Ash Cottage: Part 7

 Alice awoke to the sound of glass smashing.

She sat bolt upright in bed and held still, listening for more. The room was dark, lit only by a thin wash of moonlight slipping through the gap in the curtains she always left slightly open. The pale glow stretched across the floor and up the wall, leaving the corners in shadow.

She rubbed her eyes. She had been deep in sleep. For once, no terrors had dragged her awake.

From her bed, she scanned the room. Nothing seemed disturbed. The glass of water she always kept beside her for her medication still sat untouched on the bedside cabinet. Everything was as it should be.

Her gaze shifted to the door.

It was slightly open.

She frowned. She did not leave it open. She never left it open. She hated the idea of someone being able to approach her without a sound.

SMASH.

Another crash.

The kitchen.

She threw back the heavy duvet and jumped from the bed. Barefoot, she hurried down the hallway, the floorboards cold beneath her feet. She stopped at the kitchen door, hand hovering over the handle.

What if it was an intruder?

A faint smile flickered across her face. Then they had chosen the wrong house.

She flexed her hands, forcing herself to stay calm. A clear head mattered. A slow breath in, steady.

She opened the door.

The kitchen lay in darkness, the moonlight blocked by the back of the house. It took a moment for her eyes to adjust, shapes forming slowly out of shadow.

No one was there.

The cabinet where she kept her glasses stood open.

On the floor lay the shattered remains of two champagne flutes. She had not used them in a long time. There had not been much reason to celebrate.

She stepped further in, scanning the room. Had the cabinet loosened? A hinge come away? Pipes behind the wall shaking it loose?

She turned to grab the dustpan and brush.

SMASH.

She spun back.

Another glass now lay broken on the floor, the pile growing.

“What…”

A glass shot from the cabinet.

It moved fast, like it had been fired, smashing into the wall beside her head. She ducked, raising her arms as shards sprayed across the room.

Another followed.

It tore through the air toward her. She stumbled back, the glass missing her by inches before exploding against the tiles. Fragments scattered across her feet. One caught her hand. She winced.

She glanced down. A shallow cut. Blood welled, but it was nothing serious.

Then the rest came.

One after another, the glasses hurled themselves from the cabinet, flung with force by something unseen. Each impact cracked sharp against tile or wall, the noise filling the room, relentless.

Alice turned and ran.

She reached her bedroom, slammed the door, and threw her weight against it. Behind her, the noise continued. The cupboard was being emptied.

SMASH. SMASH. SMASH.

She pressed her back to the door, heart pounding, listening.

Then silence.

She checked her hand again. Blood, but not much. Lucky.

What the hell was happening in her house?

BANG.

The door shuddered violently, the impact jolting through her body and nearly knocking her off her feet. She grabbed the frame, holding on.

BANG.

Something struck it again. Harder.

BANG.

The wood creaked under the force, the hinges groaning.

BANG.

She gritted her teeth, holding firm. The blows came again and again, relentless, as if something on the other side was trying to break through.

She thought of the dresser beside her. She could drag it across, brace the door.

She did not move.

She did not dare.

Her eyes drifted to the window.

The sky was beginning to lighten. The sun edged slowly over the horizon, pale gold pushing back the darkness.

The banging stopped.

Just like that.

Silence settled over the room.

She exhaled slowly, her grip loosening.

Whatever had been out there did not like the light.

Good.

That suited her.

After a moment, she eased away from the door and opened it a fraction, peering into the hallway.

The floor was covered in shattered glass, glittering in the early morning light. Beautiful at a distance. Dangerous up close.

She pulled her slippers from beneath the bed and slipped them on.

Now she had a mess to clean up.