The New House

Katherina fell in love the minute she saw the house. A small bungalow tucked between two old oaks on a quiet cul-de-sac.  The living room had a dining nook at one end with a little bay window looking into the back yard flower garden. The kitchen was tiny but efficient. She chose the larger of the two smallish bedrooms for herself.  The other would be Sam's room.

The next month was a whirlwind of paper signing and packing. She'd acquired more than she had realized in her five years at the apartment.

Finally came moving day. Or days. Lugging boxes from her upstairs flat to the borrowed pick up, then up the long walk to the bungalow. Her best friend, Jesse was there to help.

Together they spent a weekend moving boxes from room to room. Katherina quickly discovered she wasn't nearly as organized as she had thought. Just as the friends believed they'd made progress, they found items out of place. Bath towels in the pantry or toothpaste in the fridge.

"Jesse, for real, are you getting enough rest?  You're putting stuff in the weirdest places, girl!"

"Not me, lady.  So its either you or you got spooks. I vote for the spooks." Jesse looked at her friend thoughtfully. "I'm serious. Haven't you noticed anything odd about this place. "

Katherina rolled her eyes, "The only odd thing I've noticed is where you store pasta."

"What?" Jesse found Katherina pulling a box of spaghetti out of her sock drawer. "See!! I so would not put spaghetti with socks.  But someone...no,something is. This place is starting to creep me out. I feel watched and I keep catching shadows out of the corner of my eye."

Katherina laughed at her friend, "I think you're just over tired and probably hungry.  I know I am, I'm starving!"

Jesse remained unconvinced, but jumped at a chance to get out of the little house. "Ok then, lets go out to to dinner and celebrate your new home. I'll even buy."

"I will certainly take you up on that offer. Besides, I think everything is good enough here to call it ready to live in.  And just in time, I turned my apartment keys in this morning."

Jesse asked, "Sam is at your mom's?"

"Yep. I'm going to pick him up tomorrow after work. I really miss him, but all the activity would've just been too much for him."

                    ********

After dinner with Jesse, Katherina spent the rest of the evening hanging her clothes in the closet and setting up Sam's bed and toys in the second bedroom.

Finally about midnight she lay down in her new bedroom, the busy days catching up with her.

As she began to drift off to sleep a loud crash brought her upright and awake. "What the.." She turned on the beside lamp and slipped her feet into slippers. Cautiously she padded down the short hallway to the living room. She could find nothing to account for the sound.

"Must have been dreaming."  She headed back to bed making a mental note to thank Jesse for giving her the heebie jeebies. She didn't see the shadowy figures watching from the kitchen.

Bexel and Prigue watched her pad back to bed.  Two shadowy demonics in training.  They'd been excited for the chance to terrorize their assigned victim.

"Harumph!" said Bexel.  "This one's a skeptic.  We'll have to work harder to get a rise from her."

Prigue nodded, "That and she's so tired she's not even paying attention.  Just wait 'til she brings little "Sam" home, though.  Then the fun will start!"

When Katherina left for work the next morning, the pair of amateur evil-doers began plotting.

                    ***********

It was late by the time Katherina and Sam arrived at their new home.

"Good thing we ate at Gramma's, huh sweetie.  You can explore a little, then it's bedtime, I've got your bed all set up for you."

Sam had been settled into his room and Katherina was sound asleep when Bexel and Prigue decided it was time to introduce their presence.

They stepped boldly into Katherina's room.

"What d'ya wanna do first, Bexel?  Levitate her? Just throw stuff around?"

"Hang on a minute, there's something weird here..." Bexel eyed the figure lying under the covers.  "What's that shadow over her chest?"

Suddenly the room erupted with twin beams of angry green fire.

"OH NO!!! Don't look Prigue!!!"

Too late.  "Eeep!"  Pfssst.  A light dust of black ash floated gently to the carpet where the demonling had been.  Bexel retreated quickly to the hallway.

Sam yawned smugly as he stretched and flexed one long clawed paw.  He closed his eyes, twitched an ear toward the door and waited.

Bexel gathered his nerve and peeked around the doorjamb.  Sam simply opened one slit of an eye.

"Ack!"  Pfssst.  Another small pile of ash.

Katherina stirred, "Sam, sweetie, you miss Mommy?"  She ruffled his fur and scratched his ears as he curled into her.  "Making sure the house is free of vermin?"

Sam purred contentedly to himself.  "It is now."