From the Prologue of the upcoming "Great Heroes of the Sky", an Ace Combat 5 novelization
He couldn't keep his eyes shut. He tried, but every time he did it felt as though some bogeyman, with viscous, verdant drool dripping from its charcoal lips, popped so close to his face he could feel its hot, rancid breath tearing into his nose and mouth. Too frightened to close his eyes, he'd been staring for the last several minutes through the open door of his bedroom, across a hallway made sinister by the vortex-like darkness that filled it. Many times daddy had gently insisted that he would grow up to be a man soon, so he must learn to be brave. He’d knelt beside his bed, smiled, and whispered "It’s all right. Daddy and mommy are right next door." Those words didn’t reassure him, though, and even with eyelids that felt ten tons heavy, his fear still pushed him to lift his drowsy voice to a demanding “Don’t close the door, please.”
This night, it was his grandmother who tucked him it. Visiting for the summer, she had narrated just before the story that, again, had kept his eyes open and staring at the door for the last several minutes. Alvin loved his grandmother; she wasn’t the stiff old hag like those some of his playmates abrasively complained about. As a matter of fact, his was one of the rare breed of grandmothers who were actually quite fun to be with. He just hated it when she told him the story that she claimed her mother had told her when she was just a little girl.
But Alvin listened anyway. Scary or not, he was curious to know what happened in the end. Many times he tried to persuade Grandma to skip to the end, but she wouldn’t, saying that he could only appreciate the ending after he’d gone through the entire story. That was how stories generally worked.
Alvin didn’t care. ‘The Demons Of Razgriz’ terrified him. For all he knew, the demon could be lurking just around the corner of that sinister, unlit hallway, waiting ever patiently with a knife in one clawed hand for him to come near that door. Alvin didn’t want it closed, but he also couldn’t walk through it. Maybe even if his life depended on it. Or even his hygiene. A lousy ten-foot walk to the bathroom and he still couldn’t get himself off the bed. Too fraidy cat. Wish his Grandma didn’t have to read him that scary story again.
This night, it was his grandmother who tucked him it. Visiting for the summer, she had narrated just before the story that, again, had kept his eyes open and staring at the door for the last several minutes. Alvin loved his grandmother; she wasn’t the stiff old hag like those some of his playmates abrasively complained about. As a matter of fact, his was one of the rare breed of grandmothers who were actually quite fun to be with. He just hated it when she told him the story that she claimed her mother had told her when she was just a little girl.
But Alvin listened anyway. Scary or not, he was curious to know what happened in the end. Many times he tried to persuade Grandma to skip to the end, but she wouldn’t, saying that he could only appreciate the ending after he’d gone through the entire story. That was how stories generally worked.
Alvin didn’t care. ‘The Demons Of Razgriz’ terrified him. For all he knew, the demon could be lurking just around the corner of that sinister, unlit hallway, waiting ever patiently with a knife in one clawed hand for him to come near that door. Alvin didn’t want it closed, but he also couldn’t walk through it. Maybe even if his life depended on it. Or even his hygiene. A lousy ten-foot walk to the bathroom and he still couldn’t get himself off the bed. Too fraidy cat. Wish his Grandma didn’t have to read him that scary story again.