James

What will happen next? Find out in the next chapter...

James' plan had been to retire into the warmth and comfort of his night roll, but he didn't feel sleepy at all. He couldn't point a finger to exactly what was  causing it, either: his eyes just wouldn't close, but rather trailed on the storeroom's rough walls, looking at tables and chairs, piles of crates and dusty corners only recently excavated by someone. He tried every position he could think of, thought of the next day and how the storm would already be over, counted sheep... he even tried muttering curses to himself. None of them worked. He felt tense, worried, but not energetic; he could stand up, walk around, but not run for very long. Something was keeping him up, preventing him from sleeping. But the worst thing came a few moments later. He began to hear voices again. Something was dragged, right behind the wall. It was clear as day: something, a limp body, was being dragged away. He knew the sound. His brother and sister had been dragged away the same way, dead after a house fire. The only thing different had been the sound of their scorched skin scraping against the floor. 'Just the storm making noise, she said', he thought bitterly.

James pulled the blanket away and crawled over to the wall. As he approached the noises grew louder, and slowly he began to discern a voice, whispering strange words just like before. A cold hand clutched his heart, urging it up to his throat, forcing it to pound his chest like a hammer, but James forced himself to touch the wall, feel its rough texture against his palm. His hand was pale in the dark, reflecting light from somewhere. When his hand connected with the wall, he gave a start and pulled it back. For a moment, he thought there had been no wall there for a time. But that wasn't possible, was it? 'Just reach out farther next time.' He reached out again, further than before, almost extending to the extent of his reach. He felt relieved when his palm brushed past the rough surface of the storeroom's stony wall, though only for a short while. The noises grew louder, as if the thing that made them had came closer. He could clearly hear "death", though the other parts were still blurry, and the scraping... he was sure of it, now. A body.

James moved a little closer, curious and terrified at the same time, and began to move his hand here and there on the wall. He wanted to feel something, anything, to keep him from screaming aloud, but when he no longer felt the wall against his hand, he did almost scream. James felt his heart jump up to his throat again, panic creeping up to him. "I need light," he muttered to himself, and stood up to look for a candle. He found something better. He saw a lantern, filled with oil, hanging from a nearby slot in the wall. He took it graciously, lit it up, and looked at the wall again. It was fine in every way except one. A hole, just enough for an eye to peek through, stood where his hand had just been at. He was too afraid to speak. 'I could see what's making the noises. I could see and tell the others about the hole, too. We could stay up next night and I could show them,' he thought, frantically, and began to lean down. The hole was almost on the ground, maybe just a foot above the floor, so he had to lower himself into the ground before looking through. James' muscles twitched in anticipation as he speculated what he could witness beyond the wall; in fact, he thought that his muscles could cramp soon. He hadn't been drinking, either, not water, and especially not any alcohol. But he had to know. James pressed his head against the hole, opened his eye to peek through, and waited until his eye had gotten used to the dark. And right there on the other side of the hole, a dark, glazed eye gazed back at him. It blinked shut, opened again, and James screamed.

Reviews

[Nienor Niniel]

Holes that appear mysteriously and disembodied eyes? This basement becomes more and more sinister. :)

[Mikael Malmberg]

They will be a common sight in every horror-story ever told. Have. Do I have to create more disturbing scenes to frighten you? You'll get it. You'll get it so disturbing that I finally have to put the rating "mature". Maybe after this book.