The week went by smoothly. There was an easy work schedule; not much traffic during the daily trips to and from work; no grocery shopping because of the new subscription to the "Food-Bits" delivery service; and easy weather. The nonchalant format gave him some time to be relaxed before going into what normally would be the start of an exhausted weekend. With no plans, or any particular vices to distract him from his boredom, he begins to clean around the house. The kitchen had a few dirty dishes from the lasagna that was baked on Tuesday; the dining room table had a few unopened packages from a Men's Health company, along with some empty ones; and the mail catch at the front door was littered with junk mail consisting of sales ad's, missing pets/vandalism reports from the neighborhood watch committee, and business solicitations. Strewn about in the pile is where he found the insurance check that was reissued with his name spelled correctly this time: Rupert Stevens.
After his unscheduled and thorough cleaning spree, he places the bulky bag of amassed trash at the garage door and briefly stands in silence; his mind races on what to do next. Still feeling antsy, he decides to take his first night run through the neighborhood to ease his restlessness. With a few stretches, and a couple of tugs, he slips into a pair of red joggers, a grey reflective sweatshirt, and his running shoes; jams his keys and phone into his pockets; throws on his headphones; grabs the bag of trash and locks the side door behind him. Then he takes off down the driveway tossing the bag into the trashcan as he passes it.
The night is eerily quiet, but the music blaring through Rupert's headphones prevents him from noticing. As he jogs from his cul-de-sac towards the lake, the moon light fully envelops the wooded area behind him, while the dim streetlights barely expose the way ahead. Scents of nature from the trees and flora fill the air as he breathes heavily; the winds shuffle fallen leaves is a hustle below his fleeting feet.
As Rupert rounds the first corner, a beam of light shining through the thicket catches his attention. Thinking that it's a vehicle on the adjacent property he slows his pace but continues on. A few moments later he is startled by the sight of Mrs. Gaven stumbling out from the tree line and down onto the road that they share. With music blasting in his ears, Rupert freezes in fear when he sees her; she cries for help when she sees him. As she crawls towards him Rupert pulls the headphones from his ears and begins to stammer from shock. He tries to retreat but realizes that the old lady has wrapped her arms around one of his legs.
"Please don't leave me!" she cries out.
As Rupert struggles to maintain his composure, a security vehicle comes barreling from
around the corner and screeches to a halt in front of them; a guard with a tense demeanor and
short conversation jumps out. Mrs. Gaven, still hysterical, tries to tell him what happened.
"That - thing! Is back! It.. tore down...the... back door! It took my dog!"
When he hears her say this, the guard immediately becomes visibly shaken to his core. He stares at Mrs. Gaven in disbeilf for a moment, then asks her where she wants to go.
Her reply, "To the hospital!"
After helping the elderly woman into his SUV, the security guard turns to Rupert and tells him to head home.
"Is everything ok? Is she demented? Rupert interjects.
The guard gives Rupert a stern look and says, "Sir! Please return to your house now!" He then enters his SUV and quickly drives off.
Rupert, left standing alone, chooses to ignore the security guard's order.
After shuffling the headphones into his pocket Rupert continues with his run. The stinging silence of the woods is interrupted by the rhythmic sounds of his feet hitting the pavement and his deep breathing. He maintains his pace by matching this rhythmic clatter; this is his first time running at this speed and distance with no assistance since the accident, and knee feels good. The synchronicity of his mind and body puts his mind in a trance and he thinks about all the things he can start getting back into; activities like hiking, sports, clubs, and women. As he is relishing in his thoughts a heavy thrashing sound from behind the tree line interrupts everything.
Rupert quickly breaks his stride, spins around, and scans the trees to locate the source of the noise. He sees something dark cowering in the brush; it is trying to stay hidden. Gripped with fear he continues to stare at the figure while slowly backing away; but then realizes that his house is in the opposite direction. He stops. Branches begin to snap as something heavy begins to slowly move toward the roadside. The hair on the back of Rupert's neck stands stiff as a heavy wave of butterflies' flutter in his gut; he stops breathing and continues to stare into the darkness.
In return, the darkness beyond the tree line gives Rupert a beastly snarl which entices him to run; and the moment he does this, the creature gives chase to him. Bushes crackle and splinter as the grunts and growls from the beast close rank on Rupert; but he is now struggling. He tweaked his knee when he took off running. Limping in pain and yelling in terror, he is able to turn around with just enough time to catch a quick glimpse of what is about to aggress him. The creature is hairless and bipedal, standing nearly six feet tall. As it grips his neck Rupert can feel the creature's cold and calloused skin against his; and the putrid smell it emits stings his lungs with every breath. His screams chill the darkness. And then it becomes eerily silent.
