The thing walked toward the house from the field, seemingly unimpeded by the snow under its feet. Nathan swallowed hard, his gut knotted. The strength in his legs faltered and they turned to Jell-O. He jerked the curtains shut. Something inside him fought through the terror and told him that closing the curtains would make it all go away. This notion felt irrational to him. It was the desperate act of a character in one of those horror movies Jane likes. They always made dumb choices, he told her. That was part of the fun, she would say back.
This was not fun. This was a level of fright unknown to Nathan until this very moment. Cemented to the floor. Rigid. Heart pounding in his chest as if it were trying to fight its way out. Open the curtains now, he thought to himself. Should be okay now. Whatever it is will be gone. Perhaps never there. And that will vindicate him for his choice to use the curtain closing as a means of dealing with this boogeyman. Then he would laugh at himself. Haha, dumbass.
He pulled the curtains back and the figure was gone. The full moon in the cloudless sky illuminated the peaceful field. No boogeyman. Haha, dumbass.
This second of self-deprecation ended when a face appeared in the window, leaning into view from the right side of the window. The face was not human, as far as Nathan could tell. He tried to scream but produced no sound.
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