𝕴𝖉𝖊𝖓𝖙𝖎𝖙𝖞 𝕮𝖗𝖎𝖘𝖎𝖘- 𝕬 𝖈𝖍𝖎𝖑𝖉'𝖘 𝖒𝖎𝖓𝖉.

Ｎｙｃｔｏｐｈｏｂｉａ

ℕ𝕪𝕔𝕥𝕠𝕡𝕙𝕠𝕓𝕚𝕒- " Nyctophobia is an extreme fear of the dark. The name comes from the Greek word for night. Children and adults with nyctophobia may fear being alone in the dark. They may have anxiety in dark places, and they may have trouble sleeping in a darkened room."

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐈

Ｏpening their eyes, a child was startled by the darkness that surrounded them. What? Wasn't it bright in my room a few hours ago? They were writing their essay on their homework for Mrs.......Mrs......Honeywell? Right. Mrs. Honeywell, the sweet middle aged English teacher who gave them an extra week for the essay. She was nice. However, the small smile on their face was quickly gone with unease and panic taking over. Wait- this-this isn't my room? Where was I?! Its too dark. Way too dark for it to be my room. Mama always left the lights on. ALWAYS. The child shivered, a sense of dread began taking over. They were not home.

Home.......Where was home? What was home? Home is........never mind. They can figure it out later. For now they need to find out where they are. This certainly was NOT home. Groping in the darkness, hairs standing up on their skin, the child moved around, trying to conceal the evident fear that coursed through their small frame. They felt something move away from their touch and the child reeled back, letting out a small scream in doing so. It felt furry and soon enough squeaking could be heard. A mouse, they concluded. They must be in a basement of some sorts, but which one? They didn't have one at home.

".........."

Were they kidnapped? But how? Their windows were locked. The lights were on. Surely they would have heard the glass shatter. The footsteps. The alarm bell. Mama praying. Daddy shouting. Sister crying.

Oh.

It happened again. The man came again. And this time he must have taken me. He succeeded. I was sacrificed. Tears rolled down their face. No.....No. They were going to die. Either that or a puppet they shall become. A soul-less puppet, no longer having an identity. Just killing on command. No more will they know the light of day again. As if they haven't had enough problems, they were struggling to find out themselves. Who were they? What purpose did they serve? Why were their relatives so against them? The questions that swirl through their head only caused a larger headache as they groped around helplessly. The dark was already consuming them, making them drown even farther into their fears. They were so frantic, couldn't even find the light switch. Light. They need light. They heard voices.....they saw something.

It's the man. Or the man's shadow. He was watching, clearly enjoying their suffering. Oh he knew they hated the dark.

After all, HE caused it.

He caused ALL of it.