From Darkness It Comes
A Warning From A Stranger
Lurched over him is a wild dark haired looking man with small steely eyes and wearing a tattered old brown tweed suit and an overcoat. He looks far too bundled up to be out in the sun on a lovely day like this but there is no appearance of sweat or heatstroke. His somewhat long matted hair hangs around his pale face and his thin tight lips form a single line across his long jaw.
Darrin sits up with a start and starts to say something but the strange man stops him by grabbing his shoulder and sending a chill through him. The words freeze in his throat and he sits there paralyzed in this mans grasp.
Leaning further in towards Darrin the man's raspy voice quietly pierces the stone silence surrounding them. "It's coming." Darrin feels another chill. "It's coming and there is little time to prepare. You must be ready or even you won't be able to stop it."
On that the man squeezes Darrin's shoulder and then lets go. Darrin is dumbfounded and just stares at him in a combination of shock and horror and confusion. The man then stands up straight, runs his hand through his greasy hair to move it out of his face, and starts to walk away. Darrin watches as he heads around the side of Finch Hall. Right before he rounds the corner the strange man looks back at Darrin and narrows his eyes. A moment later he is gone.
Darrin slowly recovers and starts to think about what just happened. What, if anything, did the things that man said have to do with me? Is there something more going on here or was he just some wacko. Darrin knew he had only moments to decide at least one thing. Was he going to get up and try to follow that man to find out more or was he going to let it go.
He quickly looked around and the bright courtyard reflecting the sun glared all around him but seemed less inviting than it used to. It was time to act. One way or another. He no longer felt like sitting out here. The comforting peace had been broken. It was time to do something, either find that man or go inside and finish unpacking. He whipped his head around and...