THE KEY TO DARKNESS

Rain Out of Nowhere

The rain was drowning out all the sounds of the city.

"Oh, again? I hate the rain."

Waiting alone under the bus stop shelter, Lara checked her phone screen once more.

11:47 PM.

Her father had been missing for three days.

The police hadn't paid much attention to it, claiming it was fairly common for a grown man to disappear for a few days.

But Lara knew better.

Because just a few hours before he disappeared, her father had sent her a single text:

“Don’t open the old chest at home.”

Naturally, the first thing Lara did was open the chest.

Inside, she found old photos, a few letters, and a small black key.

There was only a single letter engraved on the key:

A.

Just then, a voice came from behind her.

“You found it.”

Lara spun around, startled.

A man in a black coat was standing a few meters away, half of his face cloaked in darkness.

“Who are you?”

The man didn't answer. His eyes shifted to the key clutched in Lara's hand.

“Give it to me.”

Lara squeezed the key tightly in her palm.

“In your dreams.”

The man took a few steps closer.

"Don't—don't you dare come any closer!"

“You think this is a game.”

“And you think you can scare me.”

The man stopped. For the first time, the light caught his face.

Lara had never seen him before, yet the look in his eyes felt strangely familiar. As if he had known her for a very long time.

“What did your father tell you?”

Lara's heart hammered in her chest.

“How do you know my father?”

Instead of answering, the man pulled a photograph from his pocket and dropped it on the ground.

Lara leaned down and picked it up.

Her father was in the photo. Next to him was a young boy who looked just like the man standing in front of her.

However, the date written on the back of the photo was from twelve years ago.

Lara caught her breath.

“This... is impossible.”

The man turned his back to her.

“If you want to find out why your father disappeared, follow me.”

Lara hesitated for a few seconds.

“What if I don't?”

The man turned his head slightly to look at her.

“Then you'll be the next one to disappear.”

And he vanished into the dark.

~To be continued