Encounter

Chapter Six

Sarah awoke from her lifelike nightmare. She was drenched in sweat from head to toe. The smell of death burned in her nostrils. She sat up in bed, the morning sun's light was pouring into the room through the window. She could feel the sun's heat radiating into the room.

Nathan was still fast asleep, not noticing a large amount of sweat that had soaked the bed sheets. Sarah slowly pulled herself out of bed, the warm morning air blasting against her cold sweaty skin. The sound of the birds singing filled the room, which made Sarah feel warm inside, replacing the cold, scared feeling she had woken up with.

She walked into the bathroom; it was cooler in there. She removed her sweat ridden clothes and got into the shower. She jumped slightly, as the warm water blasted against her icy cold skin. The water trickled over her skin, falling to the ground; she could feel the sweat washing away in the warm water. It did not, however, wash away the images in her head from the nightmare. The black wolf was still on her mind, those devil red eyes staring at her and looking into her soul. She shuddered at the thought.

She heard Nathan stirring in the bedroom. Getting out of the shower, she wrapped a soft cotton towel around herself and walked out of the bathroom, back into the bedroom. Nathan sat up in bed, looking in amazement at the pool of sweat in the bed.

"Jeez babe, was last night that good?" he said with a cheeky smile on his face. Sarah smirked slightly at his cockiness.

"No. Sorry to burst your bubble, but I had a really bad nightmare and it was so life like," Sarah replied, she had the slight hint of being ashamed in her voice. Nathan picked up on this tone and moved out of bed to his wife's side. He pulled her into a strong comforting hug.

Sarah felt the instant feeling of protection in his arms, that nothing could touch her. Nathan began brushing her hair gently, as he held her. It tingled, as his fingers pulled effortlessly through her hair. All her thoughts and fears of the nightmare melted away.

"What's this dream that you have had then?" Nathan asked. Sarah told him about the black wolf and how it had broken into the house, attacking her and savagely killing her. Nathan stood there in awe, as she told him the story.

"There's no wonder you sweated so much, what a horrible dream," Nathan said. "Do you want me to stay home today?" Sarah shook her head violently; she was not going to let this nightmare set her back.

"No. Go to work, I'm going to do some housework and then go for a little walk this afternoon to clear my head," Sarah said. Nathan waited a moment to make sure she was sure, he then went and took his bath and changed into his suit and tie.

Sarah also got changed into a comfortable pair of jogging bottoms and a plain vest top. The couple had a morning cup of tea together, and then Nathan left for work.

Sarah spent the morning watching the morning television shows and the morning welsh news. She then busied herself with some spring cleaning around the house.

It was late afternoon before she got time to get out of the house. She pulled on a warm cardigan and walked into the garden. It was such a beautiful day, the sunlight blasted through the tree canopy above, lighting up the garden. The river nearby shined in the light, as it wound its way past the house.

It was spring and it could be felt in the air. The smell of spring was in the air. The air was full of smells ranging from the soft dried dirt below her, accompanied with the smell of fresh spring grass worming its way out from the winter deprived soil. The faint aroma of burning wood from a nearby farm surrounded the air, taking Sarah back to last year's family barbeque which they hosted at the house.

Sarah walked out onto the main road and began her afternoon walk. The lane was quiet with not many cars travelling past. She walked on for miles, enjoying the fresh air, the sun warming her skin and her entire body. She had no plan on where to go, she just wanted to walk, and a walk is what she did.

She wanted to clear her mind of the night's events and also thoughts which had slowly crept into her mind since Nathan had left for work that morning. Reaching the top of a steep hill was when Sarah stopped to regain her breath. Her heart was beating frantically. She had stopped by a small clearing in the hedge line, which had a small iron gate between it.

The scenery from where she stood was breathtaking. She gazed out over the deep valley; pockets of forests scattered across it like small wooden towns, the colours and the smells invading her senses.

Before long, however, she could sense the cold feeling she had felt the past week crawling back over her body. She shivered as a soft rustle of wind crept past her, tickling the back of her neck. The feeling that someone or something was behind her. Summoning all the courage she could, she turned around, there was no-one there.

The cold feeling got worse, as she started to walk back toward the house. She began to worry that something big was coming, but she did not know what or when it was coming. Just that it was coming and it wasn't going to be good.