The Watcher

I.

The crisp November wind chilled her to the bone as she quickly made her way down the lonely wooded path. She could feel it's eyes upon her, watching her every step. It's heartbeat echoed in the recesses of her consciousness. Listening keenly for signs of movement, she quickly glances around at her surroundings.

She is praying silently to herself, as she does every night that she makes this trek. Through the woods she can see the lights to her home. Sighing with relief, she pulls her coat tight and bolts the remaining distance to the door. Only when she is within the safety of her home does she allow herself to relax, to let her guard down.



II.

He sees her off in the distance, hurrying down the path to her home, an aura of panic surrounding her. Many times he has watched her flee through the woods, always waiting until he can smell her fear in the air before departing. He is drawn to her, captured by her spell, overcome with the need to be near her.

In the blink of an eye he is outside her home, disguised by the darkness, undetected by the occupants. She sits at the table eating her meal alone while her husband and children frolic near the fire. He can feel the loneliness of her soul calling out to him, begging to be rescued.

Startled by the sudden growling from the dog, she quickly turns to face the window, he is already gone. Absently staring toward the darkened window, she raises a gentle hand to soothe the riled dog. Satisfied that the threat of danger has vanished, the dog reclaims his spot on the floor at her feet to continue his rest.



III.

Her dreams have become haunted with visions of an unearthly creature who has taken the form of a man. She tosses and turns, unable to lay claim to a restful nights sleep. Shadowed with darkness, her eyes indicate just how long peaceful sleep has eluded her. Wearily, she slips out of bed and silently heads toward the living room. Her husband has grown impatient with her incessant ramblings about 'The Watcher'. Starting to doubt her own sanity, she no longer brings the subject up. Instead, she has created a journal to document her thoughts, a journal that she has skillfully kept hidden from the remainder of the world.

She can still feel it inside her mind, probing her innermost secrets. Never has it lasted this long, her brow is creased with worry as she furiously scribbles the words 'why me' over and over upon the page. She continues to write as her thoughts take her elsewhere, to a time when she was still whole, to a time before it had found her. The snapping of her pencil lead pulls her back to reality. Recoiling in fright, she loses the white knuckled grip of her pencil allowing it to fall to the floor. The words 'you have the key' have been scrawled along the bottom of the page.

Acting on instinct, she tosses the journal into the fire. Her heart is pounding, she must escape, but there is nowhere to go. It is everywhere all at once, and nowhere at the same time. The sound of a distant howl breaks the silence in the room. Raising a visibly shaking hand to her forehead, she begins to silently pray.



IV.

It has taken so long for him to find her, he is beginning to grow impatient. Her growing weakness is beginning to concern him, it takes very little effort to reach into her mind. It is no longer an option for him to wait for her to find him. He will have to go to her.

Sadness and despair overcome him. The time has nearly come for him to complete his journey. Unaware of how crucial her role is, she is the key to his survival.



V.

Through the corner of her eye she sees movement off in the woods. At first she dismisses it as one of the playful squirrels that have been dancing around her all morning. Smiling to herself she glances off in the direction from which she spied the movement.

Something is not right. The woods have grown silent, the restless little squirrels and chipmunks have all disappeared. The hairs on the back of her neck stand on end at the realization that she is not alone. It is out there.

"Hello there." Out of nowhere a man has appeared at her side. Startled, she screams out in fright and tumbles backward away from the stranger. He remains still and calm, watching her. There is a dark familiarity to him that she can't put her finger on.

"Who are you?" her voice is trembling. She turns her head for a brief second, scanning her surroundings. No footprints. She does not see a single footprint. How did he get there?

"It's time to start again." Still watching. Still calm. Still no footprints.

"Who are you!" she yells at the top of her voice. She wants to run but she can't, it won't let her. Tears have begun to stream down her face. If only she could run.

"I've tried to be patient, but I can't wait any longer." Without a step he is suddenly mere inches from her. The world goes black as she collapses to the ground.

He must act quickly, his time his running out. Leaning above her, he pulls out the knife he had tucked away in his jacket. Blood droplets splatter his face as he makes the incision, it goes unnoticed. His every last muscle is focused at the task at hand, he must not make a mistake. Skillfully, he reaches in and removes the growing fetus from her womb, the fetus that had not yet been discovered by her.

The man and fetus are gone in the blink of an eye.




VI.

"When did you last see your wife?" The officer is fiddling around with a note pad. He is irritated, this is the second time this week he has been called out on a missing persons report. This is the stuff they send the rookies out to, not people like him.

"This morning, she was still in bed sleeping when we left," grief stricken, her husband has his face in his hands, cursing himself for leaving her alone. He knew she wasn't well, he left her anyway.

"Is there any reason why she would leave without notifying you of her whereabouts?" Lifting his eyes from the note pad, the officer is getting impatient.

"No, God damn it, there is no reason why she would just disappear!" her husband explodes. His eyes are red rimmed, his voice hoarse.

"We will be in touch if we receive any leads. Just had a man go MIA earlier this week. It's like he disappeared into thin air, nobody's seen a trace. He didn't happen to know your wife did he?" Her husband stares at the officer in disgust. The officer is oblivious to anything and everything but himself.

Silently he curses himself, wishing that he had paid more attention to her, listened to her when she told him something was wrong.



VII.

"Damn, I forgot to get a fricking photo!" Forced to turn back, the officer curses his ignorance. Now he is going to be late for the poker game! Trying to cut some time from the trip back he pulls onto a little used trail that goes past the missing woman's house. The dispatcher's voice on the radio catches his attention causing him to look in the direction of the radio. Reaching down to answer the call he glimpses a flash of color through the leaves.

Stopping his car, he places a hand on his holstered gun and heads in the direction of the color. He immediately sees a human form laying on blood soaked soil and leaves. The woman's chest is slowly rising and falling, her breathing coming in shallow gasps. He knows without a doubt that this is the missing woman. Franticly he pulls open her coat and rips her shirt apart. No wound. So much blood, where is it coming from, how could she possibly still be alive? He flips her onto her side and scans for any sign of a gun shot or stab wound. Nothing.



VIII.

"How are you feeling Honey?" her husband is placing yet another bouquet of flowers on the table in her hospital room. She flashes a weak smile in his direction and nods her head in acknowledgement. For the first time in months she is at peace, it has finally left her alone. Leaning down to kiss her forehead, her husband inquires if she has regained any of her memory yet.

"Not yet," placing a hand on her stomach, she smiles at the wonderful news they had discovered earlier in the day. Soon there would be the excitement and joy of a new baby in the house. Pushed from her mind are the memories of her opening her eyes to the sight of the officer and ambulance crew, the sight of all the blood. For the life of her she couldn't remember how she got there, or how all that blood appeared. One minute she was walking in the woods, the next minute she was being hauled away on a stretcher.

All of that was behind her now, she was sure of it.