The sun glistening off the fresh fallen snow gave the impression that everything was sprinkled with diamond dust. The air was crisp and cold as the couple snow-shoed across the open field.
Sue and Jack Petersen spent nearly every weekend trekking across this field. Their friends lived about two miles away and they got together often. Living their entire life in the northern climate made such a journey seem like nothing at all.
“Don’t let me forget to call Meg when we get home. I promised her the recipe for Mulligatawny.” Sue made the best soup in town and Meg had been waiting to get the recipe for years. Sue had finally agreed to share it with her and Meg would not rest until she got it.
“I’ll remind you as soon as we walk in the door, love.” Jack reached out and squeezed his wife’s hand. After 24 years of marriage she was still the most beautiful person he knew. He didn’t even want to consider what life would be like without her.
As they walked along in peaceful silence Sue began to get an odd feeling. The back of her neck began to tingle as if to warn of some impending danger.
“Jack, do you notice anything odd?” she asked him as she moved closer to him. She couldn’t help but feel wary of the dark trees off to their side. She had never had such a strong feeling of dread before, but this was almost overwhelming.
“Now that you mention it, dear, it does seem oddly quiet.” Jack came to a stop and stood looking towards the woods off to the west. “There are no birds chirping. That is a bit odd.”
Sue reached over and grasped her husband’s arm. “Let’s hurry and get home. I really have a bad feeling about this.” She stared into the trees trying to see if anything was in there. “I think there is something just inside those trees but I can’t be sure.”
“It’s probably nothing, really. But we should be getting home soon anyway.” Jack only hoped he sounded more sure of himself than he felt. An eerie feeling was welling up in the pit of his stomach. He wanted to run and not stop until they reached home. But growing up in this wilderness taught you that running would make a lot of wild animals give chase.
As they turned and began walking faster a low growl could be heard in the still air. It seemed to be coming from everywhere at once.
“What was that?” Sue asked, beginning to tremble.
“I don’t know. It’s probably a wolf. We need to be careful. Start walking but whatever you do don’t run.” He took her hand and they began to walk faster, keeping a wary eye on the edge of the woods.
Before they had gotten very far a large, dark shape emerged from the trees. It was moving very swiftly and heading straight for them. They both began to run, but to no avail.
Within mere seconds the creature had overtaken Sue. She screamed as sharp claws dug into her back. She could feel her flesh being ripped away and warm blood cascading down her sides. She glanced over at her husband and reached her hand out towards him. Her eyes pleaded with him to help her. As he watched in horror, unable to comprehend what was happening, the creature lowered its head towards Sue’s neck. She began to scream as fangs sank deep into her throat and tore her tender flesh.
In a blind rage Jack lunged towards the beast and tried to stop it, but it was too strong. He felt himself being flung through the air like a rag doll being discarded. When he landed Jack heard a loud crack and realized that his leg had snapped. All he could do was watch helplessly as his lovely wife died. Her crimson blood steaming as it met the cold winter air.
Lying there, helpless and hopeless, Jack began to crawl towards the safety of the trees. Just as he was about to reach them a low and eerie voice called out to him. “Where do you think you are going? I’m not finished with you.”
Jack looked back towards his wife’s mangled body and saw that the creature was indeed a man. He stared in horror, unable to move as the man slowly walked towards him. “What, what are you doing?” he stammered as his heart beat wildly.
The man slowly advanced on Jack and then stood towering over him. A sinister sneer spread across his face and an evil laugh escaped his lips. “Why, my good sir, I am having dinner.”
“Please,” Jack begged. “Let me be. I have children at home who need me. Please don’t do this.”
The man knelt beside Jack and smiled at him. “You are too kind, my good man. Thank you for the information. I now know where my next meal is coming from.” Once again the monster tilted his head back and roared with laughter.
Jack could feel the demon’s hot breath on his face as he bent over him. His teeth were pointed like the fangs of a wild animal, his wife’s lifeblood still clinging to them. The sight of it made him feel sick and the thought of what this creature would do to his daughters was more than Jack could stand.
He whispered a quiet prayer that his daughters would be safe. With one last bit of strength, he grabbed a nearby stick and slashed at the face of his killer. As blood began to drip from the wound the monster laughed loudly once again, then reached down and, pulling Jack to him as if he weighed nothing, sank his teeth deep into Jack’s throat. Jack tried to scream but it never escaped his lips as his blood poured forth from the open wound.
After feasting on the fresh kill, the creature stood and gloated, the blood of his victims dripping from his chin and staining his hands. What luck he was having today! First, he found two hikers to satiate his blood lust and now he was about to find a few more. He would not hunger for a long time after this journey.
