Timeless Snow ✓

Ch. 44 - Clock

Finally stepping through that hotel room door you were met with a displacing sight. You weren't in a hotel any longer. No bad carpet that was two decades too old under your feet or the nearly disorienting hotel lights. Instead, you were now standing on the sidewalk of a damp street, transported to someplace new in the blink of an eye. Looking up to the vast black sky, you heard the rumble of thunder. Despite the damp ground, there was no rain, yet. 

Jerking back, you looked behind yourself. The door you had just stepped through was gone, the knob in your hand faded away as if it was never even there. This had to be a dream.

"You are still causing trouble for me." A dark, deep voice hissed from somewhere, an unfamiliar voice that instantly made your blood run cold. You were felt frozen by the ice that filled your veins. "I've had enough." Gathering your strength you managed to turn your head and look at who was acknowledging you. 

"Who are--" You tried to speak as you demanded your legs to turn and meet the stranger that was standing in the middle of the street now. You took on the defense, hardening your feet into the pavement as you met his daunting gaze.

Dark, nearly pitch-black eyes bore holes into you as your eyes washed over his slender and meek frame. Despite his stature, he looked anything but weak. His gaze alone demanded attention, his voice forced obedience, his postures commanded respect. You had never met a man who could strike such fear in you with a simple flutter of his lashes. Something about him seemed familiar though, you had seen his face before. 

"I'm the end." He cut you off simply, letting his sleek lips drag such cryptic words. "I'm your end." He took a solitary step forward, closing the distance between your frames with what you assumed would just be a foot in length, but when your eyes fell shut for just a second to blink he was inches from your face. "I am death."

Death? The Death? No, this couldn't be right, this had to be a bad dream. Your eyes rounded before slamming shut and shaking your head vigorously back and forth. Why couldn't you have peacefully imagined dancing wildly in your mind at night? It was always just nothingness, except when it wasn't. Nightmares. 

"I'm dreaming." That was all you said as you tossed your hands up in the air in an exaggerated manner to give up control. "This isn't real." Your eyes reopened as you narrowed them on the man who remained inches in front of you. "You are NOT real." 

"You're correct. You are dreaming." The man said as his taunt shoulders gave a little slack. "But that doesn't mean this isn't real. It most certainly is." His sultry dark voice made its way from his lips and to your ears. In the open area, his voice boomed against your bones as it echoed against you."Look, I don't know what you're talking about." Your head jerked to the side, breaking apart the closeness he had formed, wishing you could step back and step away but still you were paralyzed. Unsure if it was due to your own fear or some supernatural cause created in your dream.

He leaned in, bringing his lips near your ear that was now perfectly in line with him. He barely even needed to bend down to meet your height. You could hear him breathing, slow and timed. Your legs begged you to run far from him, but you stayed as still as a frightened mouse. 

" 'We'll run from the gods together' " he quoted, letting the S's in his sentence draw out like a snake. The words he spoke at first held no meaning, but as you tried to think deeply about them, something clicked. "Kasey?" You asked, turning your head back to the strange man and staring at him with wide eyes. He remained cold, emotionless, and calculated. Completely unmoved by your surprised expression. 

"It seems now you believe me." His shoulders bounced lazily and much to your relief he was the one to take a step back. It felt as if a bolder was being lifted off your chest the further he got from you. "We're going to need to have a chat, Y/N."