NIGHTFALL: A NOVEL par AXEL MCCORMICK
Copyright: 2013

CHAPTER ONE:
CRYSTAL FALLS, MICHIGAN
FEBRUARY, 1850

The an is 1850. My name is Ashley Garland; I live in the small town of Crystal Falls, on the west coast of the United States. At the moment, I am being hunted, par what I do not currently know. All I know at present about my foe is that I fear for my life. In fact this whole ordeal has been about a week in the making. About a week ago, the people of Crystal Falls were gathered in the town hall, when a man suddenly began pounding on the door, pleading for help. After some of the citizens finally overcame their initial shock and opened the door, the man outside had collapsed to the ground, and was bleeding profusely from his neck. My father, the town’s doctor Richard Garland, immediately brought him accueil to give him a look-over. As my mother and I waited in the living room anxiously wondering if the man would be all right, my father worked tirelessly before coming out to tell us the man suffered from a neck wound, and was lucky to have survived at all. Yet at the same time, he was at a loss to explain what would cause such an epidemic like this. Ultimately, as the man did not regain consciousness, we decided to leave him in my father’s clinic overnight. However, after the incident, I had trouble sleeping, I had the suspicious feeling I was being watched, and I didn’t like it one bit, yet I could not for the life of me figure out what it was that was giving me the feeling. The following day, my father left early for the clinic, his night watchman had nothing to rapporter on the unconscious man who lay on a lit in the back of the clinic. The man did not regain consciousness for the rest of the day, but the whole town was anxious to know what it was that had attacked him. My father made a leap of logic that a dit the bite mark appeared to be human, but this information caused somewhat of a panic. The town was wondering who in their right mind would attack a man like it had happened. The answer, it seemed, would remain a mystery until the man regained consciousness, if that ever would occur, which according to my father was doubtful at best. Still, he had rationalized, it was only a guess. And the area that had been bitten had two marks that would be too deep for human teeth to break the skin without the others following. For the moment, people seemed to calm down about the incident, but still curiosity remained amongst the townspeople. That night, I got the sensation once plus that I was being watched. I kept telling myself it wasn’t so, but I still felt the feel of eyes creeping over me. The following morning, I awoke to find the window of my bedroom wide open, despite knowing that I had shut it the précédant night, I shrugged it off, thinking against hope that the wind had blown it open. The jour went par uneventfully, and my father tended to his other patients, however it was becoming increasingly evident at accueil that he was fascinated par the wound’s origin, and as the man had still not regained consciousness, it was still very much a mystery what had happened to him, except that he had Lost a lot of blood over a short period of time, still, this news only made the townspeople plus uneasy, although it would turn out to be nothing like it would be over the suivant few days. That afternoon, I walked down to the coast, and spent the entire rest of the jour hearing rumors from the townspeople about what had caused the bite, and human ou not, was the attacker still around nearby? All the rumors made me somewhat uneasy, as dusk finally arrived; my mother came and got me from the coast, telling me my father would be working in the clinic overnight, and that she didn’t want me out after dark until there was an explanation for the attack. As we walked back home, I felt a pair of eyes locked on me, there was nobody nearby, so I decided that that was impossible. Still, I couldn’t shake the feeling. Once we got home, I a dit goodbye to my parents and before climbing into my bed, closed and locked the window. That night, I began having dreams where I was being chased par something; much like the situation I am in at this very moment, however in my nightmares, the thing chasing me was VERY inhuman. Once I awoke the fourth morning, I immediately checked my window, and found it was closed this time, but one thing still remained, the lock was not latched as I had made certain of the night before. I immediately decided to let my parents know of the incident. Once I went downstairs however, my mother explained my father was at the clinic, as it seemed that his latest patient had finally responded somewhat to treatment. par somewhat, it meant that he had not yet gained consciousness at present, but it could mean his full recovery was not far off, and in a way, it wasn’t. After another sleepless night passed, this time without incident, my father came accueil early, telling my mother that the man had finally regained consciousness. The three of us walked to his clinic, and the first thing I noticed was the crowd outside the building. It seemed that everyone in town was there, anxiously awaiting any news from the patient. My father walked into the clinic, and motioned for us to follow him. Before shutting the door, he addressed the crowd. “My patient needs rest. Any news on his situation will be revealed whenever he feels he is able to talk about it. Good day.”
