Echoes.

The archway that towered above me cast a shadow that blocked out all light within the room. It was painted a pure white but time had aged it and the paint had begun to peel off, leaving bare patches scattered across the archway. Despite the school being abandoned over ten years ago, the polished wooden door looked well cared for and lovingly polished. The handle was still shiny and the reflection of my face made me jump back. My cheeks were pale and hollow and my eyes were empty of any emotion except fear. The windows were shattered with pieces of jagged glass strewn across the floor. However it seemed I wasn’t the only one who had been in the school recently. The floor was spotted with crimson blood in a trail from the glass window, as if someone had cut themselves trying to enter this place. The blood was dry but that didn’t mean anything. I tried to comfort myself but I couldn’t deny the evidence that I knew already, fresh blood could dry in less than 10 minutes.

The gargoyles stared down at me with venom in their eyes as their permanently twisted faces left crooked shadows on the floor. Their eyes never wavered from my face and made it seem like they were watching me at all times. Arms twisted behind their backs, legs bent up underneath them, ready to pounce at any given moment, at the moment that I showed weakness – they would devour me and my fear in mere seconds. The stone from which they were made of was cracked, cold and mossy. Time had gotten to the gargoyles as well but instead of decaying them away, the changes struck shards of terror into your mind.

I glanced back at the pathway I had taken to get to this desolate place. The gravel pathway had reached nearly a mile in length and each step made me think that someone was following me, watching my every step. The shadows that followed me were only my own, but I imagined someone there – hiding in the forest that loomed to the side. Every time I heard a noise, whether it was an animal or a twig I scuttled into the bushes that had overgrown on the side of the road. The path was littered with sticks that made moving silently unbearable to the frailer nerves. It was impossible to stay silent and calm when you knew that whole forest was watching you, betting against you, driving you to insanity. I couldn’t take it anymore; sprinting up the gravel path like someone was chasing me, maybe someone was chasing me…

CRUNCH

CRUNCH

SNAP!

I pushed open the polished oak door and stepped into the cold halls of the school. I could hear the children’s laughter echoing in my mind as I imagined what could have been in this desolate place. The floorboards had rotted away, leaving a bridge of splinters for any unaware walker to come across. The plaques that used to have engraving on them had faded, some letters barely visible as the rot had spread across them, seeping from corner to corner, causing some of the boards to fall away in erosion, leaving an imprint in the dust that lay undisturbed across the floor. Only trails of footsteps were visible in the early morning light. A trail of footsteps leading in a direction in which I had never ventured…

I immediately crouched down, trying to make myself blend in with the floor. I knew someone was here with me, the dust tracks were fresh enough to prove that someone had been here before me. My own harsh breathing was echoing around the room and my heart was pounding away, thundering so loudly that I feared that this stranger could hear it. The windows whistled quietly as the wind rushed past and I could hear the remains of the curtains rustling behind me, giving away my position. I urged them to be silent in my mind, praying that the stranger had been and gone by now after discovering that the school was abandoned.

The minutes ticked past agonisingly as I awaited the return of the stranger but they never appeared. The footsteps that remained in the dust beckoned me closer with a menacing air, almost tempting me to risk my position just to satisfy my curiosity. After making the presumption that I would hear the stranger coming if they returned I scampered over to the footprints and began analysing them for any information about the stranger. The footprint was firmly printed into the ground; this person had known what they were doing and where they were going. The print had come from a hiker’s boot and a man’s boot at that. The way the footprints were placed was too long for it to be a woman’s foot and the way the dust had been disturbed meant he had been in a hurry. The prints were like a lion’s, quick but precise in the midst of the hunt. Maybe he had been following someone, or waiting for someone?

I began to walk steadily in the opposite direction of the footprints, just in case this stranger had decided to stick around. I walked carefully across the room avoiding treading on any of the rotten boards in case they gave way beneath my feet. I grabbed onto the door handle and pulled it open cautiously, constantly scanning the shadows for any sign of movement. I darted through the small gap and winced as the door closed with an ear splitting screech. The noise echoed throughout the hallways and my paranoia increased tenfold as I imagined various scenarios that could leave me in terrible danger. I began panting like an athlete who had been running a marathon and my vision blurred to black as the memories swamped my mind, crushing all my attempts to hold them back. Memories of my past, memories of HIM.

His name was Caleb. He was a well-built man, with a menacing stance that made you step away when he took a step towards you. He wore baggy clothing that disguised his muscles but if you looked closely you could see them. He stood permanently in a position that reminded you of a snake, coiled and ready to strike at any given moment. If you tried to escape this man, he would catch you and pull you back to whatever darkness you had tried to escape from. No-one could out run him, at least no-one I knew and when he walked he was like a lion. He would stalk you across the room, backing you into a corner before closing in for the kill. The gun he carried everywhere with him left a slight bulge in the corner of his jacket which struck fear into all who dared to look closer at him.

