I woke with a start, my breath catching in short shallow gasps. Rain was pelting against my window at full speed and I could hear the wind whispering its nocturnal secrets as I snuggled further down into my warm and cosy bed. A weary glance at the clock told me it was 2.15am.
Sighing I pushed the covers back shivering as I reached for my robe and padded silently down the hall to the kitchen. What was I doing here? I wasn't hungry, I thought as I wearily slammed the refrigerator door. No, but I'm restless. And restlessness feeds insomnia - or is the other way round?
With a shrug I grab a glass from the shelf and fill it with filtered tap water, as I gazed out into the cold dark night. Rain was pouring down so heavily that I couldn't see the outbuildings in the next paddock. Chances are the roads would be closed too, so there will be no way in or out of town. That will make it tough for business. Still I'll manage - I have before, and I will again.
OK, time for bed. Again. I rinsed my glass in the sink and was about to place it in the drainer when, from my vantage point at the window, I saw a sudden movement at my patio door. I don't know what I was thinking, or what I thought I was seeing, but the glass I'd been holding fell from my hands smashing to the floor. And my heart leapt into my throat as the sound of my scream was drowned out by the sheer ferocity of the wind and rain.
I gripped the edge of the sink, wanting to move away from the window but fell backwards on the matted rug in the middle of the kitchen. Biting my lips, I tried to get up but fear drained my strength and I fell down again. I crawled towards the back door, reaching up to make sure the house keys were in the lock. They weren't! How could I have forgotten to lock the door? Maybe I was just too tired…still, I always kept the house keys in the door lock whenever Danny left for his weekly trips to the big city.
Slowly gathering my strength, I got up on my knees, felt for countertop and heaved myself up. Feeling my way in the dark, I found myself in front of the bread box and pulled out the sharp bread knife in the sliding drawer. Knowing I was right in front of the wall next to the kitchen door, I felt the wall for the key hooks. Neither the house nor car keys were in their place! Shocked, I dropped the knife and gave a low moan.
Suddenly a very loud crashing noise came from the patio. I froze on the spot. After a long moment I forced my legs to carry me past the kitchen table and through the doorway into the hallway towards the front door. I had to get out of the house to my nearest neighbor, even if it meant running soaking wet through the storm. Dolly was located on the other side of the street some distance away. Both she and Dolly were reasonably close and always helped each other when in need.
Fumbling for the doorknob, I grabbed it and pulled the door open so hard it slammed back against the wall. Heart pounding, I ran out onto the porch. The rain was coming down in thick sheets and the wind tore at my clothing as I struggled down the stairs onto the soggy grass. My bare feet felt numb and as I started to sprint across the lawn and I could feel the wet earth pressing up through my toes. The garden gate was swinging violently back and forth and as I reached it, a loud crash of thunder shook the world around me. With a pounding heart, I lunged for the gate my trembling hands reaching out and grabbing the slippery wooden surface. A blast of wind ripped the gate from my hands and tore it off its hinges. The lights in the house flickered and then died. I heard muffled curses coming from within. I dashed through the opening where the gate had been, my breath coming in short painful gasps. Lightening lit the sky, and I spun around to look at my home, and saw a dark silhouette standing on the front porch. I gasped and blinked, and the image was gone. A large branch from a tree flew by my head startling me out of my frozen state. I started to run again, while trying to untangle my sodden nightdress from my legs. Rocks from the road bruised my feet, and I had to slow my pace, for a stitch in my side had started and was so painful, I could no longer stand upright. Tears mingled with the cold rain as I squinted in the darkness desperately trying to see a light from Dolly's house. There was nothing but blackness before me.
I struggled on, praying I was headed in the right direction, knowing someone was behind searching for me, grateful my robe was dark and hid me in my stygian surroundings and hoping against hope that the lightening wouldn't flash and give me away.
I'd reached the other side of the road and I knew there was a fence. If I could get across the fence I could hide in the corn field. The corn was over my head this time of year and the rows ran parallel to the road, I could reach Dolly's house that way. But where was the fence?
