Break
1
Flames reached for the starless black sky, dancing to the tune of the warm summer wind. The vibrant blaze shone with the brightness of the sun, only this and the lustrous pearl moon created light within the thick veil of night. Never before had the moon shone so brilliantly. It blazed like a beacon through the misty clouds of the darkness, bearing witness to the demise and destruction brought on by the relentless flames below. The trees of the forest swayed their branches trying to escape the violent inferno that snapped at their leaves and threatened to devour them like a ravenous beast. Yet they were able to avoid the jaws of the fiery monster as the wind swept their branches away from harm.
The cottage had not been so lucky.
It was completely consumed with no hope of rescue. The vibrant flames ripped it apart board by board. The dainty porch on its front had collapsed into a heap of twisted boards, nails, and ash. Its roof had already given way on one side. Its mighty rafters had snapped like toothpicks and now hung in defeat like men hanging from the inevitable noose.
The fire roamed the various rooms of the cottage like a hungry animal searching for its next meal. It climbed up the walls and spread like an angry flood. Everything it touched slowly turned black and disintegrated to ash. Like the grim reaper overcoming his victims and dragging them to his lair in hell, the fire overcame the cottage piece by piece.
The fire flooded the farthest room in the cottage, licking up all the materials in its path. It slithered up the walls and devoured the tapestries that laid suspended there. Everything succumbed to the flame’s overwhelming hunger. Nothing could escape its fiery claws.
There in the farthest room of the cottage, in the deepest corner, sat a young girl no older than 5 years of age. She sat with her knees pulled to her chest and her face buried in her arms. Her deep brown, golden-toned hair cascaded like a flowing river over her face and shoulders. The color of her ragged dress could not be distinguished for her clothes were stained with deep jewel toned blood. She sat in a pool of the gooey red substance and it completely surrounded her on all sides and was slowly spreading across the room. Droplets of blood slithered down her arm like a lengthy spiraling serpent then fell to the pool below which rippled when disturbed.
She kept her face hidden as the flames crept ever closer. She felt the heat all around her, nearly unbearable as it started to sear her skin. The flames were relentless, quick to take the child’s life without a second thought. The scent of the blood beginning to burn was horrid and musky, but it continued to journey outward away from the girl and the droplets continued to fall in a rhythm from her arms and fingertips.
Just as the fire surrounded her and engulfed her, the child lifted her face to greet her death. Blood was splattered across her face in grim obscure patterns and speckles. She inhaled slowly and her nose burned with the putrid smell of the blood boiling beneath her. She opened her eyes slowly and revealed herself to be an even greater monster than the fire consuming her. Her eyes glowed bright red, satanic and ominous. Once they were open blood began to pour from them like tears and fell from her cheeks like rain.
********************
She awakened with a silent scream and gasped for breath as she quickly sat up from her slumber. Beads of sweat erupted from her skin and met with the crisp morning air, creating goose bumps that completely covered her exposed flesh. She gazed around her, wide-eyed, frantic, and her heart in a frenzy. She sat outstretched on cool dewy grass that danced with life from a light breeze.
She looked around swiftly, prepared to witness monsters, ghosts, demons and all the creatures of nightmares to creep out from within the forest where she lay with snarling teeth and a thirst for blood, but there was none to be seen. No creatures howled, no monsters stumbled from the trees baring their macabre weapons, only a bird chirped its song happily in the distance. Her heart slowed its pace and she sighed in embarrassment as she realized it had all been a dream, again.
This was the fourth time she’d had this awful dream in the last month. It was always the same in its sequence: a cottage burning to the ground in the dead of night, a young girl sitting in a pool of wet blood in the farthest room, and just as the child opened her glowing red eyes she would wake up. She never was able to witness a single second more of the gruesome scene.
She didn’t have a clue where the cottage had resided, in her dream it was always in the middle of a thick black forest with no other land markings revealing the location. Plus the identity of the young girl was also a mystery to her. She was only able to see the girl’s face for a split second each time the dream occurred, but that was still long enough for her to realize she didn’t know this child.
But the child’s eyes were something she could never forget. The very last second of the dream the girl revealed her demon-like eyes and they cut deep into her conscience. The sight of the girl’s glowing red eyes were imprinted into her brain, and every time she imagined them a cold shiver ran down her spine.
The child had appeared so helpless and innocent as she sat waiting for her demise. She looked as though she was scared and confused, trembling in the corner of the room. She had appeared almost content with her fate, terrified, but willing to accept it. But when she raised her head and her bright eyes cut through the smoky darkness, she no longer carried the shroud of innocence. Suddenly she possessed a look of evil. Her eyes banished all child-like qualities she had. They peered through the smoke without any trace of fear. Hatred burned in the girl’s eyes, a hatred that burned hotter and brighter than the flames threatening to end her life.
