Drop

It was a dark and stormy night.



Miranda sat alone by herself, curled up on the couch in boxers and a tee shirt watching "Queer As Folk."
She shifted her position on the plaid colored couch, bring her legs up and curling them underneath her. She reached behind her and pulled down the afghan blanket from the back of the couch and wrapped it around her, trying to control the shivers that had suddenly racked through her body.



The air all of a sudden seemed chilly. She glanced over at the digital thermostat on the far wall, squinting to get a better look at it. 79 degrees. She should be feeling that cold. She turned her eyes back to the television set in front of her.

Slowly the numbers on the digital face of the thermostat started to drop. 78...77...76...Within seconds it had dropped almost 10 degrees.



Rumbling came from outside as brief flash of lighting streamed across the sky. Miranda glanced out the big bay window, watching as the wind picked up, bending tree branches nearly to the ground. Green leaves were ripped from their perch and strewn across the back yard.



An odd clicking noise brought her head around to the other side of the room, to where the door led into the dark kitchen. It sounded almost like tapping on the window. She shook her head. Probably a tree branch moving across the window.

She reached for the remote beside her and began flipping channels. Commercials she hated them and usually surfed for something else to watch during them. Nothing was on.



The tapping noise came again. She frowned in the direction of the kitchen. Then she turned and glanced outside behind her. The wind had died down, but the tapping continued. She crawled across the couch listening intently to the noises coming from the darkness before her. The tapings sounded as if they were moving across the floor.



She rolled her eyes. "Buford! Lay down!"



The large Siberian husky.



She laughed to her self and settled back down.



Just as she was about to switch back to her show, noises came again. This time it sounded like something being dropped. Something heavy.



"Dangnabbit Buford settle down!" She yelled angrily, not bothering to look in his direction.



Several minutes passed. The wind had picked up again. Thunder gently rumbled across the sky.



BOOM!



Miranda jumped at the noise. *That had been inside*



Her head whipped around towards the kitchen once more. It sounded like someone had dropped a bowling ball from 10' above to the hard linoleum floor. Frustrated, she threw the blanket off her and stormed into the kitchen.



"Dang it Buford I've had enough!" She flipped on the lights in the kitchen.



As the harsh light filled the small space, she glanced around. It was completely empty. No dog came eagerly to greet her.

She padded silently in her bare feet over to the back door and peered out. Lightning flashed, illuminating the small covered enclosure just outside. The large form of the dog, laying in front of the dog house, was seen beneath.

She shook her head quizzically not understanding. Turning around. Looking out the small window above the sink. The only window. There were no trees outside that window.



Lighting flashed illuminating the dog. His tongue was hanging out. Blood slowly dripped from the corners of it's mouth.



Thump.



Her eyes whirled around. The lights went out.



"I paid the electricity already today!" She sighed heavily, turning towards a row of drawers, rummaging through them for a flashlight or candles.



Lighting briefly lit up the room once more. A shadow out of the corner of her eye. She spun around, dropping the flashlight. It shattered open on the hard floor, it's batteries rolling away underneath the table.



"Grrrrrr" She threw her hands up in frustration.



Just as she bent down to pick up the flashlight, movement in front of her made her freeze. A large mass, slightly shifted. She stared at the spot. Her mouth open, breathing coming fast, her heart seemed to want to pound out of her chest.

She swore she had seen that shadow move. It looked almost inky, just a dark corner but it had moved she was sure of it.

She stayed motionless. Staring at the spot for several seconds willing it to move again. The creek in her back finally made her stand up. She flipped on the flashlight. Nothing happened. She slapped it against her hand a couple of times before she remembered it had no batteries.



She took two steps to the side and quickly bent down again. Not taking her eyes from the spot in front of her, she felt around for the batteries. her hand came upon something, smooth and cold, bony like a hand.



She screamed, falling back on her, nearly dropping the flashlight again. She scrambled for the batteries, slammed them into the flashlight and quickly turned it on, illuminating the spot in front of her.



Buford's bone.



She breathed a sigh of relief. And moved the beam around.



Her hands shook with fright as she slowly moved the beam of light around the room. The beam jumped in her hands, as it made it's slow journey around the room.



Just before it came to the dark spot she had been staring at moments before, the mass of shadows shifted to the left and disappeared. She heart pounding, she tried to follow but her light only fell upon the dark stairwell leading upstairs.



Thump...thump...thump. Walking up the stairs.



The noises were leading up the stairs. Away from her. She wanted to call her boyfriend but was afraid he'd call her chicken, "jumping at old house noises in a storm again?". She could almost hear him in her head.



Trying to will herself to call down, she took a few steps across the floor. A creaking noise came from above her head.

She shined the light on the ceiling above half expecting to see something through the walls. Nothing was there.



The sound came again. Thumping. Something was running across the room above. She tried to follow the noises, but her light stopped at the swinging chandelier hanging from the middle of the room.



Slowly she turned around, her eyes wide. She shown the light up the stairs ahead of her. It was the back staircase leading to the game room. There was no other way in or out of that room except by these stairs.



Lighting flashed. Thunder rolled as she took her first step. She pressed her body against the wall. Hugging her light to her chest, illuminating her face in a spooky way. She thought maybe she should turn the light off. But she decided against it. The light seemed to be a security for her.



She stopped at the top of the stairs, facing the back wall. The room laid out behind her. She was breathing fast, her heart pounding so loud it echoed in her ears. Slowly she turned, moving the light across the room with her. It's beam bounced across the various games and furniture. She was almost completely turned around. The light shone on the far side of the pool table.



Her breathing increased, rushing in and out of her lungs. Her heart pounded even louder she was so sure that anyone else could hear it as well. her mind screamed at her suddenly.



*RUN!*



The beam bounced across the pool table.



Movement.



A form.



A shape leaped out at her.



A crack.



Pain.



Lighting flashed.



She suddenly saw red.



She whipped a hand across her face. Blood.



Her fingers shook as she shown the light down on them.



Movement. Her eyes moved slowly upward. Something was there.



Someone.



Total blackness.