Welcome to a Nightmare

Elsewhere Part 4: Chapter 29: Not Charmed

Elsewhere Series Part 4:

Chapter 29: Not Charmed

A/N: Just so the readers know, I don't hate Kathryn at all, I've just made her become severely affected by the curse to be considered abusive. Her terrible behaviour is also based on stress and depression, which I'm sure everyone can agree that these things can change a person significantly. This is not who she is, the curse has taken all hope and this is how she's been cursed.

David Nolan moans as his alarm begins buzzing on his phone. He frantically tries to turn it off, so it won't disturb his wife sleeping next to him. He knows how much she hated to be woken up early, especially after she'd finished her night shift at the hospital. He sits up in bed and slowly swings his legs out in order not to disturb her slumber. He then shifts along the floor, knowing where to avoid the squeaky floorboards in their tiny home.

The place that he and Kathryn lived was hardly ideal. The place was extremely old and was in constant need of repairs. The roof leaked in the bathroom, the floorboards were rotting away, the cellar constantly flooded because of the Maine weather, and the overall structure of the house was nearing collapse with the first snowflake. David worked day and night to keep the place standing, which was on top of his long and demanding job in the heart of Stygian. His wife insists that they move to a better place, but they both know that they couldn't afford it. It was never their "dream" home, especially for a married couple and their loyal companion.

A familiar face greets him at the door. His dog, Wilby had been lying in the hallway, likely protecting his masters, and when he sees David, the pooch is immediately up with his tongue hanging out and his tail wagging in excitement. He lets out a small woof to let everyone know that he was awake too.

"Shh!" David hisses sharply to his companion. "You'll wake up Kathryn." He pauses and listens. He hears her groan and roll over, but not stirring any further. He shuts the door to allow her to sleep.

The dog obeys the order and remains quiet, his paws padding down the hall as he follows his master to the kitchen where David begins preparing breakfast for himself and his wife. The stove isn't working when he turns the dials on, so he must smack the stovetop a few times before the pilot light comes on. He grabs what he thinks is a clean frying pan from the pile of dishes in the sink. Neither partner ever seemed to find the time to do anything. There was a pile of week-old laundry in the corner of the room, still waiting to be taken to the laundry mat. He begins frying some bacon in the pan, offering a few slices to Wilby. He makes enough for himself since Kathryn is a vegetarian and then brings out a skillet for some eggs. He also makes a pot of coffee but knows it will be ice cold by the time his wife gets up. As the kitchen fills with the smell of frying meat and toasted eggs, Wilby begins pawing at the back door and whimpering. David goes and opens the door for the dog to run outside into their tiny yard.

He leans on the back door with his cup of coffee filled with milk, watching his dog run around and sniff various places. Part of him wishes that his dog had a bigger yard to run around in and that he and his wife could actually take him for nice long walks around the city. Unfortunately, Stygian was notorious for drivers, whether drunk, or high, or both, trying to mow down pedestrians or run over dogs. More often than not, when he did walk Wilby, the pair might come upon someone's dog or a stray cat who wasn't fast enough to get out of the way. Some even still had their leashes on. When he had the time, David would come back with a tarp and a shovel, taking the poor animal to the edge of town and giving it a proper burial. However, despite everything that could be considered dismal and depressing about their lives, Wilby would still always wag his tail in happiness. The man begins to envy his dog; not having a care in the world and somehow remaining positive, even in the most unfortunate situations. No bills to pay, no job to do, no marriage to try and fix...