An Unfriendly Visit

The sky let out a roar of thunder as its tears pelted the earth. A streak of lightning illuminated the heavens, giving the gray clouds a ghostly luster. The wind howled with a tumultuous ferocity. Large, gnarled trees swung their limbs angrily. The wrath of Mother Nature was unleashed, bringing with it an evil that haunted the night, stalking its victims with a horrible vengeance.1

Battling against the lurid downpour, a small horse-drawn carriage trotted along the muddy road. Its rusty wheels creaked as they rolled along. The large chestnut horse whinnied in fear every time the sky bellowed its booming chorus. A frail gentlemen, around the age of forty, was behind the reins of the horse, shivering from the cold. The rain seemed to pervade his very being, dampening his spirit. Deafened by the wind and blinded by the falling sheets of rain, the poor man had nearly no sense of knowing if he was even headed the right way.2

Suddenly, a bolt of lightning struck the ground like a snake would strike at its prey. A blast of thunder filled the air. The carriage was tossed in a chaotic frenzy as the horse jolted in fear. Without any sort of control over the frightened animal, the horse toppled over the side of the road, dragging the carriage with it. The craggy surface of the ditch tore at the carriage, reducing the wooden frame to splinters. The driver of the carriage was rolling down the ditch among the tumbling wreckage, acquiring cuts and bruises all over. His head collided with a large rock, and he lost consciousness.3

“Sir, can you hear me? Please don't be dead. Wake up, man!” cried a bewildered traveler upon the discovery of the mangled body from the accident. The traveler tossed beams of the damaged wood off of the man. “Can you hear me, sir?” asked the worried traveler, hoping that the man had survived the accident. The man let out a groan as he stirred awake. His head was throbbing painfully, and his entire body ached. “Oh, thank goodness! I thought you hadn't made it alive.”4

“I should be dead! There's no way I could've survived that,” replied the man in complete stupor. He looked around and saw his horse laying motionless beneath the wreckage.5

“Well, you're very fortunate to still be alive,” said the traveler. “What were you doing traveling in this weather anyway?”6

“I was going to an old friend's house for dinner. He's probably wondering why my presence is delayed.”7

“Maybe I could help you on your way and give you a ride there. My horse is tied off back up on the road.”8

“That's very munificent of you, sir, but I don't mean to be a bother.”9

“It'd be no trouble at all. I'm heading that way myself. I'm sure your friend is worried and would like to see you as soon as possible.”10

“Thank you very much, sir. I'd be most grateful.” The two men made their way back up to the road where the traveler's horse was waiting. They mounted the horse, and rode on into the stormy night.11

As the trees began to thin, a black iron gate loomed into view. A pair of snarling statues guarded either side of the entrance, their ghastly faces boring into the souls of the two men. They kept the horse tied off to a post near the gate. They walked quickly along the path in order to get out of the relentless rain.12

They finally reached the doorway of the large castle-like house. Before they even touched the iron knocker on the door, it flew open.13

“Mr. Abrams! What's kept you out so...why, you're covered in scrapes and cuts! What happened?”14

The traveler explained what had happened. “I found his carriage destroyed down in a ditch on the side of the road. I could see his arm sticking out from the pile, so I thought I'd see if he had managed to survive. The man listening stood there aghast.15

“Oh, my poor friend. I'm sorry to hear about your accident. It's lucky that this fellow found you and brought you here. I was afraid that you had ran into the escaped murderer.”16

“Murderer!” the traveler replied. “What murderer?”17

“You mean you haven't gotten the news? I received a message from the village early yesterday morning that a murderer had escaped from jail. You both had better stay the night, I don't want you out traveling with such a danger running around out there. There are two guest bedrooms that I'm sure you gentlemen will find to your liking.”18

“Thank you so much Mr. Crow for allowing us to stay with you.” said Mr. Abrams.19

“Oh, don't mention it. It's the least I could do for all the trouble it took for you getting here. I'll show this gentlemen to his bedroom and I'll be right back to take care of those nasty maladies of yours.” Mr. Crow led the traveler up the staircase and took him to his bedroom. Mr. Abrams' eyes wandered around the vast antechamber. They rested upon a small escritoire upon which a piece of parchment lay with a message inscribed on it. Mr. Abrams picked up the note and began reading:20

My dear friend, Mr. Abrams,21

I was so anxiously waiting to see you again after all these years. Unfortunately, I had business to attend to with a colleague and won't be back until late Wednesday evening. By the time you get this, I'll have already left for Scotsdale to meet with him, but please stay in the house! There's been news of an escaped murderer on the loose and he's been spotted in the area. Lock the doors and let nobody in!22

Sincerely, your friend,23

Mr. Crow24

Mr. Abrams was non-plussed. The note was certainly not spurious. An ear-splitting scream broke the silence, chilling him to the bone. He leaped up the staircase, sprinting to find out what was going on. His footsteps echoed as he pounded down the hallways. Breaths came in sharp rasps.25

A door on one side of the hallway was halfway open. He slowly crept towards it, peered inside, but complete darkness enveloped the contents of the room. He took one step inside the room when suddenly a flash of lightning brightened the room, followed by an explosion of thunder. A sharp pang erupted in his chest. A knife was protruding from his heart, sending an iciness through him that seemed to freeze time itself. Mr. Abram's time was up.26