Twisted

Darkness crept over the small town as one by one, the clouds banded together to blot the sun from the sky. The moon mounted its perch in the sky, its dull light waker than that of its predecessor on this cold autumn evening. Barren branches trembled in the wind, looking like the slender arms of creatures that only emerged with the moon's summit.

Gail pulled her scarf tighter about her throat, then stuffed it in the front of her jacket to keep it from flapping in her face. The wind tugged at her long blonde tresses, a game made amusing by the ethereal giggle of the rustling of the bushes.

Being afraid of the dark was simply ridiculous, however, Gail believed that fearing what or who lurked in the dark was not. Shoving her gloved hands deep in her pockets, she continued to trudge the last five blocks home. The steady rythym of her black boots striking the pavement and the the jingle of the keychains hitting her backpack were the only sounds keeping her company. They were familiar sounds afterall.

A fluffy gray cat darted into her path, missing Gail's legs by inches. She froze, frightened, and watched the cat scamper away. Gail wasn't the nly skittish one out that night. Looking around, first at the silent houses, a few porch lights on, then at all the parked cars, doors no doubt locked tight, she deemed it safe to continue the walk home.

She really needed a car to drive from home to work and back, and from home to the community college, which was now being locked up til morning, three blocks behind her.

Four more blocks to go.

Gail's mind created more reasons to get a car. First, it was going to be an extremely cold winter, the temperatures of autumn already reaching the thirties every other night or so. Second, carrying the heavy backpack around wasn't exactly a comfort to her back; it was already pretty strained from sitting hunched over a receptionist's desk all day long, which, off the subject, was another problem in the process of being resolved.

Three more blocks to go.

Reason number three, her mind decided to drag up, here in the stifling darkness, was the fact that it would be much safer.

Her eyes flicked to a large black heap aout five feet to her right. The mass raised up, two things like large wings splayed and ready for flight. Holding back the urge to scream, she paused in her walk behind a large oak tree. Maybe if she stayed silent the thing would pass and leave her unscathed.

Unlike the others. No one knew what had mauled and killed the other girls, but surely, in Gail's mind, it was no human.

Minutes passed like hours before she peered cautiously around the large tree trunk, wary of the threat that loomed ahead.

Two red bulbous eyes stared back at ther from within the black mass, unblinking, unmoving.

Gail shrieked, which caused the red eyes to close or disappear. The dark mass moved out into the street, revealed in the street lamp's light as another cat, the ruddy orange beast partially trapped in a black, plastic garbage bag.

"Darn this overreactive imagination!" She shook her fist as if she were scolding a child instead of being angry with her pounding heart. A breeze chilled her skin, but dried the tiny beads of perspiration that had broken on her forehead in the moment of panic.

She began to walk again, her mind wandering on more than it ought to for the night.