The Darkness

Darkness. She was intimately familiar with the darkness that lived inside her, that sometimes seemed to inhabit her very soul. Some days she embraced it in all its horror and other days she rejected it with a strength borne of desperation. For years there had been a balance, but a year of changes had upset that very delicate balance and more and more she found herself giving into the darkness.

The darkness was her enemy. No matter how well she knew it of that she was always aware. But the darkness was seductive too and while she was aware of the danger, sometimes she didn't care. Because the darkness promised release, an eventual freedom from pain, freedom from her own mind. And as time continued its inexorable march, that freedom became more and more appealing. And the darkness took advantage of that, sinking its claws into her, infecting her with its poison. Soon it would consume her.

Sleep eluded her that night, her unfocused and scattered mind allowing the darkness to creep in. Carefully, it reached out its tendrils and began to gather those scattered thoughts, twining them together in a way that fit its purpose. Unaware of what the darkness was doing, of why her thoughts had begun to clarify, she found herself thinking back over the day, criticizing her every word and action. Why was it so hard for her keep her mouth shut? Why couldn't she be more competent in her job? Why were words so difficult sometimes? Why was she so useless? Around and around she went, sleep drifting farther and farther away as the darkness weaved its malicious web, drawing her deeper and deeper into its embrace. The internal vitriol she spewed at herself ate away at her, driving her to despair. It took her a long time, too long, to finally sense the web closing in around her mind. She began to fight it but those tendrils of darkness had wormed their way deep into her very being and this night she would not win. When sleep at last claimed her, pulling her free from the darkness and granting her mind the respite it so desperately needed, it found her more fractured than ever, the damage done by the darkness bordering on the irreparable. But there was still a spark of resilience and she had the strength to continue fighting the darkness, at least for a little while.

The Virus

It was a beautiful spring morning, the sun shining, birds singing, trees blooming, in short, a perfect day. But few people seemed to take notice of its beauty. Everyone bustled about, their minds on all the things they needed to do, no time to stop and smell the proverbial roses. All except one young woman who gazed about her with delight as she walked through the grocery store parking lot. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, lifting her face to the sun as a gentle wind played with her hair. It truly was a glorious day. After months and months of cold and snow, this was the first truly warm day of the new year. Behind her, an older woman suddenly sneezed.

The next day, the news began reporting on the sudden increase in allergies that seemed to have gripped the nation. And then people started dying. The young woman who had so enjoyed that beautiful spring day was among the first to die. An autopsy revealed an aggressive new virus as the cause, a virus that was totally unknown. The medical and scientific world threw themselves into discovering what it was and where it came from, but the more they studied it, the more questions they had. It started out as a kind of respiratory infection before spreading to every other body system and wreaking havoc until the body could take no more and simply shut down. Once diagnosed, a person had only weeks to live at best, days in the worst cases. But what made it so deadly was that a person could remain asymptomatic for weeks or even months before becoming symptomatic as they inevitably did. Weeks and months that a person could still be transmitting the virus.

What began as mild alarm soon grew into full on panic as the virus spread across the globe. Within weeks it had invaded every continent except Antarctica and within months there were cases in every country. The drastic measures that countries began to adopt seemed to do little to stop the spread. Occasionally the number of positive cases would slow, but they never stopped.

For the next two years, the virus ravaged the world. Every time scientists thought they had found a way to contain it, it would evolve again and the number of sick and dead would skyrocket once more. Mass graves became normal as the death toll increased and cemeteries and morticians became overrun with the dead. And as things worsened, the dead were left to decay where they died in their homes. There was no one left to collect the bodies, it was every man, woman, and child for his and herself.

But as the human population declined, other life flourished. Without the threat of humans, many endangered species began to slowly recover. Forests began to grow and spread, slowly swallowing up villages, towns, and eventually cities. Buildings began to crumble, the revived plant and animal life speeding up their decay. The skies above once smog covered cities began to clear as factories ground to a halt and cars remained permanently parked. Five years after the outbreak, human life had ceased to exist on planet Earth. Animals and plants ruled the once thriving cities abiding by the only laws that remained: the laws of nature.

A young fawn followed its mother from the ruins of an old parking structure, lifting its face to the warm sun. It was a beautiful spring morning, the sun shining, birds singing, trees blooming, in short, a perfect day.

The Assassin

This is a story I came up with and wrote in about 30 minutes. I saw this prompt and the story just kind of hit me. I realize it's probably not all that great considering the fact I typed it out in such a short amount of time, but it was fun to actually have the inspiration to write after not having really any free time to do so during this semester. So hopefully it's better than I think it is and if not, well, I had fun writing it.

She never forgot that it was a job, her way to provide for her family, to get medical care for her father and sister. She also never forgot what she was taking away every time she pulled the trigger: a father, a son, a mother, a daughter. Their faces haunted her dreams at night, but she never tried to make them go away. What she did to survive was nothing short of monstrous, but when she was the breadwinner of her family, she didn't see another way out. It made her hold her family closer each night she made it home safely.

