Hell's Eyes

BRIANNA SHAFFERY

the desperate volume of his voice, and glanced over her shoulder at him. “And why ever not?” Mr. Noblémyn dropped his gaze, kicking at the thick decorative carpet of the sitting room. “I…I’m afraid.” “Of what? The light? Is it because your head aches?” Elsie asked, hoping there was a sensible answer for his strange behavior. The more she considered him, the more she was given the impression of a frightened child hiding from the shadows under their bed. Elsie’s mind sparked. That was exactly what Mr. Noblémyn was. He was frightened of some thing, of the large, snarling, sharp-toothed hound in his crude drawings. “Mr. Noblémyn,” she started softly, approaching him cautiously and laying a gentle hand on his arm. He flinched under her hand, but did not move away. “Did something attack you? In the woods?” “No,” he whispered, clasping her hand between his. “But I saw it.” “You saw it?” Elsie asked, fighting not to pull away from his clammy hold. “The creature from your drawings? In the woods?” Mr. Noblémyn shook his head fervently. “In my dreams.” Elsie’s breath stuttered. “In your dreams?” she echoed in disbelief. At Mr. Noblémyn’s admission, Elsie nearly laughed, wholly realiz ing the hysteria that had overcome the man, but the look on his face stopped her and her disbelief before it could take root. Taking in the grim line of his lips and the hollow of his face and the wide-rimmed terror of his eyes, Elsie knew this was a man beyond his wits who truly believed in the madness that his mind had succumbed to. “All right,” she said slowly, softly. Taking Mr. Noblémyn by the arm, she gently bade him to sit back on the couch and sat down beside him. “So this is the creature that haunts your dreams, and now your waking moments?” “Yes,” Mr. Noblémyn responded, nodding adamantly. “I haven’t the slightest idea what to do about it, though. It’s everywhere, and… and…it’s always watching. Always watching with those unyielding eyes,

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