Halcyon

H A L C Y O N

dedicated to my best friend Lara who's stronger than any wolf

      I didn't wake up to the sound of Marley backing through my bedroom door, grocery bags clutched tightly in shaking fists. I wasn't even jolted to alertness out of my nightmarish doze of pain when she tripped and sprawled backward over broken knickknacks that lay scattered all over the floor, and cans of soup and goods rolled in every direction. I was, however, roused from sleep when she lightly touched my shoulder with a trembling hand and whispered three words.

      "Bonnie, dad's home."

      My heart exploded in terror against my chest as I peeled my face away from my bloody pillow and sat up, wiping red saliva from the corner of my mouth. The only light flooded in from the hall and illuminated Marley's pale, narrow face and lank curls. As I forced my aching body out of bed I asked, "Did he see you?"

      She shook her head, and in the darkness I noticed the silhouette of her shoulders shaking with fright. I stumbled as quietly as possible to the closet, my sprained ankle dragging behind me, and yanked out jackets for Marley and me. She put hers' on in a rush, fingers fumbling so much that I had to zip it up myself. I padded to the door and peeked out, gazing into the darkness at the end of the hall and the stairs that slanted down into it. My mouth was bone dry and I had to clench the knob so as not to show Marley my shaking hands. With a shuddering breath I beckoned her forward and we both tiptoed down the hall together, hand in hand.

      The house was so quiet that you could easily hear our footsteps against the carpet. He'll hear us! My brain screamed! We're too loud! In the distance a dog barked startling me. We reached the stair railing and I flicked the hall light off, plunging us into darkness. Marley whimpered beside me, clutching my fingers so tight they were turning blue. "Where is he?" I hissed, eyes flickering to each ominous, shifting shadow in the darkness. The grandfather clock that 'tick-tocked' in the hall was the only thing that permeated the quiet of late night.

      "In the kitchen," was her tearful reply and my heart ached, because I was too terrified to comfort her. With a quick squeeze of her fingers, I led us both down the creaking stairs-helping Marley over the middle step that let out a loud crack when you stepped on it in a certain space. My bruised ribs ached with each sharp inhalation of breath as we reached the bottom. The front door lay open to a peaceful summer night, the luminous crescent moon spilling light onto the trash and refuse that littered the hall.

      I didn't even bother for silence now, I tugged Marley to my side so hard she gave out a pained cry and lunged past the entrance to the shady kitchen, towards that open rectangle of peaceful night. My muscles screamed in protest as we both launched out onto the porch and tumbled down the wooden front steps, clutching Marley to my chest as we landed painfully on our sides. The breath was knocked from my lungs as Marley rolled from my arms. My mouth gaped open like a fish and black dots danced before my eyes as I tried to struggle to my feet.

      "Across the street," I gasped, "to Mrs. Greene's." Marley attempted to haul me to a standing position but I shoved her down the walk towards the quiet road. Sucking in unsteady breaths I rose shakily to my feet, my muscles an orchestra of agony, when I heard a sound that sent my stomach plummeting to my ankles. In the recesses of the shadowy rooms we left behind, came the small cry of a child. Marley froze half way down the walk and spun around to look back at me-blonde curls ruffled in the summer wind.