Lying on her back, arms spread wide in the dimly lit room, Elaine sighed.
She couldn’t sleep for many reasons, one of them being the unnecessary anxiety weighing heavily on her chest concerning June and her supposed date.
It would have been better if she had never seen Horace at all.
“What exactly does June see in him?” she asked aloud.
“Handsome? Sure. But he looks evil to me.”
At least if something happens to her, I know who’s responsible.
Another reason she couldn’t sleep was the unnaturally loud chatter outside.
It was as though the other students were purposely talking and laughing at the top of their voices just to grate on her nerves.
“I know I’m lonely right now!” Elaine yelled toward the window as she sat up.
“You don’t have to mock me about it. I should probably get myself a boyfriend.”
With that conclusion, she fell back onto the bed and screamed into one of the soft pillows.
After her moment of drama, she tilted her head and noticed the pile of clothes scattered around the room.
One of the perks of not having a roommate.
Getting up, she carefully sorted them out and slowly folded them into the laundry basket.
Soon, they would be washing their clothes.
Better not waste this precious time.
Picking up one of her white shirts, her brows furrowed when she spotted a stain.
“What the—!”
Her eyes widened.
“Is this going to wash off?” asked herself as she scratched at it.
“Where the fuck did I even stain it? I didn’t even wear it the whole day.”
Dropping the shirt, she finished sorting the clothes and walked across the room.
Her eyes drifted toward the window, where the trees swayed gently in the wind.
“Trees,” she muttered.
“Trees?”
She repeated the word as though testing it.
“Trees… trees!”
Her eyes widened.
She hurried back to the laundry basket and frantically scattered the neatly folded clothes she had just arranged.
Finding what she was looking for, she held it up.
The stained white shirt.
Looking carefully at the reddish-brown stain, she closed her eyes as the memory surfaced.
She had leaned against a tree while searching for clues about Derek.
More precisely, she had leaned against the very place where she had last seen Derek with Allan.
“It’s dried blood,” she concluded quietly.
She sank onto the floor.
Exhaling loudly, she whispered,
“He’s dead.”
Jumping back to her feet, she searched for her flashlight and dashed out of the room.
She had to check.
Just to make sure.
Using the flashlight to navigate the dark woods, she tried locating the exact spot she had been before.
It was much harder at night than during the day.
“What is she doing?”
A male voice spoke from a distance.
Hidden among the darkness, he lazily watched her, his thoughts racing.
Looking around, he tried to guess what exactly she was searching for before it finally clicked.
You were last seen with him Thursday night
“Is that what all this is about?” he murmured.
“For someone who she didn’t even know his first name.”
Then a foreign thought crossed his mind.
How far would she go if he harmed someone close to her?
He couldn’t deny it.
It was tempting.
“It’s here,” he heard her say.
She squated beside one of the trees, her pants hugging her thighs, her flashlight in one hand.
For some reason, she looked sexy in his eyes.
“Time to scare the curious cat away.”
“It really is dried blood.” she confirmed.
Elaine’s chest tightened.
She felt sad.
No.
She was sad.
Derek was dead.
She had wanted answers and now she had them.
But searching for a corpse that was probably already decomposing?
That was where she drew the line.
Even the thought made her nauseous.
To think she was a science student.
Suddenly, the ominous crunching of dried leaves and twigs made her jerk her head toward the sound.
Her eyes widened as her breathing quickened.
The noise continued sounding closer and closer
Slow and deliberate.
Switching off her flashlight, to not attract whatever was coming, she slowly rose to her feet and began taking careful steps backward.
She was scared.
Very scared.
Then a loud snap sounded so close to her that she immediately broke into a sprint.
Her heartbeat thundered in her ears.
As she ran, only one thought echoed in her mind.
I don’t want to end up dead in the woods just like Derek.
After what felt like an eternity, she finally slowed down.
Panting heavily, she turned around.
Silence.
Complete silence.
No sounds.
No movement.
This place felt different.
“Where am I?” She frowned.
