The Bone Shadows Ring

Chapter One

Chapter 1
It was a night like any other. The wind and rain beat the side of my guard shack. The wind howled as it passed across the empty parking lot. The smell of fish and frogs flooded the air, The Lake must be turning over, I heard Tim, and my fellow security guard say as he cracked opened the guard shack window just enouphe to cause a breeze. I looked at my smart phone and found it to be 3 in the morning, I sighed a bit knowing them my shift was half over. “ I am going to go take I piss, I said as I put on my hard hat and glasses, Tim nodded, and I left the shack for the port a john that ironically bore my last name. I unzipped and did my business and to my surprise when I walked out I was surrounded in a thick fog. As I walked carefully back towards the shack I just so happed to look to my left and there in the midst of the fog was what looked like a big dog, I could only see a shadow but as I looked I watched as it got up on two legs and walked in to the woods. I figure I was seeing things and went back to the shack. The night continued on and I saw nothing more. I was thrilled when 6 am finely rolled around. I swiped my card got to my car and drove home; after all I had my wife, daughter, and a whole collage schedule to worry about.

By the next Friday I had forgotten all about the creature in the fog, after all with midterms due I had little time to do much of anything besides school and work my baby girl grew like a weed I could hardly believe it had been four months since she was born.
A quick look at the clock brought me back to reality it was almost 4:30 in the afternoon. I went to the bead room and quickly got dressed. I had been so distracted by my computer that I had lost track of time, I kissed my wife and daughter goodbye and rushed to the car. By the time I hit the road it was 5 o’clock. I got out of Olney around 5:10 and was off. The drive to the power plant was approximately 20 minutes going 65 MPH. it was a dreary day the sun barley peeked through the cloud cover and the smell of rain rode on the winds.
By the time I got to the plant a down pour had started. I ran up to the turnstile and swiped in. by the time I got in to the shack I was soaked “good morning Cecil” Cliff said jokingly as he handed me a rain coat. It’s going to be one of those days, and I don’t have to be here”, he smiled. I took the coat and made my way to the main gate house.
As I walked in a noticed James, he sat in fount of the main control computer I could not tell if he was in a good mood I choose not to say anything due to I could not pinpoint his mood grabbed my hardhat and safety glasses, signed in and left the shack as soon as I stepped out of the overhang the rain suddenly stopped. “Figures, damn Illinois weather ” I said as I walked back to my post. Cliff handed me hid DAR report sign. I read over it real fast and let him go, as he stepped out is rained again, I heard him cussing the entire way to the main guard shack I chuckled to myself and begin my shift it was slightly chaotic dealing with the end of shift stragglers that decided to leave late, it was more excitement then usual on nights. It was about 8 when everything returned to the norm of nights.
Even with the windows closed you could hear the sound of the winds inhuman howling. it was like nothing I had ever heard before and then I unexpectedly got the strange feeling of being watched.

My mind jumped back to the tree line and there it was the big black dog looking thing this time I could see it clear as day I watched as it went from wolf to man right before my eyes.” Did you see that Tim?” I asked short of breath.
He just look at me like I was crazy, I even grabbed my flash light and shined the light on the Creature but still he didn’t see anything. I looked back and it was gone, like it had never been there. I went to the mini fringe got a red bull and mountain dew mixture and downed it. Just to make sure I was awake. “You’re telling me that you didn’t see that large ass black dog.
“I think you need to calm down Cecil, there nothing out there” he took my light and shined it in that general direction. “See there is nothing out there” he said mockingly as he waved the flashlight two and fro. Oh how I wanted to take the flashlight and bash him in the face with it but I didn’t, I sat down at my posted and tried to figure out what the f*** was going on. I know what I had seen yet my partner didn’t see anything. Last I checked I was not crazy. So I spent the rest of the night researching black dogs on my phone. And what I found did not put my mind to rest it did quite the opposite, I have always had a strong belief in the spirit world. And a black dog was a sign of in escapable tragedy. I went home worried that night. My wife told me not to fret she would know if the black dog came. Ever since I have known her she has claimed to have a strong spiritual connection that apparently goes back many generations. I kissed Selene good night (despite it being 6:30 Saturday morning) and went to bed.
I didn’t sleep well I had too much rushing through my mind, I was getting behind in my classes not particularly by choice but rather their inability to accept that I had gotten a job halfway through the semester and due to my late hours I have been missing class. They said they understood but my grades have done nothing but fall due to absents, so much for working with me. The collage in general is nothing but drama; I thought that by coming here I would finely fit in, just to find out the students act more like there in high school then you would expect from supposed young adults. People in general have irritated me for as long as I can remember. Although the past few weeks have gotten worse, there are the thought that ran through my mind as I lay in bed trying to sleep.

