Frozen In Time

The orange sun almost seemed to stretch as it’s radiant light poured across the scabbed over land. The blossoming light danced with the silvery snowflakes, which were being gently guided by the wind like a mother does to her curious and slow minded child before they walk off a cliff with no intention of survival.

Among the sea of white snow that flowed across the land was a small shack that might be seen as shelter. A small rat with pink claws and thick buck teeth struggled out of a hole in the snow mound, wobbling towards two blackened figures.

The rat almost collided into another rat. This rat being slightly fatter, without a tail and with patchy fur that revealed revolting skin beneath. The rats struggled with each other for a few seconds before the smaller of the rats was bitten hard in its neck. The bigger of the rats turned back to the smaller figure it had been engaged with previously while the smaller rat slowly died in the snow.

The surface of the smaller figure pulled away easily in the rat’s mouth. As the rat ate, its claws slipped easily into the soft and rotting figure until the rat was deep inside the small figure. His teeth pulling at the once beautiful and soft but now ugly and slimy surface.

A cockroach pushed out of the smaller figure, it scrambled across a golden heart shaped locket that had two almost unreadable words running across its surface,

“Amber Rose.”

The cockroach crawled up the large figure. It began to dig under a thin piece of fabric and into the blackened surface; however, a large black shadow fell upon the cockroach like darkness after the death of a sun.

The shadow was being projected by a large black bird with silver outlined feathers that looked iridescent when the sun fell just right on the smooth surface. The bird pecked rapidly at the cockroach and swallowed it whole just after the third peck.

The bird then slightly tilted its round head as its large purple eyes found the shiny gold locket that sat cozily against the small black figure. The bird, almost happily, jumped from the large figure to the small figure and began to pluck gingerly at the locket until the locket was firmly in its beak and the birds’ small sharp tongue could taste the bitter metallic that had been bathed in the rage of a fire and simmered in the remaining ash.

Great black wings spread wide, ready to take the bird to its nest. As the bird showed its white stomach, there was a whisper and a white arrow slammed into the white underside. The bird screamed a raspy hollow cry as the locket dropped out of its mouth and into the freshly fallen summer snow. The bird tried desperately to take flight and escape, but another arrow caught the bird in base of its skull and the bird crumbled into the snow. Its’ wing twitched rapidly, the eyes dashing from side to side. The blood, that painted the snow, showed the man that the bird would not suffer much longer.

The man set his old crossbow down, leaning it against the frame that used to be a doorway, before he continued slowly into the ruined house. The snow cracked and broke under his black boots; the snowflakes caught on his black beard before melting away.

The man slowly approached the two figures with hesitant and cautious steps. The man’s breathing, barely audible over the howl of the wind, sped up to a frantic speed. An almost non-existent chocked groan escaped between his chapped lips.

The man looked down at the smaller of the figures before he knelt in front of it. The man started to sink down in the snow and had to reach out to stabilize himself.

His dirt covered hand lowered to the black figure,

“I am sorry, I am so sorry Am-“ his words came out in a horse whisper and his last word struggled to come out and ended up sounding more unnatural than it should have. Tears began to pool at the edges of his eyes, one green and the other purple.

His hand touched the black surface and he visibly shuttered as deep memories assaulted his mind like moths assault a newly born light in the darkest of nights.

He remembered singing and dancing, he remembered the way his wife kissed him with her red hair flowing smoothly over her shoulder.

The man’s eyes flicked to the larger black figure as he remembered the smell of sweet roses and the taste of succulent honey dew every time they kissed.

“Ewwww, daddy! That’s gross!” Her voice was the loveliest thing he had every heard. Her short blonde hair drifting over her purple eyes and her tiny fists banging against his leg as she giggled in her cute little way.

The man remembered pulling away from the incredible kiss with his wife and turned to his daughter. His daughter turned away and ran screaming; her arms flew in the air and her laughter infused the house with pure joy.

The man’s hand left the small black figure and reached out to the locket that was nearly covered completely by the snow. Other than slight burns on the bottom of the locket, it was mostly untouched, and the man felt his tears finally drip down his face. The tears froze as they raced towards his lips and the man’s lower jaw began to quiver.

“Oh baby, Oh ba-“ the man felt a flood of tears rush out of his eyes and he began to moan with pain. Sucking deep breaths down as if they were the last substance on Earth. His chest felt fiery hot, despite the freezing temperatures and the disappearing sun.

The man’s thumb slid down, catching the lever that held the locket closed. The lid of the locket popped open. A wrinkled and blackened picture was revealed to the falling snow. The face that was captured in the picture was a young and beautiful face full of love and life.

“I am sorry, I am so sorry. Why, Why, Why.”

The man remembered the flames licking up his legs and roaring as it filled the air. Thick black smoke danced along the roof, chasing the man and seemingly laughing as it filled his mouth, nose, and body. Somewhere behind the man, came screaming and the crackling of the wood ready to snap and pop.

“MOMMY! MOMMY! MOMMY!” The voice ripped through the smoke and tore through the man’s mind and soul as he tumbled out of the door. Tripping over himself and falling face first into the snow. The man coughed viciously into the snow, parts of his burned face pulled off and was left in the bloody snow.

“FUCK, God Damn it!” The man yelled as he once again heard the cries of his beautiful little angels inside the house slowly growing more and more quiet. The man stumbled to his feet and began to hobble to the burning house but with an ear-splitting crack, the man saw a large section of the roof collapse.

“MOMMY! MOMMY! MOMMY!” seemed to echo around him and the man felt daggers of pain slide under his skin and deep into his bones. His thumb gently slid over the blackened picture and his hand was violently shaking.

The man could no longer feel his face or hands as the night crept in around him. The sun was nearly completely behind the snow-capped mountains with only a golden sliver remaining.

The man attempted to wipe his eyes; however, most of his tears were already frozen to his cheeks and the corners of his mouth leaving long trails of ice running down the edges of his face. The man