by Sky Winters
"Wow," said Bethany, looking around. "It's so clean in here."
"Yeah," said Aaron. "Looks great."
Adeline didn't respond. She was still shocked by what she'd seen. Her mind simply couldn't form the words.
"You OK?" asked Aaron, noticing Adeline's strange behavior. "You look like you've seen a ghost."
Red broke out across Adeline's face. She didn't know what she'd seen.
"I…" she began, but before she spoke, her eyes fell on Bethany, who was already putting groceries away.
"Hey, kiddo," said Aaron, knowing now that something was wrong. "Why don't you give the adults a minute to talk? Eat your burger in the other room."
"But the other room is gross," said Bethany. "I want to eat in here where it's clean."
"Just do what I say, or no dessert."
"Fine," said Bethany, scrunching her face and grabbing her crinkly brown bag and soda before leaving.
"You look like you're pretty shook up," said Aaron. "You want to talk about it?"
Bethany took a long, slow breath, trying to formulate the words. After she'd composed herself, she told Aaron about the broken vase, the open window, and the eyes outside in the woods. Once she'd finished, she watched as Aaron's body tensed up, his arms crossing over his burly chest.
A moment passed, the strong angles of his jaw clenching as he considered what Adeline had just told him.
"We need to get the property lights on," he said, finally. "This place is out in the woods; who knows what's lurking out there."
Adeline was surprised by this answer. His reaction seemed to indicate that he knew what she was talking about, that she was telling him about a happening that he was expecting, but hoping wouldn't occur. But now, he was simply chalking it up to woodland creatures.
Adeline knew, just knew, however, that it was something more than that.
It had to be the wolves from her visions.
"What about…wolves," offered Adeline.
Aaron's jaw clenched again. "Maybe; like I said, who knows what's out there."
Without a doubt, she realized, there was something that Aaron wasn't telling her.
"Tomorrow, if you're going to stay here, we'll need to get the rest of the electricity fixed. For now, don't worry about what's out there. Get something to eat, and try to relax. I even got a couple bottles of wine and some beer. I think you and I could both use it."
A small smile crossed Adeline's lips. Wine did sound nice.
"And I don't know how you feel about junk food, but I got you a burger and some fries. Bethany's got them in the other room."
"Listen," said Adeline, "I just wanted to thank you. For letting me stay here, for trusting me, for everything. I know it's weird to have someone like me show up, telling you what I told you, but…thanks for being understanding."
"Well," said Aaron, leaning back on the kitchen island and fishing a beer out of one of the brown paper bags, "you seem like the alright sort. And if you don't give me a reason to be suspicious, I think I can extend a little trust."
"Just…thanks," she said, her eyes moving over to Aaron's hand, now holding a bottle of beer.
Her voice trailing off, she watched as he pulled up his shirt, wrapping the fabric around the top of the bottle. A hint of taut, toned abs was exposed, and Adeline couldn't help but look. The muscles of his forearms tensing, he twisted the cap off, a slight grunt sounding. Then, he took a long, slow swig of his beer, his Adam's Apple bobbing as he drank,
Goddamn, he's sexy, thought Adeline.
Before the thought could continue, the loud blaring of a children's TV program filled the kitchen, coming from the living room. Adeline and Aaron's attention snapped in the direction of the sound.
"Dad!" shouted Bethany. "Netflix works!"
Aaron shook his head as they walked, arriving in the room to see Bethany happily munching on her burger, a program that Adeline didn't recognize playing on the TV.
"Kiddo, don't use up all the juice like that," said Aaron.
"Come moon," said Bethany, turning around to speak, her mouth full of food. "There's nothing else to do here."
"Did you not see the dozens of bookshelves packed full of books?"
"Yeah, but who wants to read?" asked Bethany turning her attention back to the TV.
"Oh," said Bethany, holding up one of the fast food bags. "Here's your stuff. I only ate a few of your fries, and it was on accident."
