It had been happening for weeks now. At first, it had only been a gentle tap here and there, but, now it was every night; tapping on the bedroom floor in unison with the old grandfather clock's soft, lulling ticking. It was starting to get to him.
A young man at the age of twenty-three had moved into an old house only a few weeks prior. His name was Victor Moore.
Victor sighed, getting up and out of his bed. He looked to his night stand, gazing at the clock. Squinting, he made out the time to be five a.m. He sigh once more, gently picking up his black framed glasses and sliding them onto his face. He stood up and stretched before walking to his door and opening it. He walked downstairs, shooting the grandfather clock a quick, tired glare before entering the kitchen. He yawned, looking into the fridge as he attempted to rub the tiredness from his dull eyes of sapphire. Finding nothing to his liking, he closed the fridge and walked into the living room.
Victor sat down on the grey couch as he retrieved the T.V remote. He hadn't gotten cable just yet so, the local channels would have to do. He ran his fingers through his short, dark, brown hair as he later back against the couch. He could still hear it...the ticking of the grandfather clock. Thought it annoyed him, he tried to ignore it. As he watched the TV, his eyelids began to feel heavy; the soft ticking began to lull him to sleep. Slowly, but surely, Victory drifted in sleep, falling into the dreamworld.
~•~
Tick.
Tick.
Tick.
"It won't stop..." A gentle whisper in his ear.
"Please make it stop."
"Stop it." The whisper hushed harshly. A faint, barely audible laugh reached his ears, one of sorrow, agony, and fleeting sanity.
"Stop it."
"Stop it."
"Stop it!"
He tried to run. He tried so very hard to run, to escape the darkness closing in on him. But, the shadows were faster.
"Help me..."
Tick.
"Why does it hurt?"
Tick.
"Why didn't you help me?"
Tick. Tick.
"Stop it."
TICK.
"Stop it."
TICK.
"Stop it!"
TICK.
"STOP IT!"
~•~
Jolting awake, Victor sat up with a gasp. His eyes darted around the room in a panic. He let out a huff of breath that sounded like something close to a laugh, a laugh at how ridiculous he had felt. He ran trembling hands through his hair, taking in soft, shallow breaths. He stood up, walking into the kitchen and to the sink. He turned the cold water on and rinsed the cold sweat from his face. After wiping his face off, he slipped on his dark, green hoodie and black sneakers. He walked out onto the front porch and sat upon the bench swing. Victor took in the chilled, morning air, guessing it to be around nine or ten AM. He sat there, peacefully gazing up at the sky and watching the clouds float by the rising sun. After a long while, he had calmed his nerves down enough to go back inside and relax before he had to go to work. Though, once inside his home, he heard his cellphone ring from his room as he was taking off the hoodie. He jogged up the stairs and into his room, picking the phone up from the night stand and pressing the green button.
