A Voice in the Dark

Seventeen-year-old Heather drove her car cautiously up the Peterson’s long driveway, watching carefully for ice. Mr. Peterson rarely shoveled the entire driveway causing slick spots on the concrete that made Heather nervous when she drove over them. The Peterson’s house was on the edge of town, nestled back into the trees, completely isolated it from the rest of the neighborhood. The trees were so thick that the house wasn’t visible from the road that led up to the driveway. The only thing separating the property from the surrounding woods was a tall fence that surrounded the yard.

The sun was beginning to set as Heather parked her car in front of the house, casting orange and pink light across the sky. The trees were dusted with fresh snow that glitter in the fading sunlight. Heather took a moment to admire the scenery before putting her keys and her phone in her pocket. She reached over to the passenger side, picked up the book that was resting there, and tucked it under her arm. Her boots crunched loudly in the snow as she walked up to the front door. When she rang the doorbell, The door was opened quickly by a flustered looking Mrs. Peterson, wearing a black evening gown.

“Oh good you're here.” Mrs. Peterson ushered Heather inside, closing the door behind her. “I’m glad you’re on time, we are in a bit of a hurry tonight.” Mrs. Peterson grabbed her purse off a stand near the front door, and fished the keys out of them. When her husband came down the stairs she tossed them to him. “Start the car please dear, I will be right out.” Mr. Peterson gave her a mock salute.

“Sure thing.” He said cheerfully, giving Heather a wave. “Hi Heather, bye Heather.”

“Bye” Heather waved back, laughing, as Mr. Peterson entered the garage. Mrs. Peterson rolled her eyes at her husband's antics, before addressing Heather.

“Noah's upstairs playing in his room, he’s all ready for bed so all you have to do is tuck him in at 8:30.” Mrs. Peterson checked her watch, and grabbed her coat off the hook. “We should be back around midnight. Thank you so much for watching him.”

“No problem.” Heather replied as Mrs. Peterson exited the house quickly. She watched their headlights shine through the window as the car backed down the driveway. Then with the rumbling of an engine they were gone. Heather headed up the stairs to Noah’s room, making a quick stop in the living room to put her book on the coffee table.

Noah was sitting on his floor surrounded by toy cars when Heather peeked her head through his door. “What’s up little man.” She greeted. Noah jumped up from the floor, sending cars flying across the room.

“Heather!” He shouted excitedly, throwing his arm around her waist. Heather patted his head, smiling fondly.

“What are we playing?” She asked him as Noah tugged at her arm, leading her toward the fallen cars.

“We’re racing.” Noah said seriously as he scooped up a yellow car off the floor, and handed it to Heather. “This one’s yours.”

“Nice.” Heather inspected the car in mock seriousness. “I am definitely going to win with this one.” Noah grinned at her, shaking his head.

“Red’s faster.” he informed her, holding up his own car. Heather set an alarm on her phone for 8:30, then settled down on the floor to play with Noah. When the alarm went off, she slipped the phone out of her pocket and turned it off. “Alright kid.” She said. “Time for bed.” Noah stuck his lip out in a pout, trying his best to give her puppy eyes.

“Five more minutes?” He requested. Heather laughed, ruffling his hair.

“No deal little man. Your Mom makes the rules not me.” Noah sighed dramatically, but obediently put the cars away then crawled into his bed. Heather pulled the covers up around him, tucking the blankets under his chin.

“Night.” Noah mumbled sleepily.

“Goodnight.” Heather responded, turning out the light and shutting the door. She headed down the stairs to the living room, settling on the couch. Retrieving her book from the coffee table, she began to read. She was well into the book when an eerie whistling sound reached her ears. Heather put her book down on the coffee table, moving nervously to the window. Pulling the curtain aside she peered into the darkness beyond the safety of the house. The wind had picked up, rushing through the trees, whistling as it shook the branches. Heather stood there for a moment, transfixed by the moving tree limbs, inky shadows dancing in the darkness. Shaking herself out of her trance, she pulled the curtain shut once more. Heather turned back toward the couch, only to catch sight of a small figure in the doorway, causing her stomach to lurch before she recognized her charge.

“Noah!” Heather exclaimed, her heart still pounding. “You scared me. What are you doing out of bed?” Noah was looking at the ground, holding a stuffed rabbit tightly in his arms.

“I can’t sleep.” Noah whispered, squeezing the rabbit tighter and rocking back on his feet. “There’s a monster outside.” Heather took a deep breath before moving to crouch in front of Noah.

“It's just the wind moving the trees Noah.” She said, ruffling his hair. “They scared me too but there are no monsters out there, just some noisy trees.” Heather put a hand on Noah’s back, guiding him into the hallway. “Let’s get you back to bed.

“It wasn’t the trees.” Noah protested, as Heather walked him up the stairs. “I know what trees look like, this was a monster.”

“Okay.” Heather replied, deciding to humor the young boy. “I will check your room for monsters, but if I don’t find any, you have to go back to bed. Deal?” Noah nodded, waiting in the lit hallway, while Heather checked under the bed and in the closet. “No monsters in here.” She said, turning to look at Noah.

“Look outside.” Noah ordered, pointing to the window on the far side of his room. “That's where I saw it.” Heather suppressed another sigh, but obediently went to the window. She opened the blinds looking through the glass at the ground below. Noah’s window faced the backyard, located directly above the backdoor. The porch light above the backdoor spilled its glow across the grass, illuminating the empty yard.

“No monsters out there either.” Heather said, moving to the side, so Noah could see. Noah came into the room slowly and peeked out the window, scanning the yard with squinted eyes. “Alright kid,” Heather said as she put her hands on Noah’s shoulders, guiding him toward the bed. “We’ve done our monster check. We found a total of zero monsters, so it is time for you to go to sleep.” Heather arranged the blankets, and Noah reluctantly climbed in the bed. Heather tucked the blankets around him snugly, before ruffling his hair again. Exiting the room, she turned toward Noah one last time.

