Night had swallowed day.  Two lights filled the night on the exterior of the colonial white house.  This was my house, or at least it once was.  A flood light covered in a thick green moss gave the night a greenish glow.  A lamppost lit the end of the driveway.  Most of the shutters were worn off the house.  The only sign of life was a small candle burning on the table inside the window of the house.

I sit on the front porch staring at the cobblestone walkway.  that too has been untouched for some time, years probably.  Though the feeling inside me is that I was here only yesterday.  Where has the time gone?  I can hear giggling from inside the house.  My curiosity gets the best of me so I slowly approach the window to have a look inside.  My old living room, I cannot see anything past the burning candle on the table inside.  I approach the front door.  The sound of footsteps fill the hallway on the other side of the door.  Suddenly, both doors fly open simultaneously throwing me to the ground.  My brother runs out laughing in a loud sadistic tone.

“Wait, Peter.  Come back!” He disappears down the driveway in a full sprint.

I stumble to my feet and get my barrings.  I start to jog over to the driveway, but I am suddenly stopped by a foreboding of evil in the air.  The green night reflects throughout the mist that has settled across the night.  A light breeze flows up my spine.  There is something else at work here.

“Peter!” I call out again.  There is no answer.  I shiver.  I run to the end of the driveway.  As I approach the end my feet slip out from underneath me.  It’s hard to breath.  The wind has been knocked out of me and I grasp for air.  The stone on the driveway is cold.  I grab a handful to try and pick myself up.  My body is tense.

The fog is thick now and I can’t see anything around me.  Butterflies rattle my stomach as I turn to my right.  Peter is lying there next to me.  The look on his face can only be described as pure terror.  His body trembles and flinches even to open his mouth.

“Something is wrong with Dwayne.”  He points up and out of the darkness a tall dark figure emerges, standing like a statue above us.  The fog begins to clear.  He is starring out away from us towards the glowing city lights in the distance.  An overwhelming feeling of pain shoots through my body as I attempt to move.

“Dwayne, what is the matter with you?”  He refuses to answer.

Still laying on the ground my body feels shackled.  Slowly, he begins to turn around.  I can see only the whites of his eyes.  It looks as though all life has left his face, as if, being possessed by someone or something.  He reaches for me.

“Dwayne Stop! What is the Matter with you?”

I can hear Peter screaming next to me.  Like he was being tortured by the night.  I can feel him thrashing back and forth.  I try to reach for him, but I still can not move.  It’s going to be okay, Peter.  That is all I can think.  I close my eyes and think hard.

“Open.”

Everything is dark.  All is black.  Dwane and Peter…gone.  What has happened? Is this some temporary stasis of reality?  If so, then when can I expect to return? For now I will run through the darkness…Alone.

[to be continued]