Silent Night (r.d. 1)

The doctor sat in his dark, cramped study. The only light came from the computer, the screen eerily bright and white in the darkened room. It cast light on the papers surrounding his desk. In the light, it wasn't possible to see what most of the things were. Case studies from his patients, copies of medical journals. These things were important to him -but not the reason he was here so late, so consumed in his work that he didn't even think to turn on his study light when the lights from the street went out. He was thinking about a patient of his. Always the one patient. Ever since she had been admitted into his care almost four months ago, she was all he thought about to the extent that his wife thought that he was having an affair. The truth was something more frightening. How could her story be true? He wondered for the millionth time. Stories like hers aren't true, are just urban legend. He frowned at the screen, trying to make out more of the patients history. He had googled her yet again, to see if he could find any other fragments of her former life to figure out who she had left, and even just who exactly she was. He paused for a moment, and rubbed his temples with his fingers. What a headache the computer was giving him. He hadn't noticed for a while, either.
He glanced down at the file in front of him. Grubby, handwritten, the story inside had been read so many times, he doubted he could find any more meaning to it. He was suprised he hadn't read all the meaning out of it, and turned the paper into sand from cinstant touching. He thought, a bit smugly, that if asked he could possibly rewrite the whole thing from memory. He shook his head, and then got up, his joints popping as he rose.
He glanced down at the file again, shook his head again. Enough studying, old boy. Time for bed. He left the room without turning the computer off, and the screen rested on the word document he had last used. The screen stayed open on the file for a while, and then disappeared under a screensaver of a tropical sunrise.

MY STORY1

Why would you believe anything that I write? I can scarecely believe any of it myself, my dear doctor. And you never will believe anything I tell you either. Most people stop believeing in monsters when they are still children, dear doctor. And still, you insist that I tell you this?
However, in the hope that this will bring understanding I will tell you everything. If nothing else, this will be an interesting clinical study, wouldn't you say, doctor?
The experience is too real to speak of in first person. I hate to see myself there. So I won't. 2


Such a beautiful day, thought Allie, half-asleep on the hammock, shades over her eyes. Such a plumb-gorgeous day. The sun popped back out from behind the clouds, and the sudden return of light made Allie squint, even though she had her sunglasses on. Why on earth did Momma have to put the hammock right dead in the sun? Allie groaned and turned herself over on the hammock, the strings now cutting into the front of her legs. Might as well be even, Allie thought with grim good humor. Might as well go the whole way. Allie laid her head down on the hammock and felt it pull on her face as well. Great, she thought. Just great.3

"Allison Bentley!!!" her Momma shouted from the side of the house.4

"What Momma?"5

Her mom came into view. Or at least her legs did. Allie was too lazy to life her head up much.6

"Don't you 'what Momma' me. I'm tired of you hogging up the phone line constantly. You know you're grounded too! Why do you have to be so arrogant as to think that you can just take over the whole house and get away with it?"7

"I haven't been on the phone. Or internet." Allie kept her voice calm. NO use.8

"So you're a liar too?"9

"No, Momma..."10

"So who else was it? Caylee is too young to use a phone. And Matt and Joseph, God help them, are too absorbed in video games to even notice we HAVE a phone. It had to be you!"11

"It wasn't me!"12

"Don't you dare raise your voice!"13

Allie sighed. Her momma always came out to provoke fights with her. Never the twins or Caylee. Just Allie. Maybe she was jealous...14

"Stop daydreaming, quit lying and come in the house."15

Her momma left, or so Allie assumed, because she had once again laid her head back on the hammock and could see nothing.16