They would have been fine if they hadn’t stopped for the stranger.
But they had, of course. There wasn’t anything they could do now. As they sat on the bare floor, their hands knotted behind their backs and their mouths snagged back with a rope, the stranger sat watching them with a twisted smile etched on its face. The couple couldn’t make out the stranger’s face or any features, besides that menacing grin it had.
The couple glanced around desperately at the small room, and a window letting in a tiny amount of light called to their attention. A dark, slim figure stood outside and darted out of view when the young girl and boy saw it. The two looked back at the stranger, and it hadn’t taken any notice to what just happened. They sighed; praying the figure would come to their aid, and soon they would be free from this wretched shack.
They waited a painfully long time for something, anything, to happen after the figure had appeared outside the window, but to no avail. The stranger was still poring over them, its creepy face seeming to simply bare its teeth, not smile. The duo glanced back at the window, which startled them - it was open. Just a crack. But it was ajar.
Then, everything happened at once. The young boy and girl had glimpsed at the window once more, and at that split second, the window was smashed by something outside of it. The figure the couple had seen leaped swiftly in through the bare window frame, and the stranger hadn’t appeared to see or take note of anything that just happened. It stayed still, right up until the figure put an arm around its neck, and it lunged into action, yanking the figure down into the hard ground. Without thought, the boy of the couple put the rope bounding his arms to a knife that had fallen out of the stranger’s oversized coat, and in seconds he was free. He quickly unlaced the girl’s bounds, and they both pulled down the last rope gagging their mouths, choking out “Let’s go.”
The duo fled out of the room, leaving the figure and the stranger to fight their differences out, and down the too-long hallway. There were no other rooms or doors besides the one they had just left. “Which way do we go?” the girl panted, and the boy responded “Hold on.” He stepped forward to the dead end of the hall, and pressed firmly on the wall. The wooden plates moved, just enough for a person to fit through.
The couple squeezed through the tiny opening as thuds and yells echoed down the hall behind them. They squinted, barely able to see anything, and wondered if it was worth it to just run. Then the heavy footsteps were coming down the hall. If it was the figure or the stranger it didn’t matter; it was running like there was no tomorrow.
“Go!” the boy cried, and the girl closed her eyes and darted down the black pathway, silk spider webs and stones falling from the roof pelting her everywhere. She couldn’t hear if the boy was following her, and the girl was dying to look behind her, but it would make no difference as she couldn’t see anything. She turned anyway, calling “Are you back there?” No reply. “Please! Answer me, I can’t continue on alone!”
A light began to dawn from a speck in the distance, and the girl pushed to run even faster, desperate to escape this putrid environment and dream-like world. In minutes, she threw herself out the end of the tunnel, and gasped for air, exhausted and the adrenaline starting to wear off. With effort, the girl pushed herself back up and she walked with wobbly legs back to the end of the tunnel. She peered in, still panting, and yelled, “Are you there?” No response came. The girl waited, then decided to cry down it once again, “Respond. Please! Are you okay?” Again, no response. The girl slumped to the side of the entrance, and put the back of her hand to her mouth as she stifled a sob. The boy was dead, and she could feel it. It was her fault. Why did she leave him behind?
Then, with a startling crash, the boy burst through the tunnel and stumbled out, covered in scrapes. The girl gasped and ran over to him, putting a hand on his back, while she asked too many questions to count. He waved a dismissive hand and caught his breath. The boy looked up at her and their eyes locked, and then it was clear what happened. This wasn’t the boy she knew. This was the stranger in another form.
A shrill scream pierced the cool night air from somewhere across the small town. The young curly-haired woman didn’t even bother glancing up upon hearing it, only paused her knitting. It was quite regular to hear that among the town. She resumed back to what she was doing and absentmindedly twisted the knitting needles in and out, over and under, crafting a small scarf. She hummed lightly, likely wondering what she’d have for lunch tomorrow, and a tiny squeak escaped her as her mouth was pulled back by a rope.
The stranger had snagged his next victim.