The Nightmare (Home Pt3)

    The shorten days of late summer warmed the house, and made it feel inviting. But outside, the song birds, once so abundant grew scant. The squirrels which normally raced back and forth collecting nuts for the long winter months ahead, all but disappeared. Even the small herd of deer, grazing along the edges of the lower field seemed to have moved on. An eerie stillness gripped the land. Each day giant fingers inched forward drawing long shadows from the tall pines that encased the outer edges of the property line. Everyday they crept closer until they started tickling the sills of the windows, then up along the lower panes of glass until the strangled out the sun light that chased the shadows from teach corner of the house.

    The next two weeks, passed quietly. Abby Green prayed that things remained that way for the next few weeks. On occasion David's work called for him to be out-of-town, and when it did, he had to go. Abby hated the idea but she knew he wouldn’t be gone but a few days. “How hard could it be?” “He will only be gone a few days” she tried reasoning with herself, nonetheless the idea of staying alone, so far out in the country, in that old Victorian gave her the creeps, especially after finding the graveyard down along the stonewall just beyond the back field. David’s car made it’s way down the drive, with a flash of brake lights ducking below the knoll, it dropped out of sight. She was left alone with Molly.

    “Strangely quiet” Abby mumbled as she sat rocking gently on the porch swing, watching the tail lights of David's car fade. Somewhere inside her she knew instinctively something stirred in the air, something unseen, forboding, without form, something stalking the shadows of night, and drawing closer to her family as the autumn days slid towards winter. She couldn't shake the feelings she felt standing outside the little, over-grown graveyard, remembering.. Her mouth dry with nervousness, grappled with each swallow, trying to hold back her escaping breath, she fought off the stare of tenebrous eyes that watched her every move. Something watching from the back field, something growing impatient. “Strangle quiet” she reiterated to herself, as she watched the last glimmer of normalacy fade like her husband's brake lights only moments before.

    She was alone, her and Molly against the invading gloom.

    It was just after seven o'clock when she thought she heard Molly running along the hallway, on the second floor. She should be sleeping she thought to herself as she climbed the stairs, and made her way down the long corridor of the hallway. Molly’s door was slightly ajar, much the way she had left it when she finished tucking her daughter into bed. The nightlight flickered twice, and went out. A cold chill wrapped around her squeezing out a breath that fell hard to the floor.

    As she reached for the door, she heard whispering, and giggling coming from her daughter’s room. A faint whisper, unrecognizable to her. Molly?, she called out., and got no response. Molly?, again she echoed down the darkened hall. Waiting for a sign from her daughter. Molly answered, “yes mom”, “Who are you talking to” her mother asked. Molly didn’t say a word, just giggled once more. Molly?, who were your talking to, Abby asked once again, pushing through the door and entering into her daughter’s room. “My friend” Molly responded, “Your friend?” her mother questioned. “Yes, Mother, her name is Annie”, she continued, before fading off. “I don’t know who you are talking to, but there is no one here Molly” she said rather flustered. Insistently, she told her mother, “my friend Annie, is standing there by the closet door”. She felt her chest tighten choking her ability to breath. She was angry, frustrated with her daughter, more over she was frightened by her insistence. “Go to sleep now child” she hissed at her daughter. She kissed her, tucked her in, and closed the door, as she left.

    The room fell quiet.

    She laid in bed, fighting sleep. Her mind twisted nervously, her heart pounded in her chest. She had been denying the thoughts of what she felt while standing along the old stonewall staring into the little graveyard. Remembering the feelings that gripped her that day, the events as they unfolded in the recess of her mind.

    She felt her chest tighten heavy with weightless pressure, stealing her breath, as if it was being drawn from her tense body. Choked in that invidious feeling that surrounded her. Her mouth dry with nervousness, grappled with each swallow, trying to hold back her escaping breath. Frozen in fear, she fought off the stare of tenebrous eyes that watched her every move. She pulled at her daughter’s hand, who stood looking into the graveyard with much interest. Molly turned to her mother, and asked “Why is the little girl’s eyes all black and so sad?” Abby’s mouth so dry, she couldn’t squeak out a sound. Terrified, she pulled at Molly, her feet as heavy as stone, as she hurried along the road, and up the path that sat just below the house. Her eyes looking back every few steps hoping that Molly’s over active imagination was only playing to the fear that she felt standing on the road looking into the graveyard. Somehow she knew there was more to it than that, she felt the cold stare of death bearing down on her, scratching her back, clawing as she scurried towards the steps of the old porch.

    It was around one fifteen when she finally drifted off to sleep. By two o'clock she found herself awake, startled by a dream, a crow with its black coat, and black eyes cawing out a nagging screech. Feasting on the bones of the bloated dead.

    It was the first night of her dreams.

Reviews

[Writingfox]

Oh my. This is really coming along. It is reminiscent of Paranormal Activity 3. I can't wait to see that happens. Keep slinging.

[emmajoy]

You're building the atmosphere, line by line, adding clues then dismissing them so the reader doesn't know which is imagination, nightmare or reality. This is a wonderful sequence of sentences ..' Each day giant fingers inched forward drawing long shadows .. .. ..'

The inevitable has happened: Abby's beginning to sense there's far, far more than an eerie atmosphere, realising that there could be a presence - as Molly has clearly discovered.

Yet again there are minor typos, reading aloud would sort them quickly, easily. Great phrasing as with the other two parts .. looking forward (in a way, coz is creepy!) to reading more!

[Teri B]

Ooooooh! Spooky! The best "It was a dark and stormy night" story I've read in a while, my friend! "Dark Shadows", minus Barnabas Collins! Wonderful read!

[KAREN]

Dark and scary read. This would make an awesome movie. The imagery gives me a picture of everything you wrote.

[KATHY SUE SILLS]

Your plot is building strength with each part! This was so intense and leaves me wanting to read more! Excellent!