The tapping was growing louder, forcing itself into her awareness again. What was making it? Mel’s fertile mind began to come up with answers. Possibly there was some mystery surrounding the house; a long ago resident out in a storm and locked outside, shivering as the rain soaked their clothing. They had gone from window to window, tapping away, trying to gain someone’s attention so they could come in out of the cold and wet.
Her palms were damp with sweat now and she surreptitiously wiped them on the blanket covering her. She was trying to be as quiet and as still as possible. No point in drawing attention to herself...just in case. Nervously nibbling on her lower lip, Mel noted that the wind was picking up as the storm got closer. It howled about the house, the sound rising, and falling like the cry of a wolf. Were there wolves outside the house, even now? Mel gulped at the very idea. Maybe wolves had always plagued this house! This new idea took root in her mind.
What if the person tapping at the window never made it safely inside? What if they had been purposely locked out as a punishment? And maybe, while they were outside, a band of hungry wolves had come by and attacked! The person would have screamed for help, but no one came to save them. In fact, the occupant of the house might have sat in this very room, listening to the pleas for help, laughing insanely as the dastardly plan came to fruition. Outside, the ill-fated victim would have known all this, and with their dying breath, placed a curse on everyone in the house. Now, every time it stormed, the horrible scene replayed and the victim came back, seeking revenge on whoever was inside refusing to let them enter...
The storm was almost over top of the house now. Lightning flashed, repeatedly illuminating the room then plunging it back into darkness, while thunder shook the whole house. The tapping was picking up speed. Mel’s heart was pounding faster too, her breathing ragged. Clutching the blanket tightly in her hands, she darted her gaze about the room, expecting some evil entity to leap out at her at any moment.
Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath. This was ridiculous; she was a grown woman. What she needed to do was to get up and investigate. She gathered her courage and tried to throw back the covers, but her hand refused to cooperate and merely grasped the blanket more tightly.
Scowling, she considered the situation. All right, so she was afraid. There were options open to her. She could stay where she was, getting increasingly more scared or she could go find Ryne—except he’d tease her about it unmercifully. Neither idea was overly appealing. Another flash of lightning illuminated the room, and she spied the fireplace.
Ah-ha! If memory served her correctly, a set of fireplace tools were by its side. The poker could be used as a weapon. Not giving herself time to chicken out, Mel leapt off the sofa and dashed towards the fireplace. Her only goal was to grab the poker before something grabbed her. With more speed than grace, she made her way across the room, stumbling into an end table and causing the lamp on top of it to wobble dangerously.
“Damn!” She’d tried to grab the lamp, but only succeeded in stubbing her toe on something. Abandoning the lamp in favour of her throbbing foot, she let it crash to the ground. She hopped up and down whimpering in pain while simultaneously glancing over her shoulder towards the window. A burst of light filled the room and she was sure she saw the shadowy shape of a person by the window. Through the noise of the storm, the sound of footsteps reached her ears. Oh God! It was coming to get her...
A scream ripped from her throat and she turned abruptly in order to grab the poker, only to crash into something hard. Hands grabbed at her and she screamed again, hitting and kicking in an attempt to elude whoever was holding her. Arms tightened around her as she lurched to the side, the suddenness of her movement knocking her opponent off balance. Together they landed on the floor, and she found herself pinned under a heavy body, her assailant’s fingers pressed tightly over her mouth. Luckily, her one arm was free and she swung it with all her might towards her attacker.
As her fist connected with a solid wall of muscle, pain shot through her hand and both she, and the person she’d hit, emitted a shocked ‘oomph.’ The only difference was that, while she stopped her assault to focus on the throbbing in her hand, the other individual merely flinched and grabbed her arm, effectively immobilizing her.
“Are you crazy, woman?” A deep voice rasped in her ear.
Mel froze. Somehow, even through her fear, she recognized that it was Ryne on top of her. Ceasing her struggles, she blinked up at him, relieved to see a comparatively friendly face—well, friendly compared to the undead creature she’d been imagining. He cautiously removed his hand from her mouth.