Dark and Stormy Night 2016 - Apelser - ScrapHappyGabi - Tigerlily2110 - Apelser - Tigerlily2110

It was a dark and stormy night

It was a dark and stormy night.... R1

Apelser

It was a dark and stormy night... the thunder and lightning bolts played around in the sky. It looked as if someone was playing with the bolts as it was tossed around in the sky. Each time a lightning bolt struck, it looked as if it was daylight. Inside the house all was dark, except for the light coming in through the windows when the thunder and lightning struck. The storm outside was getting worse and worse. They sat huddled together, too afraid to move. It would be so nice and comforting in the big bed, but as soon as they decided to move, the storm would grow louder and another lightning bolt would be followed by a loud thunder clash. So there they sat, too afraid to move.

It was only a few steps to go, but it still meant running past the big window. And even thought there was curtain in front of the window the idea of passing by the window scared them. They knew that they actually had nothing to be afraid of as they were inside the house, away from the cold and wetness of the rain outside. A sudden loud thunder bolt made them jump and instinctively they both bolted past the window heading straight for the comfortable bed. The scariness of the situation, far from their minds as they headed to their save place. Both leaped onto the bed and quickly crawled under the blankets. All you could see was the two bundles under the blankets.  They both huddled tight to each other. Safely tucked under the blankets they peeked from under the blankets.

The sudden jolt of the bed didn’t scare her as she knew that some or other time during the night the two little fur balls will come to their safe place. This was the first place they headed when in need of security. And tonight was no exception.

Written by: Marie-Antoinette Pelser - Apelser from Swap-Bot; apelser@wol.co.za

(I would like to get the final story back and if possible all the other collaborated-finished stories as well.)

It was a dark and stormy night.... R2

By ScrapHappyGabi 

The storm raged on as the clock struck eleven. The sudden clang of the clock startled them and they, once again, jolted the bed. Between the storm and the two scaredy cats beneath the covers, she knew it was going to be a long, sleepless night. She drew the covers up beneath her chin. The wind was howling and the sudden flashes of lightning were throwing shadows all across the room.
"If only the electricity hadn't gone out" She thought, instinctively reaching over to turn on her bedside lamp. It was then that her imagination started to get the best of her. Every one of Grimms Fairytales came flooding into her over-active imaginative mind. Monsters, demons and all sorts of mystical and fantastical dreaded creatures! She started getting restless and so did the two kittens beneath the covers. She felt them nestle closer to her leg. She decided to try to distract herself from the darkness by reaching beneath the covers and petting the kittens. They were happy for the comfort and she could feel them relax as she stroked their soft fur. She was thankful for the companionship and the distraction.

     

The night seemed to drag on and on. What felt like hours was only fifteen minutes and she let out an exasperated sigh as she glanced to the clock that read 11:15. 

"ok, I'm going to go make some tea." She said, talking to the two kittens knowing full well they weren't leaving the safety of the bed anytime soon. She slid from beneath the blankets and winced as her barefeet touched the cool wood floor. "Where are my slippers?" she asked no one in particular. She bent down to look for them beneath the bed and that's when she heard the first thud, followed by another and another. The thuds were rhythmic and as she strained to hear them through the loud sounds of the storm.

It was a dark and stormy night....R3

By Tigerlily2110

'What is that' she said aloud to herself, 'sounds like someone walking about in the attic, or someone playing bongo's'.  Somewhere in the back of her mind a memory stirred.  A few years ago she had seen a film about a board game that trapped a boy in it, and when it was found and played again, he came out as a man, but so did all sorts of other creatures.  As she recalled the game was thrown away, but it surfaced again on a sandy beach.  Two children found it and their speech sounded French.  The thudding she was hearing was the same as the thudding in the game, how odd!  It was just a film though wasn't it?   Shrugging, she found her slippers and put them on, but she couldn't shake off the feeling of unease.

It would take a while to warm the water for the tea on the gas ring, so she went over to the wardrobe to get out a cardigan or something.  The thudding became louder and, if anything, more insistent, then as suddenly as it had started, it stopped.  She opened the wardrobe door, and just for a split second she thought she saw something out of the corner of her eye.  Was that a light? A light in her wardrobe!  And what on earth was that smell? It smelt like cat wee, big cat wee, or a lot of wee from a small cat.  It couldn't have been the kitten's, they were fastidious about using the litter tray.  Come to think of it, the cats never went near the wardrobe, not even when the when the doors were thrown open and she was having a clear out.  

