My original work, “Fear” has undergone an edit. I have reworked the story, and hopefully, this is a better version. This new version will entertain those who read it. I hope. This is the first story in the series that features my little demon girl. I gave her the name Bella (Beastly Evil Little Lady Assassin).

Fear is a physical reaction to stimuli that appear to pose a danger. It was a word that Jason knew very well. He just never saw fear as a weakness. He was what many people would call fearless. The man was cool under pressure, and instead of running from a fire, he would run towards it.

This lack of fear had put Jason in many dangerous situations. During a bank robbery, the robber had shot at him. This happened as he refused to drop to the floor when ordered to by the robber. Jason’s defiance allowed a guard to get the drop on the would-be robber. The situation resulted in no one getting hurt, except the robber.

Another situation had Jason near an exploding car. He had witnessed a crash while driving to work one day. A family car smashed into a steel guardrail as the driver misjudged a curve. Jason stopped his vehicle and jumped into action. He pulled a small child out of the burning vehicle. As he rushed the child to safety, the gas tank exploded. The blast forced him to fall to his knees, and some of the debris hit his back. The child was okay, receiving only minor bruises when dropped. Jason was not as fortunate as his shirt caught on fire. He received first-degree burns for his act of heroism.

Friends of his had tried to test his fearlessness for much of his adult life. Practical jokes being played on him became a constant event. They would try to scare him by jumping out of the dark. They’d be wearing a ski mask and holding a fake weapon. After a few broken noses, they gave up on those attempts. Someone left plastic spiders in his car, his office, and even a real snake in his sock drawer. He learned it was important to lock his front door when going for an errand.

His life was like this until the year 2023. This was the year of his thirty-third birthday. It fell just in time for Halloween. He prepared, as always, to give out full-size candy bars to the children in his neighborhood. He knew the kids loved to stop at his home. Often, they would try to scare him as well. He would smile at the children for their attempts. He’d often just smiled and told them, “Nice try.” There was no difference in Halloween this year from the past.

The one exception was that his friends tried a new tactic. This year, his friends employed superstitions against him. They pointed out that there were too many threes in his life to be safe. They would point out that it was 2023, and he was 33. As expected, he laughed them off. He explained how people can view 3-3-3, or any number, as evil. He knew that 3-3-3 was a superstitious number. It wasn’t as bad as Friday the 13th, but it was up there. It was just like the number 6-6-6 to those of the Christian faith.

Fate intervened one night when a friend would not let the matter drop.

Jason yelled out the numbers three and six multiple times, repeating each one three times. His friend had heard enough. He asked Jason to stop and even made the sign of the cross over his chest. Jason rolled his eyes and asked his buddy, “Who was the scared and the superstitious one?”  Eventually, his friend had had enough and went home.

Halloween had finally come, and he had just turned off his porch light. He had given out nearly all the candy bars. There were about two to three candy bars left. He was about to open one for himself when there was a knock at the door. Jason shook his head, rolled his eyes, and went to the door. He dropped the candy bar back into the bucket before he opened the door.

A cute little girl dressed in the oddest of costumes met his gaze as the door swung open. She had a princess costume on. It was not your typical pink, but black. She had small horns by her ears and blood-red lips that were a contrast to her pale white face. Her hair was jet black and oddly tied up in dual ponytails that did nothing to hide those horns. He took in her appearance and shrugged. Jason told her there were only a few candy bars left and asked what she’d like from the bucket.

The young girl looked up at him. She stood about four feet tall. She smiled, her cheeks spreading apart to show small dimples. There was no sign of cracked makeup when she did this, and he saw her eyes were pure black.

“I do not want your candy, but I am here for you.”

His right eyebrow rose as he let those words sink into his mind. He stepped outside and looked to the right and left. He had to see if any of his friends or neighbors were around.

“Did someone put you up to a joke or is this someone’s effort to scare me?”

Her smile faded into a stern look, and if possible, flames escaped from the corners of her eyes. She stared at him. Her mouth opened slightly, and he heard a small voice come from her. Yet, it was loud and clear within his head.

“I am here for you. The man with no fear in the year of his threes who has summoned me.”

