Chapter One
I sat up suddenly in my bed the shock of being awoken so rudely was complemented perfectly by the fear that had been created deep within me as a result. That stupid cat, that God damned invasive feline had jumped on my face, used my jaw as a launch pad to reach the dresser where it now sat hissing like a long overdue landlord, hissing as if I was the interloper who shouldn’t be here. Stupid fucking cat. The darkness that had greeted me on opening my eyes did absolutely nothing to help with the fear that had been pulled deep from within me by that cat. Confused and frustrated as my heartbeat pounded in my ears I reached for my mobile phone tapped the screen and groaned upon realising that it was only three AM my alarm was not due to go off for another three hours. turning back over I grabbed for the quilt as the icy cold midmorning air caressed my bare skin. I wrapped myself up as tightly as I could shuddering under the weight of the oppressive cold that filled the room. Even with the quilt wrapped around my torso I lay shivering so intensely partly because of the temperature of the room and partly because of the adrenaline that was still coursing through my body from the premature wake-up I had received. I noticed how my breath was pouring out of my mouth into the night air in short, haggard bursts that further demonstrated the low temperatures.
My eyes wandered over to the window and as I lay staring out at the dark night sky with its smattering of stars I began to wonder how the room could possibly be so cold. The house was an old cottage built back when the local area was quite literally a village. Yet even though the house was not exactly modern in terms of double-glazed windows or central heating I could never recall it ever having gotten this cold, and I mean ever. The house had a wood burner down in the livingroom that was more than sufficient to keep the house warm and even though it was a manual chore to fire the burner I had still never felt a cold such as I was experiencing at this moment.
I started to feel like I was being watched and propped myself up in the bed careful to keep the quilt pulled up tight to my chin. Surveying the inky blackness of the room, my eyes having to adjusted somewhat before I could make out the basic details and shapes within. I could see the wardrobe tall an imposing in the corner closest to the window, next to that was the small dresser that had the silvery oval shaped mirror perched on top of it and that fucking cat, no longer hissing at me instead it had relocated to the mirror and was opting for the hard stare. I continued my survey of the room seeing that the door was closed over, latched in place by the old locking mechanism that I had always felt would be more at home on a shed door than a bedroom. Past the entrance was a chair, the kind you might find at a vanity table or around the table in a dining room. It had a very ornate flowery pattern carved into its backboard, complemented by a floral design on the upholstery.
Finally, my eyes settled on the bedside cabinet next to the bed a small unit that had my phone, wallet, and car keys on. There was an eerie feeling in the air that kept me on edge my eyes continued to scan the room, partly looking for those disembodied eyes that I could feel but not see. I was trying to make sense of what it was that felt so out of place when out of the corner of my eye I thought I saw some movement in the mirror it was fast and fleeting, but it was there, I think. My head spun around, sitting up as I did hoping to catch whatever it was that was moving about the darkness expecting to see that the cat had moved, my heart run cold and icy shivers consumed me when I realised that the pesky feline hadn’t moved an inch and there was nothing else there; at least nothing I could see.
My heartbeat had begun to pick up by now, the sensation that I was not alone had put my nerves on edge and now my heart was pounding away, my breathing was already irregular due to the extreme cold in the room. I had checked everywhere that I possibly could from where I was sitting on the bed, but a sudden and familiar child-like dread filed me as I realised that there were two possible places left for someone to hide that I hadn’t been able to check from the bed. I paused for a moment a sudden wave of clarity forcing me to the realisation that I had no real reason for thinking that I was not alone in this bedroom. Apart from an eerie feeling borne out of the unfamiliar but still, I Knew that I had to check, it was more than just a feeling it was almost instinctual.
I shrugged off the quilt exposing myself fully to the extreme cold for the first time and retrieved my phone from the small unit next to the bed I powered the devices torch and slowly leaned over the side of the bed, the blood began to really pulse in my head from the moment that I leaned upside down bracing myself for what I was about to find under there I steeled myself against the monsters that awaited me. Memories of a childhood not too far in the past pushed their way to the forefront of my mind, memories of monsters that lived inside my wardrobe and underneath my bed, never present upon checking but that never made them any the less real to me. The stillness of the room was not lost on me there was a slight, suffocating sensation almost oppressive in nature hanging in the air.
