Night Evil 
 photo courtesy Stephani Pui-Mun Law www.shadowscapes.com
Running and stumbling across this neglected field, frantic with fright, I repeatedly
look behind me. Although my senses tell me that something is amiss, I can see nor hear
nothing in this murky, dark evening except the singing of crickets. Perhaps I should have
stayed on the road inside my car and waited for someone to help me fix my flat tire, instead
of taking a short cut across this field towards the dimly lit house I see in the distance.
Earlier, I must have taken a wrong turn onto an old, unused road because after an hour,
there had been not a single vehicle seen. Yet, something had bumped against my car several
times. Something that I could neither see nor hear, but felt. My repeated calls of, "Who's
there?" were not answered and my sense of fear escalated as the sky darkened, welcoming the
approaching night.
Finally, I could no longer just sit there thinking of impending doom. With all the courage
that I could muster, I opened the car door and started running as fast as I could toward
the house. Thinking, perhaps I'd be safe there, safe from whoever or whatever was
frightening me.
Now, it seems that the more I run, the farther away that house appears to be. "Leave me
alone" I scream aloud, gasping for breath as I run. Avoiding thick brush, I am unmindful
of the uneven ground. I do not see the sink hole, I only feel the sharp pain as I wretch my
ankle. Howling in agony, I fall face down upon the ground, biting my lip. I can taste the
gritty earth ... and the warm blood dripping from the gash that my teeth have made.
Alarmed, I am now aware of an eerie-looking tree looming directly in front and above me. Its
form, a twisted swaying silhouette, dances an entrancing minuet as the wind whips through
its branch-like arms. Arms that reach toward me with hand and finger-like branches, bony
and beckoning, as if beseeching my embrace.
A most horrid sense of dread has now taken hold of me, squeezing my pounding heart in its
icy grip. My throat is a spit-less dry desert, my body, damp and limp, sprawled upon this
cold ground. Tears merge with mucus from my nostrils and flow down onto my bloody lips and
chin.
Something gleams in this evening's mist and I see flashes of white teeth and strange inhuman,
glowing eyes. An unfamiliar and powerful odor has infused this night's air. It seems that
this odor is having a hypnotic affect upon me. I barely hear the low growls and snarls as I
wonder if I'm imagining this, if this is illusion or reality.
I suddenly have my answer, as low rumbling thunder is accompanied by lightning flashes that
light up this dismal landscape. My fears are validated! I see ... them! I am frozen with
fright, realizing I have been stalked and encircled by this unknown evil. In this split
second, my mind's perception of reality changes! Yet, it refuses to comprehend this
sight. It refuses to categorize this evil that has surrounded me! I mentally "lose it"
momentarily.
A piercing scream, assails the night, a terrified sound of dread and despair. I realize
somewhere within my confused mind, that this unholy scream is indeed mine. "Help me,
somebody!" I blabber. I try to stand, the pain is excruciating! I fall again as an icy cold
numbness spreads throughout my body. I have been stalked by unknown fiends that now hover
around me. They wait ... for what, I do not know.
Pain surges through my arm, accompanied by shortness of breath and dizziness, and yet, I
clearly understand that these alarming signals confirm that this night's evil has won, that
I am having a heart attack! I can only pray that it finishes me before something's meal,
I become.
Copyright©2004 by Gwen Dickerson
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