Mischief in the Night (Part I)

Darkness engulfed the house. A small porch light, trigger by a sensor of movement, was the only sliver of brightness the house saw through the night. Most nights Carter would sleep in her bed, though every now and again she’d find herself immobile on the couch. This was one of those nights.

A bar of light shown through the window, registering on some level of her subconscious and startling Carter awake. She blinked her eyes to an open stance, not moving her head. In all the nights she’d fallen asleep on the couch, it was rare for the sensor to trigger the light unless something was out there. Where she lived, those “somethings” were usually raccoons or possum. She turned over on the couch, thinking the light would see itself off in just a few moments; and she was right. The light ticked off and Carter nestled back into a comfortable doze.

It was only about five minutes before the light came back on. This time, Carter sat straight up, her heart quickening its pace as she thought maybe something was strolling about her front lawn. Struggling to peer out of the window, she remained quiet. That was one thing Carter always disliked about the location of her home, it was so dark. No street lights were setup and even with her small sensor light, it was difficult to see beyond a certain point. Her house was also covered with windows, and as much as she loved the daylight that greeted her in the morning, at night she felt as though she was on display.

She didn’t move from the couch but continued to watch out of the window. Knowing that the light was usually triggered by anything nearing the beginning of her driveway; whatever set it off could have been any number of things. She stayed watching, waiting to see something shift or move. Just as her eyes started to feel strained and become tired of watching, the light went off leaving her sitting upright in the dark.

As Carter eased herself back against the pillow, the light popped on once more. This time, she saw a dark mass shift quickly past the middle of her driveway. Her heart froze as a lump formed in the back of her throat and her skin became prickly. With her head pounding, she tried to think clearly. Only, she couldn’t even manage to move from the spot on the couch.

What was that? Oh my goodness. If I move, it will see me. Whatever that was will know that I saw it. Oh my God!

Her thoughts raced as panic set into her body. She had to know. Was that a person? Was that a neighbor? What were they doing in her driveway? It’s not like it was some passer-by walking down the street, no, they were in her yard! Finally freeing herself from a paralyzed state of fear, Carter removed herself from her couch. She walked slowly over to the window, attempting to see out of it from the side. She did not want whatever was lurking about her yard to see her. The sensor light had gone back off at this point and all she could see was darkness.

After fifteen minutes of strenuous yard watch, Carter began to feel exhausted. She ventured to her front door to ensure that it was locked. Then she walked around her house, cautiously peering through each window she passed. After she had secured her premises, she returned to her couch. At this point, Cater thought, going to her bedroom would cause her to sleep through the sensor light. She couldn’t see it from her room. At least if she remained on the couch, if the light went off she would know. Before slipping back into a cozy sleep, she glanced at the clock on her DVD player: 12:52am.

****

3:14am. A loud thud from the back door in the mudroom shook Carter from a dream that she was tangled in about packing for a flight. She sat up as if she were coming up for air. Her heart pounding loudly against her tiny chest and the hair on the back of her neck standing up. She slid herself off her couch and onto the floor. Somehow she figured crawling around to the kitchen would be more undetectable, since there were so many windows and she had yet to figure out what was going on.

Dragging her knees across the slate squares in her kitchen, she stayed low. She could hear something outside, but could not make out what it was. She glared up at the windows, trying to see anything. Her hearing seemed to become muffled by the pumping of blood and fear streaming through her. It felt almost as if she were in a tunnel.

When Carter reached the doorway to enter the mud room, she froze again. Contemplating whether or not she should even approach the door, she sat with her back against the wall. Her breath thick and heaving deep from within her. Just as she set her hand down on the cold floor to brace her turn into the mudroom, she heard something. Scratching. A soft and deliberate scratching against her back door. The sound was bulky, not like human nails. Carter’s breath became staggered and caught within her throat. As the scratching grew longer and louder, she became truly scared. It was as if whatever it was, was trying to claw its way in.

Getting lower to the ground, almost flat in an army crawl she peered into the mudroom. But what Carter saw, she was not prepared for…