They Know Me

GREEN

It was horror at its most simplistic.

I was somewhere, standing in scary silence. A bright light suddenly came on from ... I didn't know where. Fearing its harshness would cause me to go blind, I did my best to shield my face, but my arms too quickly grew tired. Slowly, I lowered them and cautiously opened my eyes. Blinking against the piercing light that still hadn't faded, I eventually saw that I was in a tiny, round, and impossibly white room, with no way of escape, where the walls, floor, and ceiling shone with the intensity of mirrors reflecting direct sunlight, burning my eyes. Doing my best to look around, I couldn't see anything to indicate that I was in danger, but I could sense an undercurrent of foreboding.

All of a sudden, the dead air was broken by faceless voices calling out to me in unison; impossible-to-understand whispers that steadily increased until they blended into a single, high-pitched sound. I covered my ears to block it out, but it was no use – and in the awful din, one thing stood out ... I was to be blamed for crimes I had never committed.

Their shrieks grew louder. I pressed my hands harder to my ears. I even screamed for them to stop, but my voice wasn't enough to drown them out.

Then, everything stilled. I was left in empty silence ... until a single voice softly interrupted the terrifying, penetrating hush. "The door is open, but you will not find your escape."

A single door stood open. Desperate to break away from that nightmarish place, I started to run ... but stopped at the brink of escape. I was looking into night.

I strained to see, or to hear, something within the deathly quiet. It was impossible. Faced with the unknown, my terror crept back.

The brilliant light quickly faded ... murkiness ... and then I was within solid darkness. At the very moment it turned black, something hard and impossibly cold touched me from behind me. I turned, but I couldn't see.

I heard a sound of something being ignited and looked back. Surprised to see a fire burning as if it had always been, its flames popping and snapping high into the air, I kept back. Though its warmth was welcoming, I didn't trust it. Instead, I chose to stay near the mysterious coldness, even though I feared it ... because I could sense that, for that moment, it wouldn't hurt me.

The cold returned and then unexpectedly, the unknown shifted again. Blindly I tried to follow, but it was gone. I was alone.

I looked back to the fire. It had extinguished, but a face, more phantom than real, was there only for a moment before it vanished from sight. Then clouds parted and revealed a full moon ...

I was at Cemetery Raven.

Next to a low fire with strange blue flames that flickered ferociously in reverse of what was expected, seemingly starting within the open air, and burning downward toward the kindling, a woman, dressed like a gypsy, was knelt, her head bowed so that her face was concealed. Gradually the flames started to die out and she began to melt into the growing darkness ... and while it was happening, my energy drained until I felt I couldn't stand anymore.

Desperate to fight the ache of exhaustion, I grasped the sturdy wrought iron fence, but it was no use. Just as I almost reached the ground, an unseen person stopped me, brought me close, and gently cradled me. Without knowing why, I felt safe again.

Then I heard my name whispered softly, tenderly ... and my face turned involuntarily to my left ...

My parents were there! At first, I didn't trust my eyes. But then, overcome with happiness that I hadn't been left behind, I tried to push away from what held me to go to them, but I couldn't. As I began a frantic struggle against the arms of the unseen stranger, a gentle murmur started in my ear – I wasn't supposed to go. I was only to say what I hadn't before. I fought harder to free myself, but despite my efforts, he wouldn't release me!