When Danger Knocks

Chapter Eleven

  The evening sun slid behind the horizon, leaving behind a canvas of fading pink and orange streaks across the sky, like a postcard scene without the words 'Wish you were here.' Houses in the neighborhood gradually flickered to life, their warm lights casting fleeting shadows behind drawn window shades. It was a nightly performance, each window telling its own story.

In the midst of this quiet suburban symphony, a sudden rustling cut through the air like an offbeat note. It shouldn't have been startling; after all, we lived in a peaceful neighborhood. I shrugged it off as probably the neighbor's mischievous puppy exploring the night. It seemed neighborly to return the little rascal to its rightful yard.

The darkness enveloped the landscape, and without the guiding light of the moon, I ventured cautiously down the porch stairs, my senses heightened. Each step forward was a blind step into the unknown. I called out softly for the puppy, following the faint sound of rustling leaves that beckoned me into the shadowy abyss. I hoped my journey wouldn't end with a painful tumble and a face full of dirt. As I rounded the corner of the house, I couldn't shake the feeling that something was amiss.

Suddenly, an unseen presence materialized behind me, a vice-like hand clamping down over my mouth. My arms were rendered useless, pinned tightly to my sides by an unrelenting force. Panic surged through my veins, igniting a primal instinct to fight back. I writhed and squirmed, desperate to break free from the grasp that threatened to silence me forever.

My legs flailed about, delivering swift and frantic kicks in the darkness, aimed at anyone who dared to stifle my screams. The heel of my foot collided with the unforgiving resistance of a shin. The immediate response was an agonized, guttural exclamation of pain. It was a voice I recognized all too well - Ray's. In that moment, I should have known I was in the presence of a wretched soul, the pungent aura of a loser lingering around him like a foul stench.

My struggles continued, but opening my mouth beneath his suffocating grip proved to be a formidable challenge. He knew the art of silencing a girl, and I was no exception. However, my determination prevailed, and I managed to part my teeth just enough to catch his middle finger between them. As I clamped down, Ray yelped once more, this time in sheer agony, and his grip on me faltered. A metallic taste filled my mouth as I bit down, causing me to involuntarily spit out something into the enveloping darkness. All I could think in that horrifying moment was, 'What in the hell had I just spit out?'

His voice dripped with expletives as he confronted me, his words laced with disbelief. "Why the hell did you bite me?" I couldn't help but roll my eyes at his utterly obtuse question. "Well, genius, perhaps it had something to do with the fact that you attacked me in the middle of the dark!"

The darkness still shrouded everything in obscurity, allowing me to perceive nothing more than vague, looming shapes. "I didn't attack you!" His futile protestations revealed the depths of his intellectual shortcomings. "Then what would you call it? You silenced me by clamping your hand over my mouth and pinning my arms to my sides." The rhythmic thud of his shoes on the ground grew louder, closing in on me.

I couldn't resist a darkly humorous retort, "I'll bite your damn finger off if you come any closer to me." As I strained my eyes against the inky abyss, searching for any sign of his presence, I found only an oppressive void, like black velvet absorbing every hint of light.

I couldn't help but wonder where he had vanished into this oppressive darkness. All around me, silence reigned supreme, an eerie stillness that left me with a gnawing sense of dread. Slowly, I began to retreat toward the safety of the porch. There was a flashlight tucked away in the side table drawer, and I intended to retrieve it. That monster was lurking somewhere nearby in the shadows, and I was determined to coax him out into the light.