by Julie Helms

Created on: September 30, 2010

The woman peered into the darkness. Where was that sound coming from? She stood outside in a pool of liquid yellow light cast by the porch light. The circle was surrounded by the heavy darkness of a moonless night.

The idea was for the dog to do his business as quick as possible. The dog, however, was seated at her feet, head cocked. He heard the noise, too. It was getting a bit louder now, a slow rhythmic beating sound. Whoosh, pause, whoosh, pause.

Dear Lord, those are wings flapping, she thought with sudden fright. Really large wings, a huge wingspan, with a slow cadence. The steady pulsing noise continued to grow louder as it got closer. Glancing quickly down at the dog, she saw he was up on his feet now, head still cocked toward the sound, a low growl in the back of his throat.

The woman peered harder into the darkness; why couldn't she see it? Whoosh, pause, whoosh, pause. It was in the field across the street, crossing the street, coming toward her house across the lawn. Any minute the darkness will yield and she will see the monstrous-sized animal with what now sounded like, she was positive, leathery wings.

The dog was pulling away from the woman, leash taut, whining and terrified. The woman stood rooted to the spot, it never occurring to her that she might not want to continue standing there.

Then it happened, the whoosh was right next to her, the wing brushed her face and her hair rustled in the breeze from the flap. It rushed up the roof of the house just behind her and landed on the peak.

She had seen nothing. Looking down she saw the dog on its back writhing back and forth like it was trying to rub something off. Fear bolted through her and she grabbed the dog and dragged him inside, first sparing one last look at the peak where she could feel the creature's gaze on her, but she still saw nothing.

Months later as a roofer surveyed the roof, he commented on the odd puncture marks that went through the roofing and the wood underneath. Aha, this is the source of your leaking, he said. The woman shivered as she looked up at him, standing right where the unseen winged-creature had been perched.

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