Vera Nightwhisper's Arc

Chapter 1 of 3

I am dead, and I cannot leave. My name is Vera Nightwhisper, and I have counted more days at this fence than I can hold in my head. A stranger once told me there was shelter in Sleepymire. He lied. The town took days from me in a sleep I could not wake from. When I finally ran, my legs stopped before I cleared the trees. Something here holds me. I do not know what. So I built a home from what I had. I draped cloth over the iron bars and tied it down with knots and stones. I check every knot each morning. It is not to stay warm. I have no warmth left. It is to keep the world outside from looking in. A sign hangs near my fence. It reads, "Beware the world outside the fence." I put it there for you. If you are reading this, you have come to Sleepymire, and I am begging you to stay behind my cloth walls. Because of the watchers. Dark shapes drift through the town, half there and half smoke. They walk sideways along the paths, faces hidden inside their hoods. They are the wraiths, and they guard this place. If one sees you leave, it makes sure you never do. And worse than them is the face. Every road out of Sleepymire is blocked by a floating head made of two round red eyes and a wide, still mouth. I call it the Crimson Gaze. Walk east, and it faces you. Walk west, and it turns to face you again. It always looks straight at you. It never blinks. Stay. Please stay. That is what I tell every traveler. But tonight I could not sit still. I had to know why my legs failed me. So I did what I never do. I lifted the cloth and stepped through the gate. I walked toward the nearest wraith. It stopped in the path and turned its hooded face to me. I forced myself closer. "What binds me here?" I asked. My voice did not shake, though I wanted it to. The wraith raised one shadow hand and pointed. Not at me. Past me. I turned. The Crimson Gaze hung above the road, and its red eyes were fixed on my chest. Then I understood. The wraiths do not hold me. The fence does not hold me. That face does. It has watched me since the day I arrived. My legs stopped because it willed them to. I took one step toward it. My legs moved. Two steps. Three. The gaze did not stop me. It only watched, and its mouth curved wider. It wants me to come. I backed away and slipped through my gate. My hands shook as I tied the knots again. I know the source now. I know what I must face to leave. And it is waiting for me to try.