I would have to peel the bed sheets back to see beneath the bed, adding that little extra tinge of anxiety to the whole situation. My fingers probed under the sheets, and I paused wanting to take a moment to compose myself as my imagination took over. I was too old to believe in monsters living under my bed yet here I was, expecting some sinister malevolent entity to come racing towards me the moment I lifted the sheet. Slowly I pulled the thin fabric up the top of my head now resting on the floor taking my weight. My trembling fingers causing the sheet to ripple the length of the bed. I took a deep breath and quickly made my move; my eyes seemed to take an age to adjust to the brightness of the phones torch that I shone into the deep dark void under the bed. When they did finally adjust though I was able to see that there was nothing there. Allowing myself a huge sigh of relief I watched as my breath stretch out and dissipated beneath the bed, I pushed myself back up into a sitting position seeing it for the first time as I did.
It glistened in the dark, catching my attention so perfectly. More curious than scared Iswung my legs over the side of the bed in one swift movement. As I heaved myself up my heart skipped a beat as I cast the warm luminous glow of the phones torch about the floor, the sudden realisation that what I had seen was not isolated, rather it was one in a sequence. A disturbing glittering line of footprints that appeared to have been left by someone wearing boots judging by the impression that was somehow left in what can only be described as snow. Disturbed I spun around the room scanning again for the intruder responsible for the prints, checking my phone the time displayed five past three, how time had seemed to stop since being rudely awoken. The footprints glittered in the light as I made my way tentatively to the foot of the bed and knelt next to the impressions, it was snow ‘What the fuck.’ I whispered to myself
Where the fuck had the snow come from? It was so random, so isolated. OK, so it was still February which did allow for a chance of snow, but it had not snowed in weeks. Had it? I rushed over to the window, pulled the curtains to one side, and peered through the blinds. I scanned the street and even by the poor light from the streetlamps I could see there was no snow. For a moment I thought I saw the shadow of someone standing at the corner of the high sandstone wall that run the length of the street opposite my house but on returning my gaze I saw nothing. My mind returned to the footprints and the snow. It was not like someone had walked through snow and left the shapes in the snow, rather it was more like someone had been walking through snow and having come indoors out of the snow had left the impressions in isolation.
There was two at the foot of the bed facing towards the head of the bed lending the chilling impression that someone must have been watching me sleep. As I swept the light of the torch along the floor, I could see several footprints walking out of the room including one that was half in and half out of the room, the door having been closed over it was cutting the foot in half. I flicked the light on, illuminating the room in a bright glow that burnt my eyes initially. Once my eyesight had again returned to normal, I activated the phones video camera and proceeded to document what I was seeing. Once I had fully captured the footprints, I swept the camera about the room just in case there was something that I had missed. Quietly I dressed, listening all the while but hearing nothing but the sound of my own heart pounding in my chest.
I shoved my phone in my pocket and scoured the room for a weapon, something heavy with which to defend myself. I stood at the foot of the bed with my hands out feeling like I did not know this room at all as I searched for something, anything that I could use as a weapon. Finally, my eyes settled on a vase, long and slender it was placed on the dresser just behind the cat. The cat that I could now see properly by the light of the bulb was jet black except for two white boots on the front feet, and it was still staring intently at me. Apprehensively I headed for the dresser, careful to avoid the snow prints on the carpeted floor I reached out for the vase at the same time the cat suddenly and expertly lashed out at me scratching right down my right forearm, hissing like a demonic hell cat as it did so. I cried out in pain as I pulled my arm back already, I could feel the blood cooling as it ran down my forearm, unsurprisingly considering how cold this damned room felt.
