Tales from Haunted: Breathe

Breathe

By Heather Kirchhoff

From Haunted: Fact or Fiction

My eyes snapped opened as I jerked awake. I sat up quickly, glancing around, assuring myself that I'm safe. I was laying on the couch in the living room, the TV that was on is now silent. A blanket was covering me and I tossed it aside, watching it fall into a heap on the floor. I waved that away, trying to shake the remaining parts of my dream out of my head. It doesn't really work. I sighed as the memory of the knife plunging into my throat just seconds before I woke up replayed again. I got up and walked to the kitchen, going to the refrigerator to get me a glass of milk. I filled up a glass cup before replacing the milk where I got it from and taking a small swig of my drink. I took tentative sips, staring at the wall when I heard my dog come racing into the room. He came to a sudden halt and I looked over in time to see him skid a little bit. I snorted softly and shook my head, rolling my eyes at Rascal. But when he started growling, his fur standing up, backing away slowly, I turned and gazed at the spot his attention was fixed on.

Nothing was there.

I moved closer, carrying my glass with me, my eyes never once straying from the spot, but I still didn't see anything. I glanced at my dog, who was still growling and backing away. I looked back again but still didn't find a thing.

"Nothing's there," I told Rascal, going over to him and kneeling down. I reached out for my dog, but hesitated, suddenly afraid he'd bite me. I'd never seen him like this before. He's always so calm, hardly growling or barking. This was completely new. "Stop," I said softly. "It's okay. Nothing's here."

He didn't listen to me.

Instead, the small brown and white dog kept on going, up until he hit the cabinet behind him. He wasn't fazed, though. Actually, he was far from it. I watched him for a few moments silently, my drink forgotten for a bit. This behavior is scaring me a little, I'll admit to that. I'm unsure what's causing it or how to go about stopping it. I didn't know what to do. I closed my eyes briefly, rubbing at my temple as a headache started to bloom. When I heard a loud bark, they snapped opened once again just in time to see Rascal sprinting from the room, going for the living room now. I followed him, trying to process what was happening.

"Calm down, Rascal," I scolded, coming up behind him. "There isn't anything to growl at."

The small dog cowered in front of me, facing the corner in the wall, his eyes so trained on it, as if something is there. I shook that thought away as quickly as it came. Nothing is here.

"Rascal!" I exclaimed, my headache flaming. "Stop."

Ignoring me, he crept forward slowly, his stomach touching the ground, as if stalking prey. It was a strange sight. Fear began to root inside of me, digging deeper the more my adopted dog acted like this. I swallowed, moving closer, setting my half-empty glass on top of the entertainment center. I knelt down in front of the spot the dog was staring fiercely at, but it was just an empty corner. Nothing more. Exasperation set in and I threw my hands up in the air, shooting my dog a look over my shoulder. I adverted my gaze from the hostility I saw there. I shakily stood up, standing still for a moment before grabbing my glass and moving past Rascal, finishing off my milk; I refilled my glass and took a long swig of it, downing the drink in a few gulps.

Out of nowhere a soft whimper reached my ears and I turned towards the living room, holding my breath only to hear it again. I quickly moved to the other room, knocking my glass to the floor in the process. The sound of glass breaking filled my ears, but I ignored that; all that mattered to me was my dog. I saw him lying on his side against the wall and my heart lurched. I touched him gently, my vision blurring as I saw his chest barely rising and falling. I didn't understand what happened, but I then knew something was terribly wrong. Was it possible I was wrong in thinking nothing was here? I closed my eyes, lifting my best friend into my arms and holding him close. His eyes fluttered opened and met mine, terror filled them and I felt horrible. He moved around in my arms, licking my left arm and whining. I sighed, relief overtaking me for a few minutes.

"You'll be okay," I whispered while a stray tear fell down my cheek. "You will be. I'll make sure of it."

His tongue darted out to touch my upper arm and I smiled at the warmth of it. He wagged his tail, staring up at me. I rose carefully, cradling him against my chest and left the room, going to my bedroom where I set him down on the bed and kiss his little head.

      "I'll be right back," I assured him, running my hand along his side before moving away.

      I went to clean up the mess I made earlier, picking up the glass and discarding it; after that I moved on to wiping up the spilled milk up. Suddenly, I felt chilled. I got up and looked at the thermostat only to see that it was in the seventies. I frowned at that and turned it up a little more. Static filled the room and I flinched, glancing over at the television. What the hell? I gaped at it, confusion clouding my mind. How could my TV be on? And then, just like that, silence rang out. I stayed where I was, afraid to move to investigate. What could be going on?

      Light footsteps sounded from the other room and I ran for my bedroom, finding everything was how I left it. No one else was there. My dog still lay on my bed, only he had moved to my pillow, curled up and sound asleep now. I walked over to him and placed one finger in front of his nose, making sure he was breathing. Thankfully, I felt his breath against my finger and I let out the breath I was unaware of holding. I smiled and checked my closet, assuring myself no other human was in my home. 

      But I felt like I was being watched.

      It was really creepy and I closed the door quickly, putting my back to it and leaning against it. Calm, I told myself, taking a deep breath. It's just your imagination. I didn't believe myself, though. Something felt off, wrong. It felt like I wasn't alone, like someone or something was standing right beside me, breathing down my neck. I was really unnerved by now. It's nothing. I knew differently. I could feel it. I could feel that there was more than I was seeing. I sighed again and sat down beside my dog, wishing I wasn't living by myself. Wishing I had someone else that could be here, going through this with me. Was I going crazy? I couldn't be sure.

      Suddenly, there was loud knocking. I shuddered, ignoring it; instead, I curled up underneath the blankets with my dog pressed against me. I closed my eyes tightly, trying to block the noise out. More static and knocking came, plus footsteps, but I didn't move. I didn't dare to. I just held my breath and waited for it to pass.

      Only thing is, it didn't.

      It got louder, until I felt like something was right there, inches away. I burrowed further under my blanket, holding my dog tighter. No way was I going to let him go. Not now. Not when I was so confused. I didn't know how long I stayed like that until I’d had enough. I threw the blanket off of me, standing quickly, disturbing my dog, waking him from his calm sleep. I glared around at nothing, sick of this. Sick of the unknown. "Stop!" I yelled, my hands shaking. Soon my entire body began to shake and I screamed that one word again.

      Suddenly, there was a shift in the air and I looked up, my heart stopping as I gazed at a white light that resembled a person. I swallowed as it came near, wrapping me in its soft glow, calming me instantly. When I glanced up at him, Rascal was watching on silently. Clearly, this didn't bother him at all. I was at ease now, my heart beating normally once again. I smiled, my eyes shining, comforted. In an instant the light was gone and nothing more happened. It was really silent and I enjoyed that. After a moment, I realized that I probably won't ever be truly alone at my home. That Rascal and I won't be. There's something else here, something I may never understand, but I will never let fear take over me again. Not when I know there's such light. Not when I know it'll all be okay in the end.