Shadows in the woods

Chapter 4

​A sudden crack woke William. Not a crack like the thunder outside, but a crack like something breaking. The little cottage was now only lit by the thin beams of moonlight that got through the flowery velvet curtains, casting a faint bluish light on the wooden floor. The fireplace in the center of the room glowed no longer, now just a pile of ashes. Another sharp crack made him jump. Turning his head to the source of the sound, he noticed a horrific sight: Someone, or something, was battering the locked door, brutally trying to bash their way in with what sounded like a blunt, wooden object. No, not one object. It sounded like all the demons populating Hell had decided to Come to this very location and pound on the door of this house. William knew that even if the door seemed sturdy, it would give way in a matter of minutes. He ran to the nearest curtains, his feet pounding on the floor,making the planks creak while his heart raced faster than his feet ever could, as if it wanted to escape from his bruised ribcage. The pounding on the door grew louder by the second and as he hastily dived behind the curtains, he barely managed to stifle a horrified scream at what he saw: A pale green root , animated with a life of it's own, had finally punched its way through the door, groping its way around the floor. He knew that soon others would follow. He started counting the seconds that he had left before the plants broke down the door. Splinters were flying all over the place, going through the curtains and painfully burying themselves in his arms and legs. More and more branches, roots and creepers were bursting through the wooden frame of the door, viciously tearing it out of its brass hinges, a dark foreshadowing of what would happen to William if he let himself panic and be seen.