“Kate, time to pay up!”
I woke with a start. I reached for the bedside lamp and scanned the room.
2:30am
Everything was exactly where it should be.
Jameson, my shepherd, was still sound asleep at the foot of the bed.
My heart was racing. What the hell was that?
There is no way I was going back to sleep after that.
I threw the covers off, and instantly Jameson was awake, already ready to go outside.
“Well,” I muttered “might as well get the day started.
We padded downstairs, I turned on the coffee maker.
What a strange dream.
The fear lingered longer than it should have.
I need to let this go.
But the gravely whisper “Kate, time to pay up” wouldn’t leave me alone.
Jameson wanted out.
Dog out. Then coffee.
I walked around while the coffee brewed.
Something felt off, but I couldn’t quite name it.
Had the picture of me and Rex moved?
Or was my memory already betraying me?
A chill ran over me.
Jameson yelped.
I open the back door to let him in.
He was standing at the bottom of the porch, staring back at the house.
“Come on, boy. It’s time to come in,” I said.
He didn’t move.
I grabbed my shawl and stepped outside.
The air felt wrong, to warm for January.
“Jameson, come on.”
Nothing.
I walked over and reached down to pet him. He jumped.
I looked out into the yard. It was pitch-black.
I knew the woods were the only thing out there.
I reminded myself we were in the heart of Appalachia.
There’d was always something lurking around.
The key was not to pay attention to it.
“Jameson. Now. Let’s go.”
It snapped him out of whatever trance he was in.
“Damn dog,” I muttered. “Today isn’t the day for this.”
The house felt too quiet.
I turned on the stereo, then the computer.
I grabbed my coffee and headed back to the library.
I quickly fell into my work.
Nine Inch Nails blared, and everything else was forgotten.
The music stopped.
Jameson growled and padded quickly out of the library.
I got up to follow him.
The first thing I noticed was the lights.
The ones I’d turned on earlier were all dark now.
I reached over and flipped the kitchen light back on.
“Weird.”
“Here, boy,” I said
He answered with a low growl.
Then the tap of his nails on the hardwood, moving farther away.
Now I was getting creeped out.
I could hear Jameson moving around.
Nothing else.
Someone banged on the front door.
It set Jameson off. He exploded into a barking frenzy and tore toward the door.
Maybe Rex had come home early and forgotten his key.
I turned on the porch light and pulled the heavy door open.
No one was there.
I stepped outside as the wind picked up.
Jameson gave his warning bark and ran ahead of me, teeth bared, hackles raised.
The ferns had fallen over, flattened by the sudden wind gust.
That had to be it.
Jameson kept growling, scanning the yard.
The wind picked up again, and the chimes clattering furiously.
I got him back inside and shut the door, locking it behind us.
I left the porch light on.
Jameson growled again and set down in front of th door.
“There is nothing there,” I said. “The wind knocked the ferns down, boy.”
I head back through the kitchen into the library.
I sat down at my computer.
That’s when I remembered the gun in the nightstand.
Maybe I’d grab it so I could get back to work.
I hurried toward the bedroom, then stopped.
This was silly, I was just stressed.
That’s when the music kicked back on.
I headed back to the library, Jameson hot on my heals.
I sat down at the computer and reached for the mouse.
It was gone.
I knew I hadn’t picked it up.
Or had I?
I stood and scanned the desk.
“Jameson, did you take the mouse?”
He just sat there, watching me.
There was no way I’d picked it up.
It was the one thing I never moved off the desk.
But it wasn’t there.
I looked around the rest of the room.
That’s when I spotted it, on the bookshelf.
Had I carried it with me when I went back to check the house?
It was the only explanation I could come with.
“Shake it off Kate,” I said. “No sleep. To much caffeine. Stress.”
I woke up the computer and got back to work.
I lost myself in it again.
Time slipped by.
My playlist had moved on to a few songs I’d downloaded for Halloween.
The sound of a werewolf howling snapped me back.
I looked out the window. The sky was starting to lighten.
“Wow,” I muttered. “I can’t believe how fast time went by.”
I stood, stretched, and headed for the coffee pot.
All the lights I’d flipped on were still on.
Good.
Must’ve been my overactive imagination.
I went to pour myself another cup of coffee and realized the pot was empty.
I knew I’d made a full pot.
I’d only had two cups.
There should have been at least two more left.
That’s when I noticed the empty coffee cup sitting on the bar.
It was large black mug, etched with dull, matte symbols.
It definitely wasn’t one of ours.
I picked it up and looked closer.
The symbols formed a crude image of something demonic like.
I set the cup down and went to the sink and washed my hands.
I felt dirty just touching it.
Still, I couldn’t take my eyes off it.
Where had it come from?
There were dregs of coffee in the bottom.
Did I use it last night and leave it out?
Was that ours?
Had I forgotten we even had it?
Now I was really creeped out.
The music kicked off again.
Jameson barked.
I heard someone running upstairs.
I froze.
Part 2 next week!
Thanks for reading and sleep tight! Until next time!
Calden Knox.
