Three the Charm Baby

    This night was no different than the other nights for the past month. It starts with a rattling of the attic door. Then the dragging footsteps across the attic floor. When the footsteps first started it was only one set that would go across the whole attic in a giant circle. The second week of the agonizing noise is when the second set of footsteps started. They each took half the attic and would go in circles. Now for the past two weeks there were three sets. Each took a third of the attic floor and go in a circle. The circling sounded like somebody dragging their foot through gravel. It had a rough grinding sound to it. One wasn't bad, but three at the same time tripled the volume of the sound. The windows throughout the house vibrated from whatever or whoever was the culprit. It would last for two hours and then stop. There would be another rattling of the attic door, then silence till the next night when it would start again.
    He tried staying in a local motel to get away form the irritating noise that plagued his house each night. It didn't work. The sound followed him to the Best Western. He went to the manager and complained about the noise above him. The manager didn't hear it or find a source for it. He heard it the whole time the manager looked at him like he was a psycho. He knew he wasn't crazy. Something was causing this and was targeting him. He left the motel within an hour of getting there. He didn't even bother to get his money back. When he got back to his own home he stood at the front door with a dejected look. He could hear the rattle and see the vibrations of the windows. As soon as he opened the front door and entered in he heard the distinct dragging on the attic floor. After two hours as always a loud rattling of the attic door and then silence.
      When the noise stopped most nights he could sleep. There was tossing and turning. A lot of waking in a cold sweat. The rest his body craved was sporadic but there. Tonight there was something new though. In his dream he felt a tightness in his throat. It slowly grew in pressure till he could not breathe. He felt his heart pound like a pile driver, straining to move the oxygen deprived blood to the cells. He felt the vacumn in his chest as it expanded but no air could get in to fill it. When he awoke from the dream he felt his body chilled, none of his covers were over him. He was still deprived of the ability to breathe. He reached his hands up to his neck like a person with an obstructed airway. What he found there was a shock to his already frightened thoughts. Not only was the bed sheet wrapped around his neck, but it was tied in a knot. Not just one knot but three. He struggled to untie them. Each one seemed painstakingly slow. Each knot was a little tighter then the one before it. Finally when he felt the cold blackness of unconsciousness almost overwhelm him he got it free. His chest expanded and filled with air. The first one hurt as the lungs actually had something to take in. His heart was still pounding but now sensed it was going to actually have somthing to pump. Slowly with each breath, the heart slowed and the pressure and strain to breathe eased till finally he was back to normal. He could not go back to sleep that night.
    When dawn began to come in through the windows his eyes finally closed. He didn't call into work. He didn't go out. None of his neighbors saw him that day. They thought that was unusual because they always see him and he is always friendly. Waving and greeting each one. Sometimes he would stop and talk to the Smiths for a  minute. They were the seniors in the block. Both of them eighty years old and barely able to move. He would get there paper and put it on the porch in the chair. Today the neighbors noticed his routine was different. At first concerned they thought maybe he was just sick. That's OK, somebody would go over with some chicken soup and check on him. Each one thought for sure the other person would do it.
    When he awoke he saw everything was dark. There wasn't lights on the inside anywhere. He felt his way to the wall and lifted the switch. Nothing happened. He tried again. Still no lights. Stumbling over a piece of furniture, he wasn't sure what it was, he reached the window in the room and looked out. The lights in the neighborhood were on. Must of tripped a circuit. He made his way to the kitchen. As he passed the stairs that led to the attic he felt a chilly draft coming down the stairs. He wasn't sure why, the door to the attic couldn't be open. He hadn't been up there in a month and he kept it locked. He got to the kitchen and the circuit box. He felt for each breaker and turned them off then on again. Finally he got to the main breaker. It wasn't there. He could feel a hole where it should be but there was no breaker. This didn't make sense. How could a breaker be missing. He made his way to the front and back doors and found them locked and closed. Then he checked the windows. Each one of those were locked and closed too. His mind screamed out that it didn't make sense. Suddenly he saw through the corner of his eye a flicker almost like a candle was lit. He looked to where it came from and moved towards the room it was in. When he got back to the living room he saw three small candles burning in the center of the floor. The glow of them was enough that he could see the shadows of the furniture, Thats why he tripped on the way to the window the first time. His furniture had been moved from where it was. The center of the room was empty except for the candles. He thought he saw a shadow move over the candles and all three flickered like someone had walked by. He spoke out asking who is there but no answer. He looked around the room trying ot see who it was when it happened again. This time he felt anger swell within him. He screamed out who is there and still there was no answer. When it happened a third time the anger switched to chills. Suddenly he fet his arms being stretched out away from his body. No matter how hard he tried he couldn't break them free.
    He looked at the three candles flickering violently then saw somthing that made his blood turn thick and cold. About a foot above each candle something was materializing out of thin air. At first it was just a smoky mist but it became more solid. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. There was a choke chain hanging mid air above each one. They were about an inch wide with heavy chain links. They looked very similar to what is normally seen around the neck of a vicious watch dog in a junkyard. Each one began to float in air from the candle to his head. When they were above him they opened up like they were being fitted to cover over him. He shook his so hard his temples hurt. They lowered down till they were around his neck. Then he felt them tighten. Just like last night the air to his lungs was being cut off. He couldn't determine why this was happening as his heart began beating hard again just like the night before. What was doing this to him?
    He awoke in the living room on the floor spread eagle. A light was on beside the couch. When he looked towards the window he could see it was dark. When he moved his head he felt a heavy cold metal around his neck. He reached to see what it was and discovered that it was a heavy choke chain. There was three of them. At first, as he fought to loosen them, they wouldn't give. Then the links broke and they fell with a loud metallic sound to the floor. He quickly sat up and spun around to look at them. He was astonished to see them vanish into the hard wood floor like they were melting. From behind him and up the stairs to the attic he heard three voices in unison.
    "Three the charm baby, three the charm.
    He was frozen in place sitting on the floor. The voices got louder and louder. They were coming down the stairs and towards the living room. When they got to the entrance of the room they turned towards him. There were three of them. Long hair grew out of empty eye socket skulls. Not touching the floor the boney feet seemed to be in a walking motion. The sight that made his heart almost stop was out of the gray dirty nightgowns he could see three sets of boney hands coming towards him. All he heard as his eyes widen in horror, "Three the charm baby, three the charm.

    "This is emergency dispatch, what is your emergency?
    "There is a man dead in his home
    "There is a man dead, what address is that at?
    "1635 Oak Hill Drive
    "Can I have your name and number please?
    "No you will find out who we are soon enough.
    "Ma'am I need the name and number. Do you know what killed him?
    "Yes, we did
    Click

    "Lt. you better come over here.
    "What is it Frank?
    "The man has been choked. Looks like three sets of hands. He must of teally pissed somebody off. The only thing is the markings are to small to be another man. These were made by three women.
    From up above in the attic, "Lt. I need you up here.
    As he walked up he could smell the rot. It was a familiar smell. A dead body, and been that way for awhile. What the hell does he have here?
    He stepped through the door and saw three trunks. He looked in each one. They contained a skeleton, apparently female. Each had a choke chain around their neck. Each one also had their driving license inside with them. Later back at the station he would discover that missing person reports were filled out on them a month ago. At least he could close out those cases as he tried to figure out what happen to the man in the house.
    Three the charm baby, Three the charm.