She had tried earning money the right way, through hard work and sheer willpower. But she could never earn enough, not on her own, and she began to despair as her family slowly slipped deeper and deeper into debt. She was well-known for being an expert markswoman; it had been her one release as she'd grown up and she had practiced every chance she got. Still, she was shocked the first time she was approached by a tall man who wanted to hire her expertise to kill a man who had committed some crime against him. She had refused immediately on impulse. She had been taught that a gun was not meant to kill a human unless there was no other choice. But he insisted that she think about it, offering her a large sum of money if she accepted.

Divided: Part 3

Lea crouched behind the sturdy trunk of the tree, eyes fixed on her prey. One of her knives dangled loosely from her fingertips. The deer she was hunting took a couple steps closer to the tree, nibbling at the grass that grew near the stream. She was beautiful, delicate and graceful, but Lea only noticed that she was well fed and healthy. Inching forward, she slowly raised her hand.

The deer's head jerked up as a sudden change in the breeze alerted her to the scent of the human nearby. Gathering her legs under her, she wheeled around, bounding for the safety of the large trees and bushes behind her. Lea leapt out from behind the tree with a wild cry, throwing her knife with deadly precision. The deer crashed to the ground just feet from the thicket, Lea’s knife buried deep in her heart.

The dying animal thrashed weakly as Lea approached and knelt beside her. With gentle strokes she soothed the doe who slowly quieted under her touch, her great heart slowing till it beat no more. Lea said a prayer over the deer, thanking the gods for providing food to feed her people and asking for the doe’s forgiveness in taking her life. Retrieving her knife, she began to gut the doe stopping suddenly as she sliced down the center of the stomach. How could she have missed something so obvious? The doe had been nursing and recently. Somewhere out there in the dark forest was a fawn waiting for a mother who would never return.

Shock and guilt sent Lea reeling to her feet. Turning away, she heaved into the nearby bushes, her stomach giving up what little food she’d eaten that day. She was always so careful during the spring and summer months to make sure that any prey she hunted were not nursing mothers. But today she hadn’t even thought to check. Her people were starving and depending on her and the other hunters to bring back the food they so desperately needed. The rabbits she’d killed two weeks previously were the last fresh meat they’d had. Since then none of the hunters had succeeded in bringing in anything but a few handfuls of vegetation. Still, not even their desperate need would ever have induced her to break the vow she’d made so many years ago.

Divided: Part 2

"Cataline! Cataline! CATALINE! Where are you, girl?!"

Cataline sighed and walked back into her room from the balcony where she'd been watching the sun set. She loved watching the blaze of colors fill the sky. It was one of her greatest regrets that she didn't get to enjoy it more often.

"I'm here, mother," she called back, wearily settling herself on the small chair in front of her vanity.

"Oh, good!" her mother exclaimed, panting slightly from climbing the stairs. "Kyleen will be up in a moment to brush your hair and help you change for bed. Don't forget that tomorrow's a very special day!"

"I won't, mother," she said quietly, gazing at her reflection in the mirror and dreading the coming day.

Sensing her daughter's distress, her mother moved to stand behind her, gently laying her hands on her daughter's shoulders. "It'll be alright, Cataline," she murmured gently. "Kyleen will help you get ready and no one will notice. Never fear." She kissed the top of her daughter's head before leaving the room, pausing for a moment at the door to look back. Anger once again coursed through her as it did every time she saw her daughter's scarred face.

Divided: Part 1

Since I had several people tell me I should continue developing the story from my last post, I decided to do just that and this is the first part of the continuation of that story. Let me know what you think in the comments!

A soft chanting came from deep within the monastery, echoing off the bare stone walls. They stood in a circle around the flames, their hands joined together as they sought the wisdom of their god. Carefully arranged in a circle around the flames were laid six thin sheets of stone painstakingly carved with ancient runes that only the monks of the monastery could read. The words glowed scarlet in the dancing firelight, seeming to take on a life of their own.

This was the prophecy. Thousands of years ago their god had spoken to the head of their order, giving him the prophecy that was to change the order of the world. Since that time, the prophecy had been fiercely guarded by the monks, the exact words known only to their inner circle. But now the time was coming for it to be set into motion. If ever there had been a time when the world needed to change, it was then for the world was terribly divided. The rich lived in towns of extreme grandeur, feasting on the best food, dressing in the most elegant clothing, living in opulent mansions, all of them commanding a bevy of slaves and servants from the poor class. The poor lived in towns set far apart from those of the rich, forced to survive and try to scrape out a living in the frigid mountains, arid desert or rugged plains, the best land, of course, in the possession of the rich. There was no equality; the rich ruled and the poor served. They had no rights, no ownership, nothing. Everything they had could be stripped from them at a moments notice.

And though the rich depended on the poor to till their fields, raise their livestock, cook their meals, sew their clothes, and serve them in every way, they refused to lift even a finger to help them regardless of how dire their circumstances. Entire towns of the poor were regularly wiped out by disease, wild animals, bandits, and natural disasters without the rich ever noticing. They were safe behind the high walls and gates that protected them.

