**From the opening pages of my new novel. "The Foothills"**1

“Now, what brings you in today?”2

“Nightmares. I thought they had gone away, but they’ve started to come back.” I said as I adjusted myself in the seat. I looked around the room. It was cozy; full of oak finished tables and desks, chairs with comfy cushions, and a fine red carpet that was soft to the touch. 3

Dr. Wade sat across from me, holding a pen and a large pad of paper in her hands. She sat in her chair with her legs crossed. Her long black skirt rolled down past her shins, and she wore black heels. Her dark hair pulled back into a ponytail and a pair of thin-rimmed glasses only enhanced her beauty. 4

“What kind of nightmares?” Dr. Wade asked.5

“Visions. I keep seeing something over and over in my mind that I saw when I was a child.” I said.6

“And these visions scare you?”7

“Yes.”8

“Tell me why.”9

I took a deep breath knowing even if I told her she wouldn’t believe me. “When I was five years old, I saw something that I should not have seen.”10

“You mean, something secret? Something you shouldn’t have known about?”11

“I mean, something that should not even exist.” 12

Dr. Wade cocked her eyebrows. I could tell she was intrigued and interested. “Where did you see it?”13

“At my house – the house I lived in when I was a kid.”14

“Was it around these parts?”15

“No. I’m originally from the Pacific Northwest – Northern Washington. We lived in a town called Ember Forest.”16

“Tell me about Ember Forest, Kip.” She said, resting her pad of paper down on her knees. 17

There wasn’t much to tell about Ember Forest. It was as boring as a small town could come. “It’s a fishing village. I don’t think the population even exceeds 300 or so. It’s surrounded by forest, and full of swamps and overgrowth. It’s really not a very pretty place. There are a lot of older homes, rusted water towers, decrepit barns, creepy cabins in the woods…” 18

I paused, trying to think of other ways to describe Ember Forest, but that was pretty much it. I smiled at Dr. Wade, satisfied with my description. 19

“Sounds very…” Dr. Wade couldn’t think of a word, so I finished her sentence for her.20

“Backwoods.”21

Dr. Wade laughed, not agreeing with me, but also not denying it. She began to scribble notes into her pad. I would have loved to read what she was writing.22

“Now, tell me a little bit about the time you saw this thing that should not exist.” Dr. Wade was very polite and seemed to really care, but then again, any professional in her position had to be, or at least act it. I was paying good money for the session, and she knew it. I would have loved to believe it wasn’t just an act. I needed someone to really care about my problem. The visions were not just going to go away at the snap of my fingers. I wish it were that easy.23

“Well,” I began, trying to remember all the details, “We lived in a small house. It wasn’t a nice house at all, just big enough for the three of us.”24

“Who were the three of you?” Dr. Wade asked.25

“My dad, my sister and myself.”26

“Go on.” Dr. Wade said, jotting more notes down.27

“Our house was located in the foothills at the bottom of the mountains. The Cascade Mountain Range ran right through out town. We were on the east side of the mountains. Woods surrounded our home. Woods and weeds, weeds and bushes, bushes and overgrowth…it was a mess.28

“My dad had just gotten home from work, and I was helping him bring in the firewood for the night because it was going to rain. My sister is five years older than me, so at the time she was about 10. She was inside cleaning the dishes.”29

“What are your father and your sisters names?”30

“My dad’s name was Barton, and my sister’s name is Audrey.”31

“Your dad has passed away?”32

“Yes.”33

“I’m sorry.” Dr. Wade said, believably sympathetic. I nodded and continued.34

“So after we brought the firewood in, the three of us were sitting around the fireplace getting warm. It was sometime in late September, so had been getting cooler by the day. We had soup and sandwiches for dinner, and then went to bed.35

“I woke up around one o’clock in the morning because I heard a scratching noise. I turned on my light and noticed it was raining outside. I had forgotten to close the curtains on my window, so I could see the rain hitting the glass. I just assumed the scratching noises was just the rain, so I turned my light off and went back to sleep. 36

“I then woke about again. It seemed like hours later, but my clock only said it was about ten after two. It felt like my room had gotten darker. The rain was still pouring and hitting my windows. For a five year old, it was kind of scary, so I jumped out of bed and pulls the curtains shut on my window. That’s when I heard another sound. It was like the scraping of metal or something. It was continuous. The scraping sound went off for a good thirty seconds or so and then there was a loud crash. I jumped and just stood there in my room. I can still feel the goose bumps all over my skin. I pulled the curtain back just a little bit and looked outside. All I could see was the rain falling hard. There were puddles gathering in the yard, but I couldn’t see much else because it was so dark.”37

I paused for a moment. I could see the story I was telling playing out in my head before I even spoke the words. I was getting to the part that had terrified me for the past twenty years. I didn’t want to say it, because I knew what Dr. Wade would say, or think. She would be just as skeptical as everyone else I had ever told. That’s why I had stopped telling most people.38

“Go on, Kip.” Dr. Wade reassured me.39

“The flood lights on the side of the house flashed on – which you know only happens when something disrupts its’ sensors. So, I knew there was something outside my house. I could now see everything outside of my window. I saw the rain gathering in puddles across the yard. I could see my dad’s truck off to the left near the driveway. I could see our shed by the edge of the woods. The shed is where I saw what must have caused the crashing sound. My dad had leaned about a dozen 4x4’s against the shed. In front of them was a large wheelbarrow with a few sheets of metal lying on top. Well, the wheelbarrow had been knocked over, and all of the 4x4’s and sheets of metal were on the ground, covered in mud.”40

I saw Dr. Wade looking intently at me. I felt myself starting to tremble. The visions were coming back. It was big. It was gray in color. It’s eyes were large and fixed on me. The shaggy, matted hair hung down like a mop from its body. It walked hunched over, and implanted its hoof-like footprints in the mud. I shook the vision out of my head and looked Dr. Wade in the eyes. I had lost my train of though. 41

Dr. Wade looked at me, slightly concerned. “Kip, are you alright?”42

I shook my head rapidly.43

“What did you see next?” She asked. I could tell she was actually interested.44

“It came out from behind the shed.” I said, regaining my composure. It was some sort of…creature. It was an animal, I think, that I had never seen before.”45