This has been a weird night.

It started out pretty normal, but then it got strange. Nils was working a little bit late in his studio, so I took Amber for her normal evening walk. We went around the neighborhood like we usually do, but the atmosphere seemed really heavy. By the time we got home, I could hear thunder in the distance.

It started raining maybe an hour after I got in. I was thankful for that. Of course, I didn’t make any preparations. After all, all it was doing was raining. Then, there came a dreadful bolt of lightning that lit up the whole house. It was followed immediately by a tremendous clap of thunder. Amber cried out and went into her kennel, whining.

Only a couple of seconds later there was a big “POW” and all of the lights went out. Not a flicker, total darkness! Even Thomas let out a howl and I could hear Amber whimpering.

I knew I had some candles in a drawer, but I was just a little confused as to where they were. I used my cell phone to look in some little-used drawers until I found them. There were even some little votive candles there. In the cupboard above the stove were a couple of candlesticks. There were also a couple of saucers for the votives. I was almost in business, for I knew where the matches were, and after I put the candles in the candlesticks I really was in business. I appreciated the warm glow the candles gave off.

Of course, they were totally useless for reading, and I couldn’t do very much. I tried to call Nils, but he wasn’t answering. He must have been too busy creating. He would get like that and nothing could disturb him; well ... except maybe sex!

With the thunder trailing off into the distance and the rain coming down pretty steadily, I was getting pretty sleepy. I toddled off to bed. I’d brought a couple of the votives along, and I set out the longer tapers, so the beautiful yellowish glow came along with me. I loved how it brought out the blue in the bedroom. I left them burning and went to sleep with Thomas curled up by my breast.

I’m not sure what time I went to bed, but it couldn’t have been but maybe an hour or so later when Amber started growling. I didn’t hear anything, but with Amber growling and Thomas getting his back up, I knew something was going on.

I grabbed the baseball bat by the door and tip-toed down the hallway. Amber led the way, her belly down and growling softly.

I passed several doorways when, suddenly, two hands came from one of the doorways. One hand went around my waist, raising me off the floor. The other hand went around my mouth; the only sound I got out was a soft “ooff!” I don’t think Amber heard me because she went on down the hall growling.