on his lie. She just held on tightly to his hand and let him pull her along through the darkness and the trees.
It got so dark that she would jump every time one of them snapped a twig. She was aware of the different animals that prowled through the woods at night, and it was just another thing eating at the anxious ball in her stomach. Will could feel her hand shaking as they started to walk upwards with the slope of the ground.
“It’s okay,” Will reassured her, “almost there. Just a little bit to go, don’t worry.”
Ruby was beyond worried. Her incredible fear of the dark lived inside of her like an irrational demon. She shuddered and stopped.
“I…I can’t do it,” she stammered, “I can’t keep going.”
“It’s okay,” Will tried to tell her, “just a little further, through the field and we’re home free.”
Another twig snapped somewhere in the dark. This time she knew it wasn’t from their walking.
“What was that?” Her heart pounded against the underside of her shirt. “Did you hear that?”
“It’s nothing, probably a deer.”
As the last word left his lips a loud whistle echoed through the trees behind them. Will stared off into the dark, but Ruby refused to move.
“What…was…that?”
Will didn’t have an answer. “Come on,” he said grabbing her hand, “we’ve been out here long enough.”
They ran the rest of the way up the slope that led them back to the tree line with the hairs on their necks reaching for the sky. Will wasn’t sure if it was just Ruby’s uneasiness that was finally getting to him or not, but something felt off. He held his forearm out to deflect the cornstalks as he pulled her through them and they crossed the entire length of the cornfield in just a few minutes. As they broke free and back into the glow of the porch light that Ruby always left on, their chests swelled in large heaves as they both tried to catch their breath.
He saw the way that she was looking at him, her eyes wide like a terrified animal. It was a mistake to go off wandering into the woods that late in search of whatever had fallen from the sky. He should’ve known better. As Ruby caught her breath, she ran up the stairs and into the house. The screen door slapped the frame with a loud clap as it closed.
When he reached the kitchen, she was standing at the sink chugging a glass of water. He slowly approached her and gently ran his fingers across the tips of her shoulders.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I didn’t realize how deep we were in, I honestly thought we would make it back before dark.” She didn’t reply, she just refilled her glass and then drank some more. After she finished, she set the glass in the sink and replaced a pill bottle on the window sill in front of her.
“What was that sound?” she asked.
He honestly didn’t know.
“Probably just a bird,” he answered her, “I’ve heard it lots of times out there. There’s lots of birds out there.”
Ruby took comfort in her husband’s reassurance, even if it lasted only a moment. They tried to put the darkness behind them as she closed the front door and locked it.
“I guess we missed the rest of the sunset,” she frowned.
Their routine was always the same. After dinner, they would sit out on the porch and watch the sunset, unless it was too cold. Ohio winters were harsh, and the porch had a good roof that covered the entire twenty-five-foot length of it, but its shape caused the wind to blow the snow and cold inward and all over the bench. During those times, they’d sit in the living room quietly and read.
“Yes, but that’s okay. We’ll catch the next one tomorrow.”
“Promise?” she asked. She hated when their routine was interrupted. It agitated her anxiety.
“Promise.”
She smiled and then went ahead of her husband up the stairs toward the bathroom to brush her teeth. He stayed behind and closed the windows and turned everything off except a small light above the stove to light up the kitchen. As soon as he flipped the switch, a series of light-sensing night lights came alive, glowing in patches around the darkened house. It was convenient for them. Their days started early as they got up with the sun and tended to their goats and the crops, but it wasn't the reason they were there. Ruby was terrified of the dark, and Will wanted to do everything he could to make their home feel as safe as possible for her.
Once upstairs, he passed several unused bedrooms on his way to the bathroom. Ruby was already inside, swishing some mouthwash around vigorously when he entered. For twenty years they maintained the same routine.
They made their way to bed and kissed each other goodnight. Will was tired and was out in less than two minutes. The next day he needed to get a start on harvesting that year’s corn—an exhausting job for just one person.
