The wind picked up, and lying down, I could feel the way it blustered against the wooden panels, rocking the tower ever so slightly. A chill crept in, and I stuffed a pillow between me and the outer wall for added insulation.
Scritch scratch scritch scratch scritch
What was that?
I sat straight up, holding the covers to my chest while I tried not to breathe too loudly in the dark, ears strained.
Scritch scratch
Scritch scratch scritch
The sound came from outside.
I stood and snatched my bear spray and a flashlight off the counter, holding them at the ready. My boots waited by the door, but I didn’t waste time lacing them up, slipping into my fleece-lined Crocs instead.
I was self-aware enough to know they were a heavyweight contender in theWorld’s Ugliest Shoecompetition, but the thought of Josh’s disgusted face if he saw me wear them earned an instant purchase.
Plus, they were practical. My kind of shoe.
SCRITCH SCRATCH SCRITCH SCRATCH SCRITCH SCRATCH
Fuck! It was closer now, and sounded big. Was it climbing the stairs?
A gust of wind, stronger than the others, rattled the north-facing windows. I couldn’t see movement outside, but that didn’t mean much when it was this dark.
Or when your intruder was see-through.
SCRITCH SCRATCH SCRITCH SCRATCH SCRITCH SCRATCH
Flipping the lock, I slowly opened the door and braced for something to attack. My exhales trembled out, and the flashlight wobbled in my grip.
What if the ghost came back?
Or, what if itwasn’ta ghost this time? What if it was something worse? A murderer? Or a bear?
I had no hope of outrunning a bear on a good day, let alone in Crocs. Or a hatchet-wielding serial killer, for that matter.
Please, God, I cannot die in Crocs.
I quickly flipped the straps into sport mode so they were secure on my feet before tip-toeing outside, bear spray first.
My vision narrowed to the flimsy beam of the flashlight—I should order one of those crazy bright torches to pick up on my next trip into town—but after a quick sweep around the deck, I could at least breathe easier that the immediate vicinity was clear.
SCRITCH SCRATCH SCRITCH SCRATCH SCRITCH SCRATCH
I whipped around, shining the light through the cabin windows and out the other side.
Eyes gleamed at me in the dark.
“Oh, fuck,” I whimpered, true fear setting in.What the hell is that?
Like an idiot, I froze in place, unable to tear my gaze away from the bright, blinking eyes. I couldn’t see its body or how big it was, as the glare of the windows obscured it. I made another pathetic sound, and its head tilted this way and that, deciding which parts of me would be the tastiest.
Then it made some sort of…chatteringnoise, as if to scoldmefor disturbingit,instead of the other way around.
You’re the intruder here,it seemed to say.
My turn to blink, and then squint, straining to see its shape. I took a step to the left, and it skittered across the railing to the opposite corner, like it was coming around to chatter at me some more. Or rip my throat out.
