This is a little story I have written recently. I don't know how good it is but as always you are welcome to comment on it. Here's hoping I frighten you...
The days are long and dark in the winter. Her spirit was wearing thin from the endless shades of grey. Still, backpack over one shoulder she trudged on through the unplowed snow. A shiver ran through her body like a freight train. She shook it off and kept going. It was a long walk to her Mother's, almost an hour, and she was only half way there.
"The things I do for my Family" she muttered to herself.
She was taking her Mother some medicine she'd picked up at the pharmacy. On the way home she also stopped to pick up some much needed groceries. Problem is, she had to carry them there and then 45 minutes home again. She readjusted the back pack and winced. Her back was sore. The heavy pack wasn't helping any.
"Why does it always have to be the coldest day of the winter? Why?"
She had to stop for the fifth light in a row. She cursed openly, not caring who might hear it. A few moments later she was on her way again. This end of town was always difficult to navigate through in the winter. It always seemed to be the last priority for the city.
Halfway down the long final stretch towards her Mother's apartment she stopped.
She turned around, but saw nothing.
"Great, delusions now too?"she asked herself.
She continued walking but at a hastened pace. She thought of her Mother.
Her Mother had been sick now for several months. She'd had a heart attack and never quite recovered. Her Mother wasn't able to drive anymore, she couldn't walk anymore. The Doctors had not been particularily helpful in the fact that they couldn't seem to find a damn thing wrong with her. This, of course, meant no disability and constant hassles from the Social Service people. Life just wasn't fair....
The noise came again. She stopped. She was certain she heard someone following her this time. It was usually a fairly busy street so that shouldn't be a concern. Slowly, she turned and looked...
And again, saw nothing.
"That's it, I'm losing my mind!" she decided aloud. But she had heard the heavy breathing...
She shook her head and again adjusted the back pack. This time the wince was verbal as well. Her back was killing her. She really shouldn't be carrying that heavy a load but there was no one else to do it.
She thought of her daughter, safe at her Mother's. Waiting for her return. She'd undoubtedly be hesitant to leave there, as usual. She was a bright girl, a smart girl. A complete and total pain-in-the-ass. She was born with a behaviour affecting disorder that caused irrational out bursts of anger and rebellion. A daily dose of medication always helped but things were getting worse.
Her head whipped around the instant she heard it this time. Still, there was nothing.
"Damnit!!"
She had heard it. A heavy laboured breathing almost as if right in her left ear. She was beginning to feel very vulnerable and again doubled her pace despite the pain shooting down her back into her legs. She was only a couple of blocks from another set of lights. The final ones. After that it was two simple blocks to her destination. She was panicked and tired. The light turned red as she got there.
She cursed aloud again.
This was an incredibly long light and she knew it. It was getting darker by the second. The intersection was quiet this evening. The road she was now on was in a quiet part of town and was crossed by the road taking you to the Highway. She heard the breathing again.
"Oh no, please...."she whimpered.
She refused to look. There would be nothing there. Just like the last time.
The light turned and she walked across, listening to the breathing the whole way. Her heart was racing.
"Almost there!" she thought.
The breathing got louder. She stopped. It stayed. She stood still as it seemed to get even louder. Swallowing hard, she turned.
She turned in slow motion so it seemed. As she spun around she thought she heard a laugh, but she could never be sure.
**************************************************
The Police report that followed told the family that she had been attacked by some sort of stray animal. She had been ripped to shreds and left to die slowly with no way of calling for help. The coroner figured she had lived almost an hour after the attack before finally choking to death on her own blood. No suspect was ever found. She had died one block from her destination.
