What if you knew that horrific events were coming and you figured out a way to protect your home and the ones you love, would you do it?
Yes? Then come along and read When Worlds Collide.
A loud boom woke Stacey from deep sleep, as the sound of thunder rolled on in the night over the Cornwall and SD&G region. What? Oh, a thunderstorm, she groaned, trying to hold onto sleep and get back to the dream she was having.
She couldn't quite remember what it was about though. All her mind would offer up were jumbled bits and pieces: a forest, some creepy creatures, and a storm. Oh like this one! she glanced at the window with one eye. Must have crept into the dream somehow.
With a furrowed brow, she searched her hazy memory. And was there someone signing? Yeah, she yawned. Pretty sure there was. She was certain of one thing, however. Right before she woke up, she heard Aimee crying out to her. Weird, she thought.
Shifting her position slightly, she kept her eyes closed and lie there trying to get back to sleep. With the blankets bunched up under her chin, she snuggled in and listened to the wind lashing the trees around her home. After another few minutes, she heard the furnace kick on.
Nope, she sighed. Not working. Her consciousness had drifted back up to present reality and she was awake now.
Groggy, she rolled over and propped herself up on one elbow to check the clock. With another yawn, she read, "Twenty minutes after midnight." Then laughing quietly, she added, "Happy Halloween!" As she was about to settle back down, she caught a glimpse of her husband's sleeping face when lightning briefly lit the room.
Stacey paused to watch him sleep. His light brown hair had flipped over and spilled onto the pillow, so she reached out to stroke it. He's letting that grow too, she noticed. Her eyes then drifted down his forehead to the straight line of his nose and over the sharp features she so loved that were now getting lost under his beard. More and more laced with grey, I see, she chuckled as she gave his chin a light tickle. He didn't move. Stacey felt her heart expand as she watched his chest rise and fall through peaceful slumber.
Things were definitely getting better, she thought. She had no idea what had come over him though. But somehow, Doug had just changed. In fact, he was even better than before. He was way more attentive now, and they seemed to be building a deeper intimacy this time around. Maybe things were going to be alright between them after all, she smiled.
Laying herself down again, Stacey adjusted her pillow and turned her back to the window. She liked to sleep with the curtains open slightly to let in a bit of light for those middle-of-the-night trips to the bathroom. Watching the shadow of tree branches sway in the wind against the opposite wall, her eyes grew heavy. She loved listening to the sound of the rain hitting the windows and hoped it would soon lull her back to sleep. But she got a shock instead.
A dark outline moved into view on the wall. Oh no, oh no, oh no, her mind repeated as she stared in horror. She could make out pointy ears and a snout, and knew exactly what it was. The silhouette then opened its mouth, revealing long sharp teeth, and lifted its nose to sniff at the air.
Eeee...
A high-pitched tone suddenly pierced Stacey's ears. Then everything went quiet. She couldn't hear the rain, or the storm, or even her husband's breathing. There was no sound. Nothing.
A low, menacing growl then broke the silence.
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"What was that?!" Heather's eyes flew open when her bed shook. An earthquake? she wondered as she rolled over and sat up trying to get her bearings. A loud boom then sounded overhead and she snapped her head towards the window. Thunder? Nah, that's not strong enough to shake the bed.
In the flashing illumination of the lighting, she noticed that she was still in her clothes and murmured, "Wait, I don't remember coming to bed." Just then, she clasped her mattress as her bed shook again. "What the..." Her heart began to pound when she realized it felt as though someone had bumped it on purpose.
After a moment of unerving stillness, a strange scratching sound came from under the bed. Heather tightened her grip, afraid to move.
"Oh!" she cried out, startled.
Something had suddenly pushed up from underneath and poked her bottom. Her eyes then grew wide with fear, as just in front of her crossed legs, a mound formed in the covers. It expanded like an inflating balloon, and then abruptly disappeared.
Her bed started shaking again. It vibrated just lightly at first, becoming more violent until the corners began heaving, tossing Heather around as through she were riding a bucking bronco machine.
"No! No, stop!" she pleaded, trying to hold on. "Stop!"
Unexpectedly, it did stop. But whatever it was, was not finished with her yet.
Heather sat hunched over trying to catch her breath, still gripping the covers tight, when she felt the end of the bed bump again. The mattress then sank and wobbled like someone was crawling up towards her. "Oh no. No please, no," she pleaded and prayed at the same time.
She then screamed as a force swiftly pushed her back and pinned her down on the bed. Unable to move, Heather couldn't see or hear her predator, but she could certainly feel it. The invisible presence wasn't heavy or crushing. Instead, it held her immobile, as though paralyzed, while exerting pressure on her chest.
Heather tried to wriggle her limbs and will her voice to surface, but nothing happened. As she lie there through the flashes of the storm, tears of fright began to trickle from the outer corners of her eyes.
Then, like her cousin across town, she heard a loud growl.
The sound filled the room, and it seemed to resonate from her very soul to rattle her ribcage while she lie frozen. Afraid of what might come next, Heather caught another sound.
Over the growl, over the storm, over the fear, a voice drifted in and called out, "Shield!"
Just then, she felt the bed shake again, like another presence had bounded upon it, and she was suddenly freed. But before she could even react to what had just happened, she was pulled back down into deep sleep.
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BANG!
Stacey jumped when something large hit the outside wall of her bedroom... hard.
That was right next to the window... where the shadowy figure had been, she thought. Then she heard more noises coming from her backyard. Clutching the covers up to her nose, she didn't dare get up to take a look.
Her mind raced trying to figure out what was going on. Sounds like fighting, she winced, hearing something heavy slam to the ground. Two large somethings. Between growls and squawks, she heard shuffling through the scattered leaves, and then something rolled across the back deck before tumbling to the ground.
As she listened, she realized that she could hear the sound of the fight, but nothing else. She could see the branches swaying and the lightning flashing, but she couldn't hear the storm, nor the regular night time sounds of the house either. And what she could hear had a weird muffled quality, almost like it was under water.
"Doug," she called softly, her voice a hoarse whisper. "Doug, wake up." Her husband, of course, didn't hear a thing. Stacey poked him, but he didn't respond. Sliding a leg under the sheets, she gave him a light kick. Still nothing. Next, she tried shaking him, but he just kept sleeping through it all.
Finally, the scuffle outside ended in one last ghastly shriek, causing Stacey to recoil upon herself and pull the blankets up to her eyes. Everything went quiet again. As she stared at her window waiting for the wolf figure to return, the power went out.
Lying in the darkness, she began to shake uncontrollably. As she strained to listen in that eerie silence, a heavy thud resounded from up above. It's on the roof! her mind screamed.
Then slowly, it began to walk. Thud, thud... thud, thud... until it stopped right above her.
Stacey knew that it was her wolf, but to her horror, she realized it was a bipedal walk. Werewolf!?! Her mind reeled with the impossible implications, trying to deny her truth. But she had seen it, heard it, and now there it was standing on the roof above her.
As the wind picked up amid the intensifying storm, a sense of deep dread crashed in on her. Then she heard the voice.
"Shield!"
Stacey's eyes grew cold and heavy.
"Steady!"
Her consciousness clouded over and sank back into slumber as a wolf's piercing howl answered in chorus with the thunder.
© 2021 by Linda Casselman
Last: The Secret Door
Next: Hold The Light
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