Blink Twice



The lights flickered again as the storm raged outside.

"Are you sure you'll be alright if the power goes out?" David asked, sounding moderately concerned. Joe blinked once, once for yes. "Alright, but I'm not going anywhere tonight, so I'll be right here if you need anything." Joe wanted to express gratitude, but there was no number of blinks for that. He silently cursed fate, as he so often did these days.

When David picked up the TV remote and looked to his father, he again blinked once. Once for yes. Flipping through the channels, his son watched Joe's face instead of the television screen, waiting for a blink, one blink for yes. He allowed several channels to flick by before blinking when David reached the nature channel. It was all he ever watched anymore.

"That's my dad, birdwatching even in the middle of a storm," Dave said with a smile. Joe knew that his son had long ago determined his real reason for watching nature shows, but he never said it aloud. The truth was that Joe just liked to watch animals run. Great or small, predator or prey, it made no matter so long as they could run. It was also true that he had had a passion for birdwatching, but that was before... Now running was enough.

But even after all it had already done, the world was not content to let this old man have his way, and just as the program on screen returned from a commercial break the lights and television flickered one final time, then went out. David cursed softly before slowly making his way to the kitchen to find a flashlight. In the dark, blinking meant nothing, so Joe could do nothing but wait as his son rummaged through drawers. The rummaging stopped, and there was a loud thump, like something metal hitting the floor. Several years ago Joe may have tried to call out, to ask what had happened despite the futility of such an attempt. That was then, however, and this was not, so he waited, his eyes slowly adjusting to the darkness.

It seemed like he waited for hours, just listening to the rain and thunder outside, watching the lightning flash through the window. Eventually he heard slow footsteps coming from the kitchen, although the darkness suggested his son had been unable to find a flashlight. It was unfortunate, but the dark had never been something that unnerved Joe. What did unnerve him was when David reentered the living area. Something just didn't feel right as he slowly walked through the doorway, then the lightning flashed.

Something was wrong with David. His head was tilted at an almost impossible angle, and his face was plastered with a delirious grin. The room went dark again and he paused for a moment, but when the lightning flashed again he turned towards his father and began slowly shuffling toward him, moving with an awkward, clumsy stride. Joe had seen his eyes now, although he wished he hadn't. They seemed locked onto him, staring at him with such an intensity as he had never seen. David's grin seemed to widen as he approached. Every step brought him closer, but spoke not a word. His father could see something terrible behind those eyes, he wanted to run.

Joe's heart was in his throat and he felt a panic rising within him. He tried to cry out, but those muscles had long since given up. As his son drew closer, his brain screamed for help, but his body would not listen. Joe blinked twice for no.



Twice for no. Twice for no. Twice for no...