The Underworld Queen

The windows of my house tremble from the power of thunder rolling across the sky. As the clouds yawn, and rains spills from their mouths, I felt the familiar unease coil in my stomach. This storm, like so many others, felt like a prelude.

I bolted up the front porch steps, I slide the

key into it and turned it. But it's stuck, I jiggle the key, wrestling with it until the mechanism finally clicked, and I jammed the door shut, the boot echoing like a gunshot in the sudden quite.

My routine took over, I checked the other doors and windows, I climbed the stairs, each step a silent promise of the temporary solace waiting in my room. Comfort in my blankets, cuddle up against my pillow,the warmth of a mug of tea seeping into my skin, the pages of a familiar book waiting to transport me away. The relentless drumming of rain on the roof filled the silence,a chaotic lullaby.

Them the lighting struck. The room was briefly flooded with an intense, blinding light that painted everything in stark relief. For that split second the comfortable refuge of my room vanished, and I was staring at him.

A man standing outside my window his face a distorted mask in the intermittent flash, watching me. Always watching me.