4 Panic

I call Margaret multiple times but she's not picking. If she was going to do this, why bother giving her number?

Ugh!

It's very dark outside and I'm scared here.

I hear the howl again. This time it's a cacophony of sounds mixed with each other and I understand that it's not just one animal, there must be plenty of them like a herd.

Shit!

I get down from the bed and scrunch myself to fit under it. What if those animals parade into the house? Where the hell is Margaret?

I call her again but even after a full ring, she doesn't pick up. Sweat beads form on my forehead which I wipe furiously. The howling hasn't stopped. In fact, if I'm not imagining, it sounds nearer than before.

I suddenly remember something. Margaret did mention they will be chatting for awhile before sleeping which means everyone must be in the living room or still at the dining hall.

I slowly come out from under the bed and kneel to peep out of my windows.

Blanket of darkness engulfs everything in the vicinity. I can't make out much but under the thin shade of Moonlight, I find that there's movement in the woods but can't exactly see what's going on.

I jump out of there and rush down the stairs in my nightgown. The stairs creek under my weight and my footsteps are the only sounds I can hear apart from my wildly beating heart.

Nobody is there in the living room. It's very quiet and completely empty. I roam around the house and open the doors to other rooms but it's all empty.

Has everyone abandoned me in the house? All alone?

I call Aunt Edith next.

The howling is at its peak now and there's nobody here.

Oh my god! this is bad! very very bad! Panic builds in my heart rapidly and thuds insane.

"pick up! pick up! pick up!", I keep chanting while trying continuously for Aunt Edith but she doesn't pick either.

What the hell is wrong with this family!?! What are they doing outside at the middle of the night?

This is crazy. The sound is getting louder and louder and I understand something is happening very near the house.

Fuck, is it too late?

I run and latch the front door first and sprint towards the kitchen next. I take a knife in hand and run to the window near stairs. If nobody is there to protect me, I'm gonna do it myself.

I hid there for sometime clutching the knife in my hands tightly.

Everything is suddenly so quiet.

No howling, no sounds, no chatter in the woods, just the eerie silence outside where a blanket of darkness is spread along the horizon. I hear my own ragged breathing from all the fanatic running around.

I can't see much from this self reflective glass, so, I create a lens with my hand and latch it to the door to see the outside view. Something is moving along the edge of the forest. But it's a complete blur from here and before I can notice what's happening, it's gone.

Did I just imagine seeing it?

I hug myself to soothe the panic, because of the gooseflesh all over my body.

Weird! Weird! Weird! My mind keeps warning me.

I can't even tell if I'm over imagining stuff or it's real. I've never lived anywhere near a forest before. Hence, I have no idea how to react in these situations. My mom had lived in a small village similar to this during her childhood. She had told me many stories about it but I usually end up getting scared with insomnia every night which made her eventually stop.

This is a nightmare. I should've never come here even though it was killing me to be in my parents place.

The doorknob slowly turns. Only a small creek and it is fully opened by someone. Who is there outside?

I clutch the knife very tightly and wait for the impact to happen, but nobody enters inside. I latched the door from inside, so don't know how anybody opened it from outside. I gulp hard and wait there quietly. Still, nothing happens.

Minutes pass like hours and I'm still sitting near the window crouched down. My body is killing me and I'm so tired. But, I don't move.

it's been quiet for awhile now and everything seems settled.

I assumed for some reason that once the commotion is over, everyone in this family might magically appear through the front door. But that doesn't happen and I'm still left alone in this huge horror house.

It's freezing cold in here. I didn't feel it before, because of all the adrenaline rush, but now that silence has won over all the calamity from a minute ago, I come to terms with all the uncomfortableness around me.

I slowly walk up to the front door and close it forest and then find a place near the fireplace and sit on the rug. I rub my palm together which have almost turned into ice. Thank god, somebody in this crazy family had thought of lighting up the fireplace before going out.

Hmph!

Seriously..... where could they be at this time? Is this why Margaret told they don't sleep much? Are they vampires? Maybe I need to subject them under sunlight and test that theory.

I read a shit ton of fantasy stuffs as that's my favorite genre. So, whenever I come across something crazy, my mind automatically jumps to mythic or fantasy. But I blame dad for this one, because he was the one who encouraged me to read all those novels and books since childhood.

Because of that, since I was a small kid I always wished for a cool superpower. Though the only power I could come up with till now is invisibility. Even if I'm in a room full of people, I try to make myself so quiet and invisible to them. For some people, it might be a sad thing but I really love it. But at times, even this small super power doesn't work because someone always finds ways to bother me.

I wait patiently with my chin on my palm but nobody returns home. Inspite of the fire nearby, I start shivering and I'm so tired and falling asleep too. I need to get back to my bed. At least my room was warm, I don't know how though.

I climb up the stairs again, slowly this time and fall on my bed.

My limbs feels like jelly due to all the accumulated fatigue of today. Too much for a first day!

I try Margaret's number again but she still doesn't pick. I give up and try to sleep.

I'm too scared to close my eyes shut, but I'm so sleepy and need to go to school tomorrow. It's my first day in there and I don't want to be with droopy eyes in front of a hundred people.

I finally force myself to close the eyes. As soon as I do that, I sleep within a matter of seconds. I decide that, no matter what happens, I'll never ever venture into the forest even for chopping logs for the fireplace.