The Dead Never Lie - Chapter One

I thought the time was right to share chapter one of my short story, The Dead Never Lie with you all.

Comments are more than welcome and certainly appreciated.

Enjoy!

Chapter One

“Why am I here? This was a mistake!” Jennifer Harding scolded herself for a decision that had been made when her judgement was impaired. She hadn’t been thinking straight.

To begin with, he had been very charming and attentive but things soon changed and his true colours began to emerge. She allowed herself to be lured to the house under the pretence of love and affection.

Desperately searching for a way out, turning ever which way to escape his clutches, she soon realised this was going to be an impossible task. Unfamiliar surroundings and an endless maze of corridors were what greeted her.

She recalled her coming of age celebration a few months back. It had involved a hunting expedition with her father. Suddenly, memories flooded back to that lone deer which cowered in a corner, trapped. The fear in its eyes was clearly evident, because at any moment, the final call of death would be brought upon it. Right now, that was how she felt, the helpless prey to an able hunter.

Suddenly, Jennifer’s head snapped up as the unmistakable sound of footsteps that echoed from somewhere within the building. There was no way of working out his position, his trajectory, but one thing was certain, he was definitely on a mission.

“Keep moving, keep moving!” a repeating sequence of words that sounded almost like a motivational chant came out of her mouth.  

Trying to stay one step ahead of the game was difficult, especially as the shadows that bounced off walls appeared to be playing with her.

The room was large, with an impressive array of antiques, but there was nowhere to conceal herself. Like an animal in an open field, she was exposed to every type of enemy. No matter what direction danger approached from, it would get to her eventually.

A sudden flicker of movement by one of the many windows halted her movement and she held her breath. “More shadows?”