Alyssa flopped down on her bed, finally finished unpacking. She let out a heavy sigh of relief, “Thank goodness that’s over with.”
  She raised her head wearily when the heavy winds forced open her unlatched windows. Alyssa pulled herself up, “Really? Just when I get comfy?” she grumbled irritably with a glare, closing the windows, this time latching them shut. Alyssa cast a wary glance at the skies with a frown deep-set frown on her face; the ominous clouds were looming closer. A foreboding storm was approaching judging by the fierce wind, and the pounding rain off in the distance. She jerked back, startled, when the massive thunderhead’s jagged fingers struck out, crashing across the wide, empty skyline with an echoing boom.
  A loud scratching interrupted the following silence, the muted sound causing her to her roll her eyes as she pushed down her growing terror. It was just a storm, it couldn't hurt her. “What now?’ she groaned, her growing irritably replacing the earlier fear.
  Alyssa briskly stormed towards the door, nearly yanking the door off its hinges in a flash of anger, “What?” she all but snapped, having no more patience for anyone, or anything, glaring daggers at the source of the noise.
  The source was a ruffled cat with strangely familiar windblown, long, tangled black fur, and large luminescent eyes, appearing almost humanoid with the extensive waves of untold emotions trapped within their depths. The cat blinked its eyes, one a dark green, the other a deep shade of amber. “Meow,” the cat flicked his ears, twitching his tail.
  “You've got to be kidding me!” she loudly exclaimed as the cat brushed between her legs, shaking the rain out of his damp fur while innocently peering up at her.
  The cat wandered down the hallway and into her bedroom as she closed the front door, not seeing the point in kicking the cat out into the oncoming storm. “Hey!” she cried indignantly as the cat settled himself on her bed after she tracked him down. She had found the cat lounging across her pillows, dominating most of the head space.
  The cat stood once Alyssa came closer, and leaped down off her bed, landing neatly on the floor before padding off into her closet, impatiently whisking his tail, almost as if he was beckoning for her to follow, or warning her not to. He turned his head, fixing his disturbing gaze on her when she did.
  “I don’t see why I can’t,’ she complained, questioning her sanity as she talked to the cat, “There’s nowhere to go!”
The cat snorted, almost as if he disagreed with her, and disappeared into her closet. Alyssa let out a long, exasperated sigh, and went after the cat, “I don’t know what you’re doing back there. There’s nothing back there but…” her words tapered off as she brushed aside some of the clothes she had hung up earlier. A door’s entrance yawned open at her, revealing a long, winding wooden staircase, descending into the deep darkness, and the dust on the steps parting to reveal the cat’s paw steps, leaving thin cobwebs to veil the door frame in his wake.
  Why was there a secret door in the back of her closet? Why had it just opened? What could possibly be down those steps, besides the cat of course?
  Alyssa took a hesitant step forward; the wooden stair creaking beneath her weight, a damp breeze brushed the bangs out of her face. She took another step, the whole staircase moaning in complaint, almost as if it was pleading with her not to follow the cat. Ignoring her very own instincts to run away screaming, she pushed further into the darkness. She tested her weight on each step, her downward descent agonizingly slow and brushing aside the occasional cobweb, just as she brushed aside her own feelings of growing terror, anticipation, and anxiety.
  Her head jerked back when the last of the light disappeared, the door being slammed shut by…something. She was trapped. Alyssa dryly gulped, suddenly feeling very cold, and very much afraid. There was no escaping the dark, and this stairwell, now a prison more than anything else.  She quickly made her way down the stairs, panic causing hysteria to rise, and down the stairs was now the only place to go, and hopefully she could find a way out from there.
  The moisture thickened around her, the ever darkening gloom creeping up on her, sending chills down her spine. Alyssa’s hands shot out as she stumbled forward, nearly losing her footing as she tripped over the stone gargoyle of a cat, who was bristling, lowly growling at whatever was hiding in the darkness, his eyes even more luminescent than before, which seemed impossible due to the fact that there were no lights for the cat’s eyes to reflect.
  She peered into the thick darkness, narrowing her eyes suspiciously, desperately trying to see what the cat saw. An image of the flashlight she kept on her bedside table flashed in her mind, and let out a low groan, cursing her idiocy for not grabbing it when she had a chance. The damp chill snatched her into its clutches; her teeth started chattering as the stairwell seemed to grow even colder. Alyssa was trapped in a heavy blanket of silence, she pulled her phone out of her pocket, thankful she at least ha the sense to bring that. The smell of death touched her senses as she turned on her flashlight, shining it around the archaic, stone room.
  A small body was curled up in the corner, resembling Gollum from the Lord of the Rings movies, strands of greasy hair hanging in her pale, ashen face. “Why did you leave me?” The child suddenly asked, not turning to look at Alyssa.
  “What?” Alyssa asked dumbly, “I've never seen you before.”
  The child’s lips parted, revealing a wicked smile, “You left me in the dark with the monster. And now, he’s coming to get you.”
