December 25, 1987

(Dwayne's view)

I awoke to the sound of someone tapping at my window "Wha--?" I mumbled, as I rolled over in bed hoping that the noise would stop.

"What the hell?" I thought, as the tapping continued I rolled out of bed rubbing my eyes.

"What's happening?" I mumbled, as  I made my way to the window and looked out.

"Hello?" I called, then shrugged and closed it.

"That was weird." I thought, as a tired yawn escaped my lips and I made my way back over to bed.

"What do you think it was, Sprite?" I asked my cat, as she curled up next to me in bed she simply looked up at me, before rubbing her furry head against my cheek.

"Yeah, I should probably go back to sleep, hmm?" I asked, as I pulled the covers back over myself and went back to sleep.

"Goodnight Sprite," I said, as my eyes closed, and I drifted off to sleep.

I was awoken again by the tapping noise, and got out of bed with Sprite in my arms mumbling profanities under my breath as I went to the window again and peeked out into the dark.

"That's very strange."   I thought, as I kissed the top of Sprite's furry head.

"Don't you think that was strange?" I asked her, as I scratched her behind the ear.

"You stay here, I'm going to go see what is making that awful tapping noise." I said, as I set her down on the bed and pulled my coat on over my nightshirt then pulled my boots on and made my way downstairs.

"Dwayne?" I turned to see my parents coming out of their room.

"Did I wake you?" I asked, and they shook their heads in response.

"Where are you going at three o'clock in the morning?" my father asked, as he looked at me in concern.

"I heard a strange noise, and couldn't sleep." I said, as I smiled at him.

"Well, you can't go out looking for that strange noise at three in the morning." my mother said, and I nodded as I let out a yawn.

"Go back to bed son, and in the morning we'll all go looking." my father said, as he patted my back.

"You're probably right dad, I should go back to sleep." I said as I walked back into my room. 

"Hey Sprite," I greeted the cat, who sat on the end of my bed with her tail wrapped around her paws.

"I'm going to go back to sleep, you want to cuddle?" I asked, as I got back into bed eventually she came over, and rubbed her little face against the back of my hand.

"Goodnight, Sprite." I mumbled, as I pulled her close to me before falling asleep.

In the morning I woke to the smell of coffee and made my way downstairs to find my parents sitting at the table having breakfast and chatting.

"Good morning, dear." my mother greeted as I got my breakfast and sat down beside her.

"Morning, mom." I said, giving her a quick kiss on the cheek before smiling at my father.

"Morning, dad." I said, before taking a sip of water and a bite of toast. "Good morning, son." my father said, with a smile as he passed me the water pitcher.

"Were you able to go back to sleep?" my mother asked, and I nodded.

"Yes, but my dreams were very strange." I said, and they looked at me in concern.

"Strange in what way?" my father asked, as he and my mother shared a worried look.

"Well, what happened in the dreams was that I kept seeing a dark forest and a wolf." I said, before taking another sip of my water.

"When do you want to go look for the strange sound?" I asked, and my parents exchanged a look before looking at me.

"We'll leave as soon as you've finished breakfast." my mother said, and I nodded before wolfing down my food then pulled on my coat and looked at my parents with a grin. "I'm ready when you are."I said, as I washed my dish then put it away.

"Well then, go get in the car and we'll be off." my mother said, as she finished washing the dishes then followed us out the door.

"Do you think we'll find anything?" I asked, as we continued to drive along the long dirt road that led us out of town.