The Dark City

Chapter One: The Theater

In my panic screaming, another scream materialized. It wasn't human. My mouth closed quickly, in an attempt to hear that sound more clearly.

Then it came again. It sounded like a bat, but bigger; more sinister. This shriek was closer, and louder.

Two red dots appeared from the dark corner of the cave. As they grew closer, I realized those were eyes.

Then, the flapping of massive wings became more apparent. It sounded as if a dark eagle was zooming at me, to pick me up with it's claws and take me away. Of course, it wasn't an Eagle, but a bat. Even worse. A bloodsucking vampire bat that would pick me up with its sharp knife-like claws and carry me down to the darkest park of the cave, where no-one would hear my cries. The bat would suck all the blood from me, until I was pale and lifeless, then he would call his smaller bat colleagues to come and eat me whole with their sharp small teeth. Eat me whole.

I then snapped out of my fantasy and faced the present. Just as suspected, the sinister bat came out from the shadows, into the small light that came from a small hole in the cave. I began to try to crawl away, but this would not save me, surely not.

The bat came, and took me away.

The cave darkened to the point to where I was blind again. I couldn't see a thing, but I had the feeling that I was rising up into the sky. A bright light shone down upon my face, hurting my eyes because they were so used to the dark. It was the sun.

The bat still had a hold on me and was carrying me over a corn field. The field was grey and dead, all of the corn rotted and long gone. The sun was bright, but didn't affect the land below. Grey clouds dominated the skies, and made me feel hopeless.

I blinked, then I was down in the corn field. There was no sound except for my slight movements. I tried to stand up, but my body refused to let me. My legs were far too damaged.

Then I heard a laugh.

Just one laugh. Ha. Just one small laugh. It came from behind me, only a few yards away. Just loud enough for me to hear.

I turned myself around and tried to look through the dead corn. All of the sudden, the wind picked up. The corn began to sway back and forth against the wind. As it swayed, it revealed what I had heard.

A tall, lanky figure was standing a few yards away with a scythe in hand. His face was hidden by a ripped up, brown leather farmer hat.

Then the wind stopped, and the corn plants froze. I couldn't see the man anymore.

The disturbing silence was broken by the sound of dead plants being crushed under the feet of a slowly approaching man. The farmer was coming.

The footfalls became louder and louder as he approached, then he spoke.

"Bruce."

My heart leaped at the realization that he knew my name, and that his voice was incredibly close.

The footfalls stopped. Absolute silence.

"You've been a bad boy."

Then, the man jumped out from behind the corn plants. He was dressed as a scarecrow, wearing torn up rags and leather. He wore a ripped up sack over his face, which had holes for the eyes to look through. There was nothing but pure black behind that mask.