“Goodnight kid.” She said, as she was closing the door. Just before the door clicked shut Noah sat up.

“Wait!” He cried. Heather opened the door a crack, just enough to see her charge. “Um,” Noah hesitated before blurting out, “I’m thirsty, I need a drink.”

“Nice try kid.” Heather deadpanned. “Go to sleep.” She closed the door then headed back downstairs, taking her place on the couch once again. Holding still, she listened for a minute to make sure Noah stayed in bed. When no noise could be heard from upstairs, she picked up her book to continue reading.

The house remained quiet, allowing Heather to get through several chapters in her book. When the clock on the wall had the little hand on the ten, Noah’s voice once again broke the silence.

“Heather.” He called. Heather put her book down roughly, annoyed that Noah was once again out of bed. She turned toward the doorway, ready to tell him off, but paused. The doorway was empty. Confused, Heather walked into the hall looking up and down searching for Noah. Not seeing anyone she called out for him.

“Noah?” His reply didn’t come from Noah’s bedroom like she had expected, but from the kitchen.

“Heather, I need you.” Heather rolled her eyes as she entered the kitchen but, again, saw no one in the room. She walked around the island in the center of the kitchen, trying to find the hiding boy, stopping next to the backdoor when she found no one there. Hands on her hips, Heather called for Noah again.

“Noah, where are you? I am not in the mood for games. You were supposed to be asleep hours ago.”

“I’m right here.” Noah’s voice replied, the sound coming from the other side of the backdoor.

“What?” Heather questioned, whirling toward the door. “How did you get out there?” She asked. Shaking off her confusion, she turned the doorknob, trying to throw open the door, but was stopped by the deadbolt. Heather paused, wondering how Noah got through a locked door. As she reached for the deadbolt, the air grew thick and Heather was overcome by a heavy feeling of dread that stole her breath away. Instinctively, she pulled her hand away from the knob, her heart pounding in her chest. As she hesitated, something began to scratch at the door, slowly and deliberately dragging its claws along the wood. Heather backed away from the door, her breathing heavy and ragged as she tried to get enough air into her lungs.

Noah’s voice pierced through the night, this time frantic, and scared. “Heather, Heather, help me!'' The scream was followed by a terrifying, animalistic growl, that made her hair stand on end. Heather scrabbled toward the knife block on the kitchen counter. She grabbed the butcher knife, then rushed back to the door, ready to save Noah from whatever predator had wandered into the yard.

“Heather.” A voice came from behind her. Heather froze, then turned around to find Noah standing next to the island, rubbing his eyes. “I had a bad dream.” Heather stared at Noah in shock. She glanced at the backdoor before returning her gaze to the boy in front of her, trying to comprehend what had just happened. Noah looked up at Heather, confusion entering his eyes when he caught sight of the knife in her hand. “What are you doing?” he asked.

“Um,” Heather quickly put the knife down on the counter. “I don’t know. I could have sworn I heard…” the rest of her fumbled reply was cut off by the claws scratching on the door, fast and frantic. Noah jumped, grabbing Heather’s arm in fright. Heather pushed him behind her, standing between him and the door.

“Heather!” Noah’s voice screamed from outside. “Help me, please!”

“What the hell.” Heather whispered, staring at the door. She backed away from the voice, pushing Noah along with her. Noah was gripping the back of Heather’s shirt tightly, silent and trembling. All of a sudden something large, slammed into the door, snarling as it rattling the hinges. Noah screamed. Heather scooped him up and scrambled up the stairs to Noah’s room, kicking the door shut. She deposited Noah on his bed, then pushed the dresser in front of the bedroom door.

Putting her head against the dresser, Heather tried to stop her body from shaking. After a few moments she remembered Noah on the bed behind her. He was breathing heavy and sharp. Taking a shaky breath, she forced on a reassuring smile, before turning to face Noah. He was sitting at the bed where Heather had dropped him. His face was pale, and he was hugging his knees as he stared at the wall in shock. Heather knelt in front of Noah, putting her hands on his shoulders. “It’s okay,” She tried to reassure him. “It can’t get in the house.” Noah looked up at her with tears in his eyes.

“How do you know?” He sobbed.

“It wouldn’t have tried to get me to open the door if it could do it itself.” Heather replied, faking a confidence she didn’t feel. “As long as we stay inside, we’re safe.” Noah’s breathing evened out as he was comforted by Heather's reasoning. Glanced toward the window, Noah questioned softly.

“What is it?” Heather followed his gaze with her own before replying.

“I don’t know.” Standing up, she walked toward the window, slowly reaching a hand toward the blinds. She glanced back at a wide-eyed Noah before cracking the blinds, looking down at the backyard.

At first, she didn’t see anything, but her eye was soon drawn to something moving by the treeline. Crouching on top of the fence, hiding in the shadows, was a creature Heather had never seen before. Its body was mostly humanoid, with clawed hands that gripped the top of the fence hard enough to leave marks. Its limbs were long, and skinny, with skin that stretched tightly around its bones. Its face was animal-like, with a black nose on the end of a long snout. It’s lips only partially concealed sharp, pointed teeth. The creature had antlers, like a deer’s, coming out of the top of it’s head. But its most striking feature was its piercing yellow eyes that glowed in the dark. As if sensing her watching it, the creature looked toward the window, staring straight into Heather’s eyes. Heather stood frozen as it held her gaze for a few moments, before letting out one final snarl in her direction, leaping off the fence, and disappearing into the trees.