Abruptly and Painfully

The trip downstairs to get more tea should have been a relaxing break from reading. The only product it should have yielded was a piping hot cup of bohemian raspberry tea. The knock at the door changed all of that. It was odd that there would be a visitor, not just at this hour and in this weather, but in general. Their humble abode was situated at the top of a hill very purposefully selected with the intent of creating a social ‘island’ of sorts wherein the couple could filter the guest they entertained. Sarah made a note to send another email to the postal service telling them to train their delivery service workers better. It was standard protocol to leave packages at the base of the hill to avoid the teeth clenching hell of having to back down their winding driveway. Any thought of complaining to the postal service was thrown away when she saw who was standing at her door.

“Mrs. Ward?” His voice was gravel and his features appeared cut from stone as well. He was dressed well enough, with an olive parka slung loosely over a tight-fitting plain white T-shirt and faded jeans. She tried to take stock of whether he was carrying anything else and to her relief he was empty-handed for now. Their house was out of the way enough that random visitors were virtually non-existent. Ones who knew her last name were even less common.

“Can I help you?” Sarah replied with a question of her own. She could feel her calves tense, ready to slam the door into his face and make for her cell phone to call the cops. The stranger’s prominent eyebrows furled though it did nothing to change the dead eyed stare that looked like it was directed more through her than at her. It was off-putting how uneasy the stranger made her. She wasn’t a kid, but she was also alone and for once, the distance of their homestead played against her. If Dale was out, he wasn’t coming back for a long, long time meaning there was no help if the stranger harbored ill intent.

“Yeah. Yeah you can. The Doyle boy. Don’t go near him.” His tone never wavered and his gaze never faltered as he delivered the command. Sarah opened her mouth to protest. To ask a question. To fucking say anything; and yet only a choked cry escaped. She felt something immense bear down on her. Something sickeningly heavy. It wasn’t a physical weight but the crushing **** that seemed to impinge upon her entire being made her stagger backwards. The figure made no move other than to continue his lifeless gaze into the room. She fumbled for her phone, **** to call 911 and at least present the threat of authority to the stranger and yet he seemed unfazed. “You left your phone upstairs, Sarah. It’s no use. Just leave the Doyle boy alone and this is the worst you’ll feel.”

She was on her back now, **** as a newborn baby, and fully and horrifyingly aware of it. She gasped a few sputtering breaths before bucking wildly with her legs to propel her backwards along the floor. Though words couldn’t escape, she could **** out a few **** nods to show her acquiescence to the warning. If the bone-crushing pressure that seemed to drag her very heart to the floor was the mortar and the bone-chilling knowledge that this stranger had been watching her astutely enough to know her phone wasn’t with her was the pestle. She didn’t really know how to feel, in an odd way. This wasn’t how she envisioned dying. In fact, that really wasn’t something Sarah thought about at all. The stranger’s composure never wavered, nor did he betray any hit of emotion, be it sadistic or benevolent to the flailing, panicking woman on the floor. He only continued to survey the room slowly and carefully, like a cat acclimating itself with a room it was previously barred from entering. He spoke again, though this time his voice seemed to be everywhere, reverberating off the walls of Sarah’s very skull, “Don’t worry. I’m not here to hurt you. I'm just minimizing the inevitable collateral damage from this whole affair."

Sarah was on her stomach now, clawing at the floor to find purchase strong enough to drag herself back. The only thing she could hold out hope for, for now, was that Dale would miraculously spring out of nowhere, rifle in hand and end this nightmare. The strangers next words, however, gave Sarah pause.