Board Thread:Writer's Workshop/@comment-27007772-20150329093349

Prologue
Joseph Kaufman kneeled before the statue of mother Mary, grasping a rosary in his hand. He'd stayed a few minutes after Sunday service for a special prayer. In his silent prayer, he'd considered the events just over a year and a month ago. The cold winter tormented him with memories of his time in that cement prison with Natalie and Jackson. The focus of the prayer, though, was Natalie herself. She'd been scarred moreso than himself. He found God and set his life back on course with his faith, meanwhile, she tried to end her own.

She'd moved out of her old house to the other side of town into an apartment after begging her parents, and visiting doctors for mental checkups. She'd constantly been on pills. Downers, uppers, doesn't matter. She'd taken them at some point. At first he assumed the light at the end of the tunnel was that Natalie and himself were not charged with the disappearance of Jackson, and were unable to be placed directly as murderers. A few years of active probation and being on a watch list seemed easier, but not for Natalie.

One part of his silent prayer was capitalized. He prayed that the damned tunnel he'd almost been burried in had been collapsed and closed forever, and that the Tormentor had been forever sealed, or dead, within it. He hated to wish death to anything with his new found faith, but having lived only 15 years of his life before the Tormentor showed up was no way to start a life.

Finishing his prayer, Joseph stood off of his knees and opened his eyes, tilting his head to the statue. He turned around and placed the rosary around his neck as a neclace, walking for the church door. As he walked passed the preacher, he nodded his head and spoke modestly.

"Thank you for the extra time, father."

The preacher nodded back and smiled, opening the door for him. The air that rushed around him gave a slight chill. Hardly being spring, the temperature had not completely escalated yet. In fact, snow was still on the ground, though it was melting in most areas.

He walked into the parking lot right outside the church while putting on his thick overcoat. He was just happy he wouldn't have to wear the damned thing much longer. The soft inside made his arms itch while he wore short sleeve shirts, such as the blue dress shirt he wore to the church.

He made his way to a silver and gray car. It wasn't anything fancy, but a pre-owned car is all he could have hoped for, recently getting his liscenes. When he got in the car he moved his hands down his face, before placing them on the steering wheel. It had been nearly 2 months since he last visited Natalie in her new home.

Her condition and hostility towards to location of her old house convinced her parents to rent an apartment, whilst renting out the old house to get some more money on the side. Putting his foot on the gas, he left the church, and started driving towards the apartment complex in upper Marienville, thankfully away from Jackson's house, and the entry path of Cook Forest. The only part of the forest the complex was near, was the tourist path. Good thing it was just as close to the town hospital as it was to the forest.

Jackson's home. At this point, Joseph started drifting off whilst driving, refocusing to stop himself from swerving off of the road. Every time he would think of that forsaken house, he would notice his mind pulling tricks on him. Maybe he was the one who needed medication, not Natalie. Forsaken? More like foreclosed. After his disappearance, Jackson's mother and father moved into Philadelphia to help cope.

After many second takes off the road to inspect the surrounding area, he finally came to a stop. Pulling in to a public parking lot with only 3 other cars, he arrived at the brick and tile apartment building.

Hell Awaits
Stepping outside of his car, he closed the door with one hand while taking a deep breath, placing his hand over the rosary necklace. All he could think about was what Natalie's condition would be once he entered. At least she was living in a complex, where multiple people were around to help her if something went south.

Red brick, black tile roofing, wooden door with a window in the center, it was a pretty basic setup. Three floors, with two apartments on each floor. Natalie was on the second floor, to the immediate left of the stairwell. Pushing on the door, the twisting stairs were right in front of him.

It wasn't very long before he reached the top of the steps, though the echo of the cement stairs through the building forced him to cringe at some old memories. One foot off of the first set of steps out of two, he spun to his left and knocked on the door. When no one opened the door, he knocked louder and harder. Eventually lightly banging on the door, he was surprised no one from the other apartments came out to yell at him.

Just as he started to get a bit worried, the doorknob turned, and the door opened. Then, he saw her. Natalie was holding the door open for him. He walked into the apartment and hugged her.

"Joseph, I didn't think you would come today." She said rather softly.

"I told you I'd come check up on you ever week from now. How's it all going? You doing well?" He questioned to her.

"Pills are a bitch, Joseph. But it's better with them then without. Downers kill your mood right away."

She pulled away from the hug, holding her right arm. When she noticed Joseph giving her an odd look, she signaled him to follow her, taking him into the living room. An old television, new looking brown couch, white panel closet to hold cloths and other gear, she'd moved into a fairly nice place. - The bloody action and time twisting starts after this point. You'll have to wait a while for that. This is just a teaser to show the writing style of the story and catch you up to the characters. 