the sound of tiny wings flapping, but then it was gone. Had I imagined the sound? I summoned the courage and reached inside, quickly pulling the object out. A dusty wooden box with an ornate design, its four corners held together by silver brackets. I held the box I was sure housed secrets.
"It was the fairies..." Olivia's voice reminded me and now I was afraid to open it. What would I be releasing?
Peepers ran across my foot and startled my thoughts. Jumping into the air vent without warning, I heard him let out another hiss. Seconds later, he leapt out, causing me to drop the box. Peepers jumped onto Olivia's bed with something in its mouth, something colorful. He shook his head quickly, like a lion killing its prey and then clawed at it. I held my breath, unintentionally staring at the object Peepers was so occupied with.
He held the fairy between its teeth and claws. I grabbed it away and gave it a hard squeeze. It was just a stuffed doll; a pink and blue fairy doll with bright wings and wide eyes.
The box that had fallen to the floor had sprung open, revealing a ceramic fairy that sat in the middle of it. At my touch it began to spin. A music box, its tune hauntingly familar. The melody Olivia hummed.
I spotted something hanging out of the mouth of the opened vent. It was a cloth. I reached for it and realized it was clothing. Pink pajama top and matching bottoms covered in cartoon fairies and splatters of blood.
A small knife dropped in front of me—its blade...sickle shaped.
Latashia Figueroa is the author of "This Way Darkness"
Two reasons this author loves horror, 1. The house she grew up in was believed to be haunted. 2. As a child, Stephen King told her bedtime stories, Pet Cemetery, was the first. To learn more about this very talented author, find her on Twitter @latashfigueroa or her website: latashiafigueroa-author.com