His face was strong; well build with a terrifying aspect to it. His cheekbones were strong and prominent and he had a chiselled jaw line – bringing out the other aspects of his face. His nose was bent sideways; seemingly broken years before in some form of fight and some of his teeth were missing. His smile seemed charming and innocent, like the kind of man who would protect you, but all he wanted was your secrets. His voice was calm and velvet like, soothing with a hint of malice behind it making you think of a snake. His ears stuck out to the side, an irregular feature on his handsome face reminding you of an innocent elf but this man was far from innocent. However it was the eyes that scared you the most. They were a dark black. If you looked into them you felt like you were falling endlessly into a pit summoned by only the devil himself. Flames of rage and hatred flickered like dying ashes in his eyes, causing them to glow like beacons of darkness and betrayal.

He was always calm and collected, moving with such precision and capability. Moving silently, practically hovering above the ground as he stalked towards his goal. No matter what time of day, he was invisible; you didn’t hear him coming unless he wanted you to. His brief moments of anger were what struck pure fear into your heart when he was near. If he was angry then he would tower above you, making you cower away in fear. His voice would remain quiet but a tone of fury lay beneath it as a warning. Unconsciously his fists would clench and unclench as his rage peaked until he stormed off, violently taking his anger out on the nearest object. He left a dent in my wall that was the extent of his rage.

He always took his job seriously, however I never knew what it was. Whenever I asked he would get angry and I would immediately back off, scared that his anger might become physical and I would take the brunt of it. Everybody has secrets but I knew that this secret had to be horrendous for him to hide it from me with such ferocity. Persuasion was his best technique, whether it was the ‘easy’ way or the ‘hard’ way. He always got what he wanted, no-one would stand in the way of his goal and if someone did. He would leave a bloody trail of bodies, each as a warning…

To me.

My vision slowly cleared and I knew that it was over for now. I was a mess and this place wasn’t helping my mind-set one bit. Shakily I managed to pull myself up onto two feet and clinging to the banister, I began to climb the decaying staircase. My legs were vibrating so much that my vision shook with them. My eyes were as wide open as they physically could be as I scanned every millimetre of the area searching frantically for something out of the ordinary that could explain my reaction to this place. The stairs were pristine, seemingly untouched by all the decay and rot that had seeped through this place. They were pure white, marble stairs which winded upwards slowly, leisurely to the top of the tower which made up the old observatory of this school. Each step I took echoed loudly up the tower, making my glances upwards increase in frequency the higher I climbed. There were no windows as you climbed and the time seemed to drag on for eternity. When I reached the top I pushed open the large, oak double doors which crashed against the wall with a deafening BANG! I crossed the room, past the ancient telescopes and the constellation maps to the window. It was a large 5 metre wide window made of pure glass which looked so transparent that I could destroy it with a simple tap. I just stood there, calmly staring out at the beautiful view.

The sun was rising slowly, leisurely sending rays of light across the land. Golden light dribbled over the land like syrup on oatmeal. The leaves shimmered like a mirror flecked mosaic and the morning dew sparkled on the bejewelled cobwebs and grass. The trees that surrounded the gravel path were kissed by the morning light, brightening the dark branches into a softer brown that looked so alike to chocolate I was afraid that it would melt in the warmth of the sun. I could see the mountains in the distance, towering over the valley where the school sat and the snow-capped peaks glistened in the sun sending dazzling rays bouncing across the skies.

“Hello.”

I spun around in shock and fear, staring open-mouthed at Caleb.

How did he find me? Was he the one who made those footprints in the dust?

“How.”

My voice carried across the room with no hint of fear, just pure confidence and authority. My true feelings were hidden away. I knew his tricks and techniques, if I showed any sign of my true emotions he would manipulate them to achieve his own ends. So my voice stayed strong and my face remained hostile. A look of surprise flitted momentarily across his face before being replaced by that familiar smirk that haunted my thoughts. His voice, all sense of kindness gone, replaced by that mocking tone that I remember so well.

“What? No ‘Hey, how have you been?’ Didn’t you miss me?”

I gritted my teeth and spat out, trying to sound menacing and unaffected by his presence.

“How. Are. You. Here?”

He chuckled evilly and began strolling in front of my frozen, making my muscles clench in preparation to run, to get away from this horrible place and to escape him. This situation was so bizarre. I glanced frantically around the room looking for some form of escape route. Caleb was standing in front of the route to the door to the staircase and even if I did get past him, he was faster than I was and would catch me before I had taken 10 steps. I couldn’t go out the window; it was a 100 foot drop straight down with nothing to land on. I would die instantly. Despite the adrenaline fuelling my muscles, inside my mind I was reeling in shock. One word echoed tauntingly around my mind.

How?

Caleb couldn’t be here. Caleb was dead. I knew that because…

I murdered him.

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