Snow began to fall as he slipped back into the woods. It didn’t matter to him how long it took for the bodies to be discovered. He could wait. He had an eternity, after all, and he was full for the time being. He returned to his hiding spot in the branches of a large tree and settled in for what could be a long, cold wait.
Meanwhile, the snow obligingly began to cover his tracks. Before too long there would be no sign that he had been there except, of course, for the two lifeless forms sprawled out in the snow. He watched the steam rising from their bloodless bodies, but they would eventually be covered in a blanket of fresh fallen snow.
**********
Stephanie was concentrating so hard on studying that the ringing of the phone made her jump. She closed her book and picked up the phone, expecting to hear one of her parents on the line.
“Stephanie, is your mother there?” It was Meg Cooper, her mother’s best friend.
“No, Mrs. Cooper, they haven’t gotten home yet.” She smiled at her younger sister, Cassy, as she came in the room and sat down opposite her.
“Who is it?” Cassy asked as she reached for her cup of tea.
“Mrs. Cooper,” Stephanie replied, her hand over the mouthpiece to mute her voice.
“They should have been back by now I would think,” said Mrs. Cooper, her voice sounding a bit odd. “They left here hours ago. Are you sure they didn’t get back without you noticing?”
“I’ve been sitting her all afternoon studying. If they came home I would have known.” Stephanie was beginning to feel a bit scared. Her parents were never late for anything. “Maybe I should call Kyle at the ranger station. Just to see if there is anything going on that we don’t know about.”
Cassy jumped up from her chair. “What is it? What’s going on?”
Her sister motioned for her to sit down and she obliged reluctantly.
“I think that might be a good idea, Stephanie. Please call me back and let me know what you find out, okay dear?” Mrs. Cooper hung up the phone and Stephanie immediately called the ranger station.
“Kyle, this is Stephanie Petersen. I know this may sound a bit silly but my parents left the Cooper’s house hours ago and they haven’t made it home yet.” She tried to keep the panic out of her voice but to no avail.
“Don’t worry, Miss Petersen, I’ll check into it myself. I’m sure it’s nothing to get upset about.” Kyle Buckland had been a ranger for nearly five years now and nothing really serious had ever happened. Besides, he would do anything for Stephanie Petersen. Ever since the fifth grade, when his family moved here, Kyle had liked her. He had been too shy in school to ever ask her out but he had always had a crush on her. Even now, his heart quickened when he heard her voice. “Just tell me what route they normally take and I’ll get out there right away.”
After giving the ranger all the information she could think of, Stephanie hung up the phone and finally turned to her sister. “Now don’t go getting all upset, Cassy. Mrs. Cooper said that Mom and Dad left their house hours ago and they aren’t here yet. The rangers are on their way out to look for them. I’m sure it’s nothing.”
“But what if one of them is hurt or something?” Cassandra Petersen tended to over react to almost everything. She was only 17 years old but worried about everything. She began to pace the living room floor, stopping occasionally to stare out the window. “It’s snowing pretty hard out there. If they aren’t found soon things could get pretty bad. I told Mom she should get a cell phone just for emergencies but she just wouldn’t listen.”
Stephanie walked over to her little sister and put her arm around her shoulders. “Relax, Cassy. I’m sure they are fine. You’ll see.” Her words sounded false to her. How could she expect her sister to believe her when she didn’t believe it herself? A cold, sinking feeling began deep inside her. Stephanie knew something was seriously wrong but she couldn’t let herself think about it. Instead, she sat back down and opened her book once more. She decided the best thing to do was to keep her mind busy, but the words on the page made no sense to her. She kept thinking about what could have happened to her parents. It was only a two mile walk and they went every weekend. What could possibly have happened in only two miles?
Stephanie sat there, book open on her lap, looking at her little sister. At least Cassy had stopped pacing. She now stood staring out the window, chewing her bottom lip. Her long, dark hair was pulled back in two braids, just like when she was a little girl. Stephanie still thought of her as such, although looking at her now she realized that her little sister had turned into a young woman. Even so, she still felt protective of her. She closed her book and was about to join her sister at the window when a knock on the door made them both jump.
Cassy spun around, fear evident on her lovely face. Stephanie stood up and ran her fingers nervously through her short blonde hair. They stood looking at each other for what seemed an eternity, neither one wanting to answer the door, both fearing the worst.
A second knock sounded before Stephanie could manage to make her legs work. She slowly walked to the door and opened it. Standing in front of her were two rangers and Mr. and Mrs. Cooper. They all looked very grim and uncomfortable.
Mrs. Cooper looked at the two girls; her eyes were read and tears started to course down her cheeks. “I’m so sorry,” was all she could manage to say as she took Stephanie into her arms.
Cassy, standing only a few feet away, fainted. When she awoke, Cassy was lying in her bed. Dr. Berkley was standing beside her. She tried to sit up but the doctor gently pushed her back down.