Adeline mouthed thanks again to Aaron before sitting down and taking the food.
A few moments ago, she was too scared to even think about eating. Now that Aaron and Bethany were back she felt much better. Following along the program she'd never seen before, Adeline ate her food. Within an hour, Bethany was asleep, her body slumped backward against the couch between Aaron and Adeline.
"Be right back," said Aaron, his voice low and quiet as he scooped up Bethany.
Adeline watched as he carried his daughter up the stairs and to her room, her eyes lingering on the warm, careful expression on Aaron's face, noting the careful, measured manner he walked, the sight of a father and his daughter filling her with a warmth which she couldn't remember the last time she'd experienced.
Aaron returned a little later, picking up his beer from the table next to the couch and taking another long sip.
"I could go for some fresh air. I don't know about you," he said.
"That sounds great," said Adeline.
"Head outside. I'll pour us a couple glasses of wine."
Adeline smiled before heading out onto the back deck. Though she still felt some residual fear from what she'd seen earlier, knowing Aaron would soon be at her side put her at ease. The evening air was still and mild, no sounds but the chirping of crickets and the occasional soft breath of wind that rustled the trees for a moment. She considered once again how, despite the isolation, this was a lovely home.
Aaron stepped out onto the deck a moment later, two glasses of red wine in his hands. He handed one to Adeline, and they tinked the rims of their glasses together.
"To electricity," said Aaron.
"I'll second that," said Adeline.
"This is really a nice place," said Adeline, looking around the property.
"I'd hope you'd say so," said Aaron. "Be a damn shame if you got summoned out into the woods only to find a dump."
Adeline smiled. "I…I'm sorry, again, for putting you out."
"Don't worry about it," said Aaron. "I'm here for the same goddamn strange reason that you are."
"But you're related to…the people that own this place," she said. "I'm just some weird girl who quit her good job and wandered off into the woods."
Aaron considered this as he took a sip of his wine.
"There's gotta be some reason why you're here; why we're here,” he said. “At the very least, I need to figure out where the hell my family got off to."
"What if they came back?" asked Adeline. "Wouldn't they be weirded out that I was here?"
"Nah," said Aaron. "My cousins, well, they've got a little bit of a habit of taking in strays. It's complicated. Living up here, they stick together. It's been a while since I've seen them in person, but last I heard they had something like a little community in these woods."
"Like, a hippie commune or something?"
Aaron let out a quick bark of a laugh. "Not quite so extreme. My cousins Ian and Roland wouldn't really go in for that kind of thing; they're the ‘creature comfort' type. More like a place for people who don't really fit in anywhere else."
Adeline sensed that there was something Aaron wasn't telling her, like there was some key detail that he was omitting. But she let it go, not wanting to pry.
"People like me?" she asked instead.
"Yeah, people exactly…like you."
Looking over, Adeline saw that Aaron's eyes were lingering on her. She couldn't tell if his gaze was soft because of the wine, or if there was something else going on. Turning her attention back to the woods, she sipped her wine, taking pl
easure in the feeling of Aaron's eyes on her. She'd just met the man, but she'd be lying if she were to say she wasn't extremely attracted to him. And as the wine worked its way through her body, she felt herself drift slightly closer to where he stood.
"It's getting a little chilly out here," she said, leaning forward against the wooden railing of the deck.
"It is," said Aaron, leaning forward, his body only inches from Adeline's.
She didn't know what had come over her, but at that moment, all Adeline wanted was for Aaron, this man whom she'd just met, to slip his thick, muscular arm around her shoulders, pull her close, and kiss her hard and deep. Turning her head, she looked into his eyes, grass-green and piercing. His gaze turned hard and sensual as his body responded to her. Adeline felt her lips part, her tongue running slowly over them, as though preparing her for what she wanted.
But as soon as she felt Aaron start to move close, to enter that intimate space that only a lover would invade, he pulled back abruptly, snatching his wine from the deck railing and draining the glass with a full sip.
