by KA Young
“Wait, Anna, let me come in and talk with you for a minute.” Dan stood at the front.
My back was to him, and I didn’t turn around as I spoke to him, “I’m sorry, Dan.” I need to be alone for a while.” I spoke barely above a whisper before I went in and closed the door, locking it quickly; barricading myself inside. I went straight upstairs and threw myself on the bed without even bothering to change out of my wet clothes. I no longer had the energy to care.
All I could do was cry myself to sleep.
Chapter 2
The next morning, I got up only once to use the bathroom, and then curled back up under the covers. I never wanted to get out of bed again. It just took too much effort.
I awoke some time later to the sound of banging on my front door. I rolled over and put the pillow over my head, trying to muffle the sound. Then the doorbell began to ring. It went on and on and on. I threw the covers back and glanced out my window, seeing it was dark out. How long had I been asleep? I was still in my funeral dress, my hair was matted to my face, and my mouth was incredibly dry.
I walked slowly down the stairs to see who was at the front door. Peeking through the blinds that hung in my living room window, I saw my sister pounding away on the front door. I staggered to the door and unlocked the deadbolt and, before I could get the door all the way open, Julie shoved her way in.
“God, Anna. I was worried sick about you. Why haven’t you answered your house phone or your cell? I’ve been calling you for three hours.” She took in my appearance, then placed her hands on her hips; a troubled expression on her face. “You look awful! You need to shower and, for heaven's sake, get out of that dress; it’s been two days since the funeral.”
I didn’t care that I was still in my funeral dress, but no wonder my mouth felt so dry, I hadn’t had anything to drink in two days. Just then, my cell began ringing. I shuffled into the hall with Julie following right behind me, picked up my bag off the floor, dug around and found my phone. I checked the caller ID. It was Dan; I let it roll to voice mail, I could only deal with one nagging family member at a time.
“I don’t know what to say… I’ve never been able to sleep for terribly long. You know that. I can only sleep five hours at the most; even when I am utterly exhausted. Now all I want to do is sleep.” I let my shoulders slump forward.
“Let’s get you into a shower. You’ve been through a lot and you’ll feel much better after a shower, I’m sure of it.” Julie beamed down at me, trying to be cheerful, and I loved her for it. We walked upstairs into the master bath where I peeled off the dress and stepped under the exceptionally hot, running water.
Julie stood outside the shower, passing me the shampoo and conditioner, while chatting with me. It reminded me of when we were kids. “I’ll get you through this, Anna. You're young and you look even younger than your thirty-four years. You know how everyone always thinks I’m the oldest and I don’t know how you do it. You don’t seem to age at all. You don’t even have any fine lines, it’s sickening. Anna?” Julie sighed and jerked open the shower door causing me to gasp at the assault of cold air on my skin. “Are you listening to me, Annabelle?”
No one had called me Annabelle since Granny, who passed away last spring, and she only did it when she was coming after me with the hickory switch. “Yes, I’m listening! Close the door, will ya? It’s cold out there.”
Julie huffed. “It’s not cold; it’s seventy-five degrees in here. I can’t believe you’re cold in the middle of August.” I turned off the water, taking the towel she held out to me as I stepped out of the shower stall and wrapped it around me. I suddenly needed a stiff drink. Not bothering to dress, I headed straight for the kitchen with Julie in tow.
I sighed as I entered through the doorway; I usually felt such joy walking into my kitchen. I loved that it was perfect. Joe had it custom-built to my specifications. From the gorgeous Santa Cecelia granite counter tops to the maple cabinets and right down to the Spanish tile floors. It was fully equipped with state-of-the-art, stainless steel appliances, too.
Tonight, I felt only sorrow, though. I reached into our liquor cabinet and pulled out a bottle of white rum, and then I got a diet Coke out of the fridge. Julie was leaning against the counter, giving me her disapproving stare.
“Reach above you, Jules, and grab two glasses.” I pointed to the cabinet I was speaking of as I set the bottle and can on the island.
