The Awakening
by Trish Bennett
Dark...
A sudden restlessness stirred him from his slumber. Vague images assaulted his memory, images which seemed so fresh yet would not come into focus.
So dark...
His eyes were open, but still they could not penetrate the blackness. The enveloping heaviness settled in around him, suffocating him. He gasped, trying to fill his lungs with air, but something was different. Something was wrong.
Trapped...
He raised his hands to probe the darkness, only then realizing that he was on his back. There was something above him...around him...encasing him.
Escape...
He had to get out. He swallowed to quell the panic rising in his chest, only barely noticing the sharpness against his lip. He laid his hands flat against the smooth surface above him, held his breath, and pushed.
Freedom...
The creak of hinges echoed in his ears as the suffocating darkness gave way to... a different darkness. His eyes adjusted quickly to the moonlight which filtered into the chamber.
Cold...
A damp chill replaced the heaviness, but he was oddly unaffected by it. He inhaled the dank air gratefully as his eyes surveyed his surroundings.
Stone...
The chamber was familiar to him, although it seemed like a distant memory from a nearly forgotten time. Though unclear, they were comforting images... of family..of belonging. He belonged here... or did he?
Home...
He was home, yet he was not. He was with his family, yet he was not. Confusion clouded his thoughts. He finally pulled his cloak around him and rose from his wooden lair.
Coffin...
This was wrong. He should fear this, but there was no fear in his heart. There was only one thought on his mind as he drifted through the doorway to the outer chamber of the mausoleum.
Hunger...
It was a powerful force, an ancient hunger which drove him from the tomb. Into the night. Into the darkness. A hunger which had to be fed, but which he knew instinctively could never be satisfied. It was the only thought on his mind, but for one other...
Josette!
by Trish Bennett
Dark...
A sudden restlessness stirred him from his slumber. Vague images assaulted his memory, images which seemed so fresh yet would not come into focus.
So dark...
His eyes were open, but still they could not penetrate the blackness. The enveloping heaviness settled in around him, suffocating him. He gasped, trying to fill his lungs with air, but something was different. Something was wrong.
Trapped...
He raised his hands to probe the darkness, only then realizing that he was on his back. There was something above him...around him...encasing him.
Escape...
He had to get out. He swallowed to quell the panic rising in his chest, only barely noticing the sharpness against his lip. He laid his hands flat against the smooth surface above him, held his breath, and pushed.
Freedom...
The creak of hinges echoed in his ears as the suffocating darkness gave way to... a different darkness. His eyes adjusted quickly to the moonlight which filtered into the chamber.
Cold...
A damp chill replaced the heaviness, but he was oddly unaffected by it. He inhaled the dank air gratefully as his eyes surveyed his surroundings.
Stone...
The chamber was familiar to him, although it seemed like a distant memory from a nearly forgotten time. Though unclear, they were comforting images... of family..of belonging. He belonged here... or did he?
Home...
He was home, yet he was not. He was with his family, yet he was not. Confusion clouded his thoughts. He finally pulled his cloak around him and rose from his wooden lair.
Coffin...
This was wrong. He should fear this, but there was no fear in his heart. There was only one thought on his mind as he drifted through the doorway to the outer chamber of the mausoleum.
Hunger...
It was a powerful force, an ancient hunger which drove him from the tomb. Into the night. Into the darkness. A hunger which had to be fed, but which he knew instinctively could never be satisfied. It was the only thought on his mind, but for one other...
Josette!