Submission novel Chapter 32

Someone was trying to break the wall.

I don't know what they were using but it seemed like a sledgehammer was being pounded from the inside, trying to pierce it's way to the outside of the wall. The deep and loud beating of my heart threatened to escape from the cage of muscles as the pounding continued inside my heart. A drop of cold sweat trickled down my spine as my eyes tried to scan through the darkness.

The painful squeaks of the wooden floor stopped in front of my closed bedroom door. Seconds ticked by as I laid under the bed, hiding from the unknown monster standing on the other side, waiting for me to make any mistakes.

I already did make a mistake.

By trusting all of them.

The doorknob jingled once, too slowly and quietly to make any audible crack in the thick atmosphere but when the knob didn't turn around to satisfactorily unlock the door, a rage-fueled uproar came from the other side as the person started ramming his body on the door, trying to break through it.

This isn't going to work. I can't hide under the bed, praying to god so that the person won't be able to miraculously find me from my hiding spot; which I must add, is the most cliché place to hide. The grunts from the person kept on ringing in my ears along with thunderous blows on the door while my mind tried to keep up with what was happening around me, trying to find a possible way out of this mess.

The windows shuddered as the cold wind slammed against the glass. My dilated eyes darted towards those windows with a hope for a possible escape. I got out from under the bed and towards the window to open it only to be greeted by my fear of heights. The snow layered backyard was barely visible in the faintly illuminated moonlight but through that darkness, I could still see the silhouette of the tree, as old as the house itself. The branches were perfectly bare with nothing but the seasonal orange flowers.

The old lady who was the previous owner did inform me about the strange qualities of the flowers and their capabilities to make anyone unconscious if they took a whiff of the flower for than a few minutes.

I took a large gulp and averted my eyes to the narrow ledge, lining the wall of the house. With the slippery snow glistening on the ledge, I was tempted to find another way but the ticking clock and the thumping door left me with no other choice but to get out of the window and creep my way on the ledge towards the tree a few feet away.

If somehow I make it through the dangerously narrow ledge and reach the tree then I could climb down and run away from the backyard, into the woods.

It was risky as hell but I had to take my chances instead of giving up my only hope of escape. I ditched my slippers as they were not of any help on the slippery ice and with that ledge ahead of me, I didn't think that my slippers were fit enough to make that walkthrough.

I placed one of my feet onto the ice which was as cold as needles piercing through the thin film of skin. The hot breath escaping from my lips, fogged into the air, making me realize how badly this could end. My bones were doomed to be broken if I fell from the second floor if the house. I mustered up all my courage and placed another foot on the ledge while keeping myself balanced with my hands.

The door kept on banging and so did my heart as I took stealthy steps along the ledge. The ridges along the wooden wall on the exterior of the house helped me in getting a grip but the biting snow was gnawing at my skin while I struggled to keep myself on my toes. The steps I took seemed too small to make any progress and it felt like an eternity after I reached halfway through.