What they hear

Tick. Tick. Tick.

The fatherclocks pendulum swung loudly as the children lay in bed. The eldest daughter waited. The clock chimed three. Then the ticking stopped. It all stopped.

Then, a breathe later, the banging began. A thumping against her closet door. She tried to raise her covers over her head. To drown out the noise. Then the screams began. It woke the other children.

They sounded like her screams. Begging for help. Pleading. The eldest daughter's heart raced as the eerie sounds filled the room. She clutched her blanket tightly, paralyzed with fear. Her mind raced. More hauntingly familiar.