There it was in front of him. Arthur stared into the darkness at the pair of glowing eyes that stared back at him. He clutched the heavy wooden chair as if it were a shield, frozen in place. Were it not for the spot lights on the stage behind him, Arthur would be in darkness with only the flashlight in his back pocket to guide him.

What the hell is this thing? He thought. In the moonless early morning, Arthur could see almost nothing outside the little circle of light emanating from the stage behind him. It was one of those portable ones that had been brought in by truck the day before.

He slowly backed away from the beast in the darkness. For a moment he thought it might eat him right there on the spot, this whatever it was. It let out a low growl. Arthur jumped, dropping his chair. The beast began to inch toward the light.

Arthur didn’t want to stick around to find out. He turned and fled, nearly bumping into the stage. The sounds of his running feet echoed in the otherwise empty meadow. Suddenly he was in darkness, the stage far behind him. The woods beckoned so he ran towards them, thinking only of whether or not he’d ever see his wife Janice again.

After a while, Arthur became aware that he could no longer hear the beast behind him. So he ducked behind a tree and tried to survey to area. The only thing he could see was the stage and the chair, sitting all alone in the middle of a circle of light.

If only I’d have been able to get that piece of shit car started I’d be on my way home now, Arthur thought to himself. He suddenly remembered the flash light in his back pocket. He took it out and surveyed the meadow once more. Still nothing.

Focus Arthur, focus, he told himself. If the beast was out there, he couldn’t find it. Slowly he turned around and began tip toeing through the woods. After a few minutes, he saw the light on his back porch. It glimmered like a tiny do of hope, getting stronger with each passing step.

Then he heard that growl again. He turned around and saw the same pair of eyes staring at him. Arthur froze in place, as if he’d turned to stone. He dropped the flash light before he could get a good look at the beast. It seemed to inch closer to him. Yet Arthur still could not take a step.

Is this it? he thought. But he couldn’t accept that. Then thoughts of Janice floated to the top of his mind. He envisioned her long black hair and ice blue eyes.

Arthur felt confidence flow back into him. He willed his feet to move a few steps back. Then a few more. Still the beast followed him. Arthur considered rushing it. Then he threw the thought out. He could barely get up to the nerve back away.

So he turned and made a run for it. The light hanging from his back porch grew larger, guiding him to safety. Arthur zig zagged, not daring to look behind him. He forced his mind to stay focused on what was in front of him.

His house was getting closer. He was almost home. But the sounds of running feet were growing closer by the second. Sweat began to drip down his forehead and his legs began to feel heavy. Arthur thought for a second that he couldn’t make it. But there was no way he could let that happen. Not this close to home.

He burst from the trees and into his back yard. He could still hear the beast behind him. It was growing closer still. Arthur knew he’d have to risk it all. He jumped, landing on his back porch. He spun around, positive the beast would follow.

But it remained motionless, those two glowing eyes staring at him. Arthur swore he saw malice in them for a second. Then it stalked off into the woods. Arthur let out a sigh of relief. For a second he didn’t quite believe it. He was sure that the thing would appear through the wall or fly out of the darkness of something.

Get a hold of yourself, he said as a light appeared in the second floor window.

“Arthur is that you?” Janice said poking her heading out of the window.

“Yeah, honey.”

“What’s going on?

“Nothing. I just uh, forgot something.” Janice looked at him suspiciously for a second, then closed the window. Arthur looked back at the woods. The little circle of light was barely visible now. He briefly considered getting another flashlight, but thought better of it. His work could wait till morning. So he turned around and went back inside.