Demon at My Window (Welcome to Hell Series)

By O. Penn-Coughin

An innocent pregame ritual takes a horrible turn and leads straight to Hell...

Soccer players are very superstitious. And best friends Sophie and Rosie live for soccer. So it’s not surprising when they start using a little magic to help them win their games. It’s just for fun they tell themselves at first. And then as the winning streak goes on, they chalk it up to coincidence.
But they’ve unknowingly awakened something. Something dark and evil. Something that’s playing for keeps. Something that’s playing for their very souls.

Demon at My Window is the new book from the terrifying WELCOME TO HELL series. Also includes a free sample of Kissed by a Clown, a mad, unforgettable ride through a funhouse of unspeakable horror.

WARNING: this book is not for wimps, the squeamish, or those prone to nightmares.

• Language: English
• Publisher: You Come Too Publishing
• Release date: Oct 1, 2011
• ISBN: 9781465722928

O. Penn-Coughin

O. Penn-Coughin ("open coffin") is the ghoulishly gifted author of the spine-chilling series WELCOME TO HELL and THEY'RE COMING FOR YOU: SCARY STORIES THAT SCREAM TO BE READ.Listen to his stories on THE SCARY STORY PODCAST.

Book preview

Chapter 1

The first time Sophie saw it was at her soccer game.

The Screaming Saguaros were down 3-2, but Sophie knew she could even it up. A pass from one of the midfielders and she could make it happen. And she knew that her best friend Rosie was back there, working hard to get her the ball.

Sophie ran to the box, hovering near the goal.

Streams of sweat poured down her face and neck like a monsoon rainstorm, but she didn’t care. She was feeling it, totally in the zone, like her foot was a laser. All she had to do was aim and the ball would follow.

Rosie moved in like a hummingbird on a flower. A moment later she picked up a loose ball and passed it up to Sophie, who breezed by a slow defender and faked out another. When she was close to goal, she zeroed in on the target and fired.

It was a beauty. The ball soared just over the goalie’s outreached fingertips, ripping into the back of the net.

The sidelines erupted.

Swweeeeeet shot! Rosie said, smiling from ear to ear like a crazy jack-o-lantern.

But Sophie knew there was no time to celebrate. The clock doesn’t stop in soccer. A celebration now would use up precious seconds, seconds that could be better spent going for the win. She quickly picked up the ball from the back of the goal and started trotting toward the midfield circle.

Let’s get another one! Sarah yelled, adjusting her goalie gloves. Let’s win this thing!

But as she handed the ball to the referee, Sophie caught sight of something—something that sent goose bumps down both arms and chills down the back of her neck even though it had to be more than 90 degrees on the field.

A large, dark figure was standing in their goal, alone, watching them. Because the sun was in her eyes, she couldn’t see much more than that, just that strange silhouette. She squinted, rubbed some of the sweat off her face and tried to get a better look. It was still there.

Who’s that in our goal? Sophie asked Rosie as the other team kicked off.

But even as she said it, she saw that it was too late. It had disappeared.

You mean Sarah, our goalie? Rosie said, still smiling.

No, not Sarah. I thought I saw somebody standing there.

Must be the heat playing tricks on you, Rosie said. C’mon. Let’s put this one to bed.

Sophie glanced behind her once more. Just Sarah in goal. It didn’t make sense, but she was relieved.

Rosie had to be right. It was the heat. Sophie wiped her face with her sleeve. She still wasn’t used to the life-inside-an-oven Arizona climate, having moved here just six months ago from Chicago with her dad.

Regaining her focus, she sprinted up the field hoping for a hat trick.

Chapter 2

Although she had only seen it for a few seconds, the dark shadow left Sophie with a strange feeling that lasted all day. And that night it came back.

It came back for Sophie.

The air was as hot as coals. A soccer ball at her feet, Sophie was walking down a lonely, deserted street when a wicked wind suddenly began to blow. The wind soon started pushing her back, pushing her into the horrible creature that was coming for her. She started running. But it felt like she was dragging a parachute. She ran as hard as she could because Sophie knew she was running for her life. But with each step the beast came closer. Closer and closer and closer, until it was right behind her. On top of her. Breathing hard in her ears, its putrid spit drooling down on her hair, on her shoulder.

She still couldn’t figure out what it was. All she knew was that it now seemed bigger than before. Part animal, part man was the best guess her panicked brain could come up with. She wasn’t sure. It had no clear features. Even though she told herself not to give up, a feeling of terror and certain doom filled Sophie. Still, she kept running.

