The Shorecliff Horror and Other Stories Page 10

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  Sinking down into black, empty space, he drifts. His mind returns to a dreamless blank, a clear slate with no thoughts, no anxieties. The space stretches all around him, infinite in every direction, bottomless and without limit. He stares into the void and feels it encircle him, free and without judgement. He feels its peace press into him.

  After a time he becomes aware that he is not alone. Just for a moment, he feels a presence drift nearby, a warm insubstantial body that floats just as he does. Its warmth is alluring but brings no sense of comfort or reassurance. As it reaches out to pull him closer, Solomon recoils away from it, a spark of dread flying through him. He feels a smile spread across the creature, a sickening, gleeful grin of delight that fades back into the darkness as it drifts slowly away.

  “Not now,” he hears a low voice whisper, “but soon. Soon.”