Mona

            “What was that?” Mona thought to herself when she heard a muffled scuttle. A pungent, musty smell wafted into the room. She brushed it off thinking that it was just her imagination. The wind was blowing mercilessly that strands of hair were all over her face, but she knew not to complain as she was standing on a 40-feet high bell tower of the old St. Germain’s Church.

She heard wood creaking and immediately turned around. Her heart raced. Nothing.

There were too many stories about this place surrounding this church but Mona was determined to keep her mind clear. The locals say that the church was once full of worshippers and on Sundays, after church, families would gather to picnic by the fields. Ever since Pastor Kingston’s body was found hanging from the bell tower with multiple stab wounds, and the words “LEAVE THIS PLACE” was scribbled on the church wall with his blood, the locals stopped coming to the church.

Bearing this in mind, Mona still came here hoping to find solace. She needed a break from her maddening parents and the world. She couldn’t take it anymore.

She took a deep breath and from the corner of her eye she saw an imperceptible dark figure watching her every move. It was then that she felt her skin tingling and somebody breathing down her neck. She realized that she was not alone but there was something familiar about this presence, as if it was someone she knew. Mona often went to church and had chattered with Pastor Kingston quite frequently.

Pastor Kingston’s image appeared right in front of her like a plume of smoke and his face looked distressed. “Leave. Leave now, he’s here,” he uttered those words and vanished.

At the corner of her eye, Mona saw the dark figure approaching her…