Chapter 1

The lights were out, and I was alone... what else was I to do?

         How wonderful this night was! The room was encompassed in silence, no movement was made save for my own body, singled out as one that did not belong here, in this painting of perfection. Lights were scarce, only the moon graced the deserted kitchen, peeking through the sky light in the ceiling. Dust particles trusted completely upon the air, twirling and flittering in no particular pattern but following only the lines set for them by the moon's beams. In the center, upon the cold, dirty tile floor, stood a toy, an action figure of great detail and quality. It seemed to glow as of more than the moon provided. The bright yellow eyes actually pierced through the night-black clumps of hair, each shining strand identifiable and perfectly accenting the terrified pale face that longed to speak; that longed to move. Her feet were in mid step causing her many colored cloaks wrapped several times about her delicate form to flow. One hand held the cloaks upon her shoulder, the other was out in front, either preparing to land a fall or reaching, hoping she could get there in time. And how magnificently this, my favorite toy, stood in the scarce light, seeming to possess a heart and soul of her very own. 

            All around the beautiful lady was gathered a crowd; perhaps her subjects. Superheroes with capes and tights, evil super villains with their maniacal grins, dragons with their snarling majesty. They were all gathered before Her, the Longing One. To pity, to learn, or to bow before her and pray.

            My mind reeled off on this assembly and their purpose, but the real world was knocking. The one that said we had no electricity because we don't have money. The one that shunned me from the others at school. The on… that was extremely impatient. I clambered out, dodging my army of toys, all of them subconsciously watching me go to the door and open it only for a second, merely to slam it and scuttle into the small pantry, leaving the door open just to the point where I could watch and make sure the man from my dreams didn't try to come in. The silence filled me with suspense and I almost fell over when the kitchen door creaked open, revealing the familiar shadow I had dreamt about for the past month. How could my dream possibly come true like this? If things continued as my dreams usually did, then I needed to find an escape route. Why?! Why did I hide in the pantry?!

            "Teremiah?" The deep voice was strong and confident, coming closer every moment.

            "Teremiah. I'm going to find you sooner or later, you might as well quit this game right now, you know you can't win." I knew he was right, and he was nearly upon the door of the pantry. My heart was beating so loud, my head pounding and I felt dizzy and nauseous. I didn't deal well with fear. I closed my eyes forcefully, fighting my survival instincts to keep them open. I took a deep, long breath to calm the nerves, but it couldn’t' help me now. My eyes popped open and there he was; the scariest man I had ever seen, his face against the crack in the door so his bright violet eyes peeped at me, a fervent grin across the lower half of his face. His nose was broad from the side, pointed at the end. And the skin was the worst part. A deep scarlet color that resembled that of brand-new sunburn from a day on the beach during the summer.

            Even his skin emanated heat that I could feel when he reached in, opening the door wider and revealing the rest of himself, remarking,

            "You should know I’m not going to hurt you, Teremiah." His black hair shone in the moonlight, pulled back into a loose, long ponytail. His cloak and golden tassel holding it closed oddened his appearance even more. Behind him, my favorite action figure was on its side, staring blankly at this man's sandaled feet. This was what triggered my wrath. I scrunched my eyebrows together in fury and summoned all of my strength for one blow from my foot to his shin. My "five-year-old" strength was enough and made him yowl while I took off out the door he had so foolishly left open and down the cold, empty street. My hands and arms stiffened properly to sprint faster, away from the man who always kidnapped me in my dreams.

            "Teremiah, you can't win." The man chuckled an evil chuckle and ran after me, treating it like a good-natured competition. My breath was running short, partially because of the wind coming against me, but I felt that feeling in my back, that he was there, right behind me but I didn't dare look; it would have slowed me down. My legs just pounded the hard street, one after the other, becoming numb. My legs clenched, locked, I couldn't move, and the freeze went all up my body, eventually crawling into my face and brain which experienced fevered ignorance before black spots grew and all I could hear before blacking out was a loud THUD!!

 

Author's Note

I've rewritten this so many times, is it finally any good?