The Best of the Horror Society 2013 by unknow

Author:unknow
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: The Horror Society Press
Published: 2013-10-25T04:00:00+00:00

* * * Callie awoke the next morning feeling anything but refreshed. She had slept poorly, although nothing had disturbed the silence of the house. Every time she’d started to drift off to sleep, she would jerk back awake, listening over the pounding of her heart for a tapping at the closed bedroom door. Hearing nothing, and unwilling to get up and check the house, she had lain in bed until her heart slowed again. Then as she began to drift off, she would jerk awake once more. The night had seemed to last a week, but she had nothing to blame it on except her own overactive imagination.

Now she went in to take a shower, hoping the hot water would revive her a little. A glance at the mirror made her wince; there were dark circles beneath her eyes, and she looked at least as bad as she felt. The shower helped a little bit, but not nearly enough. Once out and dressed, she dried her hair and applied some make-up, hoping to transform her visage from zombiequeen to something approaching normalcy. Going into the kitchen, she brewed some coffee, thinking that perhaps the caffeine could pick up where the shower had left off. Breakfast was a bagel with jam, and her mood lifted as her blood sugar reacted to the food. Fixing a cup of coffee, she steeled herself. She couldn’t go to work without checking the sunroom. If she did, she’d just worry about it all day.

The double doors between the family room and the sunroom were still closed and locked. Quietly she approached, pressing one ear against the door to listen in case there was anything moving on the other side. After a few seconds, she laughed a little breathlessly. “If Cass was here to see this now, she’d laugh until she peed her pants,” she said softly, and reached up to release the ceiling bolt. Forcing herself not to hesitate, she unlocked the doors and opened them.

The sunroom was tidy and silent. There was no black bird crouched in the corner, or bracing for attack when she opened the doors. Nothing had been disturbed; there was no indication that the bird had even gotten into the house. Across the room, at the base of the French doors, a small shard of glass glittered.

Callie took a deep breath, and crossed the room. Without giving herself a chance to come up with any excuses, she pulled up the Roman shade. The patio beyond the doors was empty, but for the table and chairs set to one side. Assured that the bird was gone, she squatted to look at the bottom pane of glass in the French door. The windowpane was about a foot square, set in the wooden door panel. Almost directly in the center, a triangular piece was missing, perhaps an inch long by maybe a quarter inch wide at one end. She picked up the shard and turned it to see that it would fit perfectly.

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