did what he told me. I went downstairs, locked the door, made sure the windows were all locked down, then went back up to my apartment to wait out the coming storm.
Three hours later, around eight-thirty in the evening, I watched through the cracked shutters in my bedroom as the sun dipped below the horizon and the moon came up in the east. The sky, clear of clouds, made me wonder what kind of storms they had in Missouri? It looked like a beautiful night out.
Suddenly, howls and yaps sounded in the distance, making me shiver. I rubbed my arms, trying to ward off the feeling of foreboding. While the defiant part of me had been determined to stay in Peculiar, the chicken-butt side of me wanted to jump into my truck and head for the sunny coast of California.
I checked out the window again.
What I saw frightened me as much as the howls.
Deer, opossums, raccoons, and all sorts of wildlife skirted the street, running as if their lives depended on it. I read about animals acting weird when a storm was brewing, but what the hell kind of weather would make them all to run through the middle of a human-populated town?
Not watching was impossible. I hadnât experienced this much craziness since the night a friend drunk-dialed me at four in the morning to ask me if she could date my cheating ex. (Totally breaking girl codeâthou shall not date thy friendâs ex ever.) I never forgave her.
A fawn ran out from between the general store and the antique place right into the stampede. My heart thumped in my chest as it wove itself into the fray. I thought about Ruthâs little boy, running around his house with his fatherâs antlers clutched to his head.
My anxiety upped a notch.
Biting my fingernails, I watched it stumble and couldnât hold back a gasp. This was worse than when Bambiâs mother got shot.
A raccoon whacked the fawn in the side, sending the creature tumbling to the ground outside in front of my building.
It was horrible! Even the squirrels were running it over. Its little mouth opened as if to scream.
I couldnât watch anymore. I know Iâd been warned to stay inside, and the logical part of my brain told me the move was TSTL, but I had to do something to help the poor baby animal.
I hit the stairs running and nearly tumbled myself. Sliding across the restaurant floor, I grabbed the keys off the hook near the door and unlocked the deadbolt. The noise outside had grown to a roar. Keeping myself pinned against the building, I waited for a small break then dashed out into the road and grabbed the fawnâs leg.
The damned thing kicked the shit out of me with its back legs as I pulled it to safety around my 4X4 truck. As soon as I had it cleared of the chaos, it jumped up on all fours and bounded off down the street without a glance at me.
No thank you , no sorry about the bruised ribs, no nothing . Ungrateful beast!
I turned to get back into the store, but Iâd done something wrong when Iâd unlocked it from the inside. Somehow, it had stayed locked on the outside. I heard a roar, not just the roar of the multitude of animals, but a real, honest-to-goodness roar.
A large black bear stood on its hind legs, then dropped into a gallop, coming up the street my way. I fumbled for the keys in my pocket, dropped them once, and panic had me shaking so bad I couldnât get the right one into the damn hole!
Why couldnât I have just left Bambi alone? After all, it was nature that only the strong survive.
Dropping my keys, again, I bent to retrieve them. Then it happened. It felt like a giant tree branch whacked me hard across my back, hammering me to the concrete sidewalk. I rolled over with a groan, and a dog or dog-like animal, maybe a coyote like Babel had mentioned, with the darkest brown eyes jumped onto my chest.
It was the vision. It was coming true. Right fucking now!
I screamed as it snarled and snapped, ready to make me a Sunny-snack. Throwing my elbow up, I
Three hours later, around eight-thirty in the evening, I watched through the cracked shutters in my bedroom as the sun dipped below the horizon and the moon came up in the east. The sky, clear of clouds, made me wonder what kind of storms they had in Missouri? It looked like a beautiful night out.
Suddenly, howls and yaps sounded in the distance, making me shiver. I rubbed my arms, trying to ward off the feeling of foreboding. While the defiant part of me had been determined to stay in Peculiar, the chicken-butt side of me wanted to jump into my truck and head for the sunny coast of California.
I checked out the window again.
What I saw frightened me as much as the howls.
Deer, opossums, raccoons, and all sorts of wildlife skirted the street, running as if their lives depended on it. I read about animals acting weird when a storm was brewing, but what the hell kind of weather would make them all to run through the middle of a human-populated town?
Not watching was impossible. I hadnât experienced this much craziness since the night a friend drunk-dialed me at four in the morning to ask me if she could date my cheating ex. (Totally breaking girl codeâthou shall not date thy friendâs ex ever.) I never forgave her.
A fawn ran out from between the general store and the antique place right into the stampede. My heart thumped in my chest as it wove itself into the fray. I thought about Ruthâs little boy, running around his house with his fatherâs antlers clutched to his head.
My anxiety upped a notch.
Biting my fingernails, I watched it stumble and couldnât hold back a gasp. This was worse than when Bambiâs mother got shot.
A raccoon whacked the fawn in the side, sending the creature tumbling to the ground outside in front of my building.
It was horrible! Even the squirrels were running it over. Its little mouth opened as if to scream.
I couldnât watch anymore. I know Iâd been warned to stay inside, and the logical part of my brain told me the move was TSTL, but I had to do something to help the poor baby animal.
I hit the stairs running and nearly tumbled myself. Sliding across the restaurant floor, I grabbed the keys off the hook near the door and unlocked the deadbolt. The noise outside had grown to a roar. Keeping myself pinned against the building, I waited for a small break then dashed out into the road and grabbed the fawnâs leg.
The damned thing kicked the shit out of me with its back legs as I pulled it to safety around my 4X4 truck. As soon as I had it cleared of the chaos, it jumped up on all fours and bounded off down the street without a glance at me.
No thank you , no sorry about the bruised ribs, no nothing . Ungrateful beast!
I turned to get back into the store, but Iâd done something wrong when Iâd unlocked it from the inside. Somehow, it had stayed locked on the outside. I heard a roar, not just the roar of the multitude of animals, but a real, honest-to-goodness roar.
A large black bear stood on its hind legs, then dropped into a gallop, coming up the street my way. I fumbled for the keys in my pocket, dropped them once, and panic had me shaking so bad I couldnât get the right one into the damn hole!
Why couldnât I have just left Bambi alone? After all, it was nature that only the strong survive.
Dropping my keys, again, I bent to retrieve them. Then it happened. It felt like a giant tree branch whacked me hard across my back, hammering me to the concrete sidewalk. I rolled over with a groan, and a dog or dog-like animal, maybe a coyote like Babel had mentioned, with the darkest brown eyes jumped onto my chest.
It was the vision. It was coming true. Right fucking now!
I screamed as it snarled and snapped, ready to make me a Sunny-snack. Throwing my elbow up, I
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