The rain was still coming down in sheets. Looking down I realized that the ditch was full of water - two or three feet deep. I waded through the thigh deep much and found the fence. Prying apart the wires I slipped through just as lightening sizzled and thunder crashed as the tree at the end of the field exploded from the hit. The lightening had also revealed a dark shape just down the road. I heard the sharp retort of a gun as the top of the fencepost shattered in a million pieces. Forgetting caution, I ran into the corn, crashing through the rows. I had to get away from that ominous shape and I had to stay away from Dolly. I couldn't let her get hurt because of me. Where could I go that would be safe? With the rain pounding down and the wind whipping the corn in my face, I began crawling through the rows as I tried to remember any of my old childhood hiding places.
At Dolly's House:
"That silly Carmela, she probably thinks someone is after her," Danny giggled.
Dolly and he had been planning her 32nd birthday party for weeks now. Danny had made sure to "be out of town" as to not give up the surprise, but he was absolutely positive he'd seen Carmela turn the palest shade of eggwhite as sure as he was slick. Of course he'd always known Carmela to be the studiously superstitious and the "schizzy" type.
"Yeah," Dolly smiled, "We're really gonna surprise her. I bet she will be giddy with happiness when she sees that diamond ring you bought for her - We were just talking about it... And to think she's utterly convinced you're cheating on her." Of course Dolly was always one for the dramatic. But this would be Carmela's best birthday ever. "I think we've planned it very well. That ring will be the first thing she'll see when she finally gets here. Ya'll have a good laugh or two about this every anniversary for sure."
Danny was planning to pop the question.
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In The Cornfields:
Damn - I'm all muddy now! It's still raining and I just knew I should have charged my cellphone. I could at least warn Dolly that someone's sneaking around. I could call for help, though Danny couldn't come to my rescue. He's still in New York, "on business," he says... I bet he's cheating on me, but that doesn't matter now; All I need is safety. I know that whisper of a man saw the fright on my face, as sure as the moon is blue when coyotes and werewolves are out. I could possibly even call Tom for help, he's retired from the local police crew - He'd know what to do.
Oh my goodness! Was that boom I heard a gunshot? Does he have a gun? That strange lurking man... Does he have a gun? Oh my gosh - I gotta get help.
Fighting my way through the corn, torn and tattered and battered by the storm, I lurched onward, not sure where I was going, exactly, or what I was going to do. First and foremost, though, is to stay at least one step ahead of this person chasing me.
Just then I see it, a dim light about a mile ahead. Looks like a house! But who’s? I don’t remember any homes in the middle of this cornfield. That’s strange… but I must get there!
I can hear the corn moving behind me – is it the wind? Oh God, please let that be the wind!
Picking up my pace, I am now running as fast as I can towards the lit building… at least it looks like a building. What else would have lights out here? Even drawing closer by the foot, I still can’t see it clearly. It seems to get farther and farther with every pace.
I must be having a nightmare. God I wish it were so, but the taste of my own blood from the scratches on my face bring me back the fact that this is realty. I am awake, I am being chased. I feel as though I am running in quicksand. My heart and body are racing and yet my mind seems to be clear and full of idle thoughts.
Surprised at my own thought processes, I force myself to focus more on the here and now, and on my destination, which now seems to be moving over the corn and changing colors. Am I hallucinating?
Just then I feel cold, clammy fingers grab my ankles, and pull me down. My body slams into the soaken earth, mud splashing all around. I feel a sharp needle-like sensation pierce into my skin, and the world around me disappears.
I must have been unconscious because when I came to, I was inside...somewhere. I was seated in a wooden chair and wrapped in a blanket that smelled like a mixture of hay and cows. The warmth of the blanket would have been enough to soothe me had it not been for a blistering headache and the fact that I had no idea where I was or where the man chasing me was.
The room I was in was small and non-descript. It looked like a shed after more looking around. There was a dim light coming from an old light bulb overhead.
