A Loud Groan Came From Next Door

A loud groan came from next door.

The dog jumped up, yapped and run outside.

I dropped my fork, flicked off my slippers, grabbed my flip flops and followed in my fastest fashion.

What was it?

With that blustery wind blowing, hard to know. Wasn’t my imagination that’s for sure. Sounded human, maybe.

There shouldn’t have been any groan from next door. No one lived there, not since the old man died 5 months previous. The cottage was really a run down stack of wood and rusty iron.

There it was again, coming from the far side. Bloody mournful at that.

What to blazes was going on? My thought of the ‘Far Side” slowed my feet real quick and let my brain catch up.

What was I running into?

Burglars?

Nah, there was nothing there to steal.

A ghost?

Hey, you might not believe in them, but right now I wasn’t too sure. That last moan sort of had a screech in it. Sounded painful as well as mournful.

Anyway the hairs were standing up on the back of my neck.

Where’s the dog? She’d slipped through the fence and disappeared into the long grass. Aren’t they supposed to be sensitive to ghosts and stuff like that? Did that mean they were scared, curious or would attack?

I guess that hasn’t helped me none. Thanks dog.

Right, only one thing for it. There’s still some daylight. Brave up and take a look.

I picked careful route through the grass and rubbish, staying clear of the cottage as much as possible. No need to take any chance I reckon.

I got to the far corner and peered around.

What to….!

Wow, that was amazing. I yelled for the dog to get away out of it. Com’n dog, hurry up get out of it. Com’n, out of it.

The whole wall was hanging there, swinging in the breeze. Probably only a couple of nails holding it.

Another gust swung by and the wall yawed and pitifully moaned again, the tin roof screeched its twisting torture.

The dog shot out of there like it had an ember on its tail.

We stood back and watched as the old cottage thrashed, moaned, screeched and died.

The roof followed the wall to the ground, everything else just folded in on itself after that.

I guess the old man got out in time.

Might be time we did too, eh dog.

(© All rights reserved. A.B.Inglis Copyright 2012)