"I should get to bed," he said. "Busy day tomorrow if I want to get those lights on. Good night."
With that, he headed back inside.
"Good ni-" said Adeline, watching him leave, her eyes wide as he entered the house.
Moments ago, she was ready to give herself to him. Now, she was alone, the chilly breeze her only companion.
CHAPTER 9
The first half of the next day came and went, Adeline, Aaron, and Bethany spending the hours cleaning and cleaning, the house slowly getting back to a more livable state. Adeline tidied up the living room, Aaron worked on the outside, and Bethany helped however she could, assisting here and there. By the time mid-afternoon arrived and the trio decided to take a long break with some sandwiches and soda, the house was just a little homier.
An easy rapport was beginning to develop between them. Bethany slowly began to warm up to Adeline as soon as Adeline was willing to provide an audience to Bethany's recaps of the TV shows she liked to watch. Aaron was pleased to this occur. After all, he figured, if this woman was going to be staying with them in, she'd need to get along with his daughter.
Adeline smiled as she picked a potato chip off her plate, her eyes on Aaron and Bethany as the two of them laughed and played while they ate their turkey sandwiches. Adeline had never imagined herself as the type to enjoy kids, but spending time with Bethany was beginning to shift her opinion on this matter.
I've spent the four years since college thinking about nothing but my career, she found herself thinking as her eyes drifted out to the waving branches outside. Barely any dating, certainly no family. What if I've been wasting my time?
She took a bite of her sandwich, letting the thought stew in her mind.
Maybe these dreams, this pulling, isn't anything supernatural, but my mind telling me to get my life on track, to spend time figuring out what I really need to be turning my attention to?
Chewing her food slowly, a smile crossing her lips as Aaron teased Bethany about one thing or another, she continued to think about the subject.
After all, it's silly to thing that there's anything …supernatural happening here. It's just my overactive imagination.
But this last thought didn't settle in her mind as easily as the rest. She couldn't shake the strangeness of everything that had been happening to her, from the dreams to the strange people at the coffee shop on her first day, to the horrible, red eyes that stared at her from the black of the nighttime woods.
Before she could consider this further, however, Aaron's cell phone rang from where it sat on the countertop.
"Nice, reception seems to have gotten better now that we've got Wi-Fi going again," he said, giving Bethany one last playful poke to the sides before getting up and answering.
Bethany turned a playfully scheming eye to Adeline as Aaron answered the phone. Adeline returned the look, whipping a potato chip at the girl, the food swatted out of the air by Bethany. Bethany let out a squealing laugh, ready to launch her own attack. But before she could, Aaron held up a chiding finger as he listened to whoever was on the other end of the phone.
"Uh huh," he said. "OK, great. I'll be down in a little bit to pick them up. Thanks again."
With that, he hung up, a pleased smile on his face.
"What's up?" asked Adeline.
"Just got a call from the hardware store in town," he said, setting his phone on the counter and leaning back. "They got the parts in for the power supply here a little early. Guy at the store says that he'd even be willing to help me get them installed."
"Does this mean we don't have to turn off the lights all the time?" asked Bethany.
"Well, we'll still have to watch our power usage, but once the storage units and the solar panels are back up, we'll have things more or less back to normal. Not to mention, have the perimeter lights back up and running."
The last sentence put Adeline's mind at ease. As much as she was warming to her time spent here in the woods, she knew she'd feel a lot safer with a strong barrier of civilization between the property and whatever was in the woods beyond.
"Bee, you want to come with me to town?"
Bethany's face crinkled in a look of disgust. "No way. I don't want to go to some stupid hardware store. I hate those places."
"Okay," said Aaron. "Opinion heard loud and clear."
"I don't mind hanging out here with Bethany if you just want to head into town by yourself."
"Yeah!" said Bethany. "We'll just be watching TV anyway. Come ooon."
