2005-11-13 - 5:12 p.m.
They had bought the cottage with money they earned investing in the stock market. That was how Joel thought of it since it was he who made the calls with what they called their �fun money.�
Madeline thought her lucky husband just got lucky again.
Although a conflict developed with the advent of the new cash it was easily forgotten when the two went cottage shopping. Madeline was determined to reject the first choice of Joel and Joel was prepared to veto the first two choices made by his wife. The reason that these two conflicting souls have lasted almost ten years of marriage is that under all of the egos and opinions, they essentially were on the same page. A great example of that fact was the choice of cottage made: Joel had his first choice hidden in the second slot knowing Madeline would not like whatever one he wanted first. Madeline knew that Joel would fight back by more than likely declining the first two selections she made. Through all of that posturing and politicking, Joel�s second choice and Madeline�s third choice were the same cottage.
The choice was so simple that both of them felt cheated. So they got into fight about the decor of their new cottage.
Now, with the bustle of the city behind and the limitless horizon in front, Joel was driving their late model Ford Explorer over the country highway. He was thinking about trading it in for an Infiniti SUV. Madeline was thinking of adding silicone to her lips.
�The cottage is so pretty, Joel. That�s the first thing I think whenever I see it.�
�We made a wonderful choice.�
He drove over the smooth driveway and stopped right in front of the cottage. They continued talking while gathering their things from the back of the Explorer. They entered the elegant bungalow while speaking of some of the finer inadequacies Joel�s younger brother possesses.
�I mean the mother fucker is rude all of the time then he gets mad because we want nothing to do with him.�
�And that pig wife of his.�
A small break in the conversation endured whilst Joel chopped wood on the side of the house. Madeline brought out two eclectic mugs of hot chocolate on an antique tray she bought in the town ten miles down the road from the cottage.
�Aren�t you freezing out here Joel?�
�Nah, it�s all visceral. The movement masks it.�
She was sipping the hot cocoa and burned her lip. Joel burned his tongue. Neither of them cared.
Madeline wanted to know what �it� meant.
�Huh?�
�When you said that it masks it, what was that?�
�Oh, I remember now, yeah, it is the cold weather.�
They both looked to the sky. There was not one single cloud so the pale blue looked even colder. They decided enough wood was chopped so the two of them walked back into the house.
Joel made three trips to get all of the wood inside. Madeline rewarded all of her husband�s hard work and it was ecstasy for both. They fell asleep close to each other. Although both thought of this day as one of the best in their lives, neither of them told the other. It was just one of the many thoughts both of them had on their minds.
Deep into the night a dark figure slowly walked through the cottage. Weaving its way through the cottage, the dark figure came to the bedroom. Slipping through the solid oak door as if it were a ghost, the dark figure stood at the foot of the bed.
Madeline slowly sat up from her slumber. She knew the dark figure was there but still hoped it only to be the night. She had convinced herself of that lie. That was when the dark figure motioned for the other two monsters that were hidden in the closet.
The monsters that were there the whole time.
The two passed through the doors of the closet and grabbed Joel by each of his arms. After they drug him to the ground they pummeled him over and over with their fists hidden in black gloves. Madeline snapped from a haze induced from the horrors she was seeing and flinched a movement toward Joel.
He was screaming her name on the ground while the monsters attacked him.
The dark figure leapt from the foot of the bed and pinned Madeline to the mattress with knees that felt like spikes. The dark figure stared down at Madeline. She stared up at the night which was holding her down.
Only the night could be so strong.
The dark figure slowly pulled a hood from atop its head. There was the shape of a head only covered in pure white bandages. She thought she was staring into the eyes of the dark figure.
But it was only two pools of blood where eyes should be. The pools begin to let blood spill from their confines.
And the ground began to shake.
2
8:00
The bedroom was still shaking when Madeline awoke screaming. She threw the sheets, blankets and quilts off of both her and Joel. She leapt over him and onto the floor
�What�s going on?!�
Joel fell to the ground. He touched her exposed kneecap. His fingertips were covered in her sweat. They both stared at the window of the dark room. They stared at all of the snow on the other side of that window. They both wondered how high up the snow went. Madeline spoke to her husband but never took her eye from the window.
�Is this real?�
He stared at the snow. Had he ever seen so much? She turned from the window to look at him.
�Is this reality, Joel?�
�I hope not.�
�What does that mean?�
He felt anger bubble within him and it exploded from his lips.
�What do you want me to say, Madeline? I mean, it sure as hell looks real to me.�
He waited for her to explode back at him. After a single moment passed and there was nothing from her he knew how dire the situation was. When she started weeping he did not know what to do. It had been so long since they shared any other feelings together besides sarcasm and anger. That single thought made him so sad he started to cry. Soon they were holding each other as they sobbed.
They cried until the tears dried from their eyes. Joel saw the clock next to their bed. He could not believe it was only eight in the morning. If this was already the worst day of his life then there was plenty of time for it to get much worse.
Madeline stared at the window. She remembered how pleasant it was to stare through that window when the sun was out and the clouds were a memory of shadows passed. The snow in the window now made her think of those forgotten clouds. It was as if they fell from the sky in order to bury their cottage. She thought she saw the face of a bandaged man in the white outside of her window but it vanished when she looked again.
