"Honey...im so very cold....it hurts..."
His wife murmured into her pillow. He rolled over half sleep himself and reached a hand out to feel for his wifes hand. Her small slender fingers felt like ice on his. He sighed and sacrificed his side of the blanket, tucked her hand back under and covered her. He got up and looked at the clock, it read 3:15am. The tv was muted, on a never ending infomercial. The house was quiet....yet he couldn't explain why he felt so unsettled. He realized he was now left without a blanket, so he padded quietly out into the hall closet to find another one. The air in the darkness was so heavy, it felt as if bricks were on his chest. He reached the closet and realized he didn't hear the comical puppy snores they all grew so accustomed to hearing when they got the new dog. Grabbing the first blanket he saw, he turned and headed towards his son's room. The ninja turtle night light he's had since he was 3 and scared of monsters, glowed eerily in the corner. He made his way over to the bed where both his son and the dog slept together. He reached down to pet the dog and realized neither was moving. He touched his sons hand, cold as ice like his mothers. The dogs snowy white fur stuck out at odd angles, frozen. Panicking he ran to open the window and what he saw floored him. No street lights, no lawn lights, just a blood red sky, and what appeared to be black snow. No other homes or cars could be seen, the black substance covered it all. Beyond the street was a void. Dark and deep. Within that void, something let out an unearthly growl. Before he could hurriedly shut the window, something in the reflection caught his eye. What seemed like a cloud of dark mist, floated behind him. He watched his reflection as it drew closer. Unable to move he stood, eyes wide, chest heaving, fists clenched.
"It seems....we have missed one." The dark cloud said in guttural voice. Everything in his body screamed for him to run. Protect himself. Protect his family. It was too late. A deep aching cold invaded his body starting from his legs, creeping its way up. He began to shiver violently as tears poured down in stinging streams, freezing as they reached his chin. He felt so cold. So very cold. His eyes glassed over, his vision fading into a white haze. The last thing he felt was blinding pain as razor-sharp nails plunged into his chest and closed around his still beating heart. Something... someone....opened his mouth and sucked out his very essence. He knew no more.
"NO!" She sat up in bed ripping away her sweat soaked sleep mask. Her husband shivered in his sleep beside her.
"Honey im so cold....so very cold....it hurts.." The clock on her nightstand read 3:15am.....