When I finely drifted off I was met by nightmares. I woke up several times in a cold sweat.
When I got up at 2:00 in the afternoon I was still tired, nothing helped, I drank several cups of coffee took a shower and downed a small red bull. When I left for work I could still feel the sandman’s grit in my eyes.
This whole black dog thing brought back this particular memory. It was after my grandfather’s funeral, when we were there one of my ants became possessed by a native American spirit she said it was a shaman of some sort and caused her to hurt herself and gave her disturbing visions of the future. I know I shouldn't have gotten involved but I went with the pastor to help cast the spirit out. I wanted to prove to them that I was a strong Christian and so I prayed with them before the prayer began the pastor warned the others that only he could touch her he didn't want the spirit to attach its self to one of us. As the prayer got under way something happened the lights flickered and somehow my hand fell on to her at once I got this freezing sensation that entered my body through my hand... after the prayer had ended the pastor no longer felt the presence of the being in my ant...but he looked worried as he said this. That night was a Monday and the visions began to hunt me predicting small events in the near future that were always portrayed in grotesque and hunting vision thankfully the church was able to cast it out of me.

This was the first out of several times that I had to deal with a malevolent entity. Other than that I had had a pretty normal child hood, for the most part, my dad was a trucker so I wouldn’t see him for weeks at a time. Instead of a father I had a baby sitter who also acted as my home school teacher. I didn’t see much of my mother growing up, till I was older, my dad had a habit of trying to hide me from her.
At age 14 he decided to remarry, after a few months I had to move in with my new step mom and her kids, a big change for an only child, and it only got worse.
A month later I was in public school, Noble is a small town and a close nit community and I was instantly labeled an outcast. I hatted every day from 8th grad to 10th, which is when another situation happened. And I wound up living with my mother. In a much bigger school were it was easy to blend in after all no one really new anyone, Effingham was a paradise compared to noble. After I graduated I went to the army did well went and finished sniper school. Got 2 years in but had to get out do to vary sever bought of depression. It was a week before I got out I met Missa and she in away saved me from my self that was three years ago. We have had are up’s and downs; we worked out most of the marriage issues before we were actually married.

These are the things that I thought about Saturday night under the crescent moon, I did not see the black dog and the night it’s self-seemed to pass quickly. I was thrilled when it was finely time to go home. I went straight to bed. This time it was a dreamless sleep. When I finely woke up I went straight to my computer and began to play SIMS for some reason I like building houses on the game so I spent most of my time doing just that. After I finished my project I held Selene, the SIMS annoy me almost as much as real people there for I have no interest in the game past building the houses. After I played with my daughter a bit it was time for me to get ready to go back to work. As was my norm, little did I know how my norm would fall apart, and it would be this day that set the change in place. I left the house at 5:00 witch was late for me so I was rushing to make sure I got out of town before 5:10.
I was halfway to work in the middle of the country when I noticed a black car parked on the side of the rode, with its hood up, against my better judgment I stopped to help. As I got out of my car I couldn’t help but notice the driver, she was a young woman that looked like she was in her late teen’s early twenty’s. Her hair was as black as night and he skin was paper white, but the thing I noticed most was her eyes they were a bestial orange color.
“what seems to be the problem” I asked as I closed my car door. “I don’t know it just died, I am Gage by the way.” “Cecil” I replied and looked under the hood. When he looked back up he was meet a big black wolf. I didn’t know what to do I just stared in to its sky blue eyes. I was over whelmed by both a sense of fear and awe. The black car suddenly started backed up and disappeared down the road leaving only me and this wolf. After a few moments the wolf bit my left shoulder and ran off. I staggered back to my car and went to work. Jo saw the blood soaking my shoulder and sent me to the nurse. I was then sent to the Richland memorial hospital.