I find myself on the cold wooden floor of an empty bedroom, the darkness stirring around me. My bloodshot eyes study the dancing shadows on the walls cast by the flame of my candle. A plethora of creatures perform a dance of death before me, their outlines distorted and their presence unsettling. I crawl under the bed in an attempt to rid myself from the sight of the demons but when I close my eyes, they continue to haunt my vision.
I feel confused and frightened, spirits whisper menacing thoughts in my ears, although they seem to be coming from inside my own mind. I turn around under the bed to face the door but an invisible force stops me from crawling out and opening it. Fear. It freezes my body as it has done so many times in the past. My terror fills the room with an eerie silence, the sound of my thumping heart and shallow breaths echoes off the walls.
The whispers get louder and more ferocious until I can't bear it any longer. I wriggle my frail body out from under the bed and crawl towards the door on my elbows and knees. As I reach up for the handle, I realise that both my hands are occupied. My left hand steadily holds the candle and my right hand is clenched around the hilt of a sharp kitchen knife. I scream and hurl the knife at the wall. It impales something soft with a thud. I freeze in shock. The sound of a single drip hitting the floorboards rings through the bedroom. I have no recollection of picking up the knife, what is happening to me? I scramble to my feet and grab the door handle, I hold my breath and turn it, the door swings open and I breathe a sigh of relief.
Shivers run up and down my spine as I stumble through the dark corridors of the strange house. Windows line the walls of the building, the curtains encasing them blow in the harsh wind. As I walk past an open window, rain and wind whip at my face as if something wants to take me out into the night. From the inner corner of my eye, a tear spills and trickles down my cheek.
Suddenly, I hear a deep growl from downstairs that shakes the floorboards beneath my feet. Fear slams into my stomach like a fist, making me want to throw up my last meal. I hear the loud rumble again and it seems to be getting closer, my heart thumps in my chest as I shrink back against the wall under a window sill. The scraping of claws on the plaster walls sets my teeth on edge and I bury my head in my knees to muffle the sound but on the contrary, it becomes louder and sharper in my ears. The creature moves slowly up the stairs, waiting for me to make a sound, waiting for a breath to escape my lips.
