Page 31 of Night So Silent
Thanks to the curtains, I can barely see my hand in front of my face. I grab the counter to try and get my bearings, but before I can make another move, I hear a sudden shuffle on the other side of the window in the living room and then a few quick footfalls on the wooden porch that send my heart into my throat. I feel along the counter in a panic, trying to remember where it ends and the dining room begins. My eyes start to adjust to the darkness as I scurry around the edge and stumble toward the hall.
I need another door, another lock between me and whatever the hell is outside. All the while, Colson’s voice echoes through my mind.
“Shadows that move through the trees too fast to see. Tall ones with big claws, pitch black hair, and long snouts full of razor-sharp teeth.”
No, that’s completely ridiculous.
Damn you, Colson! Damn you and your stupid scary stories! Colson’s the only tall beast around here.
Well…him and Sergei. Sergei’s even taller. Talk about a beast…
Shut up! Shut up!
Fear propels me down the hall and into the bedroom. I’ll sort out my growing list of embarrassing thoughts later. Right now, I just need to feel safe. I shut the door and lock it before immediately reaching into my pocket for my phone. I don’t careif Brett is asleep or covered in one of Ev’s blowouts, she’s going to stay on the phone with me until Sergei shows up.
But when I reach into my pocket, it’s empty.
My heart sinks when I realize that I left my phone in the kitchen. Murmuring a string of obscenities, I pace around the room, trying to decide what to do. I can’t just stay in here with no means of contact with the outside world. I don’t even know why the power went out. The storm has long been over. Maybe a limb finally fell somewhere outside.
Or maybe it was cut…
I remember what happened to Brett; all the strange things that happened on her property, only to find out that Bowen was responsible for them. Colson’s right, sometimes therearemonsters in the woods. But Bowen is dead and I don’t know who or what is creeping around outside these walls. Before I waste more time or talk myself out of it, I head for the window to see if there’s a logical reason for what’s happening.
Grabbing the curtain, I pull it aside enough to see outside, ready to scan the grounds for fallen branches and loose wires. But, instead, I get the shock of my life. It’s at the edge of the window, right on the other side of the glass. A layer of double-pane glass stands between me and an impossibly dark figure at the edge of the frame.
It must have its back to me because I can’t see a face, and as soon as the shape registers, I let out a shrill scream and throw the curtain shut right as it jerks around. Absolutely hysterical, I tear across the room and grab the doorknob. I don’t make it two steps into the hall before running straight into another tall figure eclipsing the doorway. I let out another scream and my hands fly up, hitting the solid mass towering over me. Something grabs my arms as I flail, trying to flee back into the bedroom.
“Barrett.”
I freeze when I hear the familiar baritone voice wrapped in a thick Russian accent. I brace myself against the wall, trying not to hyperventilate as I realize I’m not about to be torn to shreds.
“Sergei?” I hiss, not knowing whether to be relieved or furious that he didn’t announce himself. “What’s going on? Why is the power out?” I snap.
“The power’s still on.”
“What?” I squeak. “But everything went dark!”
“You probably tripped the circuit breaker.”
Sergei takes a few steps back and opens the utility closet. Seconds later, there’s a click and the lights come on again. I nearly collapse onto the floor in relief. That is, until I remember that there’s something prowling around outside.
“Did you see anything outside? There was something on the porch. It was big.”
“We have elk. And bears,” he replies. “But bears shouldn’t be out right now. Not unless there’s something wrong with them.”
For some reason, I doubt this was a sick bear.
“Do bear prints look like human footprints?” I ask dubiously.
“Sometimes,” he shrugs. “The bones in their paws look like human hand bones, too. In the spring, tourists will call about a bunch of dead bodies on the mountain.”
“Lovely. Then do bears know how to open doors?”
“Sometimes.” Sergei doesn’t seem fazed by any of this. “They try to open car doors if they think there’s food inside.”
“Well, there wassomethingoutside. I saw the prints on the porch and then I heard it out there after I came back inside. It turned the knob! Then I saw it outside the bedroom window!”
Sergei blinks. “You went outside?” Even through his unwavering monotone, I detect a dramatic shift in his demeanor. “Why did you go outside?”
