I'm not sure how much time I have left until he finds me, but I can assure you that it isn't much. I know, I know, you want an explanation. Don't worry, you'll get one. But before I can give it to you, I must warn you: If you hear my story, he WILL get you.
(Note: Anything preceded and followed by an asterix (*) is a realization I had as I wrote down my story.)
~~~
It was the beginning of the Fall of 2012 when my son and I moved to a nice, cozy house by the woods in southeastern Pennsylvania. I was so excited to finally be away from the hustle-bustle of Philadelphia and go to a nice, quiet place so I could start writing a book. Writing a book was something I wished to do since I was a boy.
Don't get me wrong, I didn't move solely for myself. This was also very beneficial to my son, who was being bullied incessantly in school. The bullying was to such a degree that he would cry himself to sleep most nights. This was a new beginning for him too.
The day we moved, my son kept telling me he had a bad feeling about it. Looking back, I was feeling pretty jittery myself about it too. I guess I was anxious for a new beginning. Nonetheless, I convinced my son that he was nervous and there was nothing to worry about. As we got closer though, he kept telling me he wasn't feeling too hot about the move. Again, I told him he was just nervous and told him to sleep a little and he would feel better.
An hour or so later my son woke up with a startled shriek in a cold sweat. He was freaking out in the passenger seat beside me, deep breathing and all. I stopped the car.
"What's wrong?" I asked.
"Th-There was this...thing...it...it...was chasing me," my son replied all shaken up.
He continued, "It told me th-that i-it kidnaps people a-a-and takes them to the woods, and t-then I woke up..."
He was on the verge of tears as he finished up his brief explanation of the dream.
I was still trying to place the reason for my son having such a nightmare.
"I think you're still nervous," I said to him, "Just take a deep breath and relax. It's ok. You're ok. There's nothing to worry about."
After a few minutes, he calms down enough that we were able to continue our journey to our new home.
~~~
We finally made it to the house after navigating many winding roads. At last, we made it, I thought. My breath was taken away at the sight before me; acres upon acres of rolling hills in each direction, vast and open, with the forest behind, a nice backdrop to this perfect little picture.
The house was your average two story house plus an attic. It had plastic, beige siding, a garage door on the left and the house entrance on the right. There was a small porch by the front door with a coffee table between two lawn chairs. Inside, there was a living room to the left, a staircase on the right, and straight through the middle there was a hallway leading to kitchen straight ahead and a family room on the left, just past a dining room. Across the hall from the dining room was the double door hatch to the cellar. Upstairs there was a small hallway and my son's room at the end. Closer to the stairs was my room, a quick left from the top landing. A bathroom was halfway down the hallway on the right with an ornamental table across from the door.
Nothing in the house was furnished to our personal preferences yet, so I figured I would unpack and set stuff up tonight and tomorrow so my son and I could feel at home as soon as possible.
Taking this all in, I noticed a slight movement through the glass doors by the back of the kitchen in forest behind my new home. Thinking back on my son's seemingly insignificant nightmare I grew slightly worried, but reasoned that my eyes were just tired from the long drive and needed a nice nap. It was only noon so I figure I would unpack after I woke up in a few hours.
