The Occasional Dark Corner

I promised the occasional dark corner. As a suspense writer I couldn't resist the urge to tell a scary story. Read on.

Lara Adler woke with a start. Her heart thumped in her chest like a captured wild horse. Another nightmare. She closed her eyes, but couldn't shake the vision of a man outside the McDonald's. Murdered. That would teach her to eat fast food late at night.

The cool breeze from the bedroom window blew across her skin. She pulled the covers tighter, but the chill settled into her bones. She should sleep in something other than yoga pants and a tank top. Tossing the blankets aside, she swung her feet to the cold floor.

The digital clock read 1:52. The nightmares always happened at the same time. She fumbled for the lamp on the bedside table knocking her IPod and psychology text book to the ground. The light pushed the darkness into the corner of the room. She blinked against the painful intrusion.

Her usual sleep garb had transformed into her college sweatshirt. Covered in mud. "What the..." And her jeans, a pair she only pulled out for working in the yard, streaked down the sides as if she'd been wiping her hands on her legs. She wiped her pants then and brought her hands to her face. Blood.