The corridor loomed in front of me, dissipating into pure black as it continued on. The darkness made my skin crawl, and there seemed to be something...something that felt wrong...down that hallway. A stabbing pain shot through my vacant head as I stared into the dark. I glanced into the room behind me; it was a sort of office, carpeted in red with warm mahogany furniture. It seemed preferable to the hall, but there was something sinister about it; a feeling that had been haunting me since the day I arrived here.
I was almost tempted to stay in the office. The warmth and near-comfort of it was alluring, but I soon realised that it felt completely exposed. It had an exit on every side; the doorway that I had entered through, a small storage room, and one leading to the stone corridor that I was now peering down. The windows behind the desk looked outward into a heavily forested landscape being assaulted by a fierce blizzard. I made up my mind. I was going to go down the hallway.
The first step onto the cold stone floor seemed to echo for an eternity, and I was certain that it could be heard through the massive building. I exhaled deeply; my breath rattled out of my chest and merely made me more apprehensive. I struck a match, but it spluttered and extinguished itself before I could light the lantern. With shaky hands, I succeeded at last, and an unsteady light illuminated a few metres in front of me. The glow of the lantern reassured me; but its oil would only last so long.
...
The sharp pain assaulted my throbbing head again and again, and my heart pounded at an impossible pace. The darkness surrounded me, nearly impenetrable; it was all I could do to force my way through the shadow. The lantern lay shattered on the floor far behind me. The deep guttural scream of that...thing...reverberated down the corridor, piercing my skull. Its grotesque image flashed in front of my eyes every time I blinked. Looking behind me would be futile. The shadows were closing in; I could feel them pressing against me, slowing me, making my heart pound and my hands shake, filling my mind...and that monstrous thing, cloaked in the darkness, coming nearer every second, assaulting my consciousness...I could hear it closing in, its bare feet hitting the granite floor in long strides. My own feet were like lead, thudding loudly against the stone and becoming heavier with every step. The darkness...it was everywhere. I could barely see the walls on either side of me, using no more than my mere intuition as a guide for my direction. I glanced at my hand, and it lurched towards me; and the walls reeled hazily in and out of my darkening vision. An indistinct shape swayed towards me...a door! I snatched for the handle frantically, knowing that the thing was still in pursuit. The heavy wooden panel creaked inwards, and I staggered into the inky space, pushing the door backwards. Another growl forced its way into my head. My legs fell from underneath me as a reached for the swaying wall, my consciousness dissolved into a void of oblivion.
