Left Behind with Time
I walked home like I do every night, probably around nine o’clock at night. It was in the older part of town, run down, people that couldn’t afford to keep up their yards and houses. Most built in the nineteen thirties and around that time. The streets were dark and gloomy and trees loomed above. It was fall still nice weather outside but the leaves were rustling around leaving the trees bare and naked. I lived in a small town, forgotten by time. Most people had already left the town to move the big city hoping to make a better living. The people that stayed behind kept to themselves. What was left of our family, we stayed, I was living with my three brothers, all of us working to make it by.
As I was walking home I could sense something was strange, something wrong, someone watching me. I had had this feeling for the last week, every time I was walking home. I had this feeling whenever I got within a block of our hose. It was an eerie feeling. As I got close to home I could sense someone watching me from my neighbors house, classic old Victorian house, run down by time. The picket fence outside missing half of its boards, the house needing a fresh coat of paint, as if no one has done anything to it in the last ten years.
I walked in the door to an empty house. I was usually the first one to get home at night from work. I made something to eat with what we had and sat down to a break. As I was resting I heard a strange noise coming from our neighbors house. I peered out the window but could not see anything; their backyard was like a jungle with trees, weeds and overgrown plants from years of non-grooming. I saw something move in the backyard, it moved with amazing speed but I could not make it out. I peered a little longer and then gave up and decided to call it a night.
I woke a headed to work the next day; I worked for the city doing odds and ends where ever and when ever they needed me. As I showed up for work they gave me an address of where I was suppose to work like usual. I started off to where they send me, as I neared the address it looked as if they were setting up for a carnival or fair of some kind. I found the manager and he instructed me on what to do to help get everything setup for it. I didn’t bother to ask him what it is they were setting up for. The strange thing was is that there hasn’t been a carnival, fair or festival in our town in many years. I did not let that bother me and continued to work.
About halfway through the day I noticed a girl in one of the tents. She was about my age, for what I could tell. She looked very shy, timid and alone in the world. She was dirty like she had put in a full days work in the dirt and dust. For the next hour or so there was something about her but I could not get her out of my mind. I could not get her out of my mind; I was constantly looking over my shoulder or walking by to get just one more glance at her. Finally I had decided I would try to talk to her.
I approached her and as I did I could see her reaction of fear, not of me but of a general fright of everything, new, old, different, it didn’t matter. I started talking to her; she was a lot like me, with my situation. We talked for what must have been hours. I forgot about my job, the work and my life when I was talking to her. She was so different, so tiny, fragile, and scared. She was afraid of whom she lived with, where she lived, he life, but mainly her house. For some reason she was afraid of her house and neighbors. She asked me if I would come home with her, so she would not be alone and afraid.
We started on our way, walking to her place. Tonight I did not notice the air, the trees or neighbors like I normally did when I was walking home. I was enveloped in our conversation, in her. After a little bit I was filled with the same eerie feeling I normally was when I was walking home. I looked and realized this was the same walk I normally took then, I realized why she was so afraid of her house, the same place that gave me the eerie feelings every night was the same place she lived next to. Two houses down from me, how could I have lived next to her for this long and never noticed or saw her before? How could she have lived right by me all this time and never noticed me?
I let all the questions in my head slide to the back as we walked up her sidewalk toward her house. As we went in it looked way to familiar, same style, same condition, and empty as if I was walking into my own house. As if this was my own house. Everything was so strange and odd, the house, the location, her. We went up to her room and sat down on her bed and talked for about an hour. As we were talking we heard some commotion downstairs. We decided to head down and investigate what was causing the commotion.
As we neared the end of the stairs I saw to ladies come in with all three of my brothers, all of them reeking of cheap beer and cigarettes. They all came in hanging on each other in hope that they do not fall on their faces. The two ladies that she was living with and showed up with my brothers must be in their early thirties, tougher looking women, women that had to earn their living and take care of themselves. We came downstairs and decided to join them.
Only about ten minutes after we made our way downstairs we heard a crash outside. We all moved out the door and quick as we could to see what had happened. As we reached the porch we could see someone crawling out of a car and made its way up the curb, through the picket fence and grazing a tree to bring it to a stop right in there front yard.
As the person crawled out of the car, I recognized who it was. It was Tony Stewart, a very inebriated Tony Stewart. He stumbled up the steps and on the porch and everyone continued drinking. No one cared that there was a car smashed car in our front yard or that he might be injured. After about two more beers they all decided to head somewhere else. They started off walking toward downtown, singing and drinking.
