Free Harvest Moon by Helena Shaw

the old clock on the wall, Dawn saw she had been mopping the same
two square feet of floor for the last five or six minutes. Even knowing that,
she tried to keep going. If she stopped, Dawn knew she’d break down and she
might not be able to pick up the pieces again.
    “What if she calls?” Dawn mumbled as Jim took the mop
from her hand. “What if she walks in the front door? I can’t go yet. She’ll
want me to be here.”
    “If she calls,” Jim said, “I’ll send her to your
place.”
    It was an entirely empty promise. Deep down, they both
knew that Courtney wouldn’t be calling. A tiny voice in Dawn’s mind was trying
to tell her that Courtney would never be calling again, but she refused to
listen. It was all a misunderstanding. It had to be.
    “Go home,” Jim insisted again. “Gabe can walk you.”
    “I’m fine,” Dawn told him. The idea of having to be
walked home just made everything seem worse and all too real. Her little house
wasn’t far, anyway, and she normally made the five-minute walk alone. Normalcy
was what she wanted, not having to be walked home like a child.
    “Are you sure?” Jim asked as he raised a bushy gray
eyebrow. “You’re on his way.”
    “I swear, I’m fine,” Dawn insisted. “I’ll call if
anything comes up or if I change my mind, okay?”
    Jim didn’t look too happy about it, but Dawn wasn’t
going to change her mind, and they both seemed to understand that. She said she
wanted to be alone, and he respected that, even if he thought it was a bad
idea, given the circumstances.
    “Call if you need anything at all,” Jim said. “Even if
it’s just to talk, okay?”
    “Thanks, Jim,” Dawn said as she grabbed her old plaid
jacket and pulled it on. “I’ll be okay, I promise.”
    “You better,” Jim said with a weak smile. “And take
tomorrow off.”
    “I’ll think about it,” Dawn said, but they both knew
she wouldn’t. Not only did Dawn like the bar, but too much time without
something to do would be deadly for her psyche. She’d be there tomorrow, even
if it meant having to deal with more questions.
    The late evening was colder than she’d expected as she
stepped out of the bar. The breeze tugged at her hair and she pulled the jacket
tighter around herself as she turned toward home.
    Somewhere far in the distance, a coyote, maybe a wolf,
howled, its call echoing off mountains and trees alike. The sound sent a chill
down her spine, but she forced herself to think rationally. The sound, even
with the echoes, was far enough away that she knew she was safe.
    But another idea was taking root in her mind. What
if it’s not a bear ? What if it was a wolf that attacked those hikers?
    Though the howl had been far away, the idea that was
wiggling in her mind was enough to get her feet walking just a bit faster.
    As she walked home, a familiar feeling started to
creep over her. It was late and the streets were empty, but just as the night before,
Dawn didn’t feel entirely alone. Something, someone, maybe, was watching her.
She could almost feel their eyes on her, and she glanced over her shoulder to
see who was there.
    But it was no one. The streets were empty and her mind
was playing tricks on her again.
    “Stop it,” she said as she made her way past the
yellow tape that was becoming all too familiar. Someone, or maybe it was just
the wind, had turned some of the tape to ribbons, and it fluttered like spider
webs in the breeze, but Dawn didn’t stop to look at it. Her mind was telling
her, no, ordering her, to get home and lock the doors.
    Somewhere behind her, a loud clatter erupted in the
night, startling her enough to make her jump. She knew she should keep going,
but she spun just in time to see a raccoon come running out of the alley, its
prize of a piece of discarded pizza clenched in its jaws.
    You’re being silly , she told herself, but
another clatter from the alley sent her running for home. It was probably just
another raccoon, but she couldn’t