Shadow Flicker by Gregory Bastianelli

Author:Gregory Bastianelli [Bastianelli, Gregory]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: horror; gothic fantasy; dark fantasy; flame tree press; creepy stories; dark suspense; horror fiction; science fiction; supernatural phenomenon; Wicker Man; The Ritual
Publisher: Flame Tree Publishing
Published: 2022-02-22T14:11:21+00:00

Chapter Twenty-Nine

The noise woke Melody first, like a gentle nudge to let her know it remained out there. The humming. She didn’t have to open her eyes to know the light flickered across her bedroom. Even with her eyes closed, her vision sensed the twirl of light and shadow as if the elements seeped through her eyelids.

Time to wake up. Time to face the routine of the day. Time to know it’s still there. It’s always there.

She opened her eyes.

Before she even had a chance to blink from the flickering effect, she noticed the empty space in the bed beside her.

Myles never came to bed. Her heart dropped as if something gripped it and tugged it down deeper into her chest. She could no longer be mad, only sad. He might have come to bed in the middle of the night and happened to get up before her and head out into the fields. But no. She didn’t sleep that deeply to not be able to detect his presence, his warmth, and the sinking feeling of the mattress as his body pressed into the space beside her. She would have sensed that. It would have woken her because she didn’t sleep soundly, not with that infernal clockwork sound of the machines.

Melody rose up on one elbow, trying to rub the exhaustion from her eyes. She dragged herself out of bed, threw on her bathrobe and left the bedroom. In the living room, her eyes fell upon the empty couch and the bunched-up blanket and mashed pillow on one end. He hadn’t even bothered to pick up, just left it for her of, course. She took care of everything while he played farmer by day, loner by night.

But no, not alone. How many nights did he spend with her? Now the thing that gripped her heart squeezed tighter till her whole chest ached. She picked up the blanket to fold it, but instead dropped onto the couch and buried her face in it, smelling his scent, as tears poured out to be soaked up by the soft fuzzy fabric.

God, what’s gone wrong? Everything is messed up. So…fucking…messed up.

But Melody couldn’t be. She had to be in control, because she was the one to take care of things. She would take care of Whitney and Troy. She’d watch out for the seagulls in the shadows. And she would make sure her father didn’t wander off or stuff dandelions down his throat. Because everyone depended upon her. Because….

Dad?

She sat up. Her father should be up by now, making coffee. She couldn’t smell anything. She sprang from the couch and moved down the hall to his first-floor bedroom. The door remained closed and she knocked, gently at first, and then with more force after the lack of response.

“Dad?” she called through the door, before easing it open and peering in.

Gone.

Damn! she thought.

She didn’t like him up and wandering about during the shadow flicker. She couldn’t trust what effect it might have or what he might be capable of doing.

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