Heartbeat

The moon cast a ghostly pallor across the dirt road, shadows dancing, forming shapes that are only foreseen in nightmares. A chilly wind was blowing across the barren road, cutting away at any warmth that previously existed in this foreboding town. All life had long since seeped away, leaving an empty husk, a shell, with nothing inside of it except silence. The only break from the never ending agony of silence was the occasional harsh cry of a crow. Today though, there was a different relief from the never ending silence.

A heartbeat.

Lying in the middle of the dusty road, the moonlight making his skin seem deathly white, was a boy. Life energy seemed to pulse from him, reaching out into the shadows and drawing them closer. Dark shadows were circling the pale sheen of moonlight surrounding the boy; it almost seemed like they were waiting for the light to go away so they could claim the boy, take him away into the dark, never to be seen again. Fortunately for the boy, the moonlight continued to dance around him, forming a strong barrier between the dark mysteries of shadows and the vibrant energy of life. The boy looked to be around the age of 12, an age in between childhood and teenage hood, an age were our childhood fears begin to fade away and hide in the back of our minds. An age were things that go bump in the night turn from ghouls and monsters, to just a possum on the roof or a cat on the prowl, an age were you begin to doubt your childhood fears because of the constant laughter of adults, who dismiss these fears as silliness. Adults who no longer see through a child’s eyes, for you see, children’s eyes see much more than you think.

The boy opened his eyes, seeing pitch black. His breathing pace quickened, his heart beating faster, till it felt like it was about to burst. He closed them again, as tight as he could, hoping it was just a trick of the eyes, hoping he was really back in his own bed having a nightmare. He opened his eyes again but to his dismay he was still where he was… wherever he was. He cautiously picked himself up off the ground and dusted himself off. His legs felt as heavy as lead and his head was pounding. Silence surrounded him like fog, thick with tension, filling the boy’s heart with fear.

His heartbeat quickened.

His eyes darted about, his peripherals trying to spot anything, anything recognizable as a sign of human life. To his right the moonlight painted a ghostly scene on the ruins of what looked to be a two storey house. Ugly creepers stretched across the rundown walls and jagged spikes of wood pointed out of where the roof used to be. Through the doorway was total darkness, beckoning him in, beckoning him to embrace the darkness and throw caution to the wind. His eyes lingered on the doorway, mesmerised at the faint calling of… a thought came to him. What exactly was calling him? And should he go as far as to trust it, whatever it was. He shook his head, knowing how close he was to being fooled by a force unknown. He made a mental note to stay away from anywhere pitch black. He cast his gaze over to his left, where there was a massive gate decorated with cruel black spikes and on either side of the gate, was a enormous fence running hundreds of metres in either direction. Behind this gate was a gigantic mansion, ominous in appearance. A shiver rushed up the boy’s spine and the hairs prickled on the back of his neck. He did not like the look of this mansion.

His heartbeat quickened.

Something wasn’t right. He looked back to the gate. It seemed to be pulsing with unknown power. Each pulse, like a magnet seemed to be pulling him closer and closer. He dug his heels into the ground, willing himself to look away from the gate, willing himself to run away but he couldn’t. The gate was dominating his mind, his willpower and his body, controlling him like a puppet. The gate was bringing him closer and closer to the unknown and terrifying. It was reeling him in like he was a fish and he was caught on its wire. His arms lifted by themselves, hands outstretched, reaching for the cold black steel of the gate. His fingers curled around the bars of the gate and a freezing cold rushed up his arms. A black haze surrounded his vision, as the cold rushed up his spine towards his brain. Crows circled above him as he fell unconscious, their harsh cry the last thing he heard.

His heartbeat slowed down to a faint patter.

The boy opened his eyes. His surroundings came into focus. He was wrapped up in a quilt and his head was resting on a pillow. He looked quizzically at everything, as if he had seen everything in the room before. Suddenly it dawned on him. He was in his room. He jumped up and soaked in the warmness and comfort. Everything was just how it should be. He walked over to his door tucking the memories of the ghost town away, to be puzzled about later on. The polished doorknob seemed to wink at him as he clasped his hands over it. It wouldn’t budge. A faint feeling of disbelief came over him. His door was never locked. It was just at that moment he realised something was missing. He put his ear to the door. The silence was as cold as ice. He turned around and gazed around the room. Everything seemed fine. But the silence dominated. He realised that his blinds were down. It took him 5 steps to cross the room to get to his window. Those 5 steps seemed to take an eternity to complete. And each footstep brought a greater sense of fear into his heart.

His shaking hands reached out to grasp his blinds. He quickly tore the blinds away, and just like that, he tore away the illusion that he was fooled into believing. Outside the window, sprawled out before him, was the ghost town. He was trapped, 4 stories up, in the mansion. A foul stench entered the room, from underneath the door. The boy turned around. Slowly the doorknob began to turn and the door slowly swung open. Freezing cold blew through the doorway, chilling the boy to the bone. A dark shape filled the doorway. The boy stumbled backwards and tripped over his pillow and crashed through the window. Falling through the air, the boy let out a blood curdling shriek, which ended with a thud. Black haze covered his vision, as life ebbed away from his body. A cloud covered the moon. Shadows filled the void.

His heartbeat stopped.

Silence reigned.