Chapter 2
I sit on the beach with the waves rolling over my bare feet. My sea foam green eyes stare at the horizon, watching a sailboat slowly sail by. I lift my drink, a Sex on the Beach, and take a slow sip when I hear my phone buzz. I lower the glass for a moment, shrug, and go back to taking another sip.
The buzzing from my phone wakes me up, making my peaceful dream disappear. I sit up, rubbing my eyes and reach for my phone, sighing heavily. I squint at the screen, the number 3:00 AM glaring at me as I unlock my phone in order to see who is texting me so early in the morning.
“This better be important,” I grumble as I glance over at my still sleeping cats. “Yea, you all are still asleep, I see.” I receive no response from the sleeping kitties and chuckle before I open up my message box. I raise my eyebrows when I read the message out loud, “It’s a beautiful night out? Go look outside? I don’t even know who this person is texting me.”
I shake my head and hit reply, texting the person back that they have the wrong number and to not text me again. To make sure that they don’t, I block the number. I am about to put down my phone when the locked black screen comes to life and a warning scrolls across it. My hand shakes when I read the one simple sentence on the screen: Do Not Look At The Moon.
I chuckle a bit at the warning, trying to calm my nerves, delete the message off my phone, and set it back down on my nightstand. I curl up on my side to get back to sleep, since I still have to get up early for work, but my phone vibrates again. I try to ignore the sound, but it vibrates over and over repeatedly, keeping me from being able to fall back to sleep. I groan as I sit up and turn on the lamp on my cherry nightstand. I run my hand over my face to wipe away the sleep so I can see the phone screen better.
“What is going on?” I mumble to myself as I open my text message box.
One after another after another, text messages from phone numbers I don’t recognize fill up my text box. I open a few, but they all say the same thing about it being a beautiful night and that I should go look outside. I try to delete most of them, but more keep coming in. I don’t dare try to block the numbers because there are so many it would be impossible. I shake my head, growing annoyed, but the number of random numbers messaging me the same thing. I glance over at my window, wondering if I should take a peek just to see what all the commotion is about. I climb out of bed, leaving the warmth of my sheets, and gently lift my blinds to peer outside.
I see something moving in the darkness, but I couldn’t make out what it is at first. I gasp when I see in the sudden brightness of the moon my neighbor in my backyard. I wonder why the moon became so bright suddenly, but I didn’t look at it. My eyes stay glued to my neighbor, Steve, as he stands in my backyard, eyes staring up at the moon, blood dripping from his fingertips.
I let my blinds fall back down over my window, blocking my view and cover my mouth when Steve suddenly looks down from the sky at my window. With my phone still in hand, I clamber for my closet, closing myself in. I drop my phone when it vibrates again, startling me. With a shaky hand, I pick up my phone to see another onslaught of text messages from unknown numbers.
I turn off my phone and listen for any strange sounds in my house, praying that my cats hide before anything happens. My hand rummages around in the dark until I find the machete I keep hidden in my closet, just in case. My hand grasps the hilt and I pull it closer just as I hear my window shatter. I gasp and hear the sounds of my two cats hissing, then jumping off my bed, most likely sneaking under my bed to hide since the bedroom door is closed now. I unbuckle my machete from its sheath and pull it free when the distinct sounds of someone stepping on glass reach my ears.