Chapter 1
An incandescent bulb flickered on in one of the many rooms of a large modern countryside home, illuminating a downstairs window. 38-year old Lois Hamilton sat at the kitchen table munching on a slice of leftover cold pizza & contemplating life. The cheese felt cold and sad in her mouth. The kitchen clock struck 3:00 AM, the devil’s hour. The clock ticked loudly but Lois’ thoughts were louder. She did have a perfect life if you thought about it that way. Liam, an affluent and loyal husband, a set of identical twins; Jeremiah & Sophia. All three of them were fast asleep in their beds, without a care in the world. She had a wonderful house out in the countryside, no bothersome neighbors, the closest neighbor being 3 miles out. Lois and her family lived an upper-class lifestyle, to say the least.
Getting up, Lois grabbed her coffee and walked to the screen door. The coldness of the doorknob had her shivering, even whilst standing on the heated evergreen stone floor. Lois adjusted her crimson-colored silk nightgown and stepped outside onto the walk-around porch. The chilly breeze engulfed her, she took a deep breath of fresh cold air. Looking around in the darkness not seeing much, Lois decided to take a walk around the entire porch with only the rustling of leaves and the wailing of the wind to keep her company. The motion-sensor lights turned on as Lois walked under them and turned off after she had passed.
Reaching the front of the house Lois retired into the wooden swing next to the front door. The swing creaked in protest as Lois set her weight upon it. Sipping her decaf, she stared up at the sky sprinkled with stars. A wolf howled in the distance. Lowering her gaze she spotted a red and white classic convertible reverse-parked at the end of the driveway. The shiny red paint and chrome trim glinted in the moonlight, the white rag-top, spotless. Lois Hamilton felt unnerved and found that rather peculiar, although she felt another feeling arising from her gut but she quickly recognized it and repressed it.
Whenever Lois would find something unsettling, she tried to find the logical side of things, but this time she had no answer. She headed inside to fetch Liam. The warmth of the house welcomed her back in and made her only a tad bit more hesitant to go back outside. Never mind she thought, it wasn’t worth waking William up, if she can’t sleep doesn’t mean that he shouldn’t either. Lois put on a strong demeanor and stomped outside. A strong breeze blew against her, making her short blonde hair fluttering behind her. Lois clutched her silk nightgown closer. Her arms tightly folded against her chest, holding her coffee a little too hard that her fingers were white enough to blend in with the ceramic mug. She walked to the car with authority. Her Charles & Keith slippers clicked rhythmically on the red brick driveway.
She stood a few feet away from the rear end of the car when something inside her brain clicked. For the first time in many years, Lois Hamilton felt a feeling she hadn’t felt in a long time. Lois backed away slowly without getting her eyes off the car. The engine violently purred to life. The brake and reverse lights came on, blinding Lois. She put up her hand to shield herself and regain vision, splashing her coffee in the process. Rubber howled against the red brick and the howling wind stifled her scream
Liam woke startled to the sound of a porcelain mug breaking downstairs. He turned over to find Lois’s spot empty. Her insomnia was getting worse day by day. They had thought moving out here could help, maybe city life was too loud and fast for Lois. Before the kids started school it was a good time for her to relax and heal. Still groggy he forgot what woke him, and turned over once again and went back to sleep
