A Long, Lonely Road

I awoke to whisperings surrounding me in the silent night. As my eyes shot open, all I could see was the shining stars far above in the eternal, all-consuming void of darkness. As the soft smell of a summer’s night sunk into my veins, I realised I was stranded.

Where am I?

I collected my thoughts as I stood up and searched around me. I found myself on a lonely, long stretch of road, lit with a singular, flickering fluorescent light. The air around me was close and the moon above shone down onto me with a blinding judgement.

How did I get here?

Realising my solitude, my soul sank into a pit of oblivion, screeching for a sight of safety. But there was no such sight. I limped down the road, realising that it was endless. My legs screamed to run but I realised it was hopeless. On both sides of the road, thick, towering trees trapped me in this torment.

This can’t be real. Am I dreaming?

As the whistling wind rustled the leaves of ancient ancestors, my racing thoughts came to a sudden halt. Waiting, waiting, waiting, no sound could be heard except for the soft blowing of the whistling wind.

Nothing.

As I crept along the lonely, long road like prey, I felt a warm drip run down the side of my face. Placing my hand on my head, I felt the harrowing heat of gushing blood. I looked at my hand to see the stains of red running down my hand and into the cracks of my palms.

What the fuck?

With a sweat overcoming me and a sickly shiver twisting my terrified soul, I felt my heart beat against my chest like the sound of a war drum, drumming, drumming away into the valley of death. Then, looking down, I realised my shirt was torn to shreds. Under the shreds, claw-like scrapes covered my skin, bleeding down my body and covering me in a blanket of blood.

How the actual fuck?

The leaves behind me rustled as the wind blew, a whisper whistling into my ear. Jolting my head around, I turned to see two red, sharp, serpentine-like eyes stare into my soul. Without a thought, I ran into the consuming darkness of the woods, panting and panting with my heart heaving and soul scraping for survival. Bashing through bark, bristles and branches, I heard the screeches of the foul, demonic creature tail behind me, following my every footstep. Struggling to see through the void of the night, only aided by the dim moon seeping through the clouds and branches, I ran and ran and ran for the very first slither of light that I could see, far in the distance beyond the void but glistening with warmth.

This can’t be real. This can’t be real. This can’t be real.

With sweat dripping down my bruised and bashed face and onto my blood bathed body, my heart pounded and pounded, my soul shrieking from every footstep in the void and from the spirit-crushing screams from behind.

That’s it. Nearly there. Please God.

A few hundred metres ahead, I saw the slither of warmth widen. I was getting closer, yet the screams became louder. Looking behind me, I saw not one pair of eyes, but hundreds.

Please God. Please. I beg of you.

As the wind cut through my soul, I could hear the whisperings of the wood whistle in my ear louder and louder, encroaching their way into my skull and suffocating my soul. My ears began to bleed. My legs began to shake. My vision began to blur.

Thank God.

Through thick, tough branches, I ran and fell into a wide, wild field, barren of crops and dead of any life. Once again, the still moonlight shone around me, ruling from the safety of the stars.

Thank God.

The screeches, screams and wild whisperings settled. Finally, breathed once more, savouring every breath of the soft midnight air. Searching for safety across the field, I saw the flicker of warmth that shone afar: a decayed, deathly barn shining through the mist. Coming closer to the barn, I heard the crackling of candles from within. With nowhere else to go and no other hope left, I opened the creaky, damp and dying wooden door to a stark barn, void of any livestock or life.

Is this a nightmare?.

Walking into the barren barn, the air turned stale. Despite the warm sight of candles, the room was sour and sharp with coldness in the air. The hairs on my arms raised and a shiver ran down my spine like electricity scraping across my skin. Despite the thick walls of wood, a heavy fog filled the barn and passed through my skin.

Am I safe?

As the wind blew through the cracks of the barn and the whistling whispers of the night surrounded me, the candles blew out and consumed the room into darkness.

Fuck.

The door slammed shut behind me and a serpentine shape shoved me onto the solid stone floor. The screeches and screams crept their way back into the barn and surrounded me, with wild, wicked whisperings working their way into my bleeding ears. In the distance, thunder roared and the wind shook the barn. Surrounding me, devilish, red eyes slowly crawled towards me. In front of me, a fire blazed in the air, lighting the decaying wood aflame and blinding my eyes. Out of the fire, a deathly slender and serpentine figure emerged, with its red, piercing eyes polluting my soul.

“Am–am I g–going to die?” I whimpered.

As the figure approached, it flashed its bloodied teeth, cackling, whispering and screeching all at once. Its red, flaming eyes widened and widened, enclosing in on my soul and mind, till all I could see was its devilish gaze in the void.

“No,” it screamed. “You, my child, are already dead.”