The Omen

 Jack and I were sitting in the front room, waiting for Papa to get home from the village. It had been a few hours prior that Jack had knocked on my door, anxiety etched in every line of his face. We were his nearest neighbors, and Jack had nowhere else to turn when he came home from fishing to find his entire family missing. No sign of a struggle and absolutely no evidence as to where they had gone. I told Jack to come inside, because I was sure Papa would know what to do. Unfortunately for the both of us, Papa was late.

It wasn’t unusual for him to be late returning from the village. The village was a good several hours walk away, which was way we didn’t go there often. He had to trade some of the vegetables we’d grown on the farm for some of the other staples we would need to survive the coming winter. Papa often stopped at the tavern to have a drink with some friends, because he saw them so rarely. I knew that was likely all that had happened, but the inexplicable disappearance of Jack’s family had me on edge.

We both started when the door creaked open. I waited, but no one entered. I rose to my feet and cautiously made my way to the door, unease and a strange sense of dread flooding through my body. I trembled, but forced myself to continue walking.

“What’s wrong?” Jack asked, slowly rising to his feet, as well.

I just shook my head, unsure why I was so terrified. When I reached the door, I could see no one outside. I took a small step out and called out in a choked whisper: “Papa?” There was no answer. I cleared my throat and tried again, more loudly. “Papa?” Silence.

By this time, Jack had joined me at the door. He looked around, just as I had, but his search was no more fruitful than my own. “Maybe there’s just something wrong with your door,” he shrugged, unconcerned, and I briefly allowed myself to be comforted. It was possible that the deadbolt that Papa had just replaced was faulty somehow. Unlikely, but possible.

“You’re probably ri-“ I began to agree with him but stopped short when I heard his quick intake of breath. I looked back at him, but his gaze was on the ground in front of me. He brushed past me and crouched, examining the glinting object on the ground. When he stood up, he held the pendant out to me, sudden comprehension in his face. I took a closer look and felt my heart begin to pound faster as I recognized the curving lines of the glittery skull smiling back at me.

There was fearful silence between us until, at last, Jack spoke.

“They’re here.”