We headed back up to her room to talk some more. As we were just starting up the steps we heard some noise from the neighbors house. We gazed out the window only to see shadows. We blew it off and started back up the steps. Again we heard the noise from outside. Sounds of someone rustling around in the backyard of the neighbor’s. We starred outside once again, only to see shadows again, this time they were moving about the backyard. I led the way back down the stairs with her tucked behind me, but following. We had to see what it was, why I got that feeling every time I walked by there, why she was so afraid of her house and living next to them. We had to have these questions answered.
I opened the back door and slowly started to move outside. The closer we got their yard and the farther we got from her house the more I could feel her shiver in fright. We still continued closer. Something drawing us there, to find out what our fears were. We approached the fence that separated our two worlds; we both got up to it and started to peer over it.
We could see and older lady, probably in her sixties and her two daughters. There was something strange, not quite right about them tow. All three of them starred down at us as we starred back. We turned toward each other with confused looks and turned back to them. They were gone, in there place were three very strange creatures, half human, half cat. Cougar looking creatures now starred at us, then in the same split second darted off into the jungle, which was there yard. We lost sight of them in the trees and weeds. Next thing we heard was the growling and howls of a vicious fight. We were stuck there, unable to move or pull ourselves away, waiting, watching. After several minutes we neither saw nor heard anything. We backed away from the fence and stood in her yard, not sure what to think of what just happened.
I glanced over into their yard again and could see the two daughters exiting the house, but their mother was not with them this time. The came toward us about fifteen feet, stopped and glared at us. We stood there frozen, but not afraid. They momentary glanced over there left shoulders. We looked in that direction and could see there mother, scratched, scared, and beaten. I went into her house and found a couple towels, I offered that to the two and the took the towels disappearing into the yard with there mother.
We started to walk toward the house when running from their back yard was one of the beasts that we had saw earlier. We darted off toward her garage. I let her in then slammed the door shut, which would only hold it off for a second. We instinctively jumped straight into their car and tried starting it, after about thirty seconds of trying it finally turned over. At the same moment the creature burst through the door and slammed into the side of the car.
We sped out of there never looking back. We decided we would just drive away from this place, our families and our lives there.
I walked home like I do every night, probably around nine o’clock at night. It was in the older part of town, run down, people that couldn’t afford to keep up their yards and houses. Most built in the nineteen thirties and around that time. The streets were dark and gloomy and trees loomed above. It was fall still nice weather outside but the leaves were rustling around leaving the trees bare and naked. I lived in a small town, forgotten by time. Most people had already left the town to move the big city hoping to make a better living. The people that stayed behind kept to themselves. What was left of our family, we stayed, I was living with my three brothers, all of us working to make it by.
As I was walking home I could sense something was strange, something wrong, someone watching me. I had had this feeling for the last week, every time I was walking home. I had this feeling whenever I got within a block of our hose. It was an eerie feeling. As I got close to home I could sense someone watching me from my neighbors house, classic old Victorian house, run down by time. The picket fence outside missing half of its boards, the house needing a fresh coat of paint, as if no one has done anything to it in the last ten years.
I walked in the door to an empty house. I was usually the first one to get home at night from work. I made something to eat with what we had and sat down to a break. As I was resting I heard a strange noise coming from our neighbors house. I peered out the window but could not see anything; their backyard was like a jungle with trees, weeds and overgrown plants from years of non-grooming. I saw something move in the backyard, it moved with amazing speed but I could not make it out. I peered a little longer and then gave up and decided to call it a night.
I woke a headed to work the next day; I worked for the city doing odds and ends where ever and when ever they needed me. As I showed up for work they gave me an address of where I was suppose to work like usual. I started off to where they send me, as I neared the address it looked as if they were setting up for a carnival or fair of some kind. I found the manager and he instructed me on what to do to help get everything setup for it. I didn’t bother to ask him what it is they were setting up for. The strange thing was is that there hasn’t been a carnival, fair or festival in our town in many years. I did not let that bother me and continued to work.
About halfway through the day I noticed a girl in one of the tents. She was about my age, for what I could tell. She looked very shy, timid and alone in the world. She was dirty like she had put in a full days work in the dirt and dust. For the next hour or so there was something about her but I could not get her out of my mind. I could not get her out of my mind; I was constantly looking over my shoulder or walking by to get just one more glance at her. Finally I had decided I would try to talk to her.
