Shadowed Illusions

    Lila, his sister, the person he had to watch while his parents were away. Wyatt didn't mind it was easy. Watching her was never required too much, all he had to do was feed her, and Make sure that she wasn't too bored. Lila was at the age where she could do most everything for herself, but sometimes she would need help with minor things, such as getting things from the cupboard which were too high for her to reach, and Wyatt would help her as he always did. Wyatt would sit in his room until Lila needed him. Right now she did. "Wyatt can you help me," Lila implored. He got out of his bed that was made nice and neat like everything else in his room, he was somewhat of a neat freak, and slightly compulsive. "I need a cup for my chocolate milk." "Okay Lil. Just wait." He smiled and walked to the kitchen where everything she needed to make it was already laid out, but not the cup. He retrieved it and laid it on the granite counter, leaving it for her to make.

             He went back to his room and laid down, right when he was about to fall asleep a knock was at his door, he opens the door cautiously, at this hour it could be anyone. "Boo."  " Lila," he scolded "You shouldn't be up this late." "I can't sleep. I'm too scared." "Okay, sleep with me." She ran straight to his bed and tucked herself in, she lipped him a thank you before closing her eyes, Wyatt joined her in the bed a few seconds later, and they both dozed off.

          He woke up in the dead of night, but doesn't know why. He adverted his eyes to Lila who is off in sleep on bundle of springs with padding and sheets. Suddenly he saw a silhouette draped on the wall, it slowly made its way across the walls, he holds Lila closer and closer, tighter and tighter, he wasn't only scared for his life. But hers too. Than it just disappears, to who knows where, Wyatt passed it off as a simple illusion and went to sleep with some trouble.

         "Lil," He said. "Where are you?" He scours everywhere in the house for her. She's gone. The only place left is outside. Outside, that must be it ! Wyatt rushes out of the house, only to find her in the back of the house near all of the trees. " I found you." He enthused "Okay, now you hide. I'll count" "C'mon, I'm tired"  "Okay" She grumbled. " How about we have some tea?" He said. She lightens up immediately and smiles.

        He sipped invisible tea from a plastic cup, he was always slightly embarrassed about what he would do with his sister, but he loved Lila, and it would always cheer her up. So he would do it anyway. They would talk and laugh during this time, but Lila would do most of the talking. They were talking about everything they could, suddenly it was all ended "Wyatt, what's behind you." Lil asked. There it is again. The black shadow looking figure on the wall. It wasn't moving. It just stared at them. Its menacing blank face with no noticeable features. Wyatt let out a sound and looks over his shoulder. He's speechless, it's not an illusion. Lila screams. It vanishes again. 

       Never had Wyatt felt so helpless. He has to wait almost a whole week before his parents are home. It's real. It's out to get them. There's no car for them, only numbers of family members who will think they're crazy. They're forced to stay with it for a whole week, and by then they could be dead.

      That night sleeping would be impossible. Lila laid with Wyatt again. She was saying things Like "Will it get us." Wyatt didn't know what to say. He didn't want to lie, but he didn't want to scare her. 

      They miraculously slept, but they were terrified and only got a few hours of sleep. Wyatt woke up and saw it off of the wall staring straight at him. It was oozing a black substance, than It took Lila. It grinned at him, it appeared not to have a mouth, but now its noticeable. Its black sharp teeth daunting him. Tears welled in his eyes. "Lil," He said. It receded back with Lila still in his hands. She was gone. He flailed all around, he shouted in pain. "I need to get her back." He thought.

  He didn't see it for a few days, he began to lose hope. Than one day he looked outside, he saw the monster again, but without Lila. It beckoned him with a sharp finger, as if saying " If you want her, follow me." But how could he trust it, it kidnapped his sister. Against every fear in him he opened the door and hesitated towards it. Each step made him feel like he had lead in his feet. He coward at the kidnapper. If he died, at least he would have Lila, or would he? 

