My Short Short for the Day

 *******     continued     *******

 

Melanie thumped into the rocking chair, clutching the arms and staring in terror at the doorway.  A dark, huddled figure crept toward her.  Her voice caught in her throat as fear shot through her. 

The figure inched closer making a raspy, wheezing kind of gurgle as it moved.  Melanie didn’t dare look away but dreaded seeing the figure up close.  The smell hit her then.  It smelled like a swampy marsh filled with rotting fish.

The figure was only a few feet away.  The dingy clothes hung off her in tatters.  Her hair was stringy and matted in places.  Her skin was so dirty it was hard to tell where the clothing ended and her skin began.  Then she looked straight at Melanie.  Her eyes were a piercing blue.  Melanie gasped.

Suddenly there was a siren sound outside.  Just a few short bursts of noise, just enough to make Melanie turn her head towards the window.  Almost as quickly, she turned back.  She felt a whoosh of air in her face, but the figure was gone. 

The front door was kicked in and she heard yelling downstairs.  She found she could move so she jumped out of the chair and ran down the hallway.  She nearly collided with a police officer who was coming up the stairs. 

“Whoa!”  He grabbed her by the arms.

“There’s a child.  Here.  I…I don’t know where the parents are.  Couldn’t find them.  But there’s something wrong.  Very wrong.”  The words stammered out.

“Slow down.”  The officer was guiding her down the stairs.  “She said there’s a kid here.  Check the rooms.”  He barked the orders then led Melanie outside.

“But…the child.  She’s…there’s…”  Melanie was handed some water.

After several minutes, a couple officers came out of the building and walked over.  “Sir, the place is empty.  No one’s here.”

“But, there was a little girl.”  Melanie started to explain.

“Look, this place is on the market.  Has been for a while now.  No one’s lived here in years.”  The officer stated.  “And we just checked the whole house, top to bottom.  No one.”

“But…”  Melanie let the words drop.

“Come on, we’ll need to take you to the station for a statement.”  The officer said leading her to the car.

She sat in the car looking down at her hands.  As the car started to pull away from the curb, she looked up to the top floor window.  She blinked and there was the face.  That little, grime covered face with the piercing blue eyes staring straight at her.