"Goodbye, honey." Tonya said, as she hugged her daughter tight.
"Bye, mom. I'm gonna miss you so much." Her daughter, Holly told her.
Holly was leaving for college, and Tonya teared up at the thought of her baby girl, all grown up. The two said their goodbyes and Holly drove off down the road. Tonya stood still; watching her drive away until the car was no longer in sight. Tonya walked back to the house, hugging herself with her arms wrapped around her shoulders, thinking about how her life was going to be now, now she lived alone.
Tonya was divorced, and for the last five years, she lived with just her daughter. She filed for divorce after she learned her husband was having an affair with one of his coworkers. Tonya nowadays, regards her husband as a bad memory, but is grateful for the daughter she shares with him. Tonya is an dentist and makes a decent living. She was given the house in the divorce, a nice little house in the backwoods of Virginia; surrounded by the beautiful Appalachian mountains.
Tonya went inside and walked into the living room; opening the sliding glass doors. She looked at the swimming pool and thought how nice it was that day; clear and sunny.
"Hmm, I always wanted to sunbathe with nothing on." Tonya said, biting her lip with a grin.
Tonya never had the chance with her daughter always home. Tonya went into the bathroom and undressed; wrapping herself up in a bathrobe. She grabbed a towel and a bottle of sun tanning lotion and made her way outside to the pool. Even though the house was all to itself, with no one living close by, Tonya felt a little nervous to drop her robe.
She glanced around the property before untying her bathrobe. With a quick pull, the robe fell to the ground. Tonya was a real sight for a lady of 44, with long curly black hair and a beautiful tanned body. She had the body of a 20-year-old, a curvaceous figure and an ample butt. Tonya squirted a dollop of lotion in her hand and started rubbing herself.
Starting from her stomach and rubbing up; making her way to her 34D breasts. Cupping her breasts with her full hands and rubbing from underneath them to the top; getting every inch. Tonya put her foot on the lounge chair and rubbed her legs and thighs; her tan skin glistened in the sun from the lotion. She laid back on the lounge chair and finished up; getting her arms and neck.
Tonya laid quietly, enjoying the warmth of the sun and the peace and quiet of the woods. Only a bird was heard, every now and then. It wasn't long, until Tonya sensed something else. She opened her eyes, but squinted from the sun in her eyes. She held her breath and listened carefully. She could faintly hear something breathing, it was low, but sounded deep.
Tonya sat up; grabbing her towel and wrapping it around her chest. She looked over her shoulder; in the direction where she thought she heard it.
"Hello?" She called out.
Everything was silent. She stood up and walked along the edge of the pool; her eyes peeled.
"Is someone there?" She yelled.
The entire backyard was eerily quiet. Not even a bird could be heard chirping. Tonya couldn't help but feel she was being watched. She started walking backwards to the house; her eyes locked on the treeline of the yard. She stepped inside and closed the sliding glass doors; quickly locking them.
Tonya walked into the kitchen and leaned against the fridge; staring out the window into the backyard.
"Maybe it was just my imagination." She said to herself.
***
By nightfall, Tonya was relaxed; no longer feeling paranoid.
"I haven't lived alone for years. It's just gonna take some time for me to get used to being by myself." She told herself.
Tonya stayed up late watching TV and sipping some wine. She checked her cellphone regularly, hoping that Holly posted some pictures of her dorm room or the campus. It was well after midnight and Tonya decided to go to bed.
"Maybe, Holly will have some pictures posted by tomorrow." Tonya hoped.
Whether it was the wine or staying up late, sleep came easy for Tonya; dozing off as soon as her head hit the pillow. A few hours later, Tonya's rest was cut short. She was awakened by the sounds of screams and loud banging. Tonya jumped from her bed and stood in fright. She stared at the window; trying to see something in the moonlit woods. The screams sounded like they were of agony, like something was injured and something else was bellowing that sounded terrifying. Tonya could hear wood snapping and leaves shaking like a strong wind was blowing through the woods.
Tonya sat against her bedroom door; never taking her eyes off the window. The ordeal lasted for about half an hour, soon the woods were quiet again, but the mystery remained. The faint noise of crickets were all that could be heard.
***
The next morning, Tonya laid awake in bed; never able to go back asleep after what happened. She got up and went into the kitchen and turned the coffee pot on. She leaned over the sink and looked outside; nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary, but Tonya was still uneasy.
"Whatever that was last night, was really close to the house." She said to herself.
Curiosity was eating away at Tonya. She wanted to know what was outside her home last night. Tonya was familiar with the wildlife in the area, she didn't recognize any of the sounds she heard that night and that made her curiosity worse. Tonya got dressed and decided to go have a look.
Tonya walked to the edge of the yard and halted at the treeline. She looked in the woods as far as she could; making sure it was safe to enter. Tonya walked through the woods for only a few minutes, until she found some evidence of what had happened the night before. A small area of the woods was destroyed. Trees laid, broken in half, there were big impressions in the dirt, and it looked like something big was scooted across the ground. The ground was sunk in and the dirt was packed, Tonya also found splotches of blood on leaves and rocks. She shuddered at the sight.
Tonya hurried back to the house. She was still shaking from what she saw.
"Maybe it was bears. Perhaps a mommy bear and her cubs, ran into a male bear and they fought." Tonya muttered, but she couldn't shake the feeling of doubt.
***
That night, Tonya sat on the couch in the living room. The TV was off and the lights were off as well. She was focused on the glass doors. Hoping and praying that those sounds wouldn't came back. An hour later, the sounds started again. Fear washed over her, when she heard the sounds! A loud bellow sounded from the woods. Tonya quivered and slammed her hands together; trying not to cry. Another call followed soon after, a 'whoop' sound. Soon, there were two animals making calls continuously, making a 'whoop' call right after another. They grew faster and louder, then Tonya heard growling and roaring, then the sounds of snarling and fighting. It sounded like two dogs were fighting!
Tonya cried out, but felt frozen. The sounds were torture for her. The terrifying ordeal worsened when she could hear the metal lounge chairs out by the pool being knocked around on the concrete! Whatever they were, they were right outside the house. Tonya took a deep breath and decided to turn the outside lights on, "Maybe the lights will scare them off." She hoped. Tonya crept to the doors, her legs were trembling and her heart pounded faster as she neared the doors. Tonya reached up and laid her finger against the switch, she looked outside; ready to face her fears. She flicked the switch and the lights came on. Almost instantaneously, as the lights came on, she saw a black hairy mass flying through the air, straight towards her.
She jumped back and narrowly avoided being hit by the animal that was thrown through the glass doors. The sound was deafening as the glass broke and the animal hit the floor with a loud thud! Tonya ran behind the couch and hunkered down; wrapping her arms around her head, she cried and whimpered. The living room was quiet, and Tonya wondered if the animal might have got up and ran back outside. Tonya peeked over the couch to see.
From the outside lights, she could see something laying in the doorway. A large animal, she thought, covered in shaggy looking hair. She slowly stood up; her eyes locked on the animal. She thought it was dead, it lied still; no movement or breathing. Tonya stepped towards it and it moaned out! Tonya jumped in fright; covering her mouth to keep from screaming. With her eyes locked on it, she sidestepped to the wall and turned on the light.