I approached her and as I did I could see her reaction of fear, not of me but of a general fright of everything, new, old, different, it didn’t matter. I started talking to her; she was a lot like me, with my situation. We talked for what must have been hours. I forgot about my job, the work and my life when I was talking to her. She was so different, so tiny, fragile, and scared. She was afraid of whom she lived with, where she lived, he life, but mainly her house. For some reason she was afraid of her house and neighbors. She asked me if I would come home with her, so she would not be alone and afraid.
We started on our way, walking to her place. Tonight I did not notice the air, the trees or neighbors like I normally did when I was walking home. I was enveloped in our conversation, in her. After a little bit I was filled with the same eerie feeling I normally was when I was walking home. I looked and realized this was the same walk I normally took then, I realized why she was so afraid of her house, the same place that gave me the eerie feelings every night was the same place she lived next to. Two houses down from me, how could I have lived next to her for this long and never noticed or saw her before? How could she have lived right by me all this time and never noticed me?
I let all the questions in my head slide to the back as we walked up her sidewalk toward her house. As we went in it looked way to familiar, same style, same condition, and empty as if I was walking into my own house. As if this was my own house. Everything was so strange and odd, the house, the location, her. We went up to her room and sat down on her bed and talked for about an hour. As we were talking we heard some commotion downstairs. We decided to head down and investigate what was causing the commotion.
As we neared the end of the stairs I saw to ladies come in with all three of my brothers, all of them reeking of cheap beer and cigarettes. They all came in hanging on each other in hope that they do not fall on their faces. The two ladies that she was living with and showed up with my brothers must be in their early thirties, tougher looking women, women that had to earn their living and take care of themselves. We came downstairs and decided to join them.
Only about ten minutes after we made our way downstairs we heard a crash outside. We all moved out the door and quick as we could to see what had happened. As we reached the porch we could see someone crawling out of a car and made its way up the curb, through the picket fence and grazing a tree to bring it to a stop right in there front yard.
As the person crawled out of the car, I recognized who it was. It was Tony Stewart, a very inebriated Tony Stewart. He stumbled up the steps and on the porch and everyone continued drinking. No one cared that there was a car smashed car in our front yard or that he might be injured. After about two more beers they all decided to head somewhere else. They started off walking toward downtown, singing and drinking.
We headed back up to her room to talk some more. As we were just starting up the steps we heard some noise from the neighbors house. We gazed out the window only to see shadows. We blew it off and started back up the steps. Again we heard the noise from outside. Sounds of someone rustling around in the backyard of the neighbor’s. We starred outside once again, only to see shadows again, this time they were moving about the backyard. I led the way back down the stairs with her tucked behind me, but following. We had to see what it was, why I got that feeling every time I walked by there, why she was so afraid of her house and living next to them. We had to have these questions answered.
I opened the back door and slowly started to move outside. The closer we got their yard and the farther we got from her house the more I could feel her shiver in fright. We still continued closer. Something drawing us there, to find out what our fears were. We approached the fence that separated our two worlds; we both got up to it and started to peer over it.
We could see and older lady, probably in her sixties and her two daughters. There was something strange, not quite right about them tow. All three of them starred down at us as we starred back. We turned toward each other with confused looks and turned back to them. They were gone, in there place were three very strange creatures, half human, half cat. Cougar looking creatures now starred at us, then in the same split second darted off into the jungle, which was there yard. We lost sight of them in the trees and weeds. Next thing we heard was the growling and howls of a vicious fight. We were stuck there, unable to move or pull ourselves away, waiting, watching. After several minutes we neither saw nor heard anything. We backed away from the fence and stood in her yard, not sure what to think of what just happened.
I glanced over into their yard again and could see the two daughters exiting the house, but their mother was not with them this time. The came toward us about fifteen feet, stopped and glared at us. We stood there frozen, but not afraid. They momentary glanced over there left shoulders. We looked in that direction and could see there mother, scratched, scared, and beaten. I went into her house and found a couple towels, I offered that to the two and the took the towels disappearing into the yard with there mother.
We started to walk toward the house when running from their back yard was one of the beasts that we had saw earlier. We darted off toward her garage. I let her in then slammed the door shut, which would only hold it off for a second. We instinctively jumped straight into their car and tried starting it, after about thirty seconds of trying it finally turned over. At the same moment the creature burst through the door and slammed into the side of the car.
We sped out of there never looking back. We decided we would just drive away from this place, our families and our lives there.
