Prologue ~ A Savior Appears
The sound of a grandfather clock as it strikes twelve can be haunting, given the correct mood. If the mood is set in a nearly abandoned house with a heavy air that is so quiet that it seems deafening, than yes, the toll of a large, old grandfather clock can frighten many.
The fear that I felt in the moments after it struck midnight was crippling. The flimsy door that separated me from the decrepit living room beyond it was hardly reassuring, and as the heavy footfalls on the old, rickety staircase above me ricocheted through the small room beneath them, I could feel an uncontrollable shiver take hold of me. Without needing a mirror, I knew that my skin must have been akin to that of a ghost's.
A string of foul words made their way between the planks of wood, and I hunkered down further into my corner. He was angry, this I knew, but if I could only hide for a bit longer, he would undoubtedly leave under the assumption that I had managed to find my way outside of the disintegrating cabin.
His footsteps echoed as he made his way to the main floor, and the cocking of his pistol almost forced a whimper from my throat. When his shadow made its way underneath the door, that’s when I knew that he knew I was there. The doorknob trembled and more curse words were spewed from his disgusting lips, and just as the handle snapped in the doorframe, there was a similar sounding crack followed by a crash outside of my own decaying barrier. Shouting followed, which caused the shadow of the man outside my door to turn and attempt to flee in the opposite direction, and all of this was preceded by the sharp sound of gunshots - four, to be precise. A resounding thud could be heard, and then something that is often seen only in nightmares occurred- blood so thick and red that it could only be known as such slowly made its way beneath my door, creeping towards my naked, dirtied toes.
Just before it could reach me, my barricade to the outside world finally opened, revealing a man clad in an official uniform and a bulletproof vest, and I gave into my fear and crumpled to the floor.
