Chapter 13

That night Craig lay awake most of the night until early in the morning thinking about what he had found in the attic. He also thought about the man on the road on their way to Saldanha. Although he disposed of what he found in the attic, something about it still bothered him. Was it meant to protect the previous family? If so, from what or from whom? It was about 2 PM when Craig fell asleep. He was gripped by a nightmare of the worst kind. He dreamt about images from the past, not his own. Fires were burning high and women with children were screaming. In the midst of the flashing flames, a clan wearing brown leather clothes wore men's heads on poles. Some men that were still alive were grabbed by the hair and their throats were cut while blood squirted from their arteries. Houses were burned down. As the clan reunited, they all laughed and rejoiced while eating big chunks of raw meat with streams of blood running down their mouths and throats. There was something in the flames, something staring at him. Almost like Satan himself, eyes glaring with hate and anger while horns were sticking out of a long boney head.

Craig woke up from a knocking sound coming from outside. He had a major craving for a Cigarette. He did not have a cigarette in many years since the birth of the twins Andrew and Patrick. Craig walked down the hall to find out where the knocking sound was coming from. He walked through the long dark hall towards the large TV room. The knocking sound was louder. He opened the front door and felt the cold wind from the ocean on his body and face. It was quiet outside except for the wind howling around the corners of the house and the dull knocking sound. He walked to the side of the house and realised that it was a loose gutter near the roof causing the knocking sound.

'I'll fix you up tomorrow morning,' Craig said.

As Craig turned to head back towards the front door, he heard a scurrying sound in the bushes not too far from the perimeter wall. He dismissed it as a small animal that fled from his presence in a nearby bush.

Craig sat down on one of their leather couches and stared at the black TV. I need to get satellite for nights like these. Craig thought. That I'll sort out next week sometime. The TV had been placed on a large TV unit. All the cables had been hooked up but not connected to the power socket. Craig could not help to wonder about his new job and company, what the people were like and the challenges that lay ahead of him. Fortunately, he had years of experience in the field of engineering and people management. That would come in handy when times were tough. Anyway, people on the coast were more relaxed than in the big cities.

Craig's thoughts were interrupted when he thought he noticed something on the TV. Craig was now focused on the black disconnected TV standing in the dark living room. That was weird. Craig thought. Maybe just a reflection of some light on the TV. He was about to dwell deeper into his future plans when the same thing happened. He looked around to see what might have caused such a reflection. As an engineer, Craig always believed that there was a logical explanation for everything including the one that just occurred. It could even have been a form of static or discharge, but how?

Another flash came from the TV. Craig was not so sure there was a logical explanation for it at all. In a screaming white contrast to the dark room and TV, a white image appeared for a fraction of a second. Craig blinked his eyes and focus even more. It appeared again only this time with a loud interference noise about a second long. White noise. There was no doubt in Craig's mind that the image that flashed on the TV was a face. A face that sent a chill through his bones. The face of a witch.

Craig's first instinct was to check the power of the TV. Maybe one of the kids or even Sarah had decided to plug it in, but as he expected the cables were lying loose on the ground behind the TV.

Craig sat on the couch again, waiting for the weird image to reappear, but it did not come back. He tried to recall the details of what he had seen while it was still fresh in his short-term memory. He remembered static on the screen accompanied by something that was not supposed to be seen by human eyes. It would not only scare the socks off any young child but any grown man as well. The face was white as lightning and one of evil. Although it was brief, the image was burned into Craig's memory. It had sharp cheekbones and a pointy jaw. Hollow eye sockets were almost hidden underneath strawy hair. The most memorable was the static on the TV accompanied by the white noise sound.

'Was I supposed to remove that thing in the attic?' Craig said to himself. 'What was it and why was it there?'

Ah fuck it, man, there must be a logical explanation for this. I'll find out everything I can about Saldanha and this house starting tomorrow. Craig though. He got up from the couch and headed towards the dark bedroom. Hopefully, sleep would come soon because his body and mind needed it badly. He could feel it in his eyes, shoulders and brain. As Craig walked down the hall, he could not shake the feeling that something was watching him, but he knew he was being ridiculous. His mind was overly exhausted and therefore playing weird tricks. It had been a rough couple of months. Many things happened too fast and sometimes all at once.