Beyond Fear

He's here. I see him as I look out into the darkness, beneath the shadows, dwelling
under foggy veils that my eyes strain to see.

His eyes bore into the coldness of my flesh within the blackness of this no man's land;
hands yearning to pull me in; pull me under to that place with him. The place where
they all go.

Suddenly a noise! The disturbing screams of an animal, calling out, crying out from
some hidden domain; I stop; there it is again, drawer nearer, the piercing screams of
an animal ensnared in a trap and then, without warning, it is no more. No ebbing of
life; just a horrific, vile nothingness which reminds me once again that I am alone;
with him.

Tiny beads of perspiration slip down my back as I try to escape the certain fate before
me;

"Please help me God, God please!" Heart thundering in frantic time, to the deafening
sound of my very breath itself, withered twigs giving way to the

weight of my body as they pass beneath me; he's coming, faster behind me. If only I
had listened to them, if only I had heeded their words, I would have been safe, Mikey
would have been safe. And if only, I had never decided to venture out alone to Devils
beach on Halloween. But Mikey; he knew better, right? He knew that there must have
been some truth in the rumours. He knew there must have been something in the old
tales; the old tales about stolen souls and the merciful screams

of those who met horrific ends here.

Suddenly, a light before me; headlights sail into vision upon the darkness of the lane
next to the undergrowth, my eyes meeting them with frenzied excitement; urgency. I
know this car. The engine slows, my body, my very being filled with relief that
washes over me. I am free.

"Mr. Fenton, Thank God! I'm so glad to see you, please you have to get me out of
here Quickly, please!" His face reflects my own terror as he hurriedly pulls me onto
the front seat of the car, every second of this madness more terrifying then the last.
The door clunks shut, a split second later, we are on our way, the tatty green land
rover, wheel spinning in frenzied anticipation of getting out of this vile place as we
race down the lane; from him.

"You'll never believe what has just happened," I begin frantically,

"Oh I will," He retorts.

"Well the rumours and all, I didn't think,"

"The Devils beach was never a place for a young girl on Halloween, Lacey. Didn't
your momma ever tell you that?" His eyes focus upon the lane ahead as he negotiates
the winding roads like the back of his hand.

"I know sir, Just that, I never," I hesitate.
"Well I never believed in the stories and all," My body starts to relax a little as I know
I have escaped some living hell. I will never go back. I will neverlaugh in their faces; again.

Eyes still directly ahead, his focus upon the road as his lips part and spew the words
that confirm to me only one thing;

"You know Lacey. It's not just Fairy Tales that can come true." His head turns
towards me, his eyes white, opaque and illuminated with excitement as he begins to
salivate at the mouth, adrenalin flooding my whole being as I realise that I have run
directly into the hands of a brutal murderer; a psychopath. A cannibal.

"Besides, I've been expecting you."