The clock blinked in the darkness: 2:59AM.

Elle stared at the ceiling. She had been awake for a few hours, tossing and turning in bed, stewing in guilt and regret. She felt horrible for snapping at grandpa, for letting her emotions get so out of hand, just because of some stupid bone.

She unconsciously riffling through the events of the day, which consistent mostly of flashbacks about school. For the five billionth time, she wondered why she couldn't fit in. She took a deep breath and tried to follow Dr. Dimsel's advice:

______

Dr. Dimsel’s advice to Think Positive!:

-She isn't shy, she's an introverted intellectual waiting for the right moment!

-It’s not that she has no friends, she’s an independent spirit! She likes being a loner!

-She's not a nerd. Heck, she can't even pass gym class!

________

Ok, she was probably a little nerdy, she conceded. She enjoyed reading up on arcane topics, like strange animal species, exotic plants and weird rock formations, and she was always on the lookout for interesting finds. She made a habit of keeping her eyes fixed firmly on the ground, not because she was shy, but just in case there were any ancient artifacts buried underfoot.

One summer, at the age of six, she had found an old Lincoln Log half buried in the ground at her grandparents’ house and was thereafter convinced that their house was situated on top of an ancient Aztec burial ground (never mind the fact that they lived nowhere near Central America—she considered that fact a small triviality). She had dug up half the backyard by the time her mother had wrestled the shovel away from her.

She was also slightly insecure, probably because of all the moving. She used to be more confident. She used to always know where she stood at home (not on top of an ancient Aztec burial ground, as it turned out). Her mother listened to her—used to listen to her, Elle reminded herself, and was probably the only one that really understood her. When she was young, her mother used to settle her on her lap and tell her jokes and sing funny songs to her. Elle would watch her laughing green eyes solemnly, taking in every word she said.

She just didn’t feel comfortable talking to the other kids in her class, especially now with her mother gone. She felt like she was an outsider looking in at the other kids having normal friends, normal families and enjoying their normal lives.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Her grandpa kept telling her that it would take time; he was under the delusion that once the other kids took the time to get to know her, they would all be best friends. But Elle doubted that any amount of time would gap the chasm in differences between her and Kat Turner.

Elle turned over onto her side and looked at the clock again. 3:00AM.

Then there was the bone she found near the stream. She had thought about it all evening after supper. Her grandfather had told her to forget about it. But why? She kicked her sheets into a giant heap at the foot of her bed and told herself to stop thinking about it and get some sleep.

Her mind wandered into a half-dream. The bone nudged into her thoughts. She had seen it before; she was sure of it. What sort of animal did it belong to? There weren’t that many forest creatures around anymore, thanks to the night-time prowling of the tom-cat, Night. But, strangely, there weren’t that many animal corpses, either. It’s as though they were all just disappearing. Elle didn’t blame them for wanting to leave Clark. She would disappear, too, if she could. Elle grabbed her sheets, pulled them up and re-smoothed them.

It could belong to a raccoon, maybe. Or a possum. Or…maybe…human…

Elle twitched the sheets back, and pushed the thought away. But the image of the bone twirled over and over in her mind. She sat up and took a sip from her glass of water.

Finally, an hour later, she got fed up and tried to convince herself that she really needed to stop thinking about it and get some sleep. She fluffed her pillows and then settled her head into the softness—but she was so thirsty-she reached for her cup of water at her bedside, only to find it was empty. Must be thirstier than I realized, Elle thought.

Shuffling to the bathroom to refill her glass, Elle wandered towards the sink, finding her way by the light from the moon filtering through the large window. As the water tinkled out of the tap into her glass, she heard the neighbor’s dog barking in the distance.

She shuffled back to her room, and was about to turn off the light when she heard the dog barking again. It was a persistent, urgent bark. She went to the window, and glanced down at the trees lining the creek, blanketed by soft moonlight.

The night was incredibly clear and she could make out every leaf and pine needle laying still on the branches, every rock and blade of grass silhouetted with absolute clarity. It was so peaceful and beautiful.

Glancing down towards the stream near the forest mouth, she froze, water glass halfway to her mouth. There was something there.

An indistinct shape was moving in the yard. Elle only noticed it because of a slight movement of the blackness. As the clouds cleared, the full moon came out, and Elle had a clear view of the entire scene.

A creature was crouching near the creek. The thing was about the size of a person, but it was hard to see because it was hunched so low over the water. It moved stealthily, first to the edge of the stream, then over some rocks. It seemed to be searching for something. Elle’s skin crawled as she thought about the bone. Maybe this explained it! Was this creature killing other animals in the forest, leaving a trail of bones?

The thing stopped moving abruptly. It hovered in the stream for what seemed like an eternity. Then it turned its head toward the house, and Elle, silhouetted against the dark night in the brightly lit window, felt her stomach drop. It would be able to see her as plain as day.

The thing quickly crossed to the near embankment and began crawling up the yard towards the house. Panic gripped her throat; the glass slipped from her hand, shattering everywhere.

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Opening her eyes, Elle felt a rush of electricity shoot down her spine before she realized that she was in her bed, staring at the familiar cracks in her bedroom ceiling again. She heard the reassuring ticking of the clock and relaxed. It was a dream—there was no creature in the woods. It was just a nightmare—an incredibly realistic nightmare….She took a deep breath and tried to relax. She glanced at the clock. It was 3:05AM.

She settled back into the pillow, but she was so thirsty, she sat up again, dangling her feet over the bed. She rubbed her eyes, stood up, and gasped, doubling over from a sharp pain in her toe. Shards of glass were scattered everywhere on the wood floor, one of which was now sticking out of her little toe.

She plucked it out, as her mind reeled. She slowly, and carefully navigated between glass and wet floorboards toward the window. The yard was clear.