Lawrence, Kansas - April, 1989
"Henry," a woman called up the stairs, "have you put Amelia down yet?"
"Almost! She's got a handful of my hair up here!"
The woman shook her head in amusement as she sat on the couch, pushing her hair behind her ears and placing the nearly empty mug she had been carrying on the coffee table.
The soft footfalls of her husband coming down the stairs behind her indicated his return. "Finally managed to free my hair strands from the strongest 6-month-old I know." He rubbed his scalp as he joined his wife.
The women snickered. "Were you bested by an infant?"
Henry gasped mockingly. "I'll have you know, Mrs. Jones, that infant uses her cuteness to lure you in, and then she strikes, clutching whatever she can see. I'm telling you, it works almost a hundred percent of the time."
"Almost?" His wife asked.
"Okay, fine, it works every single time," he admitted. He chuckled with his wife before his expression saddened as he looked up the stairs. "It happened again," he admitted.
She cocked her head to the side. "What did?"
"Things started floating while she was laughing."
"Oh." The women trailed off, turning to stare at the floor. "We'll get through this," she assured him. "She'll get older, and we'll teach her how to control it."
"How?" Henry turned to his wife. "Jess, We don't even know what this is."
"Then, we'll figure it out together," Jessica assured him, rubbing his shoulder.
Henry was silent for a long time, staring up the staircase again. "Okay," he finally agreed.
Jess kissed Henry on the cheek as she stood up and grabbed her mug. "I think I'm gonna head to bed." She made her way into the kitchen and began cleaning the mug, placing it in the cupboard. "It's getting late. You coming?"
"I suppose so." The couch creaked as Henry stood up.
She grabbed his hand and started leading him to the bedroom. They were up a couple of steps up when the lights flickered.
"Oh," a voice said sarcastically, "What a touching moment."
Henry heard a small, shuddered gasp escape his wife's lips. "Go to Amy," he heard.
"What? No," he protested, grabbing her arm, "Jessica, I'm not leaving you!"
"Listen to your wife." The intruder took a step forward, his eyes turning black.
Jess pulled her arm away from Henry and turned to face him. "I'll be okay," she tried to reassure him but didn't believe herself as she heard her shaky breath. She kissed him on the lips before pushing him further up the stairs. "Keep Amelia safe for me."
Part of him wanted to stay by his wife's side but knew their daughter needed him more. With a longing look at his wife, he finally sprinted up the stairs, entering their daughter's nursery. Amelia, who was currently sucking on her feet, unaware of the danger below her, started flailing her arms around in delight when she saw him.
Visually relaxing, he closed the door and knelt against her crib. "Hey, sweetie," he said softly, stroking her hair. His breath shuddered as he faintly heard a thud as someone fell to the floor, followed by someone slowly coming up the stairs.
"Amy, Dada loves you," he continued softly, his eyes welling up with tears. "Mama loves you. I hope you'll do great things." The door squeaked open. I just wish I could be there to see it all."
Henry looked up at the demon who had just killed his wife. He started to stand up. "You won't–" but he was cut off as his neck snapped to the side. He fell forward, arms and head falling into the crib, face turned to his daughter.
Amelia started to fuss as the demon approached her crib. The lights began flickering, and the mobile started to turn. The demon reached into the crib as Amy cried louder.
"Shhh," the demon said softly. He reached into the crib, but the lights began to flicker wildly, and he was suddenly thrown across the room.
Breaking the dresser as he landed against the wall, the demon snarled as he tried to stand up, only to find that his arms were pinned to his side and he couldn't move. He groaned against his invisible restraints, but it was no use. "What the hell?" he asked. He turned back to the crib only to find it now empty.
Finding the restraints gone, the demon stood up and moved to the crib. It was empty, just like he thought. Turning his eyes black and gripping his hands around the top tightly, he finally tossed the entire crib across the room. Fuming, the demon smoked away, leaving through the window.
Los Angeles - April, 1998
The wind blew through the cold spring air. A few cars drove by, but nothing seemed abnormal except for the bundled-up infant in a blanket on the steps of a large building. The building door opened, and a curly, red-haired woman stepped out. Her eyes immediately fell to the infant.
Gasping, the woman picked the infant up and cuddled her. She did a quick sweep of the street in case the mother or anyone else was still nearby, but whoever had dropped the helpless infant off was nowhere to be seen. Returning inside, she unwrapped the blanket, hoping to find a note of some type, but there was nothing.
Frowning, she turned to the infant, who was unusually quiet. "Do you not have a name, little one?" She paused, "How about Sarah? Or Nicole?" she frowned again. "Well, you're not a newborn, so I'm sure you have a name. I just wish your guardian had left it with you." She paused for a moment. "How about Emily?"
The infant started to giggle.
"I'll take that as a yes." Sighing sadly. "Welcome to the family, Emily. I'm sure we'll find a home for you soon." The woman closed the door as she went inside, not noticing the porch light flickering or the pages turning as she walked by.
Los Angeles - November, 2015
Seventeen years passed, and Emily was still at the foster home. She hopped down the hall, trying to slip her shoes on as she went.
"Emily, do you need the car today?" a voice called from the kitchen. "You're just hanging out with some friends, right?"
Emily finally managed to put on her shoes and grab her bike helmet. "We're going to the movies and then probably something else after. And thanks, Ms. Claudwell, but don't the twins have that soccer game later?" she pointed out. "I don't know how long I'll be gone, so I'll just take my bike."
Ms. Claudwell nodded as she entered the living room, drying her hands on a dishtowel. "You need me to save a plate from dinner for you?"
Emily shook her head. "That's okay." She grabbed a hair tie from her wrist and pulled her hair back, tying it up. "I'll either grab something on the way home, or a group of us will probably meet and eat at a restaurant?"
"Here, let me give you some money for food if you decide to do that." Ms. Claudwell opened her wallet, pulled out a twenty, and handed it to Emily.
Emily stuffed the bill into her pocket. "Thanks. I'll probably be home late, so you don't have to wait for me if you get tired."
"Stay safe! Call me if you get into trouble."
Emily waved goodbye and headed out the door. She put on her helmet and grabbed the bike that was sitting against the house, pedaling away.
It was almost one in the morning when Emily returned. The porch light was on, and she unlocked the door with her key, careful not to slam it closed as she entered. Locking the door and flipping off the porch light, she went upstairs and entered the bedroom she shared with the two other teenagers who also lived in the house.
Her laptop was still open on her bed, and Emily was too tired to get ready for bed, so she closed her computer and placed it on the ground. Kicking off her shoes, she lay on her covers, falling asleep faster than ever.
"... okay? ...' llo? Can you hear me?"