Adeline watched as Aaron did some quick thinking, clearly wondering if leaving his daughter here with a woman he still didn't know very well was a good idea, but he seemed to come down on the side of trusting her.
"OK," he said, his voice wary. "But no leaving the property. Just stay inside unless you have to go out."
"Fine," said Bethany, as Adeline gave Aaron a warm look at said without words that she knew what he was doing, and that she'd be up to the responsibility.
"Be back in a few" said Aaron, taking one last bite of his sandwich before scooping up his keys and heading out the door.
The girls finished their lunches and cleaned up, Bethany helping Adeline with the dishes that had been piling up. All the while, Bethany talked and talked about her old life in California- the friends she had, the boys she had been annoyed by, and what her hometown was like. Adeline listened as the girl spoke, enjoying the opportunity to get to know Bethany better. After the dishes were done, the two girls turned on the TV and put on some teen comedy movie that Bethany had wanted to watch.
The movie went on, and the sun began to slowly set below the tree line, the sky darkening. As enjoyable of a time as she was having with Bethany, Adeline found herself wishing Aaron would be back soon. It just didn't feel safe here without a man.
Then, the low grinding sound of tires against gravel could be heard. Adeline's heart leaped, thankful that Aaron was back. But instead of the rumbling of the garage door, a low chime sounded through the house.
"What's that?" asked Bethany, her eyes still on the TV.
"I don't know; sounds like a door bell or something," said Adeline, getting up.
The chime sounded again, and Adeline made her way to the front door. Stepping up to the window next to the front door, Adeline gasped as she saw what was beyond the front gate.
There were men, four of them, all dressed in slim-fitting black suits. They stood in a row, their hands clasped behind their backs, the sky a brilliant swirl of orange and red from the setting sun.
Adeline jumped away from the window, fearful of what these strange men being able to see her. Peeing back to the gate, she could see the eyes of one of the men, eyes that were scheming, dark slits, fall onto her. Then, his mouth crinkled into a twisted, scheming smile.
Adeline gasped, hiding behind the door, her eyes wide in fear.
"What is it?" asked Bethany.
"Um, nothing," said
Adeline.
Taking a long, slow breath, Adeline moved from behind the door, taking one last glance at the men standing behind the gate.
But they were gone.
Adeline scanned where the men stood, searching for any sign that they had even been there, but she could find nothing.
Am I going completely crazy? she asked herself, wondering if she had, in fact, seen what she thought she'd seen.
She wanted to ignore what she'd seen –or thought she'd seen- and go back into the living room with Bethany. But she couldn't shake the image of the men, the four suited men standing and staring. Ignoring Aaron's request that they not go outside unless necessary, Adeline unlocked the front door and walked onto the property, a chill rising up her spine as she approached where the men had stood.
The air was cool, and the night was drawing closer by the moment. Her eyes on the woods beyond the fence, Adeline saw nothing, no sign that the men, had they even existed, were anywhere near. Walking with slow, careful steps to the gate, she looked down into the dirt next to the road where the men had stood in their strange, uniform line.
What was there, in the dry earth, were the imprints of four sets of animal paws.
CHAPTER 10
"I don't know about you, but I could go for some adult time," said Aaron, pouring himself a cup of coffee.
"'Adult time'?" asked Adeline, taking a sip from her mug.
"Yeah. Go out into town, or what little of it there is, grab a bite, be around people."
"That actually sounds pretty nice."
It was the next day, and the house was now in a state that couldn't so closely be defined as "dilapidated." Aaron returned soon after the incident with the suited men, and with the help of one of the men from the hardware store, could get the power supply repaired and as good as new. Aaron was curious as to why Adeline was so keen on getting the perimeter lights up again as soon as possible, but didn't ask her why. Once the lights were on and the property was aglow with bright light that allowed them to see with perfect clarity every inch of the grounds, Adeline felt a rush of relief wash over her.