All The King's Men

All the King's Men-Prologue

Boom!

The heavy wooden door slammed shut, engulfing the six-year-old little girl in total blackness. The sound vibrated down the long hallway, shaking rocks and dirt loose from the ceiling and walls. They rained down her small shoulders, she coughed and gasped as she breathed in the dust.

After a moment, the dust settled, and the sound faded. The little girl stood in the pitch black tunnel, surrounded by silence. The cold air seeped through her thin night rail, and chilled her bare feet. She shivered and hugged herself, rubbing her upper arms with her hands. She reached out to touch the door, pushing against it. She wanted to go back to her bed.

BANG!

She felt something hit the door. She jumped and let out a scream, and jerked her hand back. She heard the sound of splintering wood, then a moment of silence that was followed by another bang as something hit the door again.

She stepped back, pressing her back against the cold wall of the tunnel. A spot of light peeked through a small hole high above her. Another bang vibrated through the tunnel, she saw the tip of a sword through the door. Someone was trying to break through, she realized.

"You cannot hide from me," A man on the other side of the door called. "I'll find you."

She turned towards the tunnel. The long, dark tunnel stretched out before her.

"I built this tunnel for you." Her father had told her a few months ago, when he had shown her the tunnel for the first time. "It's a game. A game you play in the dark. There is only one rule, your hand must always touch the wall." He had taken her hand, and placed it on the cold stone wall. She felt the smooth grooves carved into the wall. Three parallel lines. "These run the whole length of the tunnel. If you follow them, you will get through the tunnel safely."

The little girl reached out to touch the cool stone. Her fingers slipped between the grooves. The polished stone smooth against her fingertips. After a few inches, she felt the grooves form a pattern. She traced the pattern with her finger.

Another bang came from the door. She jumped and turned to the door. The hole was bigger now. She could see light shining through.

Her finger continued to trace the pattern. "A" she murmured. "It's an A." She turned back to the tunnel. Moving her fingers past the A, she felt for the grooves. They were not there. "Oh, yes." she murmured, she reached her left hand out and took a few steps to the side. Her left hand touched the other side of the tunnel, and she felt for the grooves. Finding them she smiled. "When you find a letter, move to the other side."

She took a step, and than another into the darkness. After a few yards, she felt the lines move into another form. "M." She smiled, and moved back to the other side.

There was a sharp crack of wood splintering behind her, she glanced at the door. A large hole had now formed. She saw a man's face peering through. "I see you, you little brat. You cannot run from me."

The six year old laughed. With her fingers on the grooves in the wall, she turned and ran into the darkness. I can too, she thought, I can run in the dark. She picked up her pace, her bare feet made a slapping sound as she hurried along.

She felt the lines curve upward.

"When the lines move up, jump over the string." She remembered her father telling her. She lifted her nightgown to her knees and jumped. She couldn't see it, and she didn't know what it was attached to, but she knew there was a string across the tunnel. She wasn't supposed to touch it. Only step over it.

She sighed with relief when she cleared the string. The first time, she remembered, she had tripped over it. Falling in the darkness she had scrapped her knees and cried out. "I do not like the dark." She had said to her father when he picked her up.