Title: The Black Pool

Word Count: 1003

Status/Type: One-shot (Complete)

Genre: Fantasy/Supernatural

Rating: T

Summary/Description: All nature is in delicate balance. But despite all the efforts of the forces of the elements, not all things can be controlled.

The Black Pool

All of nature is in delicate balance. All things upon the Earth depend on each other, so that all things live in harmony together. One little disturbance is all it takes to upset this delicate equilibrium …

It was a fine summer afternoon. The sky was bright, turning slowly orange. It would be sunset soon. Danaé was a seven-year-old little girl. She strayed away from her mother who was seated on a bench, chatting animatedly to another woman her age. Willow, the dog, barked after her. Danaé took no notice. Willow tugged at her leash till the woman let her go. The dog followed the child.

There were a lot of people in the park that day, but Danaé had no intention of finding new friends. She was interested in catching a beautiful butterfly that she had seen. Willow kept close to the little girl’s heels, growling now. The dog sensed that something was wrong. There was something else following them, watching them.

The butterfly flew over the bushes and into some trees. Danaé scowled. But before she could get angry enough, Willow tugged at her patched brown skirt. Danaé turned. The dog was attempting to drag her back.

“What’s wrong, Willow?” asked Danaé as she bent to pat the dog. But Willow tugged harder still so that Danaé took hold of her skirt. Willow whined, looking up at the young mistress she was trying to save. But Danaé still did not understand. Willow tugged even harder so that Danaé nearly fell forwards.

“Willow!” exclaimed the little girl, “What’s wrong with you?”

Willow let go of her little mistress’ skirt. The german-shepherd growled, louder now.

“Willow?” said Danaé uncertainly. The little girl followed the dog’s gaze. Looking behind her, she saw a fairly large pool nearby. The water was crystal clear, inviting. There were no lily pads, or ripples on the surface, no sign of fish or other life in the water — at least not from where Danaé stood. The water was very still, enticingly inviting.

A sudden breeze blew in Danaé’s face; a cool breeze. The breeze caused ripples to form in the pool’s water, seemingly moving in Danaé’s direction. Willow barked now. The dog bit on Danaé’s skirt once again and pulled harder than ever. Obeying, the girl took a few tentative steps backward.

The girl turned and broke into a run, following the dog.

Something jumped on her from behind, pinning her face down to the ground. Danaé screamed. But it was as if no one could hear her. Danaé could hear the laughter of the other children and the chatter of the parents, but none of them could hear her frightened screams. Only the dogs seemed to sense that there was a disturbance somewhere; she could hear them whining, growling, barking. Willow stopped and turned around at the sound of Danaé’s screams. Danaé saw Willow jump over her at whatever was pinning her down. The weight above her decreased considerably and she stumbled in her haste to get up and run.

The breeze turned into a strong wind that blew fiercely around her. Danaé ran and ran, tears streaming down her face, stumbling occasionally over large stones. She heard a pained whine behind her and remembered Willow. She stopped and turned around. But she saw nothing. No Willow, not even what had attacked her, whatever it was.

“Willow!” she shouted over and over again. But the winds seemed to carry the sound of her voice away. Danaé looked around her. She could not see where the dog had gone. She saw that she was on the path and the bushes that lined the path were just as she had always known them to be. The grass beyond those bushes were incredibly green. But there were no more flowers, no more butterflies. No singing or laughing of children, or the barking of the dogs or the tinkle of a bicycle bell. Nothing. It was as if all life had been extinguished and turned into the ferocious wind that now blew fiercely around Danaé.

Then, as suddenly as it had come, the wind died down. Danaé heard another pained whine. There was a wounded and broken Willow at the girl’s side. The poor dog was bleeding from many deep cuts, and she limped. She looked as if she had been fighting with a lion or some other large animal. Willow pushed against Danaé with her bleeding nose. But Danaé was rooted to the spot. Willow looked up at her.

She was staring right in front of her at something. Her eyes were wide with fear and disbelief and she seemed to have lost her voice so that she could not scream anymore. Willow turned, limping. There she saw the cause for her little mistress’ fear: the pool, now turning steadily blacker and blacker as if someone had poured bottles of ink into it. It was as if Danaé had not run at all; as if she had simply stood there all this time while Willow had gotten hurt somehow. Willow whined again, pushing against Danaé’s legs, urging her to run away.

Before Danaé could even attempt to run again, something big and dark obscured her vision. The large form jerked and dark, black blood flowed from a hole in its body. Danaé found her voice again and she screamed louder than she had ever screamed in her entire life. There was a piercing pain in her neck, then strange warmth. Danaé felt her whole body go limp. Her eyes were closed. Someone had lifted her up and was carrying her. She was only vaguely aware of her surroundings. She was only just conscious. She felt herself laid down on the grass. A hand was stroking her hair. She could feel warm breath close to her face. There was a warm hand on her cheek. It made its way down her face and neck to her shoulders. She felt cold. The touch of the hand disappeared. Her breathing eased.

Author's Note:

I am not sure as to whether I should continue this or not. And I'm not sure as to how I should continue thos story - if indeed I do.
Any ideas or suggestions would be much appreciated.

xxxxxxxxxx

Your reviews help inspire me.

xxxxxxxxxx

cHeRRieSandRoSeS89