Trapped (conclusion)

She could hear but could not see him as she struggled through the ice that ran through her veins. If she could only get out, light from the lamp would illuminate her tormentor’s face once and for all, she thought, edging her way to the balcony door. It opened to the fresh smell of freedom.

Peering cautiously over the edge of the railing she wondered when her journey would come to an end. How many more times would she spend chasing shadows only to end  each night looking on as her body lie broken on the rocks below? Dreams were for the living, she knew, but when, oh when, would somebody find her so she could finally tell her story? Until she could tell of the man who pushed her over the edge, would she ever be able to rest in peace? 

The End

Happy Hallowe`en!

Trapped (cont.)

It was sheer will that had her swallowing the scream that threatened to escape as metal on metal echoed within the lighthouse walls but sheer will alone could not prevent the pervading chill that enveloped her body. Seemingly with a will all their own, with perfect precision and speed such as she’d never known her feet possessed, up the curving staircase she unerringly ran.

A quick search as she entered the lantern room told her there was nowhere to hide but she took brief comfort that the only whisper of breath came from the blanket of fog that cloaked the room.

“Aye, and now you have come to me at last.”

Trapped

Out of the night's darkness she approaches the lighthouse - the moon as its backdrop -  and drops to her knees at its door. The  hoot of an owl reaches her ears from somewhere nearby and with great hope to find sanctuary from the ghosts that chase her this night bravely she rises and turns the rickety, old handle to enter the dusty gloom. Deeply she breathes to settle nerves frayed by what she could only hope was a current, though unusual, flight of fancy.

 "I've been waiting for you, lass."  The stir of her hair told her that whisper of breath from out of the darkness was not her imagination. Slowly, slowly she turned to stare into the inky blackness behind her to once again be denied the vision of her tormentor. She never understood how your heart could race while your feet turned to lead, until this moment when the world around her turned in slow motion. Too slow to reach the door before the clicking of the lock, she was trapped.

To be continued...