She'd got the thing a few years ago, someone had told her about a house clearance, the old lady from the big house had passed on, and as she had just bought where she lived now, she couldn't resist going to take a look.  Had seen the 'drobe and thought it hideous! French, huge, with a strange carved front.  She didn't even know why she had bought it, but something had compelled her to do so, she felt as though she had seen it before.  She had also bought a big dining chair, but that had been banished to the attic, as it was uncomfortable.  

With the cup of tea forgotten, a burning curiosity, and a sense of dread, she began to clear all her clothes from the wardrobe.  One of the kittens peeked out from the hidey hole of bedclothes, and got covered by a blouse, and scurried back under the clothes pile.

Finally she got to the back of the wardrobe, where she had been sure the light had come from - nothing, but the back of the 'drobe.  Hang on, she thought, what is that? Don’t remember seeing that last time.  About three quarters of the way up on the back of the wardrobe was what could only be described as a wood knarl, or knot.  Tentatively she stretched out a hand to touch it, as she did the wardrobe door began to close and the thudding started again, louder and more urgent than before.

It was a dark and stormy night

Round 4

Apelser

(It is great to get my story back and see what direction it has taken.)

She turned and stopped the door just in time before it slammed shut. She turned back to look at the wood knarl or knot but….. It was gone and the thudding also stopped. What on earth was going on? Both kittens were now hissing and complaining for all they were worth from where they tucked out from between the clothes on the bed. “Quiet you two. There is nothing wrong.” Who was she trying to kid? She was just as scared. But they kept on and on and she decided to first get them quiet and get a troch as well. Maybe she was just looking in the wrong place for the wood knarl. She went to the bed and picked both kittens up and then it started. As her back was still turned to the wardrobe she thought that it was the storm outside but then she realised that the storm has quiet down and that the noise was coming from behind her. She felt the kittens trembling in her hands and held then tighter against her. She turned around…….. “What on earth? Are this really happening?” The wardrobe was violently shaking and fog was starting to creep out through the closed door. What was going on? The wardrobe was empty and there was no way that fog could be getting inside. Then she smelled that terrible odour again. The two kittens were terrified by now. Then suddenly the wardrobe doors started opening, fog, light and the terrible smell started billowing out. She didn’t wait….. but ran for the door, clutching the two frightened kittens in her hand. The door shut closed as if someone or something slammed it shut.

The fog was slowly starting to creep up on the floor making its’ way to her.  She climbed onto the bed. How will they escape... what is going on? She started regretting the day she ever laid her eyes on this wardrobe. She clutched the kittens tighter to her as if their lives depended on each other. She looked as the wardrobe doors opened wider and the smell got even worse and worse. She heard someone crying and as droplets fell onto her hand, she realized that it was her that was crying. As the fog made its’ way around the room completely enveloping the floor, the smell got worse and the light became brighter. A sudden shriek and unearthly noises were coming out of the wardrobe. She heard a load thumping again then a crackling sound and wood bursting apart, but the wardrobe was still intact. Then she realized that the crashing sound came from the door or rather, what used to be the door. There in the doorway stood a tall man holding an axe in his hands. “We need to get out of here as quickly as possible,” he told her but she was only staring at him as if she didn’t understand one word he said. As he rushed to the bed she saw him throwing a box towards the wardrobe and then grabbed her by the arm, pushing her out of the door in front of him. “Head for the front door,” he told her. She held on tightly to the kittens and rushed to the door. She noises and smell from the wardrobe was getting worse and worse. What on earth was going on?

It was a dark and stormy night

Round 5

Tigerlily2110

Outside the storm was beginning to howl again, and as she stood buffeted by the wind and rain, she started to get her head together. 'What is going on, and who the hell are you', she shouted to the man.  But he seemed more interested in completely destroying the wardrobe that was still emitting fog and that horrible smell.  It smelled like something had died in there.  Then all at once there was an immense flash of lightening, and something terrifying was illuminated coming out of the wardrobe, it was like a huge lion, but with the head of a dragon.  She screamed out, but they guy with the axe was there, and with one huge swing, the thing that had come out of the wardrobe was decapitated and it disappeared.

She released her grip on the kittens slightly, they seemed to have ceased their hissing, and it had been a rough night for them all.  But, still determined to find out what was going on, she went back into the now silent house.  Where was the guy with the axe, she looked in every room, but she could not find him anywhere, it was as if he had never existed.  Even the bedroom door that he had blasted out was intact again.  Slowly she opened the bedroom door, and couldn't believe what she saw!  Everything was just as it had been, but hang on, what was that in the bed?  She slowly crept up to the bed, the cats she had been clutching began to hiss again.  She pulled down the covers and came face to face with... herself and the kittens!

Before she had time to scream, the door of the wardrobe opened and an arm grabbed her and pulled her and the cats into the fog and gloom, the drumming started up again.

The End