But she was running out of street. A huge stone wall, too big to climb, stood in her path. There was nowhere to go and nothing to do. Towering over her, the thing blocked out the light, blocked out everything. Blocked out her life.

Aaaaah!

Sophie suddenly found herself safe in her bed, the only danger being that her heart might explode out of her chest.

You okay, Soph? she heard her dad’s sleepy voice call out from his room.

Sophie sat up, rubbed her eyes, and took a deep breath.

Yeah, sorry, she called out. Just a nightmare. I’m fine.

Call out if you need me, he said.

A minute later Sophie could hear him snoring again.

She must have been thinking about that strange creepy shadow that she had seen in the soccer net earlier in the day. She must have been focusing on it right before falling asleep and it had then seeped into her dream.

She grabbed her water glass from the nightstand and thought about it as she drank. That didn’t make any sense. Right before bed she was thinking happy thoughts. Like the three glorious goals she had scored in the game, helping her team clinch the division title and make it into the playoffs. And how much fun it was when all the players started chanting Hat Trick Sophie inside the ice cream shop. And how the ice cream looked like chocolate but tasted like victory.

And how it had possibly been one of the best days of her life.

That was what she had been thinking about. But somehow, that large shadow had returned, finding her in her dream and haunting her.

She took a deep breath and tried to calm down. Her imagination was getting the best of her.

It was only a dream, she said out loud. Don’t be such a child.

Sophie realized that she was covered in sweat and noticed that her window was open. Her dad must have turned off the air conditioning again to save money. He had been doing that lately and then would come into her room and open up the window while she slept.

She stared at the thin curtains that were blowing in the breeze. It was pitch black outside, no moon that she could see. She headed to the bathroom and washed her face with cold water.

What a day, she said to the mirror, trying to think of things other than the beast in her nightmare.

She studied her face, surprised at how pale she was. Her long brown hair was wet and plastered to her head and neck.

This desert weather is insane, she said, holding a hand towel under the running water while she studied the disgusting pimple that was forming on her chin.

She went back to bed. The curtains were still dancing in the warm air that filling her room like a furnace set on high. And in November! Back home there probably was at least six inches of snow on the ground already. She would have been wrapped in a down comforter from head to toe and would be wearing thick flannel pajamas. And all the windows would have been closed and sealed, that’s for sure.

She rubbed the towel around her neck and face.

Even though she liked Arizona, Chicago would always be home. She missed it terribly sometimes. She missed her friends, her neighborhood, and the amazing pizza down the street from her house. She even missed her old soccer coach, who was from Argentina and used to scream like a madman from the sidelines in a thick accent.

C’mon now, Soph, this is your new home now, she told herself. It’s all good.

Good and hot. She wiped down her face again and glanced out the window.

And then she screamed.

It was there—had been there all along—just outside the window. Watching her. Horrible, flickering red eyes, staring at her from the darkness. Eyes from Hell.

Noooo!

Sophie screamed the kind of scream that brought her dad running. But the eyes had vanished by the time he reached her room.

Chapter 3

So, let me get this straight, Rosie said for the third time in a row as she pulled her shiny black hair into a ponytail. You think you’re being stalked by a monster?

It was Monday afternoon. They were sitting on a bench at lunch, sucking on straws and playing with their food.

Come on, dude, that just sounds nuts.

It’s true, Sophie said, sounding too defensive. Everything I told you.

Rosie put down her plastic fork.

I’ve seen this before, she said. New kids come to the desert, not used to the sun, and bam! The heat starts messing with their heads.

Sophie sighed. She knew there would be some crazy story coming now and she wasn’t in the mood to listen to it. She let the silence sit for a minute, but then gave in.

Okay, she finally said. Go ahead. Tell me what you’re talking about. Tell me a story about kids who come to the desert and then have monsters stalking them.

Rosie smiled and then cleared her throat.

It’s not so crazy, Soph. Just last year it happened. No joke. I don’t remember the name. One of your types. A Jessica or a Brittney or a Samantha. The heat got to her, got to her real bad. And she was from some big city back east, like you.

Sophie sighed again.

I’m not from back east, she said, rolling her eyes. Chicago is in the Midwest.

Yeah, whatever, Rosie said. Anyway, she fainted like a million times, always during lunch. Couldn’t handle the heat. Said she saw things right before she hit the pavement, too. So the principal made her stay indoors and eat in the office. But that didn’t solve the problem. She still had to go outside sometimes. Once she fainted walking home from school and they took her to the hospital. The heat was too much. Just not in her genes, I guess. They ended up moving. Lots of your people are like that. Just saying.

Sophie didn’t like what Rosie was saying. It felt like an insult.

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