The Dark Moment

Elias scrambled to his feet. He had to get out.

He ran for the windows. He grabbed a heavy bronze bust and smashed the glass.

The blizzard roared in. The wind was deafening.

He climbed onto the sill. It was a twenty-foot drop to the snow. He didn't care.

He jumped.

He landed in a drift, the impact jarring his bones. He tried to stand up to run.

He couldn't.

His legs wouldn't move.

It wasn't the snow. It was his joints. He looked down. His skin had taken on a sheen. Not sweat. A metallic luster. The gold was setting.

"No," he grunted, clawing at the snow. "No, no, no."

He dragged himself forward by his elbows. His movement was jerky, mechanical. The weight of his own body was increasing exponentially. He felt like he weighed a ton.

He made it ten yards.

Two figures emerged from the storm. The butler and the maid. They walked easily through the snow.

They didn't say a word. They grabbed Elias by the arms.

He tried to fight, but his muscles were stiffening into wire. He was turning into a monolith.

They dragged him back toward the house.

Elias looked up at the sky. He thought about his debts. He thought about the bribe he took three years ago that cost him his badge. He had wanted money so badly. He had wanted the weight of gold in his pocket.

Now he was going to carry it forever.