The+Devil+and+Matt+H.

Kathryn H. Period C

The Devil and Matt H.

On one normal Tuesday, Matt returned home from a day at school. He parked his car in the garage, threw his backpack down in his room, and flipped on the television. About an hour later, he started to do his math homework, but he was not prepared for what would come next.

As he was finishing up his last problem, he thought he heard footsteps down the hall. “That’s strange,” Matt said to himself, “Mom and Dad aren’t supposed to home until six o’clock.” Matt didn’t have any pets or anyone in the house who could have made the footsteps, so he decided to go check it out. Just as Matt reached for his doorknob, chills went up his spine. It was a sensation he hadn’t felt before, and decided to be cautious about proceeding. He grabbed a golf club from his closet, and braced himself for what might be outside his room. He opened the door, and took a step into the hallway.

The hallway was significantly colder than his room, and there seemed to be a funny look to it, like the lights were different, maybe a bit darker than usual. There was some strange smell in the air. He gripped his golf club more firmly, and decided to check what was in the attic, which was the direction the sound of the steps came from. He walked slowly but steadily, golf club held like a baseball bat, knuckles white from grasping it so firmly, eyes spread wide, looking at the steps to the attic door. He thought he saw movement from the crack under the door….

The door flew open and a gust of freezing air came swirling towards Matt, with old papers and dust flying down the steps. Matt was overwhelmed with its power and fell backwards, and quickly got to his knees, ready to attack whoever was causing this. Once the wind died down, Matt got back on his feet, took a deep breath, and proceeded towards the stairs. There was a small light on, and a voice to greet him.

“Hello, Matthew,” said the voice tauntingly, and Matt stopped in his tracks. “Who is that? Come out and show me who you are!” Matt ordered. The voice snickered. “You want to know who I am? Well, I’m your worst nightmare,” the voice said sarcastically, laughing some more. “Very funny, now who are you?” said Matt. He tried to sound calm, but he still gripped the golf club with one hand, behind his back. “I wish it was that simple, Matthew, but in fact it’s quite complicated. Why don’t you take a seat?” A chair suddenly came up behind Matt and he fell into it, and it pushed him into the center of the room.

Matt coughed from the dust. “So…where were we, oh yes, you want to know who I am? Well, I’m not a person, and I don’t really have a name, although some choose to call me the Devil. I’m all of your fears, weaknesses, lies, and hatreds, brought together in one being. Any questions?” Matt was no longer skeptical as to who this person was. He knew he was in trouble as he slowly shook his head, and said, “then what do you want from me?” The voice didn’t answer. Matt waited a few moments, and then his chair started to shake. All around him, things started to fall apart; books flying around, old newspapers and articles, boxes of clothes and old photo albums, all shaking and flying around the room. Matt didn’t know what to do, but he started screaming for help at the top of his lungs.

“Matt? Is that you?” Everything stopped shaking, and his mother opened the door. “Matt, what are you doing up here? Man, this room is a mess,” said his mother. Matt stood up, covered in dust and dirt, with a golf club still in his hand. He started to speak, but couldn’t find the words. “Matt, you don’t look so good. Is something wrong?” He thought for a moment and shook his head. She touched his forehead. “You have a fever, go take a shower and then lie down. You’ve had a long day."

Matt wanted to explain what had happened to him, but decided to just let it go. “Maybe it was my imagination,” Matt thought, as he climbed into bed for the night. “I guess I’ll never know.”