Ruby would help, of course, but a good part of her morning would be devoted to the small herd of goats that she called her kids. A fitting name, but they were as much her children as anything else. Unable to have any of her own, it was all she could do to help fill the holes left by never being able to fill the empty rooms in their farm house.
She looked over at him, his chest rising and falling in rumbling snores, and smiled. Leaning over to give him one last kiss before pulling the blankets over herself, all she could think about was her fears. The anxiety was eating away at her mind, and the long trip through the dark, coupled with the mysterious fireball that fell into the woods did nothing but make everything worse for her. She found comfort and stability in the sameness of her life, and reveled in the routine. All she wanted to do was to get a good night’s rest—it wasn’t too much to ask. But she knew the horrors that loomed on the horizon. Like the powdery snow on the side of a mountain, her fears had been agitated more than enough to allow the avalanche to come rolling down and bury everything. She was alone, Will was fast asleep, and she could feel it once again creeping upon her.
2
Everything is okay, Ruby told herself over and over. Look, you're safe. Will is here next to you sleeping. You're in your room, it's just dark. You'll fall asleep soon.
The room was dark, but not completely black. The walls held a dark gray hue that clung to the edge of Ruby’s vision like a fog. A night light hung upside down in the outlet next to the bed casting its light down across the carpet. It was a compromise that they had come to. He wanted the room to be as dark as she would allow so that they could get better sleep, but still have enough light so she wouldn't be afraid. She turned away from Will and toward the light as it bounced off the floor.
Just close your eyes and you'll fall asleep soon. You won't have any dreams. You won't have any dreams.
Her stomach flittered a bit at her thoughts. While she never really believed in the power of affirmations, she figured it couldn't hurt to try. She took a deep breath and tried to relax. The gray of the room faded behind the orange on the back of her eyelids from the night light, then was slowly swallowed by the darkness. Her breath slowed and she drifted sweetly off to sleep.
A sudden knock made her jump. Her eyes flashed open but her vision was gone. Immediately her heart rate picked up and the first thought that slammed into her brain was a nightmare in and of itself.
The night light is out.
Her chest tightened as she tried to move her right arm and reach for Will. Her fingers wiggled frantically but her arm wouldn't move. A feeling of overwhelmingness overtook her as her first instinct to try and get up kicked in. She was paralyzed. Her face felt hot like she was lying in a fire, with the urge to vomit increasing.
I can't move, I can't move!
No matter how hard she tried to see, there was nothing but darkness. Her eyes were open but it was as if there was no light coming in for her to see, or the part of her brain responsible for seeing had completely failed her. It was then that she could feel sensations on her legs, abdomen, and shoulders. The prickling of a thousand tiny needles poked her skin, traveling the lengths of her arms and legs and into her feet. Even in the pitch black she could sens
e movement above her, as the rippling of physical sensations streamed across her body, electrifying her central nervous system. Her muscles spontaneously twitched in reaction to the pokes, her bones started to ache, and her flesh raised into goose bumps. Then a sharp sting struck her arm, right in the sensitive skin inside her elbow, followed by a feeling of ice water pouring through her veins. The cold slowly warmed into a tingle that began to numb everything as it traveled through her. Then what felt like a cold hand gently pressed against her forehead. That's when she tried to scream.
It was the screaming that woke Will up. The sudden shrill noise shot him out of bed and onto the floor. His eyes were still closed as his knees hit the carpet, burning from the friction. He pulled his eyes open in his disoriented state and looked around.
I must've fallen out of bed, he thought. He sat back and took a second to wake up before even trying to stand. Ruby’s terrified scream ripped through the room a second time right behind him in the bed, sending his heart right into the roof of his mouth. He quickly pulled himself up the side of the bed and saw her lying perfectly flat under the comforter screaming. Running around to her side of the bed, he pulled back the blanket and saw her desperately digging her fingers into the mattress at her sides. He tried to hold her hand but it was no use. Her hands had transformed into the stone claws of a gargoyle.
“Ruby,