Nosferatu


There was a screeching sound that was almost inaudible, yet it still hurt Maggie's ears. She wasn't sure she wanted to find out what the source, so she ran blindly for what she thought was her life in the pitch black tunnels dug by a people so old that even the Egyptian Pyramids were far surpassed by time. None had dared to enter this ancient place, where unknown parels lay in every stone and crevice. But now Maggie thought her time was short. She grabbed desperately for the door and barely caught herself from falling into the seemingly bottomless pit.

Holding up the small lantern as she tried to catch her breath and bearings, Maggie tried to make out the options of escape, and to her dismay, there were none. Well, she could jump into the pit and hope there was a soft cushion on the bottom, or run back the way she came. Closing her eyes and trying not to let her life flash before them, some tears ran down her cheek. It was time to face the thing that had been chasing her for months. UnlessMaggie looked at the frame of the door before the pit and realized she could wedge her body between that and ease up to the roof of the passage. She did so and held onto the wall, waiting for her pursuer. There was a flash of movement while the old stench of musty air began to shift, as if it finally realized that it could no longer protest. She dared not to breath, or move. Soon her limbs started to ache and cramp. They would not hold much longer. All of a sudden she felt someone's breath on the back of her neck and hands gently lifting her to the ground. Maggie?! What are you doing up there?

she cried, if there had been light, her eyes would have been as wide as they could go. I'd ask the s-same question of you.

The screeching noise as if fingernails were moving over a chalkboard sounded again, only louder and closer. Without moving his lips Roger's eyes met hers and she understood, Come on, we have to get out, now!' With that he grabbed her arms and it was like she was flying, they moved so swiftly and smoothly. Soon the obstacle of the unending pit passed and they slid down some sort of slope. There had to be a way out of the caverns, but evidently Rog wasn't thinking about this aspect, because they happened upon a dead end. Suddenly Maggie was aware of another presence. The thing made her shiver and the tiny hairs on the back of her neck rose.

In a flash she was pushed behind him, hard, into the stone wall. Some dust fell from the ceiling of the tunnel, and Maggie thought she was knocked out, because darkness fell over her eyes for a few minutes and then the pain came to greet her. She held up her flashlight and the breath caught in her throat. At first the creature seemed to have human form, but looking closer at it's skin so pale that it was nearly white and long black dirty fingernails curled around into a spiral shape, the realization came to her that no human could have this appearance. It's black cloak reached the ground and it looked at her with wide yellow eyes as if with an insurmountable hunger. She could see there was no trace of sanity left in those eyes. Could this be one of the damned? A Nosferatu from the old silent films that seemed to play for a few sad years and then were forgotten. Watching the Nosferatu run at Roger, Maggie pulled out the dagger she had picked up before and right as the creature had him cornered, its long and deadly fangs bared, she thrust the thing into its heart. It screeched a scream that even she could not have imagined with her large sense of the known and the unknown constantly eating at her. While Rog stared at her helplessly under the grasp of the monster, Maggie slunk back into the corner, grasping the flashlight to her chest and shivering. There wasn't enough oxygen in this low and ancient place. She soon became drowsy, and lost all consciousness.

In the normal bed instone quarters that had somehow been made up for her, Maggie saw the sunlight streaming through the cracks of the wall. The covers were a deep purple as was the gown left on the bed. There was no way that she was going to put that thing on. Thankfully her black jeans and sleeveless red shirt lay next to it. She stood up and immediately fell back down, not realizing how weak she was. Margaret closed her eyes and tried to access all the strength left, concentrate it on her feet and legs. She stood up and put one foot in front of the other, struggling to pull her pants on and get her arms through the two holes in the shirt. There had to be a way out of this place, and she would find it. What did I do last night? she asked herself, wondering which hotel this was and what she had been drinking. Then her eyes wandered to a dagger caked with dark black blood.

As her hand shook, Maggie looked around wildly for an exit. The thing she thought was a dream really happenedand she was a prisoner. Why had she ever wandered into the old opera house's basement? It's something someone with the intellect of a flea and maturity of an 8-year-old would do, but it seemed that curiousness always got the best of her. She searched her pockets for the cell phone and realized it had been removed, as well as her pager, beeper, compact, and chocolate bar. Damnit, Roger! You always have gotten me into deep trouble, she said, again to herself. God, there has to be some way out of this place. The dagger. Squinting her eyes and smiling, Maggie reached down towards the weapon with a self-loathing for touching the thing again. The stench of the blood was horrific and she couldn't get rid of it. She curled her long fingers around the hilt and raised it to one of the cracks in the low ceiling.

She slammed the dagger into the crack as hard as she could and twisted it. Dust and rocks fell from the hole. She coughed, catching herself on the bed before falling from weakness. Her hand shook again and she stabbed at the rock. Anything was better than darkness falling and seeing that evil creature again. Perhaps even being barried alive

When the sun was at its brightest in the cloudless sky, there was a hole in the place large enough for her to crawl through. Maggie pushed the steel enforced bed with all her might, but it didn't budge. Her head swam. When she imagined herself being bitten on the neck by the monster, her strength was struck anew. She climbed out of the hole, tired and exhausted. Taking a look around, she was again in the old opera house.

Maggie collapsed and when she woke up later, there was an IV hooked up to her arm and all these different medical machines around her. Before falling back to sleep she saw a man with a long black leather jacket and dark spiky hair standing in the corner inconspicuously.

You're relentless Margaret. Eventually either I will find you again soon, or you will be doomed to die. Roger's cold hand held hers for a few moments more as he looked at her worrisome face, confirming his evil promise. She would live, of course, but for how long, he had no idea.