More Fractured Tales stories!
Three days straight now… twenty-four hours a day… with no let-up… and this was the ‘tail end’ of the storm… good thing they hadn’t been in its direct path.
Both the wind and the rain were relentless… as if the earth was being punished for some unknown reason.
She’d seen no weather warnings… but she hadn’t been paying attention… not until the electricity went out.
Now she was just thankful for battery-operated lights… and a good supply of batteries.
The wind howled in the trees in back of the house… making it difficult to fall asleep… she had tried reading until way past her bedtime… but even that hadn’t worked.
The curtains were drawn… in a futile attempt to keep the whistling sound on the outside.
Sometimes a gust hit the house with such force that she felt the vibration… and she hoped the old place was strong enough to withstand the strength of Mother Nature.
A couple of hurricanes had come through in previous years… but, damage to her property had been minimal… just a few uprooted plants and broken tree limbs.
However, with storms seeming to increase in strength… she worried about sustaining severe damages that she was ill-equipped to deal with… she could only wait and hope for the best.
By daylight, she was exhausted.
However, the wind was slowly decreasing… and the gusts did not produce those frightening vibrations anymore.
She curled up on the sofa with a fleece blanket and was asleep within seconds.
Several hours later she woke with a start… feeling a little groggy… as if something had awakened her from a deep sleep
She listened intently… moving only her eyes as she continuously surveyed what was in her line of sight.
The wind had increased again… though it seemed to be hitting the front of the house now…
But, she still didn’t know what had disturbed her sleep.
A sudden strong gust knocked a wooden plaque off the wall… and she was thankful it had not been a picture frame with a glass.
She bent to pick it up and… dropped it again as something hit the side of the house.
As her heartbeat and breathing returning to normal… she walked over and looked out the living room window at the front of the house.
A large tree branch lay across the front porch… nothing to worry about… and she breathed a sigh of relief.
Something moved and she stepped back quickly… someone was out there… or was it just something blowing in the wind?
No sane person would be out on a night like this… unless it was someone up to no good… such as a thief looking for a place to rob.
She had nothing valuable… and very little money… but she had battery-operated lights… and a good supply of batteries… and food… she always had tons of food on hand.
Without a doubt… she knew it was a man… simply because no woman would be out in a storm like this.
And she would have no choice but to let him take what he wanted… for she was not strong enough to fight him off.
Maybe she could hide… and while he was busy emptying the shelves… she could sneak up behind him and conk him on the head.
With what? The only thing she had was a hammer… but the rolling pin would be better… but could she hit him hard enough to knock him out?
And then… she would have to tie him up before he regained consciousness… for she would not be able to do it when he was awake.
Suddenly, there was a knock on the door and a voice called “Search and rescue. Is anyone in there?”
She hesitated… hard to tell what gender the voice was… too distorted by the howling of the wind… and could she believe what it said?
There was a second knock… “Search and rescue. Is anyone home? Do you need help?”
She went to the door… “We are okay.” No need to let them know she was alone.
“Can you open the door, please. We have fresh water and other things you might need. Or, if you prefer, we can take you to a shelter.”
She would have to open the door… before whoever was out there decided to forced it open.
As she struggled to prevent the door from being blown back forcefully… a figure in heavy rain gear put one foot forward… and… she brought the rolling pin down with every ounce of strength she had.
Someone crashed to the floor at her feet, groaning… and she was pushed aside as several others knelt beside the person on the floor… and someone said, “Do we need the cops… or paramedics… maybe with a strait jacket?”
One person stared straight into her face… as if demanding an answer… but saying nothing.
Then she noticed the uniform… and she realized what she had done… sometimes the storms in her head were worse than the real ones…
