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CONNER EXCERPT
USED WITH PERMISSION, COPYRIGHT MIRANDA STORK
She was not sleeping well tonight.
...Something was racing towards her, crashing through the branches and leaves. She was sobbing, and running as fast as she could, but she was cold and wet, and her feet were cut and bleeding. Her clothes hung off her, heavy and chilling.
A small clearing, lit with brilliant sunshine, danced in front of her, teasing her with the sight of it. She ran towards it, trying to scream for help, but her mouth felt full of cotton wool and no sound came out.
Behind her, the breathing and snarling became louder and louder. Frantic, she looked around her for somewhere to hide, but all she could see were trees-no, wait! There was a small hut!
Crying with happiness, Erin began to run towards it, but she was knocked flying by something.
She turned to look, and began to back away in panic. An eight-foot black creature with burning amber eyes glared at her, and began bellowing.
“You must never go inside! NEVER!”
Erin sat bolt upright, cold sweat dripping from her forehead. She took a deep breath, shakily, and switched her bedside light on.
“Oh, Erin.” she murmured to herself, wiping the sweat from her brow. She felt stupid for taking in Conner’s stories so much.
Still shaking, she slid out of bed, and reached for her pink silk dressing gown. Slowly, she pulled it on, and yawned.
Shaking her head to wake herself up, she began to walk downstairs. Her wool carpet felt rough and very real beneath her bare feet; the perfect antidote to helping wake her up. As she reached her downstairs hallway, she fumbled on the smooth white walls for the light switch. The light above her bursting into life, illuminating the hallway; and she pattered along into the kitchen.
Snapping the fluorescent above on, Erin waited as its humming light came to life, allowing her to see her small kitchen; its tiled floors and white walls blinding her for a second.
Erin opened one of her maple cupboard doors, the door squeaking in protest on its hinges, and reached inside to take out a glass. Sleepily, she walked over to her kitchen sink, and began to run water into the glass, the cool water filling it up with a rushing sound.
A sudden quick movement in the shadows outside of her kitchen window made her look up in shock. Squinting, she peered outside, her reflection copying her in the glass.
“It must have been a cat or something.”
Erin muttered to herself. As she turned away from the window, she suddenly heard a very
definite ‘thump’. The kind of thump that you know is someone-or something-letting itself be known to you.
“Alright, what the hell is that?” Erin said aloud, more bravely than she felt. She slammed her glass down on her kitchen table, the clanging noise actually making her feel more panicked. Stories about women who live alone being preyed on by murderers raced through her brain. Shaking those thoughts from her head, she began to walk slowly towards her back door.
Her heart thumping wildly, she took a deep breath, and unlocked her white UPVC back door, flinging it wide open.
Standing less than six feet away from her door was a large, black wolf-creature. It was stood on four paws, but it had two glaring green eyes focused completely on Erin. It’s long tail hung behind it, quite still, as it continued to stare at Erin, daring her to defy it standing there. Erin stood frozen for a second, the blood draining from her body, making her feel cold, and then swiftly slammed the door shut.
She fumbled hurriedly with her lock, and began to walk backwards towards the kitchen door, snapping the fluorescent off as she walked away.
She tripped over a chair leg, unable to see in the dark, crying out as she hit the hard floor.
Shaking, she began to crawl backwards to the door, hitting the far kitchen wall instead.
Sobbing silently with fear, she reached up onto the top next to her, moving her fingers until she touched one of her kitchen knives, left on the top from when she had made her dinner.
Outside, she could still hear the creature breathing heavily, snarling and snuffling at her doorstep. Trembling, she gripped the knife to her chest, and squeezed her knees up, sat in a foetal position.
Hours passed until eventually she heard the creature padding off, her head swimming with fatigue. Erin sat up for what felt like even more hours, listening for the creature coming back, eventually falling into an uneasy sleep.
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