Midnight Surprise

She lay on the couch listening to the rain patter on the roof. She pulled the blanket tighter around her and tried to focus on the late night tv re-run. A roll of thunder deafened the room. She cringed. Just great! She thought to herself. Perfect scenario. Home alone, at night, during a storm. Brilliant. She heard a noise. She straightened rigidly and tried to identify the sound. It stopped. Funny. I coulda sworn I heard-There it was again! She flew to the door, grabbed her jacket, and shoved on her boots. She softly opened the door and slid out. She stood, peering into the pitch-black night.
She walked quietly from her gravel driveway to the barn, her heart pounding, her senses alert. She strained her ears for sound, but it was hard to hear anything through the pounding rain. She pulled the heavy barn door open and dragged her cold, soggy body inside. She groped in the darkness for the lantern on the wall. It wasn’t there. Annoyed, she stumbled to the corner where she kept her competition supplies. After a few minutes of searching, she found a glowstick. She cracked it and shook it. It sent an eerie green glow across the floor. She couldn’t see very far with it. She walked slowly down the rows of stalls. The horses bobbed their heads sleepily.
As she turned to go back, she thought she saw a tall dark figure slide into the tack room, a small room set apart from the main barn. Terror streaked through her heart. Immediately, she crouched down. Had it seen her? Of course it did! She thought, panicky. I’m the only one in here with a light! She felt a tickle on the back of her arm and froze with fear. She turned slowly, only to find Spaz, the barn cat staring at her. “Stupid cat!” she whispered. She got up, half crouched, and tiptoed to the doorway of the tack room. Slowly she peered in. What? Nobody was there! She looked again. What’s going on? She stood up fully and looked around the barn. This was really creeping her out.
As quickly as she could, she retreated from the barn, being careful to close the door tightly behind her. She took a deep breath. The rain had stopped and the air smelled fresh. The clouds had parted and the moon shone through brightly. A movement caught her gaze to the left. She couldn’t believe her eyes! Reins tied to a small aspen trunk stood a black horse. It was staring directly at her. The moon shone down on it, turning its black orbs to a milky glow. She spun around and ran as fast as she ever could back up the driveway. Her heart pounded in her ears. She had had enough. She would call her uncle who lived down the road and ask him to come get her.
She got to the house and found the door open and the lights off. Had she left the door open? She shook her head. She couldn’t remember. She stepped inside and skittered across the floor to the phone. She picked it up and started to dial. It didn’t make any noise. What?! She was suddenly aware of a movement behind her. She froze. She spun around, and as she did, the lights turned on. She screamed. About a dozen people, dressed in black, jumped out from various places around the room. “Happy Birthday!” They shouted in unison. Only then did she see the banners and balloons. She smiled sheepishly.