Who is this child, and why do her eyes appear so menacing? Why was she inside the burning cottage without even attempting to flee? Why did she sit in such an immense pool of blood, and whose blood was it? There was far too much blood for it to be her own. These questions circled endlessly in her mind yet no matter how deeply she searched within herself she found no answers, not even the slightest clue.
The cottage had not been so lucky.
It was completely consumed with no hope of rescue. The vibrant flames ripped it apart board by board. The dainty porch on its front had collapsed into a heap of twisted boards, nails, and ash. Its roof had already given way on one side. Its mighty rafters had snapped like toothpicks and now hung in defeat like men hanging from the inevitable noose.
The fire roamed the various rooms of the cottage like a hungry animal searching for its next meal. It climbed up the walls and spread like an angry flood. Everything it touched slowly turned black and disintegrated to ash. Like the grim reaper overcoming his victims and dragging them to his lair in hell, the fire overcame the cottage piece by piece.
The fire flooded the farthest room in the cottage, licking up all the materials in its path. It slithered up the walls and devoured the tapestries that laid suspended there. Everything succumbed to the flame’s overwhelming hunger. Nothing could escape its fiery claws.
There in the farthest room of the cottage, in the deepest corner, sat a young girl no older than 5 years of age. She sat with her knees pulled to her chest and her face buried in her arms. Her deep brown, golden-toned hair cascaded like a flowing river over her face and shoulders. The color of her ragged dress could not be distinguished for her clothes were stained with deep jewel toned blood. She sat in a pool of the gooey red substance and it completely surrounded her on all sides and was slowly spreading across the room. Droplets of blood slithered down her arm like a lengthy spiraling serpent then fell to the pool below which rippled when disturbed.
She kept her face hidden as the flames crept ever closer. She felt the heat all around her, nearly unbearable as it started to sear her skin. The flames were relentless, quick to take the child’s life without a second thought. The scent of the blood beginning to burn was horrid and musky, but it continued to journey outward away from the girl and the droplets continued to fall in a rhythm from her arms and fingertips.
Just as the fire surrounded her and engulfed her, the child lifted her face to greet her death. Blood was splattered across her face in grim obscure patterns and speckles. She inhaled slowly and her nose burned with the putrid smell of the blood boiling beneath her. She opened her eyes slowly and revealed herself to be an even greater monster than the fire consuming her. Her eyes glowed bright red, satanic and ominous. Once they were open blood began to pour from them like tears and fell from her cheeks like rain.
********************
She awakened with a silent scream and gasped for breath as she quickly sat up from her slumber. Beads of sweat erupted from her skin and met with the crisp morning air, creating goose bumps that completely covered her exposed flesh. She gazed around her, wide-eyed, frantic, and her heart in a frenzy. She sat outstretched on cool dewy grass that danced with life from a light breeze.
She looked around swiftly, prepared to witness monsters, ghosts, demons and all the creatures of nightmares to creep out from within the forest where she lay with snarling teeth and a thirst for blood, but there was none to be seen. No creatures howled, no monsters stumbled from the trees baring their macabre weapons, only a bird chirped its song happily in the distance. Her heart slowed its pace and she sighed in embarrassment as she realized it had all been a dream, again.
This was the fourth time she’d had this awful dream in the last month. It was always the same in its sequence: a cottage burning to the ground in the dead of night, a young girl sitting in a pool of wet blood in the farthest room, and just as the child opened her glowing red eyes she would wake up. She never was able to witness a single second more of the gruesome scene.
She didn’t have a clue where the cottage had resided, in her dream it was always in the middle of a thick black forest with no other land markings revealing the location. Plus the identity of the young girl was also a mystery to her. She was only able to see the girl’s face for a split second each time the dream occurred, but that was still long enough for her to realize she didn’t know this child.
But the child’s eyes were something she could never forget. The very last second of the dream the girl revealed her demon-like eyes and they cut deep into her conscience. The sight of the girl’s glowing red eyes were imprinted into her brain, and every time she imagined them a cold shiver ran down her spine.
The child had appeared so helpless and innocent as she sat waiting for her demise. She looked as though she was scared and confused, trembling in the corner of the room. She had appeared almost content with her fate, terrified, but willing to accept it. But when she raised her head and her bright eyes cut through the smoky darkness, she no longer carried the shroud of innocence. Suddenly she possessed a look of evil. Her eyes banished all child-like qualities she had. They peered through the smoke without any trace of fear. Hatred burned in the girl’s eyes, a hatred that burned hotter and brighter than the flames threatening to end her life.
Who is this child, and why do her eyes appear so menacing? Why was she inside the burning cottage without even attempting to flee? Why did she sit in such an immense pool of blood, and whose blood was it? There was far too much blood for it to be her own. These questions circled endlessly in her mind yet no matter how deeply she searched within herself she found no answers, not even the slightest clue.