The Old Man

PROMPT: A character, a lift and a boat

THE OLD MAN

By

Vicki Taylor

            Hilary hated this lift! An old lift in an old building, and not just any old building either but her bosses house. He scared the life out of her, and the noises of the creaking, shuddering lift just increased her fears.

It was her own fault she had ended up here so she shouldn’t complain. The old man had been looking for someone to pass his books onto and she had made sure that her name was top of the list. She had to get her hands on those books- her greed for what they contained made her fears worth bearing.

Stories of the old man were whispered around his library, which was set in the basement of his mansion. How he had gone exploring to some distant place with some friends. They were missing for years until one day he was found drifting at sea, in a boat, alone, just clutching a pile of books. Claiming no knowledge of where he had been, where his friends were, or where the books had come from.

But I know. I caught a glimpse once of the pages of those books. The images of his friends with a look of terror on their faces, arms outstretched, reaching to escape the pages.

Six books and six missing friends.