  From somewhere deep in the dark, a malicious laughter rang out, loud, ominous, strong, and very much alive; reminding Alyssa of someone she would never want to see again, someone long since dead. The cat comfortingly pressed against her legs, almost as if he knew what was out there in the darkness.
  “He’s coming,” the little girl crooned, letting out a mad laugh of her own, “He’s coming Lyssie.” Alyssa’s heart jumped into her throat at the sound of her old nickname, the cat let out a warning growl, letting out a threatening hiss as he did. The cat spit in furry when the sound of rattling chains dragging against the floor came closer. 
  Alyssa’s lungs froze, refusing to take in any oxygen, taking a step back when the sound came closer. The warm body of the cat pressed against her legs, giving her a comforting sense of safety, and familiarity. Alyssa’s shaking hands dropped her phone, the child melting back in to the petrifying darkness. That was the moment she saw it, no, him. “That’s impossible,” she managed to get out, her voice a mix between a terrified squeak, and a garbled, strained attempt of her normal voice.
  Red eyes stared at her, the crimson red merciless as it dunked Alyssa in a frigid tank of fear, attempting to drown her in its depths. Terrified tingles raced down her spine as her body froze, shooting her nerves with adrenaline, the fight or flight instinct stronger than ever before. The hair rose at the back of her neck, goose bumps forming all over her body. Her heart pounded furiously in her chest, her legs feeling like Jell-O, and colorful dots flickering over her vision as her lungs screamed for air. The reptilian eyes narrowed, easily squashing any desire Alyssa had to fight, and yet she remained frozen, her feet glued to the icy floor, slowly being suffocated by fear, and the chilling darkness.
  The cat pushed at Alyssa’s legs, meowing as he freed her from the horrifying red eyes. She slowly looked down at the cat, her eyes wide, the warmth of the cat’s gaze melted her frozen posture, and she finally managed to pull in a breath of air.
  The deep voice laughed once more, mocking Alyssa’s terror, sending chills through her once more, “Lyssie,’ the terrifyingly familiar voice crooned, “Lyssie, darling, come back. Come home to me.”
  Alyssa took a step backwards, her foot hitting the stairs, frantically shaking her head no, watching as the cat sprung out into the darkness, attacking her greatest fear with a yowl, the image of a boy with dark green eyes, and black hair pushing her back came to mind, a gray cat with amber eyes sitting on the windowsill.
  She fled up the stairs as the cat let out a dying wail, tears burned her eyes as remembered screams echoed through her memories, ringing in her ears. Alyssa raced up the stairs, looking over her shoulder, slamming into the door that trapped her down here. She pounded on the sealed, wooden door, tears sliding down her cheeks, and sobs heaving from her chest, as a much younger her pounded on a similar door, begging to be let out as the boy’s tortured screams filled both their ears.
  The voice whispered in ear, “There’s no escape Lyssie, no one to save you now. My little Lyssie, all alone again.  There is no escaping the darkness.”
  Alyssa slid down the closet door, curling against it as she clenched her hands over her ears, her nails digging into her scalp as they became entangled with her hair, digging into her tender skin viciously in a desperate, and pointless, attempt to silence the voice, and the thousands of screaming voices in her head. She let out a blood-curling scream of her own as the stairs fell away into shadow, dropping her into the suffocating darkness. Cruel laughter now the only sound she heard.
  Alyssa bolted up in bed, a terrified scream ripping from her chest, streams of tears falling down her face. A bird outside chirped in the soaked, early morning dawn. She bolted out of bed, racing towards her closet, throwing aside the clothes in a wild fervor to check the wall where the door was. Her hand stroked the white wall, “Oh, thank god,” she sobbed, “it was just a dream, a nightmare.” Her extreme relief washed away the night’s terror.
  A muted scratching at her front door caused her to freeze, all emotions draining away, causing her heart to race wildly in her chest, a cold sweat breaking out all over her body. She weakly pushed away from the wall, and slowly made her way to the front door, the world tilting all around her, feeling zombie-like as she came closer.
  She straightened her clothes as a knock followed, combing through the tangled rat’s nest she called hair with her fingers, trying to present normalcy despite her racing heart, and wide, frightened eyes. Alyssa brushed away the drying tears as she softly called out through the door, “Who is it?” She was hesitant to open it, especially after her nightmare, her skin was clammy, and her heart continually racing away, galloping likes a horse in a rodeo.
  “No one,” a joyfully familiar voice dryly informed her, amusement clear in his tone.
  Alyssa jerked the door open, a wide smile on her face as she quickly drank in the sight before her. A boy, now a man, stood before her, his dark green eyes twinkling with life, and black hair gleaming in the dawning sunlight. A cat with long, tangled gray fur and amber eyes stared up at her from his position at the man’s feet. “Jason,” she warmly greeted, widening the door to welcome the weary pair in, “Come in, come in, please make yourself at home. I’ll go put some tea on.”
  With that she walked off, leaving Jason standing at the door. He then turned, looking out across the street, his eyes flashing crimson, a smirk marring his face as he closed the door. The peaceful morning about to be forever destroyed. For this was only the calm before the storm, the worst was yet to come.
  After all, you can never escape the dark.