What Goes Bump in the Night

What Goes Bump in the Night





    Samantha sat on a big comfy bed, enjoying the quiet. Mark had taken the kids camping for the weekend. At first Samantha had protested, how much fun could you have camping with three children? But Mark had insisted and convinced her that he could handle the craziness. Samantha’s heart filled with a new admiration for her husband. She loved her family and had made sacrifices for them. Once she had a dream of being a famous artist, but now a stay at home mom. Days were filled with cleaning, helping with homework and other boring day to day chores. Remodeling their home also took up a lot of time. Their cottage styled home looked immaculate and the gardens outside had become the envy of the neighbors. Except, this did not stop the empty feelings inside her. Last week Mark surprised her. The attic had been turned into an art studio for her; he had cleared out all the cobwebs and even painted. Mark had gone one step further and supplied her new studio with materials. Canvas, paper, paint and paint brushes, chalk the list could go on and on. This was a studio that was completely stocked. How on earth had he done this under her nose? Samantha worried about the expense, but Mark reassured her it was worth every penny. The reason for taking the kids camping was to give her some quiet time to start painting again. She was nervous, and questioned if talent could die? But she had to try or her husband’s gift would go wasted.



    On the first night alone the plan was to relax. Equipped with two of her favorite movies, Little Women and The Secret Garden, Samantha's favorite movies. As well as a tray full of her favorite movie snacks; popcorn, milk duds, licorice whips and marshmallows. A total pig out and she was proud of it and to add to this indulgence, homemade hot chocolate topped with whipped cream.  Looking over the tray of goodies, Samantha realized that one item was missing. Downstairs was a batch of brownies topped with caramel that had been made earlier that day, Samantha started drooling thinking of those brownies. Little Women had started playing, but wasn’t that what a remote was for? Picking up the remote and paused the movie she got up and headed towards the kitchen. She had only gone done two steps when it happened, everything went dark.



    Out of surprise Samantha jumped and her left foot slipped from underneath her. Her legs went up, but her back hit the stairs. Samantha’s back instantly screamed out in pain, she reached out for the railing, but could not see it. Her body tumbled down the stairs like a rag doll. Head, feet, head over and over. Samantha kept screaming with every hard hit to her body. She heard a snap accomponied with horrendous pain in her shoulder. Her body came to a stop at the bottom of the stairs. When the fall was over Samantha’s head was at the bottom of the stairs, her face feeling the hard wood floor. Luckily her neck had not broken in the fall, but her ankle was not so lucky. Samantha's left shoulder was out of it's socket. Samantha was not yet aware of her injuries, she had blacked out.



        In that state of sleep, Samantha remembered a horrible time from her childhood.  A camping trip when she was small. After wondering in the woods, Samantha had become lost. Running in terror and falling in mud and twigs. Samantha watched as the light of the day slowly faded. Being wet, dirty and the knowledge of how afraid she felt, falling asleep in the cold, and being rescued. A memory that had been locked away and only resurfaced in nightmares bringing back the feeling of being completely helpless.



    Samantha awoke a few hours later to a body on fire with pain. The house was a dark pit and it was hard to tell what time it was now. Samantha tried to move but the attempts were rewarded with more agonizing pain and again, blacked out. Over the next few hours she was in and out of consciousness. Samantha did not hear her cell phone ring, located on the night stand upstairs. Mark had called to check in to see if everything was all right at home. At the camp site he began to have a bad feeling. Shaking it off Mark decided if Samantha didn’t call back by morning he would go home tomorrow.



    Samantha awoke again and reminded herself this time not to move. She tried to evaluate her injuries. Her head felt sticky and she realized she was bleeding. What could she do now? The house was dark and no one could hear her cries for help. It was still very early in the morning and no one would be outside. The power was still out and her cell phone was upstairs. There was no way she could make the trip up to the bedroom. It could have been across an ocean for how useful it was now. There was a foul smell in the air, a mix of blood, urine and something else. The foul odor was like rotting garbage, Samantha could not see, but both bones in her leg had broken in the fall and the fibula had burst through the skin. An infection was already setting in, but Samantha was not aware of the problem.



    Samantha felt alone, scared and wanted Mark and her kids to be at home. The dark and the physical pain only added to the feeling of misery. There was a chance they would come home since she had not called him back. But the wait was terrifying. The cabin was a three hour drive away and it would take time to pack. Rescue was hours away and there was nothing she could do. Samantha couldn’t help it and started to cry. Hot tears covered her face and she knew that she was trapped.



            Outside creatures slowly moved closer to the house. They were to blame for the power outage, because these creatures survived in the dark. Hidden beneath the dirt until a construction crew had accidentally awakened them and they awoke with a ravenous appetite.  They moved along on all fours, their slender limbs and body kept low the ground. Small heads with large silver eyes stared at the strange abomination before them. One opened its mouth, not only breathing but smelling the air as well. A mouth was filled with rows of tiny, sharp teeth. The light of the moon reflected against its amphibian skin. It made a strange growl, a call to the others. The strange creatures grouped together like a pack of wolves. They were getting ready to attack.



        Samantha heard the first screech, confused the alien sound. Her head ached from the horrible sounds coming from the outside.  The front door began to shake and there was another sound, a scraping sound of a creature with very sharp claws.