Free Sapphire: A Paranormal Romance by Bryan W. Alaspa Page A

Jimmy got home, he checked his watch and saw that it was one in the
morning.  He sat outside for a few moments, and then got up and walked as
stealthily as he could up the front porch and into the house.   He cringed when
the screen door let out a groan that sounded about as quiet as a double-barreled
shotgun going off.  He crept into the darkened living room and froze.  He
slipped off his shoes to try and be quieter figuring his mother would start
screaming at him at any moment.  He looked to his left into the living room and
saw a form lying on the couch and remained frozen for a time.
    The snoring was
what made him move again.  When she was deeply asleep, his mother was known to
saw logs louder than a lumberjack.  The television was on with the volume
turned down, and the screen cast an eerie glow across her face.   Her head was
back, pressed into one of the couch cushions, and her mouth hung open.  She had
a magazine on her chest and the remote control was held loosely by one hand and
had also ended up on her chest.  Her breathing was regular, making the magazine
and the remote move up and down slowly.  She was out. 
    Jimmy thought for
a moment that a loving and diligent son would wake his mother up and help her
to bed rather than leave her on the couch.  However, given the verbal assault
he was likely to encounter, Jimmy guessed he could spend one night not being a
good and diligent son.  He picked up his shoes and shuffled in his stocking
feet to his bedroom.  He closed the door carefully behind him, and only then
did he let his breath out in a long sigh.
    He undressed
quietly.  He then slipped into bed, the coolness of the sheets welcome against
his skin.  He looked up at the ceiling of his bedroom.  The shadows from the
trees and bushes outside his bedroom cast strange figures across the ceiling
tiles, like hands clawing and scratching.  He smiled.  His head was buzzing and
when he closed his eyes, he saw Sapphire staring at him, her eyes that were
burning coals set far back in her sockets.  He had never known anyone more
beautiful.  He wondered if he would ever get to sleep.
    He was asleep in
seconds.  One moment he was staring at the claws and shadows on his ceiling,
and the next he had gone into a deep sleep.  His body was exhausted.  Although
his brain continued to buzz with thoughts and images of Sapphire, his body
forced him into sleep.  His dreams were troubles and, although he could not
remember any of them the next morning, he knew that Sapphire was in most of
them.
    Near dawn, he had
a dream that he carried with him right into his waking moments.  He was running
through the darkened woods with Sapphire.  She was clutching his hand, and all
around them was darkness.  The darkness seemed alive, however, not just the
absence of light, but something alive that wanted to reach out and grab them. 
Tree branches slapped Jimmy in the face, whipping at his eyes, tearing the
flesh from his face.  He could feel the blood running down his face, dripping
from his chin, and spattering against the ground.  Beneath his feet, the roots
of trees reached up from under the ground like hungry hands grabbing for food. 
He felt them wrapping around his ankles, threatening to spill him onto the
ground.  And behind them was the worst part, because something was there,
something was coming.  He could hear it thrashing and crashing through the
branches.  Sapphire was terrified, her hands gripping his with such force that
he could feel the bones moving beneath her fingers, squeezing so tight that he
thought the bones might break.
    “Run, Jimmy!” she
screamed, and she began to run faster, pulling her hand away from Jimmy’s.
    “Sapphire!”
    Sapphire’s eyes
were wide as she looked back over her shoulder at Jimmy.  Just then, the trees
near Sapphire split apart as if they had been hit by lightning.  A man emerged
from behind the trees, from within the darkness.  He had glowing red eyes