She must have run too far.
Deciding to find her way back to the comfort of her bed, she walked a short distance before stopping abruptly.
Her eyes widened in shock.
Before her stood an enormous abandoned clock tower.
Its walls were cracked and blackened.
Its windows shattered, cobwebs decorating the windows.
It was straight out of a horror movie.
It had clearly been out of use for years.
“Where the fuck am I?” she asked breathing through her mouth.
She was certain it hadn’t been here before.
It had simply appeared out of nowhere.
Her heart nearly leapt out of her chest.
Asloud crash echoed from within, followed by another.
She wanted to run.
She really did.
But the relentless clatter of falling objects rooted her in place.
With every step closer, her pulse pounded louder.
Her clothes were soaked with sweat from running.
Peering through the broken windows, everything froze.
The clock hands.
Her heartbeat.
Time itself.
Moonlight streamed through the ruins, illuminating the floor where Gwen and Horace circled one another like predators.
Elaine froze.
Neither of them looked human anymore.
Horace’s eyes glowed red like dying embers.
His skin was pale and grey, untouched by sunlight for centuries.
His wide smile revealed teeth sharp enough to make her stomach turn.
Fury radiated from him.
Raw.
Violent.
Monstrous.
Gwen, on the other hand, appeared ethereal.
Almost like the devil’s personal angel.
Her white hair shimmered silver beneath the moonlight, while her turquoise-green eyes glowed brilliantly against it.
A faint blue aura surrounded her.
Still, rage was also evident in her.
“You should have stayed out of this,” Horace growled.
The wooden floor cracked beneath his feet.
“Sorry,” Gwen replied calmly.
“I can’t do that this time.”
He staggered back, laughing despite the flames licking his skin.
Elaine’s chest tightened.
A voice inside her screamed at her to run.
Yet her feet refused to move.
Her gaze remained trapped on the terrifying scene.
Horace burst through the flames, grabbed Gwen by the throat, and hurled her across the tower.
The impact shook the structure.
The old bell above them clanged loudly.
“Why don’t you just leave her alone?” Gwen demanded as she rose back to her feet.
“I’m not the one holding on,” Horace replied.
Suddenly he lunged.
Elaine muffled a scream.
Gwen ducked just in time.
His hand smashed into a wooden beam where her head had been moments earlier, splintering it apart.
The fight became a deadly dance.
Horace attacked relentlessly.
Gwen barely avoided each strike.
His maniacal laughter echoed through the tower.
Elaine remained rooted to the spot.
Unable to comprehend what she was witnessing.
Unable to convince herself this was simply a nightmare.
That she was actually still in bed, worrying about June’s date.
Then footsteps approached from behind.
Her heartbeat doubled.
Someone was there.
Behind her.
Approaching.
Yet, she couldn’t bring herself to turn around.
The person stopped beside her.
Her heart nearly gave out when she finally saw who it was.
Allan.
He appeared to be watching the fight as well.
“Interesting, right?” he asked casually, his eyes fixed ahead.
He could hear the abnormally rapid beat of her heart.
Chuckling softly, he seemed amused by it.
Then he tilted his head toward her.
Elaine’s breath caught.
His eyes were silver.
A smile played across his lips.
No words were exchanged, yet his gaze spoke volumes.
“Breathe.”
The single command snapped her back to reality.
Only then did she realize she had been holding her breath.
“Don’t you think it’s time for you to head back?” he asked.
His smile widened.
Sinister.
Dangerous.
Elaine remained silent.
Her thoughts were a tangled mess.
She couldn’t move.
Couldn’t speak.
The rise and fall of her chest was the only indication she was still present.
“Go.”
This time his voice was frightening.
He took a step toward her.
Elaine instinctively stepped back.
The air around him felt heavy.
Oppressive.
Each step he took forced another step from her.
Until she finally turned and ran.
Allan watched her retreating figure in silence.
Then he casually turned toward the entrance of the clock tower and began walking.
All the while whistling an unnervingly cheerful tune.