Chapter 21


    2:58 a.m.


    Charles snored away that early morning. The window beside his bed was wide open, allowing in only a


    faint whisper of cool air into the already stuffy apartment.His rest was a stressful one.


    He had to force himself to fall asleep, and hearing Lyte''s crying voice ringing repeatedly back in his


    dreams didn''t help matters at all.Clothed in only a tank top shirt and boxers, the manid t on his


    stomach with his left hand dangling off the bed.


    Underneath the bed, however, there was another appendage, a w that was slowly reaching out from


    under. It crept its way upwards until it touched Charles'' limp hand. The very second it was able to


    connect, the w violently snatched the man off the bed and onto the floor where it then proceeded to


    pull a waking Charles under.


    Charles fought and relented, but the evil force had him to where he could not only free himself, but


    where he couldn''t even yell for help, as another w wrapped itself around the man''s mouth.


    Once Charles waspletely enveloped under the bed, the bed itself wobbled and vibrated for at least


    two whole minutes before spilling Charles'' body back out onto the floor in a bloody mess.


    Charles coughed and gagged against the radiator while crying like a baby. Neighbors banged against


    the wall and hollered for him to "keep quiet," and "shut up," but the man just could not stop sobbing. It


    was as if he had lost any and all control over himself.


    Against the radiator, Charles Mercer could not even pray...he couldn''t even remember a God.


    ***


    The time was still early, but notte. Charles, still adorned in his nighttime wear, slowly walked up the


    staircase until he found himself at a final door.Then, with a lethargic right hand, he twisted the knob and


    simply allowed the door to swing open all by itself.The door led to the balcony of the building.


    With a pair of rubbery legs Charles ventured on across the floor. His eyes were bleary and non-


    coherent. He was still soaked in blood; whether it was his own blood or not didn''t seem to weigh


    heavily upon him. As a matter of fact, not much that morning, or after what had taken ce seemed to


    matter too much to him.It was like he was stuck inside a trance that he couldn''t or didn''t want to wake


    up from. Isaac, Lyte and everyone else were nowhere present inside his mind. All his eyes could


    see in front of him was darkness; everything beyond that was non-existent.


    Once his legs bumped against what felt like a barrier, Charles paused and lifted one leg before raising


    the other. Before long, his body was standing on a ledge. If Charles was aware of such a fact, there


    was a possibility that he wouldn''t possess the will to even care at that point.For endless moments the


    man stood on the ledge with only a gentle breeze swaying hisrge body back and forth.


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    Once more, no faces or memories crossed his mind at that instant. His movements were simple, yet


    precise. With only a few muscles he moved one leg forward, which in turn caused his entire body to


    drop off both the ledge and building altogether.


    "Good boy." The wicked voice whispered in the night air.