 Suddenly the monster engulfed him within itself, and he was in a completely different world. It was utterly demented, covered in the monsters sludge, no sun shone, the sky looked like bile. It made the world a dark gray. The only thing he could see was a forest. He went into the dying greenery, uncertain of what to look for. It seemed like forever, walking. The fear gnawing at him.

Lila. He saw her in the distance, she was in a cage. It was disheartening for him to see her. He wanted to run, but he was so tired from walking. He walked to the cage and said her name, her face was dirty, she looked like she had been through hell and back, and she had. She was traumatized, she wouldn't speak. She had been too scared. "Lil it's me." He shouted. He had to save her. He had to. Maybe then she'd be her normal self.

"Behind you." She lipped, and there it was. Laughing. It came out as a macabre gurgle. He dashed towards it, he had lost all sense of control for that moment. "Give her back." he shouted. The monster used to lurch, but in an instant he was in the monsters grasp, like it teleported. He was engulfed in it again. 

He was stuck. In the cage with Lila. She was scratched and heavily covered in the substance it oozed. "Wyatt." she whispered. "Don't talk." it'll do terrible things." 

It engulfed her like it would Wyatt. She screamed for life. It carried her and the substance oozed, which caused it to get on her clothes. Where was it taking her, she'd soon no when it brought her to a cage riddled with who knows what. It put her in the cage and she started screaming. It shut her right up. It scratched her, but it was so much more painful than a regular scratch, the pain seared through her, it left her bleeding, her whole back had been red and some of the substance had got in it, it amplified the pain and made her pass out. Who knows what would happen if she spoke again. Her last image before going out of consciousness was it having an ear to ear grin. That's how she got there and now Wyatt is with her. But they're both trapped. 

It looked like an ordinary cage. Maybe it could be broken. Wyatt banged on the cage with his feet, and soon the monster came back and did what it did to his sister on him. Lila screamed. Which received a punishment. Its finger began stabbing her making the pain deeper than before. It tampered with the wounds, it played with them like some toy, it poked and prodded at them. She felt violated,so much pain, but she wouldn't faint. No slip of consciousness. Nothing. She was awake, and every moment traumatized her. Only when it was done she slept.

They woke up back at home, had it set them free? Both had pain scorching through there body. They were in Wyatt's room, it was now a mess. It freaked Wyatt out. All the neatness. Ruined. He didn't want to fret over it. He moved towards his closet and hid. Lila was with him. Every noise startled them. It was torturous not knowing what was coming. Everything halted when they could see a shadow, it could be in either form, it crept through the room.  Slowly walking back and forth. Why was it looking if it let them go.

The walls suddenly oozed the monster's black substance. It was torturing them even more. "It can't be real." Lila thought. She tried to flush her mind out of impending doom and thought colorful thoughts. The whole room changed it became her greatest fantasy. Wyatt noticed. It's an illusion. They tried to fight back with happy thoughts. They lost and were sent to the most terrifying illusion the shadow had made.

They were helpless tied up with cold metal cuffs, with a chilling brick wall behind them. The only light was a fire in the distance that drew closer with every second "I love you Lil." Wyatt grieved "I do too." she said. It drew closer, closer, closer. Until he felt its breathing on him. Suddenly it stopped, the light died. The room was pitch black, than the light came on and closer than ever before it was staring straight at him. He screamed and for the final time the monster engulfed him, Wyatt was gone, but was he dead? Or would he be trapped, tortured for the rest of his life.

Lila was left there helpless, sweat trickled down her, no breathing, she waited for it to come and take her. It never came.

She was home again, but without Wyatt it wasn't home.She had a childish thought. One of running away from home. From the monster that haunted her. She tried to, she had her bags packed and took one of Wyatt's pillows with her. "He's in my memory," "Dead or not." she thought. She walked outside, ready to get away from whatever it was. She smelled the fresh air for the first time in days. Lila loved it. She forgot about everything that had happened for a moment, until she was staring at the beast face to face.