Open Window

The growl of my stomach jolted me awake. I found myself enveloped in darkness, disoriented and sore from head to toe.

With caution, I assessed my surroundings, my senses alert for any signs of danger. I attempted to sit up, but I winced as I felt the ache in my head and body intensify.

I tested the movement of my feet and hands, relieved to find that I was still alive despite the ordeal I had endured. 

As I attempted to calm my racing heart and dispel the sense of unease that hung over me, I couldn't shake the feeling of being watched. Every instinct screamed at me to be on high alert, yet when I scanned my surroundings, there was nothing out of the ordinary to be seen.

"Stop being paranoid, Louise," I chided myself, attempting to rationalize away the lingering sense of dread that gnawed at my insides.

But try as I might, I couldn't shake the feeling that something unseen lurked in the shadows, its gaze fixed upon me with an overwhelming intensity.

With a deep breath, I resolved to stay vigilant.

As my stomach continued to protest its emptiness, I maneuvered my way down from the bed, my movements cautious in the darkness. I felt my way around the room with outstretched hands, relying on touch alone to guide me in my search for sustenance.

After a few stumbling steps, my fingers brushed against the familiar shape of a doorknob. Eagerly, I attempted to turn it, only to find it stubbornly locked.

I continued my exploration, undeterred, my hands trailing along the walls until they encountered a window. With a determined effort, I pushed against the heavy frame. The chill night air greeted me.

I peered out into the darkness and a sense of relief washed over me at the sight of the night sky stretching out before me. The simple act of opening the window offered a small semblance of freedom

It was a like a reminder that even in the darkest of times, there was still a glimmer of hope to be found.

I gazed down, and the fireflies danced around the nearby tree, casting their gentle glow upon the night.

But the peacefulness was shattered by a low, ominous growl emanating from the depths of the forest. My heart pounded in my chest as the sound pierced the silence.

I strained my ears, trying to discern the source of the noise, but the darkness concealed any clues as to what lurked beyond the trees. Whatever creature had emitted that terrifying growl, I knew it must be a formidable monster.

As I wrapped my arms around myself, seeking solace in my own embrace, I tilted my head back to gaze up at the vast expanse of the night sky, where countless stars twinkled like distant beacons of hope.

In the midst of uncertainty and darkness, the familiar sight of the moon and stars offered a comforting reminder of the world I had left behind.

In this strange and fantastical realm, everything seemed imbued with a sense of magic and wonder, yet also with an underlying sense of terror. My previous encounter had been nothing short of a nightmare, a harrowing experience that felt akin to descending into the depths of hell itself.

As I gazed down at my hands, I searched for any sign of the wounds that had caused me such pain and fear, but to my surprise, there was no trace of them to be found. No slices, no scars—nothing to suggest that I had ever been injured at all. Doubt crept into my mind as I questioned whether what I had experienced had truly happened, or if it had merely been a figment of my imagination, a nightmare born from the depths of my subconscious.

I contemplated the sheer height from which the window overlooked. I couldn't help but wonder if anyone—or anything—could survive such a fall. If the man in the black cloak had indeed escaped through the window, the odds of his survival seemed slim at best. 

Despite the terror he had instilled in me, I couldn't shake the feeling of unease at the possibility of his fate. Even if he was a monster in human form, I couldn't bring myself to wish harm upon another living being.

However, the possibility that the man in the black cloak possessed abilities akin to Alexa or the mysterious flying man I had encountered before certainly seemed plausible in this fantastical world where magic and supernatural phenomena were commonplace.

"If you believe you'll survive by jumping out of that window to escape, you're mistaken."

As the rough, deep voice spoke from behind me, I spun around in a panic, searching frantically for the source of the sound. My heart pounded in my chest as I scanned the room, but there was no one to be found—no figure lurking in the shadows, no presence hiding in the darkness.

I strained my ears, but the room remained eerily silent save for the sound of my own ragged breathing. 

Could it have been a trick of the mind, a manifestation of my own fears and paranoia?

"Who are you?" I repeated, my voice was a mixture of curiosity and dread. "Show yourself!"

The silence stretched on, broken only by the faint rustle of leaves outside the window.

"It's in your best interest to close the window sooner," the voice said, its tone hard, rough, and deep. It seemed to echo ominously through the room, its origins eluding my grasp like a wisp of smoke slipping through my fingers. Perhaps he was invisible.

"I said, who are you?" I demanded once more. "Show yourself!" My voice trembled slightly despite my efforts to sound assertive.

"Close the window…"

The command was met with defiance. I couldn't bring myself to comply. Closing it would mean being swallowed entirely by the darkness of the place, a prospect I dreaded. Motionless, I stood for what felt like an eternity.

"I said close the fucking window!" A loud voice bellowed, punctuating the tense atmosphere.

Fear gripped me as I pressed myself against the corner near the window, my heart pounding in my chest like a drum. The room seemed to close in around me, suffocating me with its oppressive darkness and silence.

I scanned every corner, every shadow, searching for any sign of movement or presence, but there was nothing—no lurking figure, no hidden threat, only the empty void of the room.

"Are you fucking deaf?!"

Despite the harshness of the the voice, I remained rooted to the spot, unwilling to give in to the unseen entity's demands.

"I won't do it," I declared, my voice trembling with defiance. "Not until you show yourself and tell me who you are."

The sudden sensation of movement caught me off guard, sending me tumbling to the ground in a whirlwind of confusion and panic.

With each roll, I felt myself losing control, my surroundings blurring into a dizzying frenzy of motion. I tried to reach out, to grab onto something—anything—to anchor myself and stop the relentless spinning, but my efforts were in vain. 

Then my breath caught in my throat as I lay there, frozen in terror, watching the grotesque creature clawing at the window with its skeletal hands. Its bat-like wings flapped frantically, scraping against the glass as it struggled to force its emaciated body through the narrow opening.

The sight of its decaying flesh and exposed bones filled me with a primal fear unlike anything I had ever experienced. The creature's throbbing heart seemed to pulse violently.

I wanted to scream, to flee from this nightmare come to life, but fear held me captive, paralyzing me with its icy grip.