Twelve Days of Christmas

Fourth Day of Christmas

On the Fourth day of Christmas, my true love sent to me...

The sound of monsters awoke me that night. I lay in my bed, the covers pulled up above my head as I curled into the fatal position, shaking with fear. My heart thumping in my ears was nearly as loud as their screams and snarls. They sounded angry and hungry, like they were killing something right outside my house.

It all started with a yawl of pain, followed by screeching and the the sound of struggles. Snarls and growls snapped through the air, causing me to cower into the mattress. Whatever the monster was killing struggled for its life for what seemed like an hour, before all the noise stopped completely.

I lay frozen, the sounds of the murder still echoing in my ears. Finally, I pulled back the cover, listening hard for any sound. It was absolutely silent, not a sound to be heard. I lay awake, thinking about what had just happened and wondering what it looked like outside. I looked at my clock, watching the minutes tick by.

Four A.M. rolled around and I couldn't get the the monster's snarls out of my head. I had to see what had happened, I couldn't wait until morning.

Slipping out of bed, I snuck down the stairs and got the flashlight from underneath the sink. I made my way the the front door, my legs shaking badly, my nerves rattled and my courage disappearing the closer I got to it. I stood in front of the door for a long time before I could finally get my hand to move up to the door handle, grasping the cold metal in my hand. I slowly twisted the knob, my heart pounding so hard that it felt like it would beat right out of my chest.

I opened the door, the cold biting at my face. A cold chill rolled through my body, but not from the night air. I could feel the death before I saw it in the form of 4 dead black birds in the yard, their feathers scattered across the yard, their necks twisted at odd angles. Two adult birds and two babies, dead. They had been calling out for help while they were slaughtered. This wasn't an accident, this was the monsters showing me what they wanted to do to me.

It made me wonder how long it would take before they got what they wanted.