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.
As the sun peeked out from behind a small cloud leftover from last night's rain, Stacey squinted, watching as it sparkled and glinted off of the raindrops beaded on her deck. She stood in front of the patio doors in her living room sipping on a cup of coffee and looking out at her backyard.
Such a peaceful, normal Fall day, she sighed, content in this moment. Yes, in this moment, everything was just right, giving her a comfortable homey feeling. So she grounded herself in her cozy surroundings, not wanting to let it go. Taking another long sip, she let the steamy tendrils from her hot coffee fill her nose with exquisite aromatic delight before turning her gaze back outside.
Yellow and purple potted mums sat on each side of the stairs leading down to the patio, edged by a curving flowerbed. She had put the bed to sleep for the winter weeks go, and now briefly visualized what it would look like next year. Beyond that was the treeline to the woods. It blended into more trees and bushes down the left side of her home, offering up plenty of privacy, but the right side that led around to the driveway shared a tall green hedge with the neighbours.
"The fall colours are amazing this year," she murmured as she watched a new carpet of orange and yellow leaves cover the grass from a small gust of wind. Doug needs to get the riding mower out and do some more mulching, she thought. When her eyes drifted back over the treeline though, her peaceful feeling disappeared along with the sun behind another cloud, and her anxiety came creeping back.
A little over a week had gone by since her frightening encounter with the beastie, and Stacey was still nervous about venturing outside. She had always felt safe living out here in South Glengarry, but now she wasn't so sure.
Trying to anchor back into the cozy feeling, she focused on the squirrel munching on seeds under the birdfeeder in her flower bed. Living out in the countryside with the woods at her backyard, she got to see a lot of wildlife over the years: deer, fox, coyotes. As her eyes scanned the treeline, she hoped not to see whatever the heck that was and hoped it was long gone by now. "That was definitely no regular wolf," she whispered, staring at the woods.
She then noticed that the birdfeeder was almost empty. Weird, I saw Doug fill that up just yesterday, she thought. Putting her cup down on a side table, Stacey hesitantly unlocked and slid the patio door open. With nervous waves flooding her stomach, she reached for the screen door next. Right then, Thriller came on the radio. Stacey stopped.
"...'Cause this is thriller,
Thriller night,
And no one's gonna save you,
From the beast about to strike..."
In one swift motion, she closed and locked the patio door back up again.
Stacey's soft heart wouldn't let her ignore it however, as she thought, that birdfeeder still needs refilling though. So she paused and took a good look around. The bright daylight as well as the neighbours moving around outside doing yard work gave her courage and some reassurance. But instead of just going out on the deck, she chose to go via the garage. Putting her shoes on, she grabbed a suet cake and a cup full of seeds, and then made her way out the garage's back door.
Even though her jittery hands shook as she refilled the birdfeeder, Stacey was glad she came outside. She enjoyed the crisp Fall breeze on her cheeks and the chill in the air. But as she reached to steady herself against the large maple tree, she noticed something strange.
Four long gashes were cut into the bark just above her head. "Those look like..." Reaching up, she ran her fingers along the deep lines, "claw marks." She then held her hand up against it to compare the width. But even stretching her fingers as far apart as she could, she still couldn't match its size. What the heck could have made that? she wondered. A bear? We don't have bears around here. I don't think so, anyways.
Not quite sure what to make of it, Stacey glanced around trying to push aside who her fears insisted was the culprit. Bending down to grab the cup she had set on a decorative rock, she noticed that two more squirrels had joined the other one because the lawn under the feeder was littered with seeds. "It looks like it was dumped out," she murmured to herself, inspecting the area as though examining a crime scene. Did they do it on purpose? She didn't like where her mind was going and just wanted to get back inside.
The ground was still quite muddy from the rain, so Stacey chose her steps carefully as she made her way back to the garage. As she hopped over a small puddle, a weird impression in the ground caught her attention. Curious, she checked the spot over trying to understand what she was looking at and found more, all the way up to the house. She crept along, following them until she came to two clear, well-defined indentations in the mud right under her bedroom window. Then it finally hit her, "Footprints!"
Very large, somewhat odd, canine footprints were perfectly delineated in the wet ground before her. Stacey could make out the long nails on each toe, three on one print and four on the other, as well as another digit down lower and off to the side on each of them. Pulling her smartphone out of her pocket, she crouched down to snap a few photos of her discovery. And that's when a horrid stench suddenly filled her nose, a blend of wet dog, blood, and rotten meat.
Terror immediately shot through her body and Stacey's heart began to pound as she quickly scanned her yard in a panic. She couldn't pinpoint where the smell was coming from, but by its intensity, it seemed like it was right beside her.
"It's here!" she gasped. Sliding in the mud, she scrambled back up and just wanted to get into the house as fast as possible. But as she hurried back to the garage door, she heard a terrible noise coming from inside.
"GRRAAWWRRR!"
Just then, a grotesque, hairy beast jumped out of the shadows with a loud growling roar. Stacey screamed and jumped, tossing the cup into the air and sending what was left of the seeds flying to scatter all over the ground. Overtaken by terror, she kept screaming uncontrollably as the monster rushed at her.
Doug ripped off the werewolf mask and gently grabbed hold of his frightened wife. "It's me! It's me, Stace! It's just me."
As her mind registered that this particular beastie was just her husband in disguise, Stacey finally quietened down, but was still shaking badly.
Doug hugged her tight and rubbed her back, trying to settle her nerves and comfort her. "I'm sorry, babe. I'm so sorry. I had no idea you'd react this badly." He brushed her hair aside, and then explained, "I just picked it up at Spirit Halloween. Getting ready for the trick-or-treaters, you know?" Searching her eyes, he was confused by her overreaction. "We used to laugh at horror movies. What's got you so scared?"
"I, I don't know," she fibbed, avoiding his gaze, and then stammered, "n-nothing."
"C'mon, let's go inside." Letting it go for now, Doug put his arm around her, guiding her back into the house. "I'll get you a drink. You need something stronger than coffee."
© 2021 by Linda Casselman
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Become a Shield Warrior-in-Training
