Dangerous Strangers

Preface

I ran silently through the long hall wishing that the slapping sound of my bare feet on the marble floors would quit. Getting caught right now is no longer an option. I don't even want to think about what would happen if He caught me. A sharp noise sounded behind me and I whirled around but I didn't see anything. My legs had a mind of their own at this point and I couldn't make myself move. I was frozen!

Finally I wrenched myself back around and continued down the hallway. I was almost there, the door just a few more steps in front of me. When I reached the door I shoved with all my weight but the door didn't budge. Of course I should've known the door would be locked. That's how it always is in the scary movies and that's what this was like, just one long, terrifying horror movie that I couldn't seem to escape from.

The loud clang of me ramming the door had probably sounded all through the building and someone would be coming to see what all the racket was about. I needed another plan and quick. The faint sound of voices sounded from another hall and they were getting louder and louder. Someone was coming! I looked around in a panic and ran into the nearest room I saw. The room was pitch black, I couldn't see a thing, and I'd never been into this room before. I had no idea where I was or how I would escape now. There was only one thing I was sure of and that was that there was someone in the room with me.

I ran my hands quickly over the wall to try and find a light switch but just as my hand hit a bump someone grabbed me from behind and slammed me into the ground. The breath whooshed out of my body and I could feel myself blacking out. Fighting the haze was a lot more complicated than I ever thought it could be but I finally managed to get back on my feet. I expected whoever had slammed me down to come at me again so I prepared myself for another blow but it never came. I lurched for the wall to find the light switch. Just as my hand smacked the wall I heard a deep, raspy chuckle behind me. I instantly recognized that laugh. It was a laugh I had heard many times before and it definitely wasn't a welcome sound. The stranger in the room with me wasn't a stranger at all. It was Him.