The Beast Within by Edward Levy

Author:Edward Levy [Levy, Edward]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Horror, Horror tales, Suspense fiction, Fiction
ISBN: 9780595149230
Publisher: Iuniverse Inc

Michael, unable to stand upright in the crowded closet, sat himself on a bundle of paper towels and leaned back against the wall. He wrinkled his nose against the strong smell of dust and disinfectant that kept threatening to make him sneeze. He looked nervously around him. The interior of the closet, illuminated only by what small amount of light could creep in under the heavy oak door, seemed so small and overcrowded with brooms, mops and other cleaning paraphernalia that there seemed to be no room to breathe. His nervousness grew quickly and he was suddenly very frightened; the closet seemed to be getting smaller and smaller, closing in on him, threatening to suffocate him.

He put his hands against the opposite wall and pushed; the wall was solid enough and was not actually moving towards him, it only seemed to him that it was. He repeated this to himself. He took a deep breath and swallowed hard in an effort to calm down. He realised that the terrible, closed-in feeling was all his - imagination is what his daddy had called it. He could recall daddy telling him many, many times that, “If something scares you, but you know whatever it is ain’t real then it’s just your imagination and there ain’t no reason to be scared… ” He had never fully understood what daddy had meant, but he was sure it must be true.

What was making him so scared? he wondered. What was giving him this terrible feeling of being closed in, trapped? It had to be the closet itself; so dark and cramped, there wasn’t even room for him to stand up or turn around. It must be getting to his imagination.

Leaning back against the wall again, he closed his eyes and pictured himself at home, lying on the grass in his front yard. This helped to dispel his fear and made him feel better - for a few minutes.

The image was slowly dimming, getting darker in his mind’s eye, as if the sun were setting on his dream. Try as he might to concentrate, to sharpen and brighten the mental picture, a hazy nightfall still descended on it, until he could make out only dark, shadowy outlines.

Something flashed quickly across his mind; a fleeting impression of something dark… cold… filthy. He opened his eyes with a start, fear rising within him again. Before he could assemble one rational, calming thought, the horrific mental images were back; glimpses, impressions flashing instantaneously through his mind, assailing all his senses at once with their vividness. An odour seemed to invade his nostrils, sickening him; his mouth seemed filled with the taste of dry, foul dust; his body gripped with the physical sensation of intense cold and, even more acutely, the overpowering pain of starvation; starvation like nothing he had ever experienced or could even have imagined. He had the brief impression - startlingly visual but more than that - of lying in dark, gritty filth, his entire body shivering

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