The Gauthier Farmhouse, on the Outskirts of a Small French
Town Northwest of Paris, 1918:
The root cellar was dark and cramped. It was little more
than a glorified hole in the ground, with earthen walls supported by a wooden
lattice and a heavy wood trap door atop. Slivers of light flowed through cracks
in the warped wood, like starlight coruscating through a blackened sky. The
same cracks allowed air to circulate within the oubliette, but it was
tainted by the stench of rotting vegetables left behind in the cellar. Insects
burrowed through the dirt, obscured by the darkness, but present nonetheless.
Not being able to see them but knowing they were there made them even more
frightening. Claude wondered what else might be lurking in the ebon recesses.
The eight-year-old shivered, partially from the cold but mostly out of fear.
“Please, let me out.” His plaintive cry went unheeded, as
had his previous entreaties. He wiped the tears from his eyes. Claude felt
something crawl up his leg. He brushed it off and screamed again. His heart
raced, as his face contorted in a paroxysm of terror. He was desperate to
escape the confined prison but the trap door was far too heavy for him to push
open. He felt the darkness become tangible, closing in on him… suffocating him.
Claude screamed.
The Vampires & Werewolves You Only Think You Know!
Fangs & Fur, Book One: Flashbacks
No comments:
Post a Comment