I found myself standing in front of a overgrown church. I was wearing a dress made of cotton, that was reminiscent of colonial times. As I looked around I could see I was alone. I was confused as to where I was. I heard the rustling of bushes behind me, and as I spun around I could see two red orbs crouched amongst the underbrush. I was frozen. I saw it draw closer. I willed my legs to run away, but I couldn’t. It moved out of the bushes revealing its self as a massive dog. It must have stood at least as tall as a human at the shoulder. I could see its massive yellow teeth glisten with spittle in the moonlight. Finally I found the ability to run as a wave of terror over took me. I sprinted into the cemetery, slamming the wrought iron gate behind me and sprinting through the solemn rows of graves. I tripped over a root, tearing my dress and bloodying my knee as I plummeted to the ground. I frantically searched for the pursuing beast, but it appeared to have disappeared. I stood and for some reason headed deeper into the graveyard. I approached a mausoleum. Suddenly I saw the beast step out from the behind the columned tomb. It turned to me with those burning eyes. Moving faster than I could blink, it pounced.
It was then, that I woke up. My scream waking my sleeping partner. She was concerned but I told her that it was simply a nightmare and to go back to sleep. I stepped into the bathroom for a glass of water.
When I looked at myself in the mirror, I noticed something on my neck. Upon closer inspection I saw what could only be described by as bite marks from a massive dog. Horrified at the sight the drinking glass slipped from my grip and shattered on the floor. Alina burst into the bathroom, a softball bat in her hand. When she saw that I was alone, she relaxed. She asked what happened. I proceeded to show her the bite mark on my neck. But she claimed that there was nothing there. I insisted, tracing the teeth marks with my finger, but she only gave me a concerned look.
She led me back to bed, insisting that there were no marks on my neck. But I could feel them. I was bewildered on how someone as detail-oriented as my wife couldn’t see the marks!
I didn’t get another minute of sleep that night. I sat upright in my bed staring out the window. I’m not sure if it was for the lack of sleep, but I saw something moving in the yard. I stalked to the window and peered through the glass into the street. I spotted movement on the other side of the road. As I squinted to make it out, I thought that it was simply a trick of the light, until a pair of searing red orbs appeared. I opened my mouth to scream but no sound could be heard. I watched it stalk between the trees trunks. Pacing. Back and forth, back and forth, back and forth, back and forth! I wished I could tear my eyes away, but I stared at it in dumfounded horror.
As the sun began to rise the visage of the beast seemed to fade as night gave way to dawn, and dawn gave way to morning. Alina was concerned. Saying that I needed rest, that I had been pushing myself too hard at work. She had me call in sick and ordered me to stay in bed and sleep. I gave her a kiss goodbye and promised that I would get some rest.
But as she pulled out of the driveway, I did return to bed. But instead of sleeping I opened my laptop and searched the internet for stories in the area about a giant black dog. I came across a webpage dedicated to North Carolina’s legends and ghost stories. There, I found the story of “The Demon Dog of Valle Crucis.” There was an drawing of a dog with burning eyes in front of the church I saw in my dream.
I studied the page, as if I was studying for a test. Taking in every detail. How the morning mists seem to linger, and how the town had a bizarre silence, even on the nicest summer days. I continued to read, finding the story about the two young men, who were driving along Highway 194 around midnight, when a black shape leapt out into the road. They swerved and as they looked to see what they had nearly ran into; and thats when they saw it. A massive black dog with scorching red eyes, bristling fur and shining yellow teeth. They looked to each other and one asked the other if he saw the beast. The man simply replied, “No, and neither do you.” They sped off down the country road at breakneck speeds around hairpin turns. When they looked into the rearview mirrors they saw the beast not only in pursuit, but keeping pace with the car. It was not until they crossed the bridge where the two rivers that ran through the valley met at a perpendicular angle, when the beast gave up the chase, as if stopped by some sort of invisible barrier.
My eyes had grown wide. My hands were shaking. I had seen the beast, outside my window; but I lived in Rosewood, Asigee County. Boone and Valle Crucis were two counties over. I slammed the computer shut and slid it away from me, as if it had transformed into some foul creature, like an opossum or a snake. My heart was in my throat. I drew the sheets up around me, like a young child, fearing the monsters that lived under the bed or in the closet.
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