The decaying air and stifling atmosphere provided the perfect abode for those who worshipped the darkness rather than the light.Above me,the circling crows called out in their horrible voices making me shiver.I rubbed my bare arms,hoping the slight contact will bring me warmth. Barefooted,I ambled through the creepy forest,dead leaves crunching beneath my feet.I wasn't one who revelled at the idea of venturing alone into the forest especially one with scattered graves.I had always disliked graveyards,based on a healthy fear of coffins and corpses the thought of being around them was quite unsettling,therefore something was definitely off.My suspicions were confirmed when suddenly the doleful peal of bells pierced the air.One,two,three,I counted.This indicated a funeral was being held.I plodded forward towards the church building,heaving in huge gulps of icy fresh air.

In the middle of the forest stood the large church building,crumbling before me and surrounded by tombstones which stretched as far as the eye could see.Here and there,massive crosses towered over smaller ones,brooded with a grey that blended almost perfectly with the night.Large tracts of grass stretched across the dead lands,but I knew better,there were rest houses too,scattered and hidden in the overgrown weeds marked by an old pot or a wooden cross, which now crumbled at the hands of mother nature.

I glanced about the churchyard,perched on the wooden bench beside the church,I caught sight of a little girl dressed in black with her pigtails hanging over her bony shoulders.She stared blankly at the murky clouds above,completely oblivious of my presence.I ambled forward, the sounds of my footsteps completely drowned out by the noise emanating from the church.It seemed she was humming softly to herself,a tune I still couldn't make out as I sat down quietly beside her.

Her lips hung open,"...it is well,with my soul..."she sang suddenly.I shifted in my seat and stared at her,how I loved that song.I would have appreciated it if only it were during completely different circumstances.She turned her head and looked up at me with teary eyes and a sad smile lingering on her lips as she continued singing.She sang quietly her voice heavy with sadness.I was unable to tear my eyes off her,she looked so familiar but I couldn't place her face.She was pale with rosy cheeks and not older than ten years old.I was always good with faces and names and hers,yet so familiar still didn't ring a bell.

All of a sudden,the noise inside the church ceased so abruptly that I felt its absence as one would a sudden lack of air.I heard no signal nor call for silence,it simply stopped, cut off,as if a door had been slammed shut in a playroom filled with children. The silence that followed had a strange quality to it,like one filled with expectation,and it made me uncomfortable.

"You don't know,"the little girl said suddenly. Her voice quiet and a little strained.

"Know what?," I asked confused. She stood abruptly and tugged at my hand,pulling me towards the church doors that stood ajar and welcoming,without uttering another word.We slowly climbed up the wooden steps into the packed building,floorboards creaking beneath our weight.Everyone sat in their seats,eyes down cast, faces expressionless.I bit my tongue nervously and a metallic taste of blood filled my mouth.My heart began to pound and I felt the hairs on the back of my neck rise as I slowly walked up to the brown coffin that stood in the middle of the room.It lay wide open,surrounded by large portraits of the deceased and not even a flower in sight.Fear restrained my movements as I neared the coffin and the images came into place.Taking in her beautiful smile,my heart sunk to my feet.I released a shaky breath as I peered into the darkness of the coffin,hoping it was all in my head.There lay my lifeless body,pale and grey in the morning light,dressed in a white dress drenched in blood.

"What happened," I choked out.

"It hasn't happened yet but it will soon,"the little girl whispered.

The atmosphere was fresh and exhilarating,with the scent of old concrete,earth and weeds filling the air.Lightly clad,he ambled through the empty neighborhood,with the cold wind biting at his skin.He had always found comfort in taking moonlight walks,the calls of mother nature were quite soothing to his already troubled mind.He sauntered forward,the sound of his footsteps echoing into the darkness.For a moment he thought of what he had read in the newspaper earlier that morning and a dark shadow crossed his mind threatening to dampen his happiness.He needed these walks after a long day at work and coming home to an always angry wife wasn't something anyone looked up to.He quickly warded it off,forcing his mind to focus on more pleasant thoughts.Things were finally coming up for him at work and he had finally been landed the promotion he had slaved for 5 years and this made him smile.

