  Steve came in from the yard, struggling to close the kitchen door against the wind and snow that were blowing hard. He threw his coat and cap on a chair by the table, and sat down heavily. "Did you find him?", Jennifer asked. She watched as he poured himself a cup of coffee, stretched out his legs, and took the first sip. "No, but I'm sure it was him. It's just like something that jerk would do!" Steve got up and went to the window. He was tall...just over six feet, and carried a lot of muscle on his thin frame, although you wouldn't know to look at him, Jennifer mused, as she watched him peer out the window. Steve returned to the table, but didn't sit down. Instead, he said to Jennifer "I just don't understand why he'd do this tonight...he knows you're here, and what you've been through. I'll kill him!" Jennifer watched him walk back to the window. As he looked out once again, she reflected that Steve might not get the chance...not if she got there first! Steve's so-called friend David was known for some pretty stupid practical jokes, but this one wasn't funny. In fact, she thought to herself, if Steve weren't here, she'd probably be completely freaked out by now. Hiding under the bed, or something. Well, a little frightened, anyway. Jennifer and Steve were both high school students, and both in their last year. They'd been going out for several years now, and were planning to enroll together in college in the fall. Last month Jennifer's home had been broken into while she was there...she had hidden in the basement while the theives ransacked the house above her. She'd been terrified they would come down into the basement and find her, but had left quickly when a neighbour had driven into the yard looking for her father. The experience had left her a wreck...she didn't like being alone, and was on edge all the time. She especially didn't like strange noises...and certainly not the kind of noises she'd heard tonight, somewhere out in the yard. It had to have been David, though. Steve was pretty sure about that. "Tell me again what you heard, Jenn" Steve said, as he returned to the table and sat down next to her. "O.K. Well, it was just after I'd gotten here...you were upstairs. I'd found the note from your mother, saying they'd gone out for dinner, and was putting the coffee on...over there by the window." "How dark was it outside?" Steve interrupted. "Not very," Jennifer continued. "But with the wind and snow blowing around, you couldn't see very much of anything. And then I heard it...several times. It sounded like, oh, I don't know...maybe some kind of small animal. There were these low moaning noises, and then this laugh..." She shuddered. "That laugh...it was horrible. Like somebody was crazy, or something. You know? Like the person was in pain, but enjoying it. Does that make sense?" Steve looked at her closely. Her long brown hair outlined her face, a face pale with worry and concern. Jennifer was a beautiful girl, and Steve didn't like to see her this way. "Are you sure it wasn't an animal?" "No way...that laugh was human! Steve, I'm scared!" When Steve had come downstairs, he'd seen Jennifer at the window, and when she turned, the look on her face was like nothing he had seen before. This thing was really getting to her. He had immediately suspected his friend David, who was known for this kind of stunt. But after a quick trip outside, he wasn't so sure anymore. It was cold out there. And while David wasn't above an elaborate stunt, Steve didn't think he'd pull something like this with the wind and snow that was out there. Which left what?...an animal? The two of them looked at each other. Suddenly Jennifer smiled. "I hope it is David", she said, with a slightly wicked look in her eyes. Steve had seen that look before. He smiled too. "I can picture him, out there in a snowbank somewhere, snickering about how he's scared us, but freezing his sorry ass!" Jennifer chuckled. "I hope the wind picks up some more." Steve laughed, and took her hand. It was good to see her brighten up; she had had a few rough weeks. "All right, let's just leave him out there. How about..." At that moment, the lights went out. With a gush of icy wind, the back door blew open. Snow was blowing into the darkened kitchen, in glowing swirls of snowflakes. Just beyond the door something was visible,... not quite human, not quite animal. Steve held Jenn's cold and clammy hands in his. Unable to move, they both stood frozen in fear. Jenn was the first to speak. " Steve... wwwhat is that?" she said in a whisper that could hardly be heard above the wind. All that he could muster was a weak, hoarse "David? David.. is that you? Stop this, right now!" Steve let go of her hand, and started to move forwards. Just then a dim light, seemingly from far in the distance, illuminated the floor near the open door. Not knowing its source, Jenn shivered, and reached out for Steve, but he wasn't there. She screamed. Frantically, she lunged for the basement door. A sudden, terrifying thought entered her mind. "What's happening?!?" Can this be the man who broke into my house last month? Is he out there again now?" She found the knob to the basement stairs. As her hand wrapped around it, she felt the handle begin to turn from the other side. With a sob, she turned and ran into the living room. Someone was in the house with them. She needed a place to hide. Quickly she moved around the familiar room, feeling for the couch in the near darkness. As her hands encountered its soft leather bulk, she knelt down and squirmed her way behind the massive piece of furniture. In the kitchen, the pale blue light shimmered in the doorway, and went out. She trembled with fear as footsteps started toward the living room. She searched for something to protect herself with. Soon her hand touched something. It was a sharp letter opener. She clutched it tightly in her hand as the footsteps grew louder. As they approached the couch she pounced. There was a loud scuffle as she attempted to knock her attacker down. Suddenly the lights flickered on. All she expected to see was the attacker. Instead she saw... Steve! It was her boyfriend Steve. "What are you doing ? I could have stabbed you!" she shouted. "I was trying to find you to tell you that I scared the guy off! What are you doing with that thing anyway?" he asked as he took the letter opener from her still shaking hand. "How did you know it was a guy? Did you see his face or something?" "No. Not really. It sounded like a man moving around but I couldn't be sure. Calm down, Jenn! Wait for me in front of the house and I'll look around." "Please, Steve, ... don't leave me alone." "O.K., come on, then!" The two of them made their way to the front door. It hung open; snow was drifting in and making little rows along the floor. Jennifer sniffed, "Get my coat ... and yours. We're leaving. We'll go down to the police station, and they'll do something. Come on, Steve." But Steve wasn't moving. He was turned toward the far corner of the kitchen, looking at something. Something on the floor, berely discernable in the pale light of the window. David! Steve went over to the corner. He couldn't believe it. It was David! ... he was sitting there with a big grin on his face, looking up at the two of them like he could hardly contain himself . "David ... all this ... was it you?" David smiled, and stood up. He laughed. "Yeah, the whole thing! You should have seen the look on your face when I howled under the window! And the blue flashlight beam ... that was a stroke of pure genius!" "David ... this is ... this was the most ... I'm so angry ..." Jenn couldn't finish. She stood there, speechless, glowering at Steve's friend, who seemed nonplussed by their anger. "And after that article in the newspaper today, about the serial killer who escaped from custody just the other side of town this morning ... I figured that would have you really worried!" Steven spoke up. "Serial killer? What are you talking about!? No, I didn't read today's paper. You did a fine job of scaring us all by yourself, you idiot!" Jenn interrupted, "David, you were really cruel. And how did you manage to get into the basement? Those windows have been locked and boarded up for years!" "Basement? I wasn't in the basement! I've been freezing my rear end outside your window for the last half hour! But it was ... " Jenn wasn't listening. Nor was Steve. Both were watching ... a shadow ... making its way across the kitchen. They never saw the blade. Thanks to all who submitted to the story: R. Shields, Delphine Kresge, Haley Greenway, B Smith, Kenny R, and especially B. Holland for starting chapter 2 for us, with two contributions! |