I swiped my right hand at the crazed feline forcing it to take evasive action to avoid the slap, that in my mind was long overdue, at the same time I swooped on the vase with my left hand. successfully securing my prize I turned to the door, making sure to shoot the cat a smirk as I did so. Sometimes it is the little victories. And so, with my weapon in hand I reached for the bedroom door my heart beating like a drum in my chest and sweat was running down my forehead despite the cold. My rapid breathing was a living show coming out in short sharp bursts of warm air dancing into the ice-cold room. My free hand found the door latch and as it did all my bravery dissipated just like my breath. I knew that I was not alone in this house and I also knew that I had to face whoever was outside of this door. I turned the knob and it hit me like a bolt of lightning.
Letting go of the door I turned and looked, confirming a suspicion that I already knew but did not want to accept. I already mentioned how two of them appeared to be facing towards the head of the bed, but what I had not realised until that moment was that there were no prints coming towards the bed nor where there any that displayed someone turning to leave. It was as if someone or God forbid something had simply materialised at the foot of the bed and then somehow managed to turn around and leave the room without smudging the snowy prints. ‘What the fuck...’ I murmured to myself, ‘what the hell is going on here’ I was once again scanning the bedroom. This time I was looking for a way for someone to reach the foot of the bed or an entry point of some kind. I found nothing that might make this whole crazy situation any more explainable.
Exhausted, and not simply because of the early hour. It was now only ten past three. I sat back down on the bed and placed my head in my hands, scared and frustrated, wishing I were anywhere but here right now. I had never felt so alone and isolated before in my life there was no one that I could call, nobody that could help me I was all alone and had to find a way to get out of this house and get some help. But first things first I had to get out of this room and to do that I needed to conquer my growing fear. The silence in the room was overbearing it was a screaming volatile silence that felt as though it was reverberating off every wall but in the same breath it was as still as the grave. Running my hands through my hair, my eyes searching the lock on the door as if it could somehow answer any one of the many questions racing through my mind; the cats’ eyes were still firmly latched on me and somewhere inside this cottage there was an intruder who had spent time at the foot of my bed, watching me sleep. This thought sent a fresh wave of goosebumps crawling all over my body.
With the vase in my hand I steeled myself and headed for the door, I figured that if I could make it downstairs and get to the front door then I would be able to escape from this nightmare but first, I had to build up the courage to overcome this first hurdle. Trembling I once again reached for the latch, my hand pausing just before making contact. An involuntary decision yet, it gave me a moment to think, a chance to prepare myself. I did this by raising the vase up to shoulder height so that I would be ready to strike, like a snake coiled and ready to go. I finally took hold of the latch with a sweat slicked hand, which compromised my grip slightly. I became overly conscious at this time of how slow I was moving like I was watching myself in slow motion.
Before I pulled it open, I pressed my ear to the door and listened once again still the silence filled the air. Pulling the door free from the opening I allowed only a few inches before halting abruptly and then closing the door again. ‘Shit, shit, shit’ I whispered as I gently, quietly placed my forehead against the door. My mind just like my thrumming heart was going into overdrive now. Normally I am the kinda guy who when faced with a confrontational situation would not back down but, this situation was not something that I was accustomed too. Ordinarily I would expect to be looking at any antagonist face to face not hiding behind a door too afraid to make my next move. This though, this was not your average run of the mill scenario this whole set up had a very insidious feel to it, after all someone had snuck into this house crept up the stairs and had stood watching me sleep leaving some rather inexplicable footprints in the bargain.
And so, I stood with my head planted to the bedroom door listening to the silence that filled the air. Taking a deep breath and preparing to make my move for the front door I tried in vain to control my breathing, hoping that it would help me to regulate my heart rate to a steady beating pattern rather than the jack rabbit that was currently racing in my chest. Taking a step back I resumed my previous stance and lifted the latch once again, and in one fluid motion I pulled the door free of the frame and prepared for the expected onslaught. I was met with more darkness, and as the door finished along its familiar path the cat, that damned cat, suddenly hissed aggressively before bursting out of the room running between my legs as it did, sending me off balance just enough to force me to stagger back a couple of steps.
