#Chapter 40 Moving Out

“Who-who are you?” I asked. “What are you doing here?” “I’m Tom,” the man said. “I’m here to see you.” The man stepped out of the darkness. He was surprisingly well-kept with short dark hair and a well-trimmed beard. His eyes, though—his eyes bore into me with a fire straight from the depths of Hell. I knew I should run, but I was frozen to the spot. I tried to scream, but no sound would come out of my throat. All I could do was stand with tears streaming down my cheeks. “No, no, I won’t hurt you,” Tom said. He held his hands up, as if to placate me, and I flinched. “I would never hurt you.” Tom stepped towards me. Whatever had frozen me in place finally broke, and I stepped backwards. “Stay away from me,” I said as loudly as I could manage. “Quiet down,” Tom warned, his voice dangerously low. “Stay away from me.” I forced my voice to get louder. “I mean it, stay away from me.” “I said, quiet down.”