Shaking, I started forward, wincing at the pain in my foot, aiming for the direction I hoped the neighborhood lay in.
Flinching and heart lurching with every sound, I concentrated on traversing the desiccated grove, ignoring the fresh spurt of fear that surged through me as I stepped into the darker forest beyond.
The thought of blindly walking through these woods, oblivious of the spider webs no doubt trailing across my face, or any other danger, made me shudder.
Something made a loud snap behind me and I fought the urge to run. There is nothing behind you, I told myself. Nothing.
After several long minutes while I worked to navigate the woods without tripping or running into a tree trunk, I finally made it out and started across Patsy’s lawn, which was illuminated by a porch light and one of those standing lanterns by the driveway. As I limped my way across, I prayed one of the neighbors didn’t look out their window for some reason. It would be difficult to explain without a certain degree of embarrassment why I was roaming around in the middle of the night in my underwear. This was not the kind of impression I had been hoping to make upon my neighbors.
I crossed Patsy’s driveway, hobbled across the front yard, and climbed the steps.
Had I locked the door? I grasped the knob and was relieved when it turned in my hand.
I moved inside, flipping on the overhead light, closed the door, and locked it.
It suddenly occurred to me that someone might have gotten in.
Feeling my lack of sleep and the aftereffects of adrenalin, I gave a deep sigh as I realized what I was going to have to do. Every inch of the house would have to be checked. The thought of it was almost too much for me in the state I was in.
Sighing again, I moved on into the house and up the stairs to look for a Band-aid.
SHARON MIKEWORTH was born and raised in South Carolina, where she still resides today. After graduating from college and before fully devoting herself to her writing, she worked as a programmer, instructor, and tutor. Visit her online at www.sharonmikeworth.com.
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