Bloodshed.

From what I could see, the coast was clear. Nobody was in the room, and the only thing I could see was a lone candle, in the middle of an oak table. It flickered and danced due to an open window. The breeze rolled in but I couldn’t feel it. I could never feel anything. I was just a witness, basically. A witness to the inner workings of this fantasy land.

The gaze shifted so that I could see rows and rows of books, sitting on a dusty shelf. I was in the library again. As we moved forward, I didn’t make a sound. The creaky floor was silent as I drifted across the room, nearing the door. That’s when they burst in. Those things. They looked human enough, but I knew they weren’t. They were too pale, too sinister, too.. Different. He walked in first, his long cloak flapping behind him as he strolled in. She followed, a softer aura surrounding her as she closed the great door promptly.

“It’s no good! We‘re outnumbered, even with Him!” I heard him say. I knew he was yelling, but to me, it was but a whisper. Think of it as being underwater, and hearing voices from above. The sound’s distorted, no?

They exchanged words, but it was too low for me to pick it up. This is how it was most of the time. I was only a spectator. Never really hearing anything. Except the screams. Those were the most audible out of everything. And I’d heard many a scream in my day.

The scene began to fade, and I prepared myself for a new scenery. I was brought to a dark alley this time. And I heard it. Another heart-wrenching scream, followed by a frantic young girl running through the puddles and muck on the ground. She had become barefoot when her stilettos caught in the mud, but she kept on running. I couldn’t see what was following her yet, but I knew it wasn’t one of the other beings from the library. Oh, no. It was worse.

She took a sharp turn, down another alleyway. And that’s when I saw it. Hunchbacked and hobbling after her. An un-dead. It moved at lightning speed, and I could hear it snarling.

As cliché as it was, she arrived at a dead end. She panicked, panting and wailing out in fear. She turned around, and met it face to face. She yelled and backed away, tripping over her own feet. I felt sorry for the girl, but there was nothing I could do but look on. As she crawled on the ground, trying to escape, it grabbed her by the legs and began to drag her closer, and closer..

It began it’s feast. The screams echoed against the walls, as it tore flesh from bone. I saw the blood forming a pool on the ground -

“NO!” I yelled, jolting upright in my bed. I was drenched in sweat, and my mouth was dry. My head ached, and my body was numb. This is how it was every night. The same old story. The creatures, the screams, the blood. After steadying my heart, I fell back, my head hitting the pillow softly. Staring at the ceiling, the same question that had haunted me for almost 14 years - what was the purpose of thesenightmares dreams?

Time Elapse - 5 Years

From my spot on the roof, I saw it. Chasing after the poor girl with no shoes. Another scream, followed by the splashing of the frantic young girl running through the puddles and muck on the ground. This time, I would get it. There was no doubt in my mind. With the box safely tucked in my coat pocket, I jumped down into the alley.

She took a sharp turn, down another alleyway, with it closely at her heels. I dashed after them. Stopping forward and spitting an almost acidic fluid. It moved at lightning speed, and I could hear it snarling.

She arrived at the dead end. She panicked, panting and wailing out in fear. She turned around, and met it face to face. She yelled and backed away, tripping over her own feet. That’s when I burst into action. I gave it a good whack with my staff and kicked it to the ground. As she crawled on the ground, I grabbed her and motioned for her to get behind me.

It got up and turned around, and I had my staff at the ready. Luckily, it was alone tonight. It took a few steps towards me, and I gripped my staff even tighter. When it didn’t lurch forward, I took the end to it’s face. Taking the cube out of my pocket, I jumped onto it and pinned it to the ground, making sure that I wasn’t getting hit by any of the acid. With difficulty, I pressed one side of the box against it’s chest.

It screamed. It’s flesh began to boil while white, smoke like hands dove into it’s chest, cleansing it of the evil that had nestled itself there. Black smog began to fill the box, and with a loud ’whoosh’ sound, the box closed up. The once zombie-like creature had returned to a normal human. He was unconscious. For now. I stood up, exhaling. ‘Boy, what a night’ I thought. ‘He’s working faster… Shit.’

That’s when I remembered the girl. She was standing there, petrified. I made it my goal to remain anonymous as to not have people on my case, so I gave her once last look, before dashing down the alleyway.

My fingers rested on the keys. I stared at the paper I’d just written, and at the slowly fading words. Damn. I was out of ink. Sighing, I flung my glasses off and they fell somewhere on the desk. I stretched, and gave a long yawn.

Oh. You must be wondering who I am and what the hell just happened. The name’s Felix, but I‘ve somehow earned the name ‘Fox’ over the years, so call me whichever you like. I’m a writer, and that’s my story. This whole thing originated from a constant nightmare I’d had for almost 18 years. After therapy, sleeping pills, and just plain not sleeping at all, I’d decided to start writing out my dreams, in search of an answer as to what they mean. Little journals turned into short stories, and soon a whole series of events. I’d never planned on being a writer, but it was really the only way to get it out of my system.

The dreams had stopped around a year back, and I’d just been adding my own ideas to the ‘story’ that had formed. Now I was an aspiring writer on a mission. With no real job, I was hoping that this book would earn me some good cash.

Little did I know that everything was about to get a heck of a lot worse than it was before.