Just then the door to the shed opened to reveal the shadowy figure that had been chasing me earlier. Once again fear gripped my being. I was overcome with the sudden urge to run, but the rifle in his hand told me to stay put.
"You're a feisty one aren't you tonight," the man growled, "Well, let's go. There's someone who wants to see you up at the house. And don't try any funny stuff."
Reluctantly, I got up from the chair and left the shed, with the man close behind. We headed up a path toward a house that was well-lit. It looked like Dolly's house.
"It IS Dolly's house," I thought to myself as we got closer. "That shed must be the one she was thinking of building by the field."
And then my mind raced with panic.
"Why is he taking me to Dolly's? Who wants to see me there? Oh no, something awful must have happened. He must have killed her or his accomplice did. Should I run?"
As we approached the front door, I decided running probably wasn't a good idea. Afterall, the man was most likely accurate and he was definately serious. It was probably only dumb luck that I had escaped earlier.
The man knocked on the door and shouted, "We're coming in." He turned the knob.
As the door creaked open, light streamed out and all I could hear was, "Surpise!"
Waiting for the hard ground beneath me, instead I feel strong arms cradling around me. I hear my name shouted several times when I realized I was in the arms of my beloved, Danny. Wait…wasn’t he out-of-town on his so-called business? “Carmella!” I hear again and realize Dolly is there with the most concerned look on her face. “I think we should take her to the hospital”, Dolly says. “Carmella honey, what happened to you?” Danny asks sitting me down on the bench in the foyer . He grabs a folded newspaper and begins to fan my face. Mustering strength from deep within I reply, “I, I don’t know, it was storming and the lights went out….someone was chasing after me. Someone is trying to kill me!”
“Oh, no honey,” She replies, “Everything will be alright now. Don’t you worry.”
“Sweetheart?” Danny reaches up to smooth the hair back from Carmela’s face, “We need to get her to the hospital because something is wrong Dolly.” He tells her with a worried look upon his face.
They gather her up and carry her out to the waiting Jeep, and load her into the back seat, where Dolly cradles her in her arms. She had grabbed another blanket and now covers her up, trying to keep her warm and dry.
“She is out again Danny, something just isn’t right here.”
Danny raced through the rain soaked night, his heart pounding in his chest as he drove the twenty minutes to the local hospital. He worried that there might be something seriously wrong with Carmela.
They arrive and she is taken into the emergency room and he and Dolly are asked to wait outside until they were done examining Carmela. It seemed like forever before they were called upon, and when they were Danny practically jumped out of his chair.
“How is she? Will she be ok?” He asks the doctor.
“Oh, she will be just fine. She is a little worn down and we have addressed her wounds, but her and the baby will be fine.”
“Baby?”
“Yes, it seems that your girlfriend is about twelve weeks pregnant.” The doctor informs him.
“I am going to have a baby?” Danny turns to Dolly, “I am going to have a baby!” He smiles and wraps his arms around Dolly. “Can I see her now?”
“Certainly, this way please.”
He follows him down the hall and into a small cubicle, where she lies there resting, and her wounds now covered in bandages. He hurries to her side and kisses a spot not covered and tells her that he loves her.
“Danny?” She asks through a haze of tiredness and pain.
“Yes, it’s me darling. I love you Carmela.”
“What happened?”
“You passed out, but you and the baby are fine now.”
“Baby?”
“Yes, our baby.” Danny gets down on his knee, “And this makes it all the more important for me.” He pulls out the ring from his pocket, “Will you marry me?”
Carmela smiles and tears fall from her eyes as she glances at the beautiful ring and the smile upon his face. She nods as the doctor returns to her room to talk to them.
“I am sorry, was I interrupting?”
“No, it’s fine.” Carmela tells him.
“Well, it appears that I misread your sonogram, it appears that you are having twins.”
With that said, Carmela passes out and Danny jumps up and shakes the doctors hand in excitement.
They leave after another three hours to return home, where Danny again proposes and Carmela accepts. For the rest of the night they discuss their future and that of their children to come.