RATED 16 FOR BLOOD REFERENCE

Chapter 1: The Heavens Stopped Turning 

 

He awoke in a tangle of bed, clothes, and sheets, covered in sticky sweat from a feverish nightmare. 

Glancing at the clock, he saw it was only 4:30, but he'd given up any hope of getting back to sleep. 

 

Sitting up, he ran a hand carelessly through his white hair, smoothing its ridges and corkscrews into a flatter surface, giving up as it sprang back into a mess instantly. 

 

It was chilly, and all he wore were sleep pants, so he made a mad dash across the hall for the bathroom, jumping into the shower regardless of the blistering heat of the water. 

 

Washing, his flesh tingling under the heat, he allowed his mind to wander back to the dream....

 

A call, a failed echo, a heartbeat...

Darkness, cold....

His heart aching in the sorrow of loss.....

 

Wrapping himself in a towel, he quickly shaved the fuzz of his cheeks, and headed back to his bedroom, dressing in tattered jeans and a blue hoodie, the chilly air permeating the old house in an almost unbearable way, as he headed down the creaking steps to breakfast. 

Edited December 16, 201311 yr by TheTimidLight

Chapter 2: Daily Things

Breakfast was cold cereal and toast: far from a high~class meal .

He ate without really tasting it, mulling over the dream, as a light snow began to fall, covering the sidewalks with fine powder. 

He watched them, the snowflakes, each one a world of its own before it crushed to the ground, eternities born and destroyed over in over on the soft Northern winds. 

" Cheery... good job on that one." 

He said, standing to walk over to the sink to wash out the bowl. 

The day stretched ahead, as he walked out the door, hood covering his face, hands shoved in his pockets, walking through the gently falling snow with his head down. 

The daily things.... 

Edited December 14, 201311 yr by TheTimidLight

Chapter 3: Holding On To Dreams 

He walked through the trees, the forest quiet around him, birds in their nests to avoid the chill, squirrels tucked away in knot holes this time of year.

He'd never been bothered by the cold, the icy chill of a winter wind: he enjoyed them, and walked without shivering through the dead trees of the forest, headed to his special place, deep in the trees, where he, and ONLY he, ever went, far from prying eyes. 

A safe place.... a sanctuary. 

Edited December 14, 201311 yr by TheTimidLight

Chapter 4: Sanctuary 

The old tree house wasn't much, but sturdy, lost in the trees by clever placing and camo tarps, hidden in plain sight. 

it was his place, a secret only he knew: a sanctuary from life, people, and everything, where he could think, be alone...

be free from it all. 

He climbed the old wooden ladder, opening the trap door to enter the space beyond, brightly illuminated by two glassed~in windows over~looking the East and West portions of the woods, allowing him to see if anyone was coming.

He lay back on the over~stuffed pillows crowding the floor, cranked his ipod, closed his eyes, 

and drifted away in his thoughts, leaving it all behind. 

Escaping....

Edited December 14, 201311 yr by TheTimidLight

Chapter 5: From The Darkness.....

When he awoke, night had fallen, the room a trap of black shapes and shifting shadows, the full moon peering now and then from behind black clouds that scuttled across the sky like frightened sheep, hiding the stars from his sight. 

" Damn it to Hell...." 

He stretched, groaning as his stiff muscles contracted from the position they'd been in for the last few hours, sore from non~movement. 

His ipod still blared music in his ears, as he lowered his legs through the trap door, nimbly jumping down the five~foot drop to the snow ground, his gaze shifting naturally to the crystal orb hung in the sky, coming out from its bed of clouds to shine down on the twisting forest trail ahead. He walked on, listening to his tunes, wandering through the dark trees to his home. 

Edited December 14, 201311 yr by TheTimidLight

Chapter 6: ... To The Light

The moon provided enough light to see by, as he walked sure~footed through the snows, hands shoved deep into his pockets, breath clouding in front of him as the temperature steadily dropped, snow falling softly like lost cotton around him as he shuffled along. 

The trail was familiar, as he'd slept in the tree house thousands of times, lost in dreams or thought, so he knew every turn, even in the dark. 

"... and what an island to be on.... under the neon..."

With the Fountains of Wayne blaring in his ears, he turned out of the woods onto Elm, dark and deserted at this hour, the streetlamps casting dim, pale orange circles of light onto the sidewalk, guiding his way.

He entered his dark house, and preceded upstairs after locking up, stripping to enjoy a long, hot shower, washing the snow and grit away. 

Dressing in red sleep pants, he fell into bed, and dreamed of a red rose growing in a vacant lot. 

Edited December 15, 201311 yr by TheTimidLight

Interlude: Re; The Woods

The trees slept, silent in the white snows, awaiting spring's reviving glow. 

A figure walked the paths, lost in thought, mulling over their course of action: he'd been here today, right by here...

and gotten away.

The figure climbed up into the treehouse, and watched the snow fall for the rest of the night, amber eyes reflecting the glow of the moon glassily, like twin pools in the night's darkened gloom. 

Chapter 7: " It all comes out in the wash "

The next day was rainy, icy slicks making leaving the house impossible for hours at least. 

