All of a sudden her store and everything around her became dead quiet. She could no longer hear the crickets making their special chirping sounds outside. No wind could be heard rustling through the leaves. No sounds were coming from the waves crashing against the shore.
She hurried to close her register and lock up for the night. She wanted to walk home before it got too dark outside, before the menacing shadows appeared on the empty streets and in the quiet alleyways. She was beginning to sound like Shana, with all her evil premonitions about town.
As she stepped out from her store, Linda glimpsed from the corner of her eye a dark shadow flying down toward her. It was coming from the sky! She ducked down low to the ground. Covering her head with her hands, lying prone on the pavement, she was not able to see anything, but only felt something fly by very close to her head. She waited a few seconds and then stood up. She didn’t see any sign of anyone or anything.
As she ran down the shaded walkway, a strong wind kicked up out of nowhere. The trees began to sway, throwing their leaves at her. Linda raced even faster until she bumped headfirst into Todd, who was strolling in the opposite direction.
Todd stepped back and looked into her eyes. “Why are you wandering around alone? There are evil things lurking in the dark…ready to pounce on unsuspecting mortals.”
His eyes were open very wide, revealing a wild—maybe even deranged—look. For a fleeting second she was afraid of him, until she realized that it was only extreme concern she was seeing reflected in his dark eyes. She has heard weird things before, but this was way out of the ballpark of normal.
“What’s your problem? Why are you freaking out on me?”
“It’s always good to be careful and not to tempt fate,” he said, “that’s why we are going to the party together.”
“I’m only going to the party with you since Shana has made me promise to stick by your side like glue.”
“That sounds promising. I’ll pick you up on Friday night,” he replied in a soft voice. “But first I’ll walk you home. There’s an eerie feeling in the air tonight.”
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