“Cassandra, dear, you need to just lie still for a while. I have given you a sedative and you need to stay in bed for a bit.” Dr. Berkley had delivered both girls and was like one of the family. It broke his heart to know that these two beautiful girls were now orphans. He stayed with Cassy until she finally drifted off to sleep and then he went downstairs to check on Stephanie.
She was sitting curled up in a chair holding a cup of tea, which had gone cold. She was a much stronger person than her sister, but she was still having a terrible time trying to cope with what had happened.
The Coopers had gone home after calling Dr.
“Stephanie,” Dr. Berkley spoke softly as he stood in front of her. He waited for her to look up at him before he continued. “Cassandra is resting upstairs. She should sleep through the night. Is there anything I can do for you?”
Her blue eyes were bloodshot from crying but still very beautiful. “I’ll be alright, Doctor. Thank you so much for coming out so quickly.” She stood up and showed him to the door.
“I have left a few sedatives with Kyle. You can save them for your sister or you can use them yourself if you like. You really need to get some rest, as well.”
“I promise you that I will take one if I have trouble sleeping. And I will call you if we need anything. Thank you again.”
Dr. Berkley gave her a fatherly hug and then walked out into the cold winter night. His mind was occupied with thoughts of the terrible incident as he walked to his truck, or he might have noticed the man hiding by the bushes. As he drove away his headlights shone directly on the person but the doctor only vaguely saw bushes and nothing more.
Inside, Stephanie locked the door and closed the drapes. Outside it was snowing hard and she wanted to block out anything that might make her think about what had happened to her parents. She wasn’t sure if she would ever be able to enjoy the snow again.
She sat down on the couch and took a sip of her tea. Kyle walked over to her, his heart aching for her. “Would you like me to get you another cup, Stephanie? I’m sure that one must be cold by now.”
Stephanie smiled up at him. “Thanks, Kyle. I don’t really even want any tea right now.” She sat there looking into his warm brown eyes and found herself wondering why he had never asked her out. He obviously liked her and had for quite a long time. She would have gladly gone out with him if he had only asked her.
“What I would like is for you to sit down here beside me, Kyle. You make me nervous standing there.” She patted the spot next to her on the sofa.
Kyle smiled shyly as he sat next to her. “I’m sorry. I just feel a bit awkward. I want to help but I don’t know what to do.”
Stephanie moved closer to him until her thigh was pressed against his. “Kyle, would you hold me, please?”
Kyle looked into her lovely face, not believing what he just heard. Her eyes looked pleadingly at him as they began to fill with tears again. He put his arms around her and held her tight. Stephanie rested her head on his strong shoulder. She tried to hold back the tears but finally gave up fighting and let herself cry.
***********
Now that most of the people had gone he stepped out of his hiding place. Inside were three people, two young girls who would be no trouble at all and one man. He would take the man first and then take his time with the other two. He was sure they wouldn’t put up much of a fight.
The curtains had all been closed on the first floor so he couldn’t see what was happening inside. Suddenly, a light was turned on upstairs, its glow like a beacon in the snowfall.
He stepped back a few paces so he could see up into the window. There was a figure standing there. He realized that it must be the younger of the two girls. As he stood there watching her, the snowfall began to lighten up and he could see her clearly. Her hair had been brushed out and fell down over her shoulders. It was long, thick and dark. He felt an odd feeling in the pit of his stomach. Something about her seemed so familiar but he couldn’t quite discern why.
He focused his eyes better and tried to see her face. He couldn’t be sure from this distance, but her features all looked hauntingly familiar. He could almost be sure that her eyes would be an unusual shade of violet and fringed with thick, long lashes. Her lips would be full and her smile would be a delight to see.
He stood there for a long time just staring at her when he realized that tears were flowing down his face. It just simply wasn’t possible. He had held her in his arms all those years ago as her life had slowly slipped away. It was impossible, but this young woman looked exactly like her. Was it fate that brought him here? Had she finally found a way to come back to him?
He decided then that he would not be feasting on these people. He would, however, stay close by and watch her. Eventually he would approach her and find out if it really was her. If it was, he would take her home with him and never let her go again.
*************
Cassy stood by the window gazing out into the night. She had the oddest feeling that someone was out there watching her, but it was too dark to see anything. Besides, who would be outside on a night like this? It must be the sedative making her feel so strange. She really should be sleeping, but something had woken her. She had had an overwhelming urge to look out the window but she had no idea why.
Suddenly, she felt very exhausted. Her eyes didn’t want to stay focused and her head felt fuzzy. She pulled down the shade and went back to bed. Within seconds she was fast asleep.
No comments:
Post a Comment