The Midnight Man

Chapter 18 - Salt Circle

The Midnight Man stared down at Sam for a while. Sam tried not to look directly at him, but sometimes he couldn't help it. Sam felt more uncomfortable with every passing minute. He still struggled to believe this was real! Soon Sam got bored and knowing he was safe inside the salt circle he decided to mess with The Midnight Man.

"Is this the best you can do?" Sam laughed. "Just stand above me, silently?"

"If you don't want to leave the circle, I'll make you." Said the Midnight Man sternly. He snapped his fingers and a small chalkboard appeared in his hand.

"Now you'll see what I can do," Said The Midnight Man as he scratched the chalkboard with his wolf-like claws.

Screech!

The high-pitched sound echoed through the house as Sam covered his ears. This was Sam's worst fear! He couldn't stand the sound of nails scratching a chalkboard! The Midnight Man laughed as he snapped his fingers a second time, creating six more chalkboards. The defining sound instantly became 10x louder as The Midnight Man grew more hands, and spawned more chalkboards. Sam screamed in agony as the horrible sound made his eardrums bleed. Sam looked at his hands and saw bright red blood all over them.

"OK! STOP! I'll LEAVE THE CIRCLE, PLEASE! JUST STOP!" Sam cried out. The noise stopped, but Sam could still hear a ringing in his ears. He tried to stand up but fell. His head was spinning as the world around him became progressively blurry. Sam had a raging headache and he felt like was going to throw up. Even the thought of leaving the salt circle made him feel sick to his stomach.

"Come on! Do it! Leave the ring of salt! NOW!" Shouted The Midnight Man. He had no patience.

"Ok, I'm coming," Sam said weakly.

"Hurry up!"

"I am" Said Sam, mostly to himself. Sam slowly stepped out of the salt circle.

"Ha! Your plan failed!" The Midnight Man chuckled. Suddenly, Sam sprinted across the room towards the door. The Midnight Man trusted his hand forward and grabbed Sam's arm. Sam was pulled back hard and fell to the ground. Sam screamed as The Midnight Man threw him across the room in anger.

CRUNCH!

Sam hit the wall and instantly broke some ribs. The Midnight Man started walking towards Sam, who was lying on the floor in pain. He snatched a black crystal from Sam's bed and held it tight.

"What are you doing with that?" Sam said between the extreme pain and salty tears.

"You'll see," said the Midnight Man. Sam went as pale as a ghost. That was the scariest thing he could say. Sam got to his feet, shaking violently. Sam reached out for the salt but was jerked back by The Midnight Man. The salt fell to the floor as The Midnight Man threw sam into the bookshelf. He picked Sam up by the neck and pinned him against the wall.

"You thought you could defeat me that easily?" Said The Midnight Man, knowing he had won.

"I will defeat you!" Sam cried.

"No, you won't." The Midnight Man said. Before Sam could respond, The Midnight Man plunged the sharp black crystal into his stomach. He let go of Sam's neck and Sam fell to the floor, holding his stomach and gagging. Sam lifted his shirt and saw blood everywhere. The crystal had gone through Sam's stomach completely.

"THE MIDNIGHT MAN NEVER LEAVES!" The Midnight Man screamed into the night. Every dog in the neighbourhood started howling and barking as loud as they could. The Midnight Man started laughing hysterically as the clock chimed 2.00. Sam refused to give up.

The Midnight Man stared out the window, thinking Sam was dead. Sam pushed through the pain as he crawled across the room slowly. Blood poured from the open wound, drenching the floor. Sam stretched his hand out and grabbed the salt. He tried to stand but fell back down. The Midnight Man turned around and saw Sam was still alive.

"Oh, Sam." He said, picking up another sharp crystal. Sam hid the salt behind his back so The Midnight Man couldn't see it. The Midnight Man lifted Sam into the air, holding him by the neck.

"Goodnight, Sam," He said raising the crystal.

"No!" Sam yelled throwing the salt all over The Midnight Man. The Midnight Man screamed in pain as he dropped Sam and collapsed onto the floor. Sam pushed through the pain and stood up quickly, determined to defeat The Midnight Man for good. He threw salt all over The Midnight Man. Soon The Midnight Man was buried in salt. He tried to stand but the salt started to dissolve him. It looked like acid.