2 Minutes Past Dark

It's time, I tell myself.  "It's actually past time."  I say quietly to no one in particular.  It's dark outside, like an ink blanket covering everything.  Must be a new moon, I think.  I look at the kids, it's too late to send them out.  I'll have to go.  I grab a jacket and my good solid shoes in case I have to run.  It's hard to go fast in rubber boots.  My yard backs up to a woods that goes on for miles.  I thought it was great when we first moved in, all surrounded by Mother Nature and the Universe.  But that was before, before I knew what was out there after dusk.

If I get out there before the sun goes completely down it is usually okay.  It is too early for the monsters.  Do not be fooled though, they are still out there, waiting for the night to take over.  Here I am, looking out in the pitch black looking for a shadow of courage.  I grab the only weapon I can, my Maglite.  The first part is easy; out the back door, down two flights of stairs, across the protected fenced in area.  It gets real once I am through the gate in the wild open space and the woods.

Armed with my Maglite I slip silently through the gate.  I start singing the Revivalists song that's been running through my head.  The coyotes are quiet, this is a sure sign something's out there.  I shine my flashlight in wide arc, holding it like a cop does on TV.  I first look for the glowing, red eye shine of a Bigfoot.  I sweep the beam high and low.  I listen for the dry leaf shuffle sound that only the zombies can make, it's unmistakable.  I'm always sure there is something there, just on the edge of the flashlight beam.

This.  This is what goes through my head when I go put the chickens up and collect the eggs at night.  I have 7 chickens. I used to have 8, I think the chupacabra got her.

“My daddy says that when you do somethin' to distract you from your worstest fears, it's like whistlin' past the graveyard. You know, making a racket to keep the scaredness and the ghosts away. He says that's how we get by sometimes. But it's not weak, like hidin'...it's strong. It means you're able to go on.”   
            -Susan Crandle Whistling Past the Graveyard

The revivalists song I sang -Wish I Knew You