The Guardian In The Shadows
965 Words
My foot broke the stone below me.
Like a gunshot, the sound echoed down the secret route. A portion of old steps collapsed as the small staircase swung under me before I could respond.
"Nope!"
I tumbled headfirst into the darkness.
My fingers scraped only loose stone, but I tried to grab the wall.
After that, a strong hand grabbed my wrist.
I was pulled away from the collapsing steps by another arm that was wrapped around my waist.
As the smashed rock fell into the darkness below, dust erupted into the air.
Once more, I had solid footing.
Upward, I glanced.
The bridge man stood in front of me.
The same dark overcoat.
The very same gray eyes.
That same placid demeanor that in some manner caused the improbable to seem normal.
"You're safe."
His voice was consistent and low.
I quickly backed away.
"Who are you, you, you?"
He didn't give a response.
Instead, he gazed over my shoulder at the ruined stairway.
"Are you hurt?"
"I posed you a question."
His glance met mine once more.
"And I inquired as to your injury."
I was surprised by the quiet worry in his tone, and I blinked.
"I'm all right."
He gave a little nod.
"Great."
---
For a long time, we were both quiet.
The candle I was still holding provided the sole light for the area.
He was illumined by its flickering blaze.
He appeared to be no older than thirty.
His long black coat, which seemed to be unaffected by the dust in the tunnel, and his dark hair swept over his forehead.
He had a certain recognizable quality about him.
Not because I was familiar with him.
Because suddenly, all the aspirations I'd had for the last year seemed a little less fantastical.
"Have we ever crossed paths?"
Over his face fell a shadow.
"No."
It was more like a desire than a response.
"So, why were you on the bridge?"
Quiet.
"Now, why are you here?"
He stared farther into the hallway.
"Since you exposed anything that ought to have stayed secret."
---
On the silver key, I firmed my hold.
"This passage?"
"No."
"Then what?"
He didn't react right away.
He took a few more paces into the tunnel.
After him, the candlelight stretched, exposing antiquated stone walls that had the same symbols I had observed throughout the Mansion.
"Pay close attention."
He spoke with greater firmness.
"Regardless of what occurs, you cannot enter the cellar under this home."
"Is there a basement?"
"Yes."
"What's in it?"
He glanced away.
"Something that has to stay asleep."
"That isn't an explanation."
"This is the only one I can offer."
I felt frustrated inside.
"Everybody in this community constantly states things of that nature."
"Since they are scared."
"Are you, for that matter?"
His serene expression broke for the first time.
"Yes," he said.
—
More than any ghost, that one word bothered me.
This man would have been afraid of anything waiting beneath the Manor if it existed.
Perhaps I ought to as well.
However, I was unable to ignore the questions that were going through my mind.
"Do you reside here?"
Quiet.
"Are you the person who is shifting things in the house?"
He was unresponsive.
"You were the one who started the fireplace, right?"
Nothing at all.
I crossed my arms.
"It's okay."
"I'll pose the obvious query."
He waited.
"Are you a ghost?"
The tiniest grin appeared at the corner of his lips.
"Not in the manner you mean."
What that meant, I was about to ask when the candlelight began to flutter.
I gazed at him.
for one beat...
Through the fringe of his coat, I could see the rock wall.
His body glowed like a mirror in the water.
It was solid again then.
I gasped.
"I noticed that."
His gaze was down.
"I am aware."
---
The impossible was no longer impossible.
It was only a few feet from where I was standing.
"What are you doing?"
Once again, he looked at me.
"Someone making an effort to preserve your life."
"Why?"
"Because it is my obligation."
"Who gave you that assignment?"
He kept quiet.
I moved a bit nearer, being careful.
"At the very least, tell me your name."
His eyes were genuinely sad for the first time.
It was so unforeseen, so profound, that it robbed me of my rage.
"You shouldn't recall me."
I scowled.
"Recall you?"
"We've never met before."
He appeared to have more to say.
He shut his eyes.
He appeared to be listening.
I don't think so.
To something distant.
Sorrow had been replaced by urgency by the time he opened them again.
---
"You must return."
"Until you clarify this, I'm staying."
"There's no time."
"What for?"
He retreated into the shadows.
"Hold on."
"Help."
He looked straight at me.
"It's begun."
I was struck with a shiver.
"What does?"
He didn't reply.
His body was bathed in a brilliant silver light.
Drifting haze engulfed the boundaries of his coat.
"No..."
I reached in his direction.
My hand moved through frigid air.
He became transparent.
The final thing to disappear were the gray eyes that had seen me with such strange familiarity.
in a matter of seconds...
He was no longer with us.
The passage was empty save for the quiet.
Clutching the silver key in my hand, I stood alone.
My pulse pounded in my ears.
My life had recently been saved by a man who wasn't altogether human...
Told me to stay away from the basement...
And into thin air, they vanished.
I glanced into the darkness that lay deeper beneath the Manor.
Since arriving in Black Hollow, for the first time...
I questioned whether some doors ought to be kept closed.
- Writer
