The Ladies of Horror
Picture-Prompt Writing Challenge!
Darkness Falls
by E.A. Black
She stood by the window, gazing upon her acres of land. No one stood amid the tall trees, nor had anyone lurked by the pond. She felt alone in the coming darkness. He wouldn’t dare come out in a storm like this. Her ex was a lazy man, prone to enjoy his creature comforts. What else could he want from her? He already took the best of the paintings and one of her prized cars. He wouldn’t get his hands on her home. She had inherited her mansion from her father. It was not up for grabs.
Thunder roared. She hated storms. They were so indifferent to her troubles. Rain would not wash away her past. He had threatened to drop by one day and kill her to get his revenge for her tossing him out. Their ugly divorce held nothing to his stalking. He followed her to boutiques, banquets, and restaurants when she was out with friends. She had called the police who could do nothing for her since as of yet he had not been caught committing a crime. What kind of help could they be? She could only take care of herself.
He had phoned earlier, threatening to stop by and do her in once and for all. How did he get her new phone number? Where there had once been love and affection, now there was only fear and hatred. She wandered her hallways, checking doors and windows to make sure they were locked. Lacking a gun, she grabbed a fireplace poker. Satisfied she was safe, she sat in a chair, waiting out the storm. Then with a start she remembered she had forgotten to lock the door to the servant’s quarters. Her heart leapt in her chest as she stood, ready to rush down the hall to fix her mistake.
Someone cleared his throat from behind her.
Fiction © Copyright E. A. Black
Image courtesy of Pixabay.com
More from E.A. Black:
Nature. Filled with wonder, beauty, majesty and mystery. Also filled with things that want to kill us. Normal things, little ordinary things. Things that creep and crawl. Things that fly, swim, scuttle and slither. Things that you might expect and be rightfully phobic about … as well as things you may have never imagined as a threat. Individually, maybe they wouldn’t be. But that’s just it. They aren’t coming for you individually. They’re coming for you in swarms, in flocks and hordes, in masses and multitudes. They’re coming for you by the thousands. They are … TEEMING TERRORS.
Well written and full of chilling menace.
Nice one!
now make it a novella!
Nice work!