Part 4 The Fourth Chime

[Thunder, rain on courthouse windows, power buzzing] August. Storm of the century knocked power out countywide. 2:17 AM. The courthouse was empty. Except for the night deputy. Tommy. He told me the emergency lights died. And for the first time in 50 years... it was truly dark in there. And quiet. No ticking. All four clocks dead. Then lightning hit close. Real close. Lit up that whole tower. And all four clocks... struck 9. North struck 9. East struck 9. West struck 9. And South... South struck 9 for the first time since that man died. BONNNG... BONNNG... BONNNG... Tommy counted. Nine times. In perfect unison. On the ninth chime, he said every door in the courthouse slammed open at once. Every single one. Even the locked ones. And he heard footsteps coming down from the tower. Not up. Down. Slow. Heavy. Coming to finally leave. He ran. Left his radio, his keys, his hat. Ran out into the rain and didn't stop till he hit Main Street. Next morning, power came back. North, East, West ticking like nothing happened. South? Stopped again. At 9. But Tommy's hat? They found it on the fourth floor landing. The floor that don't exist. And it was soaking wet. Even though Tommy said that floor was bone dry.