The moon hung full behind the darkly cracked windows as the drip of some unknown liquid filled the heavy atmosphere of the girl's nightmarish surroundings. That slow dripping was constant yet perfectly synced with Jane's increasingly ragged breathing, the already cold air growing steadily colder as time stretched on. The wind rustled dry leaves outside, the autumn weather not fit for the drafty room, and as a steady beat settled in the terror it all ceased, the night growing worryingly still before the sound of a rusty gate opening reached the room's sole occupant's ears. Click, click... click... there started a maddening melody as footsteps approached, followed by a strange and terrifying hum from a smooth baritone. As the sounds grew closer, the tripping started again, slowly followed by the cry of a crowing raven in the distance, sharp even from the far away origin of the cry.
A chuckle came from the darkness, and suddenly a sense of being watched filled the room as the rustling of chains, no doubt issued by the wind, resumed along with a strange and sharp sound resembling the shearing of scissors getting sharpened... or was it a blade? The sound stopped as soon as it was perceived, however, as did the hum... and the footsteps. In fact, all was still again, save for the soft breathing of another mingling with Jane's own...
"I see you have awakened, my dove. I trust the travel did not inconvenience you? Ah, of course not, for you were coming home, were you not?" There, a dark chuckling was heard as footsteps, close and sharp this time, were heard until a pale face could be seen in a ray of moonlight before the poor girl. "You are home now, after all..." The face, that of a man, was grinning sinisterly at her now, eyeglasses flashing sharply as the man whom it belonged to moved closer still.
His tone pleasant enough, yet it seemed off, and the current setting was far too sinister to hide the cruel tint of his words and face as the man gently took Jane's chin into a gloved hand, the grasp steely and cold when the man's grip was secured. Long fingers caressing her cheek almost tenderly, the caress was gone as soon as it was completed, the man's heavy presence with it as the rusted sound of a key turning in a lock could be heard nearby.
"You will do, my dove. I leave you for now, and wish you a good stay. Until we meet again..." There was that dark chuckle again, along with the slowly retreating footsteps followed with the heavy slam of a gate... then the sounds came back in earnest, as if the man had scared away any life that could be found in these grim surroundings.
