Four
Ruth’s fingers trembled and wrapped around the cord of the phone. She should shout for Simon, but if she did, it would know she was there… It didn’t move, simply stood. A tall silhouette cast against the falling white. Shadows on the walls grew fingers that stretched out to her. The dark had its teeth back. A cold chill grew in her stomach like a burst sack of spider eggs that raced through her bones. “Hello?” The voice at the end of the line nearly made her scream. Tears pushed from her eyes as he held the receiver closely to her dry mouth, a shaking whisper staggering from her lips.
“There’s someone outside the door….” Ruth hushed.
“What? Ruth? Is that you?”
“There’s someone outside the door.”
“Ruth, you’re scaring me. What’s going on? Do I need to call someone? Where’s Simon?” Ruth stared in horror as the figure consumed the doorway. Its shadow bled through the glass and crept up the carpet to her feet, creeping into her home to consume her, to drag her into the abyssal black she had awoken from. A knock came then, three hard, long knocks which seemed to bounce and echo around the hall. Ruth screamed internally. The sight of it, the presence of it. The horror stories her Grandmother had told her about the creatures in the night. They were all true. They had come for her. Come to take her away. “Ruth!” Her agent called at the end of the line. Unblinking, unbreathing, Ruth eyed the specter. It was looking through the glass directly at her. She tried to call for Simon, but no words left her throat.
“There’s something at the door…”
“That’s it!” Her agent said urgently. “I’m calling the police. I’ll call you right back. Do not answer that door!”
“Don’t leave me alone with it!” Ruth urged, but the line cut off and a solid tone blared in her ear until the line began to bleep and stagger, before resounding to dead silence. The light switch for the porch was within arm’s reach. She could, she must, she had to press it. To set the light on the creature of darkness and send it away. Another knock at the door. There were two of them now. Two figures at the door. Two shadows on the carpet. Two creatures wanted to come in and take her away. The sight of the two of them forced her body into a frenzy. “Go away!” She howled, finding the strength from somewhere. Forcing that frightened air out of her trembling lungs. The shapes recoiled. They knocked once more, a booming sound which shattered the hellish howl of the marauding winter wind.
“Open up…” The fiend crackled through the glass, pushing its warped face to the frosted glass. Ruth turned to the stairway. She could run and get Simon, but this was her home, and that child inside her needed to fight away the monsters of the dark at some point.
You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.
She roused herself, roused her courage, like the three heroines in her novel when they break free of the slavers and head towards the sunset in a riot of valor and prowess. She took one step, the shadows watching her, not moving. She took another, the cold carpet pressing into her bare feet. She flicked the switch and heavenly light drowned the black figures in radiance and grace. The beating in her heart slowed for a moment. Then, the façade of hope melted, and she saw the high vis jackets and the hats of two policemen standing at the door.
Ruth’s lips began to quiver. The worst of the worst of thoughts pushed into her mind like a rabble of uninvited guests. Suddenly, she wished for the demons to return. For the shadows to drag her away, for that would be a more welcomed visitor. She unlatched the door with shaking fingers. The night air struck her like a truck as she saw the two constables standing in front of her, their jackets dusted with ice and snow. Their noses were red and their hands were wrapped in thick leather black gloves.
“Sorry to disturb you at this hour madam,” one said, a tall, broad man. He took off his hat, revealing a bald head that shone in the porch light. “Can we come in? I’m afraid it’s bad news.”
“What’s going on?” Ruth said, the lump in her throat beginning to swell.
“I would like to discuss this inside please madam,” the officer spoke. “It’s about your husband, Simon.” Ruth turned her head at the dark staircase leading to the bedroom. The night seemed darker once more. The walls moved with the shadows of falling snow, like they were constricting, breathing like a living creature.
“What about him?” Ruth quivered, her fingers turning numb from the cold on the frozen door. “He’s upstairs in bed…” The words didn’t feel real as they left her mouth. The two officers exchanged a grim look, both with faces of sorrow.
“No,” the officer said firmly, shaking his head. “Simon was in a car accident tonight. On his way here, near the bend at the end of your road. The snow… He lost control. He was pronounced dead at the scene.” A heavy breath fell from his mouth. “I am so very sorry.” Ruth staggered back, every part of her breaking like a room of plates in a storm. She turned, running to the stairs, her legs failing her. She stumbled up the steps, shouting his name, calling for him, yelling at him at the disgusting joke he was playing. The door to the bedroom was ajar, and the bedroom window was wide open. The wind howled through the open space. Ruth hit the light and the dark vanished revealing a bed filled with snow and mud. Bed covers strewn over. Black handprints on the walls, on the floor, and then as she found to her horror, on her arms and nightgown.
Aftershave bottles, Simon’s aftershave bottles emptied and turned out onto the floor, soaking into the carpet. Ruth raced to the window and looked out into the meadow. A black figure stood there, unmoving, staring back at her with deep red eyes. Its features old, but not that of her husband. His build was much taller, slimmer, and wiry, and the smell of aftershave was carried by the wind into her nostrils, as the monsters from her dreams raced back into her mind. The creature waved to her, hands with razor fingernails, and teeth spread, long and white, then the black figure vanished in a blizzard of screams.