Writers Note
What follows is the first (and hopefully not last) short story I put together in my one hour challenge. I was given a statement; for this story it was "Write about a person who has just found their dog terrified under the porch. What did that poor dog see? where is it currently? Is it going after the character? Such and such." from a friend. Using this I crafted the short story below entirely written in the hour. I know there is some slightly tense issues but as this is my first i'm hoping you will allow me a margin of error. But most of all I hope you enjoy this as much as I did writing it.
In the Silence
Silence. An unsettling silence that raises hairs and sends goosebumps climbing up a mans back. That's what awoke Mr Redman, not the usually barking of his good for nothing dog. He loved the damn thing, old and haggard as they both may be. He clambered out of bed and slipped into his red slippers, kept by his bed just for the occasions he needed to go tell the mutt to quit yapping at the crop dusters. Yawning, he left his room and wandered downstairs into his living room. It was modestly furnished, mostly wood with a few ornaments from the old days. Few paintings here and there, photos of him and Jenny; he hadn't seen her in a few years, not since the funeral of his wife... Stu flipped the switched and illuminated his surroundings. He waited, breathlessly waiting, for any sound of his mutt, waiting silently for the greeting he received when the lights flicked on.
He was beginning to become worried, far too worried for him to care about stepping out into the cold Alabama night with only his underpants on. Shivering he stepped out onto his porch and observed his crop field. It was as unsettling as the silence. A thick yellow sea, only swaying to the wind and looming out before him. Stu wasn't a superstitious man; he was a realist, but even something about the way that sea seemed to sway before him scarred him, no, it down right terrified him. Feeling more goosebumps he jogged down the stairs and down to the land that surrounded his home. Still no sign of the mutt... Where was he? Chasing crows perhaps, they did seem to appear around early morning. Was it early morning? Stu wasn't sure... It was dark yes, but most nights are here.
Shaking the unwanted fright out of himself, he turned and walked towards the kennel of his mutt. It was an ugly thing for sure; chipped red and brown paint, masking the old and rotting kennel he built himself while his wife was still alive and joking by his side, Stop that!You've already grieved, don't start this again. Rubbing his eyes, he looked back at the kennel half expecting the mutt to come bounding up to him in his hyper active mode that was usual for a dog of his years. But what greeted Stu was the silence once more. That silence. It was grating his mind, the way only silence could do. In blind desperation he started to call out, using his voice to break the silence. No answer, no yelp, no cry, no howl... Just silence. Stu was just about to freak out, that mutt was his life, without him he'd be lost, alone on this miserable fa - A soft whimper broke his thoughts. So soft that it was barely audible, so soft that Stu nearly thought he imagined it.
Another whimper, was it my mutt? Oh please, let him be okay. Stu turned around, scanning the dimly lit land for a clue to his mutts location. it was nearly impossible, if not for the coincidental light that reflected off his mutts big brown eyes. Stu edged forward to his hiding place under the porch, he was a mess. In over 6 hours he'd changed drastically, he looked like a dog on the verge of death; fur covered in dirt and mud, his entire body curled in fear and a silent snarl. Stu reached out to stroke him, but his mutt recoiled in terror, silently snarling at his hand. What the fuck is going on? My mutt? My loveable mutt? Even he is trapped in this constant silence. Then something... something broke the silence that was surrounding Stu since he awoken from his troubled sleep. A soft buzz, it swam through his ears and into his head.
It lifted him way from his cowering dog and around to face the corn sea. He stood, naked except from his underpants towards the eerie sea and night sky. Gazing, like he was still dreaming, he pictured a small dot of white ascending from the south. It grew brighter and brighter until the glow was enough to make Stu instinctively shield his eyes, he watched it, followed it's progress with his eyes until he was positive this way the epicentre of the buzz. Stu nearly staggered back with an uneasy unbalance; causing an unsettling whimper from his dog. Stu had almost forgotten his mutt was scared, he'd forgotten he was nearly naked.
This light was mesmerising, it held his attention like some other worldly spectre. Could this be? Don't be mad Stu? This... Aliens don't exist and you know that? But do I? Stu had many friends who would swear on their life's they'd been visited by the Mystery Men of Mars. Stu was starting to get worried all over again. He barely even noticed his mutt sniff the air then with bolt into the corn with a fleeting yelp. Stu was still gazing. He couldn't help it. The light had him, it was in his focus, he saw nothing more, nothing less. He never noticed the rustling in the corn sea. Never noticed the shadows swaying with it. Never noticed the propellers of the light spinning. He barely had time to react, as the undead fell upon him, ripping the guts from him like a piñata. Stu Remand died instantly, eyes still glaring at the helicopter above. Never hearing the exclaim of the pilot, screaming at the superior who said this farm was uninhabited. Never noticing the letter that lay, under his doormat repossessing the farm for government testing.
