Dracula (A Modern Telling) Read Online Free PDF Page B

could’ve protested and told him to call me a cab right away but I was frightened about what he was going to do. I truly felt like he could lock me in one of these rooms and no one would ever find me.
    So I agreed to stay longer.
    What choice did I have?
    “And your blogs and emails,” he said. “I’m a private man and don’t like things discussed in public that don’t need to be. I would ask your discretion in the things you see and do here.”
    I nodded and he left the room.
     
     
    It was later that night that I couldn’t sleep. I kept the crucifix over my bed now and felt silly for doing so. But then this heavy dread would grip my gut like a fist and I would be glad that it was there for me to see and touch.
    I rose from bed and went out into the hallway. Candles were lit on one side and it was enough illumination for me to make my way around. The mansion was completely quiet. I couldn’t even hear the wind coming through the windows that I knew were open. I walked down, glancing at each candle. Every single one was unique, as if handcrafted specifically for this place. I stood in the hallway like an idiot and stared at one for several minutes, the way the wax melted just right and rolled down like a tear.
    I walked into the next room and the window was open. I went over to the sill and stared out over the expanse before me. The cliff leading down appeared even more dangerous at night and at the very bottom I saw the glimmer of water , like a river or stream.
    As I stared down, I saw a window. Sticking out of it was the Count’s head. I couldn’t see his face but I knew it was him from the back of his head and his movements. And then he did something that will haunt me as long as I live.
    He crawled out of the window, and began creeping down the side of the mansion headfirst, like some grotesque bug. He was wearing a crimson robe and it flapped in the wind like wings as his toes and fingers caught the exterior bricks of the mansion. I thought it was some effect of shadow or of the moon, but it wasn’t. It was him.
    I locked the door to my bedroom, and sat with utter terror on the floor. My phone, inexplicably, doesn’t get service. I post on this blog offline and I have no idea if it gets posted throughout the day. If it does, I’m asking whoever is reading this to please contact the police. I’m a prisoner here now, and I’m surrounded by terror.
     

May 15 th
     
    The Walls Keep Closing
     
    I saw the Count go out again in his lizard-like crawl. He’s a terrifying figure and not just because of what I’ve seen. His moods are unpredictable. One second he will be totally normal and the next he will explode with such fury at the most trivial thing that I’m constantly on edge around him because I don’t know what will set him off.
     
    Last night, when he was crawling around, I took a candle from the hallway and checked all the doors. They were all locked again but the locks now appeared new.
    I went about exploring more and more, to parts of the mansion I hadn’t been. I went to the front door and saw that you need a key from both sides. A key! That at least gives me hope. I’m willing to bet the key is in the Count’s room. I have to keep my senses about me. If I can find that key, I can get out of this hell.

May 16 th
     
    Blog
     
    I feel like I’m going insane. There are things in this place that I can’t explain. Voices. Things moving in the night without anyone nearby. Strange lights that come out of closets and underneath the doors of rooms when no one is there. The Count is now my only comfort. He’s who I look to for safety.
    I asked him tonight if he could take me to that club again and he just smiled and said, “I don’t think so, my friend.”
    I’ve started the habit of praying at night and it helps calm me down. The only other thing I have right now is this blog. I have no internet connection anymore but I still post here every night. I put the posts on a queue and if I can