With that, the townspeople reluctantly returned to their homes ou work ou wherever they were needed. My mother and I followed my father into the back of the clinic. The only other person in the room was my father’s assistant Perry, who smiled upon seeing us. “He’s Lost consciousness again Dr. Garland. But this time it seemed it was because of exhaustion.” “Thank toi Perry. Did he say anything?” Perry nodded. “It didn’t make any sense. He a dit a man attacked him, but… it wasn’t human... exactly…” My father nodded. “Thank toi Perry. But you’re right. That doesn’t make any sense at all.” Perry nodded. “I’m sorry. Maybe he’ll remember plus when he wakes up.” he replied. With that, Perry left the room. “It really is nice to see toi again Mrs. Garland.” He said, addressing my mother, before turning to me. And of course toi too. Ashley. par the way, I’m sorry I didn’t make your birthday party. How old are toi again?” he asked. “Seventeen.” I replied. Perry nodded. “Well happy birthday. I’ll send toi your belated birthday present soon. I insist.” Before I could say anything, he had left the clinic. My father examined his patient again. “What happened to the marks on his neck?” I asked him. “They’re gone. I’ve never seen anything like it. They disappeared when he woke up this morning.” ”It’s bizarre.” My mother noted thoughtfully. After awhile, Perry came back to see us. “Dr. Garland, another person has been attacked!” My father immediately stood up. “What do toi mean?” he asked.
Perry hesitated before answering. “Same marks in the neck, except…” he struggled to find the words. “Except what?” asked my father. “He’s dead. Completely drained of blood.” He trailed off again before speaking. “It was Douglas.” He replied. “You’re telling me that Douglas Groves, the MAYOR of this town, is dead?” he asked. Perry nodded. “They found him just after dusk.” My father looked positively spooked par this news. “Wait here.” He a dit to my mother and me before turning to Perry. “Perry, keep them safe. I’m begging you.” Perry nodded without a word. My father turned to us. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.” He said, before walking out the door. I noted Perry lock it before he left. My mother suggested I go to sleep, until my father came back. Seeing as it was now around ten o’clock, I agreed, not knowing that it would be the last time I would see her. Around one I awoke in the lit my father kept in the back for Perry, who did not have a accueil of his own in town. I immediately felt that something was wrong. I called for my mother. No answer. I called again, no answer. I called for Perry. No answer. Feeling helpless, I climbed out of the lit and walked out into the hall. I immediately noted the blood on the floor near the entryway. Racked with fear, my mind was unsure of what to expect as I walked down the hallway dreading what I already guessed what was on the other end of the door. My fears were realized as I looked into that room and saw two bodies on the ground. My mother on the right, her neck torn into and bleeding out, Perry’s to the right, basically torn into so bad I was amazed that there was still blood dripping from his neck, and par that I mean that there was any blood left to drip out at all. My mother stared into my eyes, attempting to speak. “Asssshhhllleeyyy…” she gasped, it seemed to me she was pleading. “I’ll get dad.” I yelled frantically, and to my surprise, she beckoned me to come back. “Don’t let him get you…” I watched in horror as her eyes closed for the final time, and she went limp. I turned and looked at Perry, lying motionless in a pool of his own blood. He was already dead, I realized. I got up to leave, when I saw someone blocking the door. Their eyes were yellow, and the teeth… my god, the teeth… I’d never seen anything like them. I knew I was in immediate danger, and that I wasn’t getting out that way. Blindly, I turned and ran back through the hallway I’d just come through a moment ago. I ran to the back room, and blocked the door with a chair, before climbing out the window in the room. As I raced into the woods behind the building, I heard the chair I’d used to block the door smash into pieces behind me. As I got deeper into the woods, I thought I’d Lost my pursuer, only to hear the footsteps still following me. This pretty much sums up how I got into this situation in the first place. Do I glance behind me? I ponder. Ultimately, I decide to take a look. This is a poor choice, within secondes I crash into a tree. I collapse to the ground, filled with pain, I lose track of how long I lay in pain there on the floor of the forest. For all I know, I Lost consciousness at some point. I am not sure. After awhile, I realize I have to try to get moving again. I try and fail to pull myself to my feet; I nearly try again before I hear the footsteps again. “Ashley!” calls out a voice. A familiar voice. Yet at the same time, I know it is not possible, for the person the voice belongs to is dead… Suddenly, I hear a snapping sound. A screech I know I’ll never forget fills the night. Then, I hear the footsteps again, this time at a slower pace. “Ashley!” calls the voice. I look up, and wonder if I’m still lying in the lit in the backroom dreaming, because the person I see is Perry. He offers me his hand. I take it and allow him to pull me to my feet. “You… How’re you?”
I stutter. Perry shrugs. “He just knocked me down is all.” He replies. “Who? Who was it chasing me?” I ask him. “Your dad’s patient.” He says. But don’t worry about him now. He’s dead.” I am at a loss for words. “But you… toi were dead! Your neck, I was ripped open I saw it!” Perry’s smile fades. “You saw that?” he asks. When I nod, his expression turns dark. “Dang it.” He mutters. “That patient, what WAS he Perry?” Perry turns to me. “You want the truth Ashley?” I nod, and he sighs. “You know what Ash? I’m not hungry anymore, so I guess I’ll cut toi a break. But at the same time, I can’t let toi go. Not after this. See where being nosy gets you?” I stutter. “What do toi mean ‘hungry’?” I ask. Perry sighs, and before I can do anything, I am pushed back against the tree. The pain from before returns, and I find myself unable to move. As I gasp for breath, I feel an even worse pain in my neck. Then everything goes black…