The leaky pipe in the basement needs to be checked periodically, so Henry ventures down with wrench in hand. Henry flips the light switch, coast is clear. He walks to the pipe and with a turn stops the watery drips. The newly found silence gives Henry’s senses clarity, which frightens him. As he stands, the figure emerges from the shadow in the corner. Henry is left frozen not knowing what to do. The voice echoes through the room and every vain in Henry’s body.
DEATH is closer to you than you think,
and he can smell your fear.
DEATH is watching closer than you know,
and he is always near.
DEATH has made his acquaintance,
and escape is impossible.
DEATH will follow your steps,
and you should run if you’re able.
Henry then runs as fast as he could out of the cellar. He found refuge in the throng of nurses coming back from lunch. Feeling he has put a full days in, he departed for the only place he remotely felt safe, his home.
Before he knew it, Henry was back on the train heading home. Thinking the only safe spot is away from that cellar, like the cellar could keep death at bay. Frantically Henry looks around for the evil spirit but saw nothing. No one was on the train, which was odd even for that time of day. Henry’s ears pick up a sound of footsteps coming from behind him, and he prays to G-d that it is only a delusion. Next to Henry sits a man who has placed a hat upon his lap, the same hat that has caused a shudder in his voice for the last few days. Before Henry could speak, the man says we are finally alone. Knowing full well that death has come to beckon him home, Henry sits for the end. The man sits silently, furthering the fear of Henry. “Why does he have to torture me? Just end it please,” thinks Henry. The man with the small-rimmed hat begins, “You are not safe my friend. As I have warned before, Death is preoccupied with you and your demise. Trust not a living soul.” Henry says, “Have you not come here to **** me for escaping your clutches?” The man bellows out a laugh and states, “I am not who you think I am. I’m here to keep you from him. That is the reason I have followed you at a distance.” Henry strains out, “You are not death coming to bid my end?” The man says, “No, but he has grown close to you. Do not trust anyone you come into contact with. No one!” With that, the man departs off the train leaving only one more exit before Henry’s stop.
Henry exits the train peering into the faces of all around trying to see the devil behind their eyes. Henry talks to no one and makes it home safely. The incident on the train replayed in Henry’s mind until the vision was scratched like a vinyl under a needle. The only comfort Henry could think of was to sleep just one more night. Henry closes his eyes only to open them again to his nightmares. Like all the other nights, his mind dances with the idea of death but this time it was different. The pain was not just on the surface but sank deep within his being. He was strapped down and hot lava was being poured into his chest. Henry looks up to see teeth snarling at him and saliva dripping from the blackened abyss behind the teeth. The creature was pinning him down and gave no relief. Henry now realizing it was only another nightmare he was attempting to wake himself, but he could not. As Henry’s eyes traveled up the face of the monster causing such pain, he sees the eyes. Eyes red as blood and that is when his mind pushes through the dreamland. Upon focusing in reality there was in fact some fiend residing on his chest. The dog that saved Henry was now tormenting him. The heat coming off the dog’s paws burned Henry’s skin. The dog then plunges for Henry’s heart. And that was the last thing Henry saw, his closest friend was indeed death.