Suddenly,a pair of footsteps emerged from behind him,walking in the same direction as he.He paid them no mind,assuming they belonged to a fellow mundane who also found moonlight walking to be relaxing as much as he did.Maybe I might befriend them,Sam thought to himself,maybe I wouldn't have to walk alone in the darkness anymore.As Sam continued down the street,the footsteps behind him became unnerving.He wasn't walking too fast neither were they.They could have simply passed him,but they chose not to and this made Sam uncomfortable.He picked up his pace as he rounded the corner onto another empty street,illuminated by a few working lamps and the moon.He quickly glanced behind him for a brief moment and he swore he had seen something weird about the encroaching figure.It was definitely a man,heavily built and over six feet tall.He wore dark clothes and his mouth hung open and Sam couldn't tell whether he was grinning or grimacing,with both his eyes staring straight up ahead.For a moment Sam thought he was being paranoid,but when he decided to cross over to the other side of the street and the man followed,his suspicions were confirmed.He broke into a jog,staring straight up ahead not wanting to give himself away.However,the stranger picked up on that and he followed pursuit,jogging behind Sam only a few yards separating them.Sam's grunts pierced through the air as he picked up speed,cutting through the woods hoping he could lose him among the trees.He was never much of an athlete back in school,but when faced with danger,he tore through the woods like his life depended on it,which it did.He sprinted through the woods,darting behind the tall trees.

"Help!,"he screamed at the top of his lungs,praying someone could hear him.He glanced behind him,quickly losing his footing,he tripped and fell face first,injuring his mouth and the fishy taste of blood that followed was disgusting.The man came to a halt at Sam's feet, watching him devilishly as he lay helplessly on the ground.

As Sam scrambled onto his feet,a sharp pain tore right through his right leg and he fall back onto the ground,landing had on his bottom.With the man towering over him,Sam could make up his facial features.He didn't have time to admire anything more as the man's grinning expression had already creeped him out.

"What do you want?,"Sam sobbed,"if its money,I can get you some,please don't hurt me."

Silence.The man moved closer and crouched before him without uttering another word,his weird smile still plastered on his face.He lowered his hand to Sam's throbbing ankle and touched it gently,titling his head to the side before he squeezed it harder.

"Ah!,"Sam screamed in pain,squirming to get out of the man's tight grip.

In a pinch,he grabbed a handful of dirt and threw it at the man's face,blinding him long enough for him to try and escape.The 'man' fell back with a thud,rubbing his eyes vigorously trying to get the sand out .An escape window had opened and Sam ran for it.He hoisted himself up,applying more pressure on his other leg.He traipsed for a few feet,dragging his injured leg behind him,when suddenly a gun shot rang and whipped past him. He stopped abruptly and slowly turned on his heel,coming face to face with the man standing just a few inches away.Before him,he stood with a pointed pistol in his hand,his grin broader than ever.

"Bang!,"the man uttered before squeezing the trigger.

A warm shaft of sunlight,motes dancing in the beam,reached into the darkness as I lay on the damp mattress with both of my feet bound.Although the smell wasn't as pleasurable as it's comfort,it proved useful and was better than sleeping on the hard concrete floor beneath me.The dark stains and torn edges proved it had seen better days.I glanced around the cold empty room and winced at my attempts to lift up my head.It ached and the bruise on my forehead was infected.

A foul odor reeked from the corner of the room,attacking my sensitive nose making me sick.My lips were chapped and I was thirsty,and the thin wire around my ankles dug deeper into my skin each time I tried getting it off.My hopes of ever leaving were down the drain,I had been locked up in what I assumed was his basement for 4 days straight with no chances of escaping.

The floorboards creaked above me as he moved,dragging something behind him towards the basement door.I struggled to seat up straight as I pressed my aching back against the wall,waiting for him to come and administer the final blow and end my life.He had managed to break one of my ribs during one of my miserable attempts to flee and it hurt like hell.

Suddenly,the basement door swung open and the light went on.Squinting my eyes under the bright light,I watched him as he slowly descended the wooden staircase,heavily clad with plastic boots and an apron.One of his rubber gloved hands swung freely on one side,whilst the other dragged behind him a black duffel bag which clinked as the metal in it crushed against each other.The parts of his face not hidden by his long black beard looked cut from stone,and his lips were parted into a frightful grin,one which immediately gave me goosebumps.

My breath hitched in my throat as he settled in front of me,eyeing me hungrily like a piece of meat.I cursed under my breath,it was my fault I was in this predicament to begin with.

"Please don't hurt me,I can do anything, just don't kill me,"I sobbed,trying to reason with him but I knew it was hopeless.

“I swear if you let me go,I won't tell anyone!"

People like him had no empathy,they had no soul.I could feel his dark eyes move across my face like a hand,his eyes vacant of any emotion other than lust,he wanted to see me die and he wanted to be the one to deliver it.I had already made peace with that and was ready to accept my death with open arms.

"Just promise me it will be quick,"I whispered laying back down onto the mattress.

"You won't even see it coming."

"Good."

With that,I closed my weary eyes and waited.