After dark

Chapter 3

        I saw it,in the blink of an eye,like a flash of a shadow.I was stunned at what I just saw,it was the dead of night and I still saw it,it was darker than night.I took a step back from the window and was shocked,no one should've been outside anyhow.I quickly shut my window curtains and rested my back up against the window and exhaled a long deep breath.It couldn't be,it's not.Im not next,it won't take me,I kept repeating that in my head over and over again.I finally had enough courage to walk over to my bed and lay down,I stared at my window for over an hour,waiting and listening for the slightest sound or movement,but nothing happened,not for hours.I finally dosed off after hours of wrestles and pointless rest.

I was running,panting,adrenaline running through me.I was trying to get away from something,my mind telling me to get the hell away from whatever was after me,I saw my village in the distance and my speed increased.I ran into what was a barn,I put my back up against the barn wall,I was trying to regain my breath,my chest rising up and down,up and down,I could here my own heart beating.*bump bump bump bump*I saw something from the corner of my eye,sweat started dripping down my face,utterly terrified of what it could be.I saw someone in the shadows in the corner of the barn,"who's there?!"I commanded."You shall learn my name when I'm ready for you to know it my love"a deep voice that sent shivers down my spine said."what do you want?" I whispered ever so slightly,"come with me princessa,no harm will come to you ever again"he suddenly appeared in front of me whispering in my ear,he was so close I couldn't even see his face.I could feel his warm breath on my neck..so close

I woke up to a pool of sweat around me,I was breathing heavily,I looked up to the window and noticed it was day time,"thank god"I whispered to myself.Right on cue my mother called for me downstairs,"Athena,breakfast!"I got up from bed and quickly put on my outfit for the day.A dress and a cardigan my mother made for me a while back,it was made for outside.After changing clothes I splashed some water on my face and made my way downstairs."hello mother"I said,"hello darling,how did you sleep?"my mother said.i hesitated,thinking to myself if I should tell her or not,I couldn't  bear to watch her and my father worry anymore than they already were,so I lied"great like always"I said with a cheeky smile.After finishing breakfast I grabbed my satchel,said goodbye to my mother and went out the door.My village was small,only about 100 people live here,there used to be thousands but once girls started to disappear,people moved away,terrified to face what was out there.The reason me and my family didn't move was because my sister was still out there,well hopefully,she's been gone for 4 years.My father still looks for her,my mother still prays.I lost hope a long time ago,no girl has ever came back,not one.
My schedule for today consisted of :picking vegetables and fruits for my mother,washing clothes in the river,picking up horse feed and feeding our horses.Our local garden was basically in the middle of my village,today is wasn't as packed as it usually was,as I was about done picking everything I needed to get I noticed there was some commotion in a nearby bar."My little girl,my baby girl she's gone,oh she can't be gone!"I heard a woman sob,I slowly made my way over to the group of people and I saw a woman in the arms of a man,he was comforting her,he had tears in his eyes and the woman was crying a river,the sadness in her voice frightened me."another one gone"I whispered to only where myself could here,"when will this hell stop"an old voice croked,I turned my head to see an old woman named Ellie,she was in her 80's,me and her had have conversations over veggies or our latest dinners but that was about it.A single tear fell from her eyes,she looked at me and said"there is a curse upon this village"she said walking away,I looked back down to my veggies and fruits and decided it was time to make my way down to the creek.As I made my way into the woods it was very quiet,only I and a few other woman where washing our clothes,the creek was very cold since it was the beginning of January.I rushed through washing the clothes since my hands were numb,next stop was to buy the horse feed in a local shop in the village.I made my way into the shop owned by an elderly man named,zeppelin."hello"I said with a small smile.In response a got a nod and smile from him,I quickly picked the horse feed out and bought it quickly,before i left he grabbed my hand tightly.He looked my dead in the eyes,"don't let it take you,by god please don't!" I jerked my hand away and ran out the door,why would he say that I thought to myself,I decided I needed to hurry home since it was almost afternoon,the last thing I needed to do was feed the horses.When I made my way into the barn the horses neighed,they were happy to see me,I gently caressed there heads as a fead them,I gave them both sugar cubes i made for them.I was about to head home when I heard something in the corner,something rustling in the dark corner,my heart dropped to my stomach,I dropped the horse feed making my two horses jump in response.I called out who was there,no response,I slowly made my way to the dark corner,holding out my hand.