Excerpt From A Story I’d Forgotten I Wrote

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The cemetery was rumoured to be a strange, mysterious place.

    Tony knew that. And yet, he’d agreed to be the security guard of this godforsaken place. It wasn’t bad during the daytime, since everything was bright and cheery and only a couple of yellow eyes peered at him from among the leaves, too scared to step out into the daylight. Night time, however, was a completely different story. Every single night, without fail, he heard a strange whistling sound. It wasn’t soothing, but if he listened to it long enough, he felt as if he were floating away from his body. Shadowy figures darted around in the corner of his eye, but they were never there when he turned to look. It always left an anxious and unsettling feeling in his stomach. 

    One night, however, as he weaved his way between the gravestones for his nightly rounds, he was startled by a hammering noise coming from his left. His torch was pointed down from experience, and no matter how tempting, he refused to shine it on the stone. Tony continued to walk forward, sweat sliding down the nape of his neck even in the cemetery’s paranormal chill. His hand trembled as the noise grew louder, and he sped up, his breath fogging as he sighed in relief upon spotting the gates. 

    The next night, as he thoughtfully strode along the wet path, he felt a shiver creep up his spine, which was immediately followed by a feeling of being watched. He kept his gaze straight, however, and started walking faster, even though he knew that it would take him at least three minutes before he reached the gates. He felt his fingertips grow cold as the air around him became thicker. The whistling was louder now, and he was feeling lightheaded. The shadows were coming closer, and bright yellow eyes were peering at him. His gait slowed as he gasped for breath. It seemed to him as if his lungs were filling in. The world was growing dark. There was sweat rolling down his face, but it felt dry.....

    He broke into a run. 

    His movements were frantic, and he stumbled on every step. His lungs felt like lead as the air refused to enter them, becoming thicker every second, till he finally made it outside the gate. He collapsed on the ground, shivering as his eyes glazed over. 

The torch rolled around for a while before finally coming to a stop.

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