In Her Eyes Part One: Alley

Alley

            I remember that night so vividly even though i was a child. I was only seven years old. There was a flash flood warning issued for my town. My family didn't think anything of it because a flood rarely occurred when an alert was issued. That night was different though, and we did get a flood.

            My entire family was home that night and my cousin was even spending the night with us. We were all talking and eating in the kitchen when the storm began. The rain started soft and calm, but after thirty minutes as everyone prepared for bed the rain fell harder. The wind howled and the rain crashed down onto our house. After ten minutes of this pour the water started to slowly creep into the house from under the front door.

            I ran to my mom's room and pounded on her door. I told her the house was flooding and she and my step dad quickly rushed out of bed and into the living room. They tried to stop the water with towels but it was too late and there was already too much water flowing in. My mom was trying not to panic but i could tell she was scared as she began frantically searching for the broom and the mop. She then remembered that she had put the broom and the mop outside leaning up on the side of the house. My cousin and I volunteered to retrieve the mop and broom. We rushed to put some shoes on and prepared ourselves to be shin deep in cold rain water.

            It was dark that night and no moon to even cast a halo of light through the storm clouds. Only lightning to offer a quick flash of illumination. As my cousin and I drudged through the high waters we held each others hands trying to stay brave. We reached the side of the house and found the broom and the mop propped up on the wall. Quickly we reached for them, but something else grabbed our attention.

            The gate to the metal fence in our backyard was removed because it was broken. As such there was an unobstructed pathway to the alley. My cousin and I heard movement in the alley, so we decided to check it out. Slowly we glided toward the alley and once we reached the gate we peeked out little heads out into the alley. It was hard to see, but the lightning offered us the opportunity to get glimpses of the dark and narrow alleyway. I could see a shadow hunched behind a trash bin. The trash bin was large and heavy and was used as a personal dumpster for homes in the neighborhood. I'm unsure if my cousin saw what I saw that night, but she tugged at my arm as a signal that she wanted to leave. I was ready to leave with her, but i lingered a little while hoping i could get a last quick glimpse of the shadow. The shadow moved and in a quick movement i found a pair of big red eyes staring at me. My body felt frozen and still, but my heart and mind wanted to run. Finally in control of my body i was more than ready to run back inside, but right as i started to leave I dodged a huge trash bin that flew down the alley road. I gasped then grabbed my cousins hand and we ran to the house.

            Everything happened so fast that my family was oblivious to how long we were outside. It felt like we were gone for thirty minutes but it had only been five. I handed the mop to my mom and my cousin handed the broom to my step brother. My mom told my cousin and i to rest on the couch while they dealt with the flooding. I looked at my cousin and she was quite, but her heart was pounding. After that night she never spent the night again and I don't blame her. I know what I saw that dark stormy night and it is still ingrained in my memory, that picture in my mind. Never will I forget those red glowing eyes.