It was three days before Christmas. The day of the winter solstice. In some parts of the world, it was never really day at all.

In the moderately sized town where this story takes place, there was a day, it just wasn’t very long, and it had passed a few hours ago. Now, the longest night of the year had begun. But it might just as well have been day. All the streetlights, the decorated Christmas trees, the display windows with their Christmas themes and all other sources of light lit the town up almost as brightly as the sun.

The people in the town all took comfort in the brightness of it all. It made them feel festive and anxious before the Christmas celebration. Sure, there was a good amount of stress in regards to Christmas presents as well, but that was just par for the course.

But not everyone were too fond of the darkness. If you walked past a dark shadow and listened very carefully,

you could have heard a voice muttering and growling with discontent.

“They have forgotten,” the voice said. “They are no longer afraid.”
“I know. But our time will come again.”

But no one did listen. They were all too occupied with their own plans and concerns. Only three days left to get all the presents, and the food and the house needs to be cleaned…

In one of the larger apartment houses, Carly Simmons was going about her business. She was done with everything. All her Christmas presents were bought, the apartment was cleaned and decorated, and all the food prepared. She was now ready to just relax and enjoy Christmas. It would be the first Christmas she’d spend with her boyfriend and his family, so she was a little bit nervous. More than a little even, she was pretty much a wreck. But now she could relax and prepare.

Her boyfriend, Will, came home and they had a nice dinner in their home. The Christmas spirit was almost there already, with all the decorations lighting up the place. They ended the evening in front of the TV with a cup of hot cocoa and marshmallows. It was an evening so perfect, even Carly forgot about her nervousness. That is, until the lights went out.

It was a total blackout. Carly looked out the window and from what she could see, the entire town was dark.

“I can’t remember the last time we had a blackout,” Carly said. “It’s kinda cozy.”
Will smiled and nodded. “It is. Hold on a sec, I think I’ve got a flashlight somewhere.”

Carly rolled her eyes a bit. Not that Will could see. Sometimes he just didn’t get the romantic part of things. With the apartment in complete darkness, getting a flashlight was the last thing on her mind. If it had been candles it would have been one thing,

but they didn’t have any of those. They’d gone all electrical this year. She could hear Will rummaging about in the other room. She sat down on the coach smiling, determined to not let the blackout ruin an otherwise perfect evening.

No, the blackout wouldn’t, but that weazing noise might. It was almost as if someone was whispering to her, but she couldn’t quite make out the words. She stood up and moved towards the air vent where she thought the sound was coming from. It was definitely words, the same ones over and over again.

“…will re…, …u will reme…, you will remember, you will remember, YOU WILL REMEMBER.”

The last one was almost a shout, the became a low whisper again. Carly jumped back.

“Will? Can you come out here?”
“Found it!” he said, coming out holding a flashlight. The whispers