Beyond the Knock Knock Door by Scott Monk

Author:Scott Monk
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Random House Australia
Published: 2009-08-31T04:00:00+00:00

16

Michael wanted to puke. He staggered along a dark palace hallway, rubbing his stomach that sloshed with too many honey prawns. They’d looked so delicious at dinner, but now, bloated at two o’clock in the morning, he just wanted to press his belly button and flush them out. If only he could find a doctor – or a footman to fetch him one.

Suddenly, a hand seized him. It pulled him into a holographic painting and a second clapped over his mouth. Michael fought back. He heeled his attacker’s foot and readied to elbow him in the guts when a boy quietly yelped, ‘Ow! Mikey! It’s me!’

‘Luke? What –?’

‘Shhh!’

His brother gagged him again and pulled him deeper into the alcove. He then scoured the empty hallway as his visor scrolled with unhelpful data. Michael only saw squares of moonlight and readied to speak up when the holo-painting flickered. Its portrait of a king riding a chariot twisted and distorted like bad television reception before fading to black with a whine. One by one, the other paintings lost power too and left the boys standing in the darkness.

Luke snapped back from the edge, his visor also failing. He shouldered Michael sideways and pressed him against the wall. For long seconds, they stood paralysed in the silence until the door at the end of the corridor slowly opened. No footsteps followed it. But an unseen presence entered, scouring the shadows.

It was swift, dangerous and unsettling. Evil seeped from its body like mist on a cemetery. It flitted between the windows as a blur, careful not to be spied by human eyes. It stopped at each curtain then flashed to a couch or marble bust without a sound. Purposefully, it stalked the hallway with the hunger of a predator.

Shuddering, the brothers tensed as they realised what approached them. The monster, here in the palace.

It stopped at a bedroom door and eased a knob to slip inside. Its dark form crept around the sleeping guest, who, awash with an instant prickling, twitched and rolled over in his sheets, unaware of the intruder. A few moments later the creature returned to the corridor and tried the next room. Again, its tingling presence hovered over the dormant occupant before re-emerging undetected. The brothers trembled as it stole into a third chamber and realised it had found the right room – Luke’s room! It tore back the sheets, rifled through drawers and opened cupboards in the dark. Foolish curiosity got the better of Luke and he curled his head around the corner, but Michael yanked him back. Just in time, too. The door clicked shut and the monster filled the hallway again, breathing thinly through its teeth.

Determined now, it dismissed the other quarters and headed towards the end of the hallway where Michael’s room was located. The brothers cowered in the holo-painting, conscious that any second now they’d have to fight or flee.

Michael flinched. His little finger vibrated under his gauntlet. Startled, he jumped and his armour squeaked. The monster halted.

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