“Excuse me, but what are you getting at, little girl? “

“You have summoned us, and your time is nigh. I am here to collect you for the one who collects those of three.”

“Hey, are you guys out there? It’s not cool to use a little girl in another lame attempt to scare me. You know this won’t work.”

“No one shall hear the words from your throat; you yell into the nothingness. I am here to claim you.”

He hadn’t noticed, but as he looked around, he saw no streetlights. There was no sign of life, just a pale glow. The girl was lit by the lights inside his home. Yet, a pale glow also seemed to come from her. A shudder spread down his spine, followed by a bead of sweat.

He questioned himself silently, is this what fear feels like?

She repeated her claims again to Jason.

“You have summoned us, and your time is nigh. I am here to collect you for the one who collects those of three.”

“I heard you the first time! If this is some joke to scare me, it is fucking working. You can tell whoever is behind this prank, congratulations. After thirty-three years, they finally got me. Now, will you please get off my porch! I don’t want to slam the door on a little girl.”

He attempted to shut the door as he backed into his house, but the door did not move. She just looked at him and grinned. Her mouth parted this time to show teeth that were pointed like daggers. Her mouth opened grotesquely wider as she parted those teeth. A forked tongue ran across those blood-red lips. She stepped toward him and through the door again. A small whisper of a voice said.

“I am here for you. A man with no fear in the year of his threes. He who summoned us, as you will not be shutting me out.”

He tried again to slam the door. The fear he held onto for so many years finally claimed his body. The sweat ran down his body, causing his shirt to be soaked. His heart raced, and he saw images of the close calls from his life. Nearly being shot by the bank robber. The car explosion. A snake in his drawer, and so much more came to his mind at that moment. He stumbled backward, and the girl just stared at him. She walked into his house, following his steps. The door closed behind her.

A scream pierced the neighborhood’s silence. People turned on their porch lights to see if they could see the source. Children stopped in their tracks as they were heading home. All turned toward his now darkened house. The scream echoed one more time in the night. Smaller kids dropped their bags of candy and ran home. Neighbors slammed their front doors, and their lights went dark.

Someone in the neighborhood had enough sense to call the police. The darkened street was again lit up with lights. These were a mixture of blue and red from the police cars, firetrucks, and ambulance that came to Jason’s home. The sound of wood being shattered brought some neighbors outside and brave the frosty night air. As usual, people wanted to know what was happening. Some neighbors were holding cell phones upright, recording the situation.

Some ran back into their homes. Others stared on with eyes wide open. Their mouths gaping at the sight before them. Grown police officers ran back outside. A few firefighters followed them out. They reached the lawn, and all vomited on the leaf-covered grass. Another officer came out shaken to the core. Sounds of deep sobbing were heard from the man as he repeatedly made the sign of the cross over his chest. A paramedic had blood covering his hands, painting the white uniform red wherever he touched. He was trying to wipe the blood off, but just made it worse.

A neighbor finally dared to walk up the street. He had hoped to get a view inside and talk to a member of the police. An officer turned him back as he got close. The officer said what they saw inside was worse than any violence in a cheap horror film. The man tried to stand on his toes to see into the open doorway, but could not. He finally got a glimpse through the reflection in a police car window. He clutched at his chest and collapsed on the spot. Nearby paramedics ran to the man as it appeared he was having a sudden heart attack. Neighbors later learned from a news report that he had died at the hospital.

Over the next two weeks, the police put up a twenty-four-hour watch on the home. No one was on the property. The press briefings were very simple. All the police would say is that the scene was under investigation. The homeowner likely was deceased from the amount of blood found at the scene. They felt there were no threats to the public. Police had questioned neighbors. Statements gathered about what they had seen and heard that dreadful night. All any could remember was the odd girl in the black princess dress. They saw her skipping around the corner near Jason’s home. Some claimed the dress was all black, while others said they saw splashes of red down the front of the dress. The only thing all could agree on was her singing. The only words anyone remembered were:

“One, two, three,

I come for thee,

Four, five, six,

Beware what I will inflict.

Seven, Eight, Nine,

I will begin to dine.

As I counted to ten,

His life was at an end!”