The Strangest Dream (part 22)

Clyde did, "There's nothing there, dear, you just had a bad dream." "No, Clyde, this wasn't a dream!" Marie went down and put on the kettle, and the three of them sat at the table and had some tea and honey.

"I know it was there. It was!" Autumn then explained to both of them what the creature looked like that was crawling across the floor, "It was real!" She said. She then shared her experience in the attic and some of her nightmares. "That the man who broke into the house was the same person in Evelyn's dream." She continued by telling them about seeing the little girl who looked like Evelyn with so much blood in the kitchen. "You both don't believe me, do you? I'm telling you, these things are happening." Clyde and his mother assured her that it was all a bit much to take in, but they did believe her, they both added that they thought she had been through a lot of stress and worry lately. First, raising Evelyn with her condition to now being pregnant with another baby that might have the same fate.

Clyde told her he was concerned, but he still had to go to work soon. Autumn refused to go back to bed. "Come on, sweetheart, just like old times, you can snuggle yourself in my bed until morning." Marie took Autumn in her arms, and they shuffled off to her room under the stairs, looking back at Clyde Marie seemed very worried.

Things started to settle down, Marie extended her visit a few more weeks, and that couldn't have made Evelyn happier seeing that Charlie fit perfectly in her bonnet and loved spending time with her playing tea and gossiping with all her dolls.

By now, Autumn's baby bump was growing, so many nights, she let Evelyn lay on her lap, feeling the baby move under her face. "The baby kicked me!" she exclaimed, pretending it knocked her over onto the couch. All the check-ups looked good, but it just didn't explain why she felt so drained all the time.

One day Charlie came back in through the back door tracking mud all over the house,

It made Autumn very angry because she had just mopped the floor.

Clyde didn't know why she was getting so upset, telling her that it was just mud and that he and his mother would get it all cleaned up and wash the dog. Autumn didn't understand why she was getting so upset, either. After Clyde washed up Charlie he went downstairs to help his mother hang the rugs on the line outback, Autumn was putting some clothes away in her room when she heard a muffled whimper, stepping out into the hall she heard it again, and it sounded like it was coming from the attic.

She saw that Evelyn was in her room playing with her dolls, the door half-open.

Standing outside the attic door, she heard it again, but louder this time, as if it was coming from the top of the stairs. She turned around looking down over the railing, hoping to see someone who could help but no one was there. The dog's loud cries sounded like he was in trouble or pain, and she knew he needed help. She took her shaking hand and placed it on the doorknob, turning it slowly, everything in her body was telling her to run but she could not because she had to help Charlie. She opened the door and looked up into the dark she flipped on the light switch only illuminating the bottom of the staircase.

"Charlie?" she hollered up, and the whimpering stopped. "Charlie come here," she cried out, she could see and hear movement in the room above and heard him cry and huff as if his snout was being forcibly held shut. Autumn then crawled up the stairs so she wouldn't fall, when she made it up to the top, she could see Charlie standing there in the corner of the room looking like he did something wrong. "Charlie, come here, boy" Autumn patted her knee. Charlie timidly walked up to her. She bent down to pet him.