The wind whispered through the trees and the woods were dark.
I poked at the fire with an old oak branch, trying to get the flames to grow. The air was a bit damp and it had been raining the whole week. For the longest time the logs just sputtered and spit, while an acrid smoke filled the air as the wood smoldered.
The wind picking up helped and the fire finally came to life. The fire cast the whole yard in a warm orange glow.
“I never thought that was going to light,” she said.
“I know. I was about ten seconds away from just calling it a night.”
“Well that wouldn’t have been fun.”
“I know, but it’s too cold to just sit out here.’
“I’d keep you warm,” she said smiling.
“Oh would you now?”
“Yes. I brought a blanket out,” she said, showing him.
“Didn’t have much faith in my fire-making skills?”
“No it wasn’t that…” she said trailing off, “It just rained a lot.”
“You thought you’d be sitting out here freezing for sure.”
“I mean a little. I figured we’d be out here looking at the stars and shivering,” she laughed. “But this is much better.”
The wind picked up and we could hear coyotes in the distance.
“That’s spooky,” she said.
“I know. They’re close tonight.”
“Are they going to be a problem?”
“No. But if they keep getting bold they’ll have to do something about them.”
The wind picked up more. It was howling. Limbs were starting to break off trees.
“Should we go in soon?” she asked.
“I was just thinking that,” I said, “it’s getting colder too.”
“Did you hear that?” she asked.
“Hear what?”
“I swear someone was laughing.”
“I don’t hear anything.”
“It was probably just the wind.”
“Yeah.”
I poked around the fire a bit more as the wind settled.
“The laughing is back,” she said.
“I swear I don’t hear anything.”
“It’s coming from the front yard now.”
“Wait here I’ll go look.”
I clicked on my flashlight, the light casting long shadows, making it look even spookier.
The front yard at night was always creepy, and that night was no different.
Just as I was about to yell out that she was crazy I heard something running towards the back yard.
I ran back expecting the worst, but I saw her just sitting there.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
“Something just ran back here.”
“Nothing came back here.”
“What is going on?’
“I don’t know.”
“We should just go in the house.”
Just then someone started laughing.
“Um can you hear that?”
“I can this time.”
“Good.”
“I don’t think that’s good.”
“Probably not.”
We were getting up to go into the house when she said, “Why are the shadows moving?”
She was right. The fire made all kinds of weird shapes in the woods, but now they were definitely moving.
Strange shapes started making their way of the woods and heading right for us.
“Oh god,” I said.
And the fire went out.
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