In a field far below sat a gray and weathered barn. The barn wasn’t affected by the heat but still longed for the coming night. It grew rather bored during the day and longed for the rapid scurrying of the mice that would awaken at dusk. It stared at the world with old eyes and tried to remember the sounds of sheep and cows. That had been decades ago when the land around it had been a working farm. Now, the only sounds were the creaking of trees and the rustling of the wind through the tall Kentucky grasses.
As the sun sank lower in the sky, the shadows that had lain hidden in the surrounding hills began their slow, lazy stretch. Darkness would soon reclaim the land as her own. The creatures of darkness would awaken and the night would come alive, trying in vain to drive away the memory of the daylight.
But for the moment, the light was still clinging to the ground, digging in sharp claws and struggling against the inevitability of time. It was a fight that was eons old and still continued. It will continue until time itself ceases to exist.
Since the time was not right for the mice to be moving about, the barn was quite surprised to sense movement within its walls. Something was rooting about…shuffling into the gloom that had once been home to a sheep named Hank and various cows that had either been milked or slaughtered for their meat and therefore remained unnamed. The barn sat quietly, amazed at this change in its daily routine. It sat…and watched.
The figure slid quietly from the tall grass and stole quietly into the barn. It had lain in wait throughout the day in the dark hills and hollows that surrounded the land. It had waited…patiently…for the harsh burning sun of day to relinquish his throne to the lovely white goddess of the moon. Now, he could sense the coming of night…could feel it in how the burning in his flesh changed from a fierce pain to a dull electric throb which wasn’t entirely unpleasant. The pain didn’t stop…it never stopped. It just grew less intense. Sometimes….quite pleasurable.
But that was for the future…for the night. For now, it was still time to wait….to watch. The shadow found a dark corner of the barn and curled itself into a tight ball. Soon, full darkness would come. Until then…it would be patient.
***
Ruby Ann Miller looked at her reflection in the mirror. She sighed and brushed a lock of dark brown hair out of her face. She wasn’t bad looking, she reckoned. Most people would say that she was rather cute. So why hadn’t Joe called her back yet?
As a waitress at Jax, one of Jackson’s two bars since Breathitt County had gone wet two years ago, Ruby was familiar with how men were. They told you that they loved you with one side of their mouth while they were kissing someone else with the other side. But Joe had seemed so real….so interested in her. Of course, their date had only been two days ago. Maybe she was just being paranoid.
She sighed and stared hard at her face. Were the wrinkles under her eyes always that deep? She was only 23, but she seemed to be much older. She really needed to get more sleep. Of course, being a waitress in a bar didn’t make for the best hours. She was lucky to get home by 3 am. And she had been working double shifts lately ever since Tabitha Fraley had run off and eloped with that ox of a boyfriend that she had been dating since high school. She had called from Vegas to say that she wouldn’t be back. From Vegas for God’s sake! How much of a cliché could she have been?
Applying a shade of lipstick that was just a little too red and a smear of eye shadow that was just a little too blue, Ruby quickly finished dressing for work. She needed to leave a little bit early tonight. She was going drive out to Hardshell and visit her grandmother. She hadn’t been out to see Gran for about two weeks. Ruby was the only grandchild that Gran had, and Ruby just wanted to make sure that she was okay. Plus, she had a few groceries and things that she wanted to leave for Gran…including a jar of moonshine that she had bought off old Charlie Fugate, one of the regulars at the bar. Gran wasn’t much of a drinker, but she really loved her shine.
Ruby smiled to herself as she threw on her favorite scarlet jacket and grabbed the keys to her Ford Focus. She was really looking forward to seeing Gran. Things had been hectic at work…and now this mess with Joe. She just needed someone to talk to. Gran was always ready to lend an ear. Ruby quickly grabbed the sack of groceries that was sitting on the kitchen table and headed out the door. She hoped that her Focus would make it. It had been acting up recently. About two weeks ago, the check engine light had come on. She had taken it in to Breathitt County Tire, but they had told her that it was probably just a sensor in the gas tank…nothing to worry about. So far, it had been running okay.
Slipping the key into the ignition, she thought that she heard the phone ringing inside the house. For a second, she almost ran back inside. What if it was Joe? Then she thought better of it and started up the car. She almost hoped it was Joe. It would serve him right. He could sweat it out for a while. Whistling softly to herself, Ruby drove out of her driveway and headed south on Highway 15.
To be continued! Until next week….class dismissed!
