TO THE ENDS OF EARTH

Prologue

by Chocolate Reverie

Scream and shouts,

Silence and Doubts,

Hungry souls

Wondering About.

Trapped and Pained,

Always the same,

And still,

Haunted voices

Floating about

She huddled into a corner, listening for any sound of movement. All was still and black. The sound of her racing heart and uneven gasps of breath filled up the silence of the room, deafening to her ears. She froze, afraid that he might hear. Nothing.

And then it began. The rhythmic pounding of heavily laid footsteps slowly climbing the stairs.

1 step.

3 steps.

5 steps.

And then it came closer.

Closer.

Closer.

Closer.

She bit the palm of her hand to stop from crying out, finally tasting her metallic blood. Soon enough, he was there, filling up the doorway as he cast a shadow on every wall of the room. His presence sent cold shivers up her spine.

Then …..

Ring around the rosies, came the singsong voice as it moved into the room. She stiffened, waiting in anguish, praying and hoping the ground would open up and swallow her whole. To take her away from this monster.

Pockets full of posies.

It was all a blur. She felt hands pulling on her hair, forcing her to stand up. Nails biting into her skin as she felt something cold and hard pressed against her skin.

She cried out, clawing at his face, his hair. She tried kicking at him, but he reflexively stopped her every move, backhanding her onto the mattress that stood against the wall in the middle of her room.

Desperate, clammy hands came ripping at her clothes. The knife came slicing.

Her arms.

Her legs.

Her chest.

Everywhere.

She couldn’t break free. She became weak all over.

This is it, she thought welcomingly. The end.

The knife came slashing at her neck. Slowly moving back and forth, cutting a deeper line between every slash. She instinctively tried to suck in breaths of air. She only heard gurgling of blood. He finally stopped at the most critical point, watching her writhe in agony until it was over.

He barked a howl of satisfied laughter that came belly-deep.

“Ashes. Ashes. We all fall down.”