He lounged on the couch, not bothering to dress, watching B~horror films for most of the afternoon, scratching absently now and then at the rose tattoo over his heart: it still hurt a little, like the man had said, but wasn't red anymore, the skin smooth. 

When PuppetMaster 2 had ended, the TV blipped off, the house plunged into darkness as a way~ward tree limb or god knew what else knocked the power out. 

He stood, fairly pissed off, and strode barefoot into the backroom: the generator would at least power the TV. 

That done, he returned to the living room, but a dark figure, framed by the window, stood there, eyes flashing in the darkness. 

" It all comes out in the wash... don't make a fuss." It said, as it came at him. 

Edited December 15, 201311 yr by TheTimidLight

Chapter 8: Unseen, unheard 

He awoke, lost in a fog, whiteness everywhere....

It took a while, but he realized the whiteness was snow, drifting secretly across the landscape.

" A landscape of lost dreams..." 

That seemed familiar, but he didn't know from where. 

He was dressed in a sweater, but this didn't register right away, nor did the fact his left eye was now blue, his right green .

Edited December 15, 201311 yr by TheTimidLight

Chapter 8: Unseen, unheard 

He awoke, lost in a fog, whiteness everywhere....

It took a while, but he realized the whiteness was snow, drifting secretly across the landscape.

" A landscape of lost dreams..." 

That seemed familiar, but he didn't know from where. 

He was dressed in a sweater, but this didn't register right away, nor did the fact his left eye was now blue, his right green .

All he knew was the snow, drifting eerily in the silence...

"... about Mary Lou, the kinda woman makea fool of you..."

From somewhere, distant and echoing, the strains of an old 50's ballad came, scratchy, like a record. 

In the silence... it was terrifying. 

"...makin' her a fortune off a fool like you..."

This sound... 

echoing in the stillness of the night. 

All was else quiet. 

Edited December 15, 201311 yr by TheTimidLight

Chapter 9: Silent Hill, anyone? 

He walked along in silence, the music drifting in and out on faint breezes, strongly reminded of Silent Hill, a rather depressing survival horror game he'd played last week, taking place in a town of silence and drifting ash...

ash like snow, the snow drifting silently around him. 

Even his thoughts drifted, unable to focus, unable to do more than continue on...

into the deepening oblivion of whiteness ahead. 

Edited December 16, 201311 yr by TheTimidLight

Chapter 10: Town Of Lost Souls

Everywhere, they walked, gliding through the snow like discordant phantoms, phantasmagorical outlines of people lost in shattered memories, unable to escape the darkness within themselves, lost to all who knew them. 

Shattered souls... souls without feeling, without emotion...

without hearts. 

Without the heart, there is no person anymore: no smiles, no thoughts, no motion besides the barest minimum....

a person with out a heart is no better than the dead, but death will not come to them. 

Forever, they glide through darkness, reliving their shattered lives in grisly parodies of life: a kissing couple here, a crying baby there...

life lost to them... distant as the dying embers of a fire. 

Thus, these shattered souls wander, seeking freedom...

searching for a light that will never come, a home that will never be...

for a day, lost in the twilight of years gone by. 

And the drama goes on so, for as long as the Earth is still turning. 

Edited December 16, 201311 yr by TheTimidLight

Chapter 11: What I Wanted To Ask Is....

He walked, shivering, ready to smash the record should he find it, when suddenly it became silent again, and the snows slowly stopped, revealing the empty town. 

 

What I wanted to ask is...

What I wanted is...

Ask..

 

Why are you in my mind? 

 

I don't know...But i'm here. 

 

Tell me who i am. 

 

Don't you know? 

 

I can't remember anymore...

 

I can tell you what you want to know... 

come with me.

 

He followed the dark figure, never questioning, never asking, never wondering...

a journey that had lasted years was drawing to a close, he knew. 

Edited December 16, 201311 yr by TheTimidLight

Chapter 12: Truth 

You understand... nothing can be the same after this: what you see will shatter the spell.

 

I don't care: I have to know. 

 

As you wish. 

 

The door opened, and he walked through.....

 

 

 

 

"... there must be SOMEONE there, I saw the curtains move." 

He never did like PSYCHO, so why...

he stepped in something cold, as he realized his foot was bare again. 

He looked over: the body was ruined, crumpled on the sofa like discarded garbage, red leaked out from a ghastly wound across the neck. 

Do you understand now? 

Do you understand what happened? 

 

Yes... yes I do....

 

Are you ready, then? 

 

yes... Yes...

 

Come with me... here, into the Light. 

 

I'm ready. 

 

I'm ready....

POSTSCRIPT: Life 

" This house will be perfect for you, a real deal. "

The realter chirped, as she led the young couple inside. 

 

You know, this ended well. 

 

He turned to smile at Gabriel, who stood impassive. 

 

How so? 

 

You'd been in that house 20 years! time needs to move on sooner or later...

 

Can we go now? 

 

If you insist. 

 

 

 

 

The tree house had rotted over the summer, but the boys knew they could fix it: and they even found an ipod in it, hidden under some blankets and pillows in the corner. 

 

 

 

THE END