And so as the division between the two classes continued to grow, the monks prayed over and over again for the events of the prophecy to be set into motion. Surely it was time. Their chanting grew louder as they poured out their hearts and souls, the sound traveling through the dark halls out into the frigid mountain air carrying a message of hope and change.

Divided: Prologue

Writing Prompt: As my story came to a close I realized that I was the villain all along.

I've always been intrigued by the idea of writing a book or short story focusing on the "villain" who really doesn't understand until they've lost everything that they were the villain. A villain who's very human, who truly believes they're doing the right thing for everyone involved. This is a very short portion of a story that I have semi-formed. So at the moment I'm asking for opinions. Should I continue and flesh it out, or just drop it?

The flames were getting closer. I shifted slightly in an effort to move away from the heat, stopping as a searing pain exploded in my chest. I could feel the blood pooling in my lungs, making it hard to breathe. At the same time I realized that I had no feeling in my legs. I gasped out a laugh at the irony of it all. The prophecy, that damn prophecy. It was the cause of all this. The laughter died on my lips as I stared up at the darkening sky. I tasted blood, my blood. No, it wasn't the prophecies fault, it was mine. Me thinking that I could stop it from happening and instead putting everything in motion. Me thinking that I was the hero destined to save everyone. But no, I was the villain. Tears slowly trickled down my cheeks. All I'd wanted to do was help, to be the hero for once. I was no hero, I was never meant to be one. I could feel the heat searing my skin. So this is how it will end, I thought, just like all the stories children love. The hero has vanquished the villain and everyone lives happily ever after. I closed my eyes for the last time and gave myself up to the flames.

The Dream

Writing Prompt: She was the ghost haunting his dreams, with a sad song and murderous eyes.

This prompt just sounded so fascinating and so perfect for a horror story that I couldn't resist passing it up and giving it a go. I actually didn't intend for it to become quite as dark as it did, but I'm actually rather pleased with how it turned out. Hopefully it's not too creepy or disturbing for anyone.

Every night, for two long weeks, he had dreamed the same dream. He found himself standing on a gravel path in the middle of a sea of grass. The waist height grass was a strange blue-grey color and it stretched in every direction as far as he could see. The sky above him was a forbidding grey, but not a cloud was in sight. And then there was a silence, a silence so profound that he could hear every beat of his heart, could almost imagine he was hearing the blood pump through his veins. Not a breath of wind disturbed the grass, there were no birds, nothing. The air was heavy, every breath a struggle. He sensed rather than knew that he was the only living creature in that strange, grey world.

He would walk for what seemed like hours along the path, searching for he knew not what. He never strayed into the grass, there was a malevolent energy that seemed to come from it and he had no desire to encounter it, even in his dreams. No matter how far he walked though, the scenery around him never changed. So when he at last grew weary of wandering, he would sit down in the middle of the path and search for something, anything that was different. There never was. Every blade of grass was identical to all the others, every pebble beneath his feet identical to the one next to it. He found it all equal parts fascinating and disconcerting.

And then she came. An ethereal creature the likes of which he had never seen; her skin lily white, her cheeks and lips a soft coral pink, her hair the pale gold of a new sunrise, her eyes the clear blue of a summer sky. She wore a gossamer dress of purest white that seemed to float about her as she walked lightly through the grass. She was the most beautiful, fey thing he had ever seen, yet he sensed that she was or could be dangerous. If she ever chose to harm him, she could do so, dream or no dream. And that realization frightened him.

Broken

Writing Prompt: Write about the loneliness that took you by surprise.

I saw this prompt and for some reason it really stuck with me. I haven't written anything in a long time, so I don't quite know why it struck me, but it did. As I started writing though, it took a different direction from what I was expecting so the end product doesn't really follow the prompt. It is generally based on a real event in my life but as my memory is imperfect, there is also an element of fiction. Hopefully it's not too horrible since it has been so long.

She sat by the window, staring absentmindedly into the rain. All around her was sound: music, laughter, idle chatter, the clatter of dishes, the clink of cutlery, the metallic clang of pots and pans. But in her little corner, there was silence; she was alone. There the sound seemed muffled, as though heard from a great distance. She heard it, but it didn't fully register. All around her was the sound of life and happiness and friendship, all sounds that she didn't want to hear because they reminded her of how alone she was.

Her head snapped around as she heard a familiar voice among the clamour of so many that were totally unfamiliar. There he was, just walking in with his roommate and a couple other friends. As if drawn by her gaze, he suddenly looked in her direction. Their eyes met for a brief moment and he seemed to pause, but then he turned and continued on with his friends, getting their food and choosing a booth on the opposite side of the room.

She fought back the tears that threatened to escape and turned to look back out the window. The rain was coming down harder now, mirroring the storm she felt inside. A few weeks ago she had been part of that group, laughing and joking and talking. Even then she'd felt lonely, like she didn't really belong, but at least she could fake it and at least she wasn't totally alone. Not like now. Alone in a crowded room. She scanned the room and realized that she really was the only person sitting alone. That realization was even more depressing.