Because one of them actually happened. The rest are rough draft story clips.
1.
Sitting upon a park bench, you are suddenly startled by a child’s voice whispering your name in your ear. Quickly glancing around expecting someone’s child to be next to you, there is no one. In fact, the only other people in the park are a few runners, a couple of lawn care maintenance workers, and an elderly couple several benches up leaning in toward each other most likely regaling themselves with stories that made them the most happiest.
The sun shines brightly through the row of large trees that parallel the main walkway. Realizing that you have been sitting for quite awhile, you get up to stretch. Out of the corner of your eye, you see a pair of glowing eyes under the nearest bench. No big deal, the poor animal is a squirrel or something. Walking to your car, deciding whether or not you feel like doing anything else, you again see the same eyes under a car parked next to you. Looking around, there was no way an animal would have felt comfortable running from the safety of the park bench to the parked car in the middle of a parking lot.
Getting into the car, getting everything ready to go, you keep thinking about the eyes. Those unblinking eyes that sent a chill down your spine. Deciding to head home and figure out what you need to do and what you can skip, you are distracted by the traffic. All thoughts are forgotten by the car in front of you that slam on their breaks forcing you into a sudden stop. Checking the rear view mirror, you see the same eyes staring back at you from the darkness for your back seat. You want to scream. You look up when the car behind you starts blearing their horn. Looking up waiting for something to sink its teeth into your neck you hit the gass. Looking back into the now lighted back seat, it is empty.
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2.
Suddenly a pounding wakes you up from a sound dreamless sleep. Boom, boom, boom slams against the wall right next your bed. With sleep still befuddling your thoughts, you slowly walk to the front door. Boom, boom, boom! You can still hear it except it isn’t from the front door. Standing in the hallway, you then figure out that it must be the neighbor’s again and head back to bed. You understand that this is one of the harsh realities of living in an apartment complex. Checking the clock, you have only slept about three hours before being rudely awoken. Trying to get comfortable, you now lay there awake mad at the neighbors.
Boom, boom, boom! Getting up to go tell the neighbors off, once again you stop. Yes, you have neighbors. Except for the fact that your bedroom faces the open space between complexes and that your neighbors live on the other side of your apartment. Which baffles you since you live on the third floor.
You rationalize the whole thing as kids staying up late doing whatever it is they are doing. Before heading out and telling the kids off, you head to the fridge for something cold. Now on the fridge door you keep several sets of magnetic word packs for when you’re bored. You comb through them and use the upper freezer door for when you feel witty or completely absurd. You hadn’t created anything in awhile so the freezer door Is empty. As you grab the water bottle you realize the freezer door is not empty. A chill running up your spin that has nothing to do with the cold bottle your holding stops you mid drink. Two words are placed on the freezer door. “Help Me.”
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3.
The feeling you get when you suddenly wake up in the middle of the night because you remember you may have accidentally left at least one cat outside. Knowing you will not have any chance of going back to sleep until finding out, you stumble out toward the sliding patio glass door. The microwave and stove clocks give off just enough of a glow that allow a pair of green eyes to reflect back at you from out of the darkness.
You think to yourself well, at least you won’t have to go out into the cold and find them. When it dawns on you both cats have suddenly assumed it is treat time so they’re vying for your affections by purring at your feet. Now you are mesmerized by the unblinking eyes still staring up at you.
Thinking that it must only be some type of animal that has wandered into your yard, you try and blow off the fear by telling yourself it is because it is dark. Staring back at those eyes, you slowly walk toward the porch light. You realize that whatever is beyond the glass door isn’t on the small porch. It must be on the cement patio, six steps lower than the porch. Making whatever the animal is much bigger than merely a cat. Hand on switch, you are both in wonderment and total fear welling up inside you as you flip on the switch. As light floods the back porch into a blaze of white, you see no animal. Absolutely nothing. You would have at least seen something running away. Or at the very worst getting ready to attack. Yet your back yard has yielded nothing and is empty.
Russell's Ramblings 