I cracked open the Coke and poured it into the glasses she handed to me; then added a hefty shot of rum in each. I handed Julie a glass, then motioned for her to follow me into the living room. I sank down into the loveseat while she took the recliner to my left. I knocked back my drink in record time.
I was starting to feel the effects of the alcohol quicker than usual, which I attributed to my empty stomach. I wasn’t complaining, though; I needed it.
“You can’t drown your sorrow in rum, Anna.” She was shaking her head at me like our granny used to do.
“If only it was that easy. I would drown out everything from Joe dying to that horrible monster I keep seeing every time I shut my eyes. Jules, I know you think I’m crazy, but I honestly did see something happen to Joe. In addition, at the gravesite, I saw a man standing in the rain. It’s downright weird, but I have a feeling he may know something about it.”
“Dan called me after he dropped you off and told me about the freak that was talking to you. You need to watch out for psychos like that. What kind of person just hangs out in a cemetery, trying to chat up grieving women? A crazy person, that’s who.” She pointed her finger at me while she spoke.
“That’s just the thing. He didn’t actually say anything to me and, when he did speak, it was like I knew him, or maybe that I just wanted to know him. Ugh, I don’t know what I’m saying. None of this makes any sense.” I ran my hand through my wet hair. I had to find out what happened to Joe, I owed him that. I couldn’t let him go until I did. Truthfully, I wasn’t sure if I could let him go even then. However, I was trying to understand all of this and it wasn’t working out.
“Look, Anna, You’ve got to cut yourself some slack. You can’t expect to be your usual, in-control self. It doesn’t work that way. People die; we grieve and then try to move on the best way we can.” She walked over and sat down next to me, setting her drink on the coffee table.
She patted me on the leg and offered a reassuring smile. “I’m sorry, but I have to leave. I have to pick the kids up at Bill’s mom’s before ten. I just came by to make sure you’re okay. . “Are you going to be all right here by yourself? You can always move in with Bill and me for a while.” ”
I shook my head. “Thanks, but I’ll be okay here. I need to adjust to living alone anyway.”
She nodded her understanding. “Oh, that reminds me… Bill took care of the life insurance paperwork for you yesterday. You should have a check by the end of next week.” Joe was still taking care of me. With the life insurance money, I wouldn’t want for anything. “Look, Bill has to go out of town in the morning. When he gets back, and things settle down a bit, we’ll have a slumber party, just you and me. It’ll benefit both of us.” Julie hugged me again
“Thank you for everything, Jules, and thank Bill for me.” She waved her hand, gesturing that it was nothing before getting up to leave.
On her way out the door, she called, “Dan’s going to come by after he gets off work tonight. Let him in. He cares about you and wants to help. You know how close he and Joe were.” I waited for the door to shut before I gulped down her drink and then took both glasses to the sink.
I went upstairs to throw on some clothes and dry my hair.
I was putting the hair dryer away after dressing in a pair of lounge pants and a pink cotton tee, when I thought I heard something moving around in the backyard. I glanced out my bathroom window and spotted a large shadow moving quickly toward the patio. It should have triggered the floodlights, but it didn’t. Something inside me stirred, I knew the creature from my vision w
ould move way too quickly for the light sensors to pick up his movement. How did I know this? Suddenly afraid, I raced into the hallway and activated the security system. Like that would save me from what killed Joe.
I snuck quietly down the back staircase that led into the breakfast area; I would be able to see the whole backyard from there. I tiptoed to the bay window to get a closer look and, for a second, I couldn’t see anything. Then there they were two dark figures instead of just one and they were fighting each other. I heard a loud crash as one of them slammed the other into the patio furniture and sliced off the other’s head with a long sword. My mind was trying hard to register what I was seeing. One second, I was getting an impression, a feeling of recognition; then the next, nothing. Frightened even more, I ran to the kitchen door and checked the dead bolt to be sure it was locked.
I snatched the phone off the receiver, my fingers hovering over the keys, but before I was able to dial 911, I heard a soft knock at the door and froze. My heart was beating at such a rapid rate that I could hear my blood pumping loudly in my ears.
The shadow behind the door spoke to me. “Annabelle, don’t be afraid. I took care of the threat. I must speak with you. Let me in.” It was the voice, his voice, that deep baritone voice of the man from the cemetery.
“Who are you?” I spoke almost too softly for my own ears.
“I will tell you everything you want to know, but first you must let me in. You are in imminent danger. I’ve come to protect you.”
I backed away from the door, terror running through my veins.
Did this have something to do with Joe? It must have something to do with him. That creature in the backyard looked remarkably like what killed him in my vision. My mind was racing.
“Yes, it does have something to do with Joe. More importantly, it has a much more to do with you. I will help you, Annabelle.”
Did I ask that aloud? I shook my head. I genuinely didn’t think so.
“I’m going to open the door now; do not fear me.” The doorknob started to turn when I heard a pounding on the front door. I bolted toward the front of the house because I knew it was Dan. I swung open the front door, flinging myself into his arms. Dan caught me and pulled me to him.
“What’s wrong, Anna? Did something happen?” He walked us back into the house and secured the door. Steadying my shaky frame, he peered into my face.
“I—I heard a noise in the backyard. When I went to see what it was, I saw two people fighting and…” I couldn’t bring myself to tell him the rest. He took my hand, and we walked into the kitchen. There was no sign of the man from the cemetery, and the door was unopened as well as locked. I so needed another drink.
I took the rum off the island and swigged it out of the bottle.
“Hey, slow down a little.” Dan took the bottle from my hands. It took some doing, too; I had a death grip on that sucker. “Now tell me what happened.”
I swallowed hard. “He knocked at the door.”
“Who knocked on the door?”
I was staring at my hands, fiddling with my nails, which was a nervous habit of mine. Dan took me by the shoulders and looked sternly into my face. “Who was it, Anna?”
“It was the man from the cemetery.” I spoke softly.
Dan immediately let go of my arms, retrieved Joe’s shotgun from the gun cabinet and charged out into the yard. I immediately ran after him, finding my teak table and chair were smashed to pieces with an oily residue covering the bits of wood. I assumed it was what was left of the creature the man from the cemetery had killed. I peered around the yard, but there was no sign of the giant man anywhere.
We stood side by side, staring down at the destroyed furniture and then a thought occurred to me. Joe had a ten-foot privacy fence installed last spring. “Dan, how did they get over the fence?” He shrugged while shaking his head just as I heard the phone ring.
“Oh no, it must be the alarm. I forgot that I had turned it on.” I walked back into the house and answered the phone. Sure enough, it was the security company.
“Mrs. Wilkins, your alarm was triggered. Are you in any need of police assistance?” I explained the mistake, assuring the dispatcher that I was all right.
While I was on the phone, Dan had walked back into the house and locked the door. I sat down in a dining chair with a sigh.
“Well, whatever it was, it’s gone. It had to be one hell of an animal to break that table, though. I don’t think a man could do it all that easily.” Dan sat next to me at the table. He was either attempting to convince me or himself that it was an animal out there.
“What about all that oily stuff?”
He ran his fingers through his hair. “I don’t have an explanation for that yet. Have you eaten anything today?”
I shook my head. “He was out there, Dan. He spoke to me.”
He rose and went to the refrigerator, pulling out deli meat, cheese and a couple of bottles of water. He opened the breadbox, took out the three-day-old loaf of wheat bread and sniffed inside the bag to determine if it was fresh enough. Satisfied, he slapped a couple of sandwiches together. He put one sandwich on a plate for me while taking a massive bite out of the one he was holding. He brought it to the table and set it in front of me. At the sight of food, my stomach growled audibly. I ate it swiftly and began drinking the water.
“I’m staying here for a few days,” Dan spoke and I started to protest. “Look, Anna, I know all this seems like a nightmare right now. It does to me, too. You know how much Joe meant to me. He wasn’t only my brother; he was also my best friend.” Dan’s voice broke as he fought tears while he brushed a lock of curly, brown hair from his forehead.
He reminded me a lot of Joe, his hair and eyes were amazingly close to the same shade. Joe’s hair may have been sandy blond, but his eyes were the exact shade of Dan’s and their late father’s.
They had many of the same facial expressions and were built similarly, too; both of them the same height of five feet, ten inches.
“You can’t stay here Dan,” I began. “Not that I don’t appreciate the offer, but you have your own life. Staying alone here with me would stir up some serious gossip that would spread all over this little town.”
He knew it as well as I did. As much as I loved living here with Joe in the little town of Adairsville, Georgia, rumors spread like a wildfire in Southern California.
“Aren’t you and Christy dating? You know she wouldn’t like it.”
“It’s nothing serious. My brother would want me to keep you safe, Anna.”
“I’m sure Christy would disagree with you on the serious part, but I can’t argue with the part about Joe. He was always so overprotective.”
Dan was a terrific guy and he deserved to be happy. This was the first relationship he’d been in that he had made public. I hated to come between him and his chance of happiness.
“I’m fine, truly I am. I am a little out of it. I haven’t eaten anything in days and drank a little too much tonight.” I was beginning to feel a little better. Hopefully, I could make it through the night.
“I don’t care what you say or what people think. You are my brother’s wife and, now that he is gone, it is my duty to be here for you. You don’t have any family except for Julie, and she stays so busy with Bill and the kids. Christy will have to get over it or move on. I’m staying until we find out what is going on here. I already have a packed bag in the truck.” His mind was obviously made up because he got that same, unshakable expression that Joe used to get when he wouldn’t be swayed from a decision he had made.
“Okay, Dan, okay. You can sleep in the guest room your mom always uses. The sheets are clean and you should find fresh towels in the bathroom.”
I was always ready for guests. Mary tended to stay over at the oddest times and often without warning.
He smiled at me. I knew he couldn’t have cared less about clean sheets and fresh towels. He went on hunting trips for weeks, neglecting his hygiene, and sleeping in
a grungy, old tent he'd been using for years. That thing was well past its prime. He said it gave him good luck so he wasn’t going to buy a new one until his already threadbare tent got a hole in a place he couldn’t repair. It had become a joke between the two brothers; Joe always harassed him about the smell inside it and wouldn’t sleep in it with him. He always took his own tent when they went hunting together.
“I’m going to go get my stuff and then grab a shower, but after, we can sit up a while and talk, if you want.”
“No, that’s all right; believe it or not, I’m still a little sleepy.” I stifled a yawn. “I’ve slept more the last couple of days than I have in years.”
“Trauma can do that to you. Listen to your body and rest when you can. ‘Night, Anna.” He kissed me on top of my head before going out to his truck.
I rinsed off the plates along with the glasses that were in the sink and put them in the dishwasher. Then I waited until I heard Dan make his way up the stairs to turn off the lights and check the security system before I went up to my room. I changed into some comfortable pajamas and crawled into my big, king-sized bed. It felt odd being in bed alone, so I snuggled Joe’s pillow to my chest and I began to cry. I was alone now. The ache in my chest was excruciating. Not knowing what else to do, I began to pray, “Help me, please.” I barely got it out over my sobs, and then I immediately felt a presence in my room. I sat up and looked around my dark room, but couldn’t see anyone. Nonetheless, I knew someone was there. “Hello?” I called out, immediately feeling silly. All of a sudden, though, I felt a wave of peace come over me. I lay back down and began to doze. I felt a hand stroking my hair, whispering words to me that I didn’t understand. I tried to open my eyes, but my eyelids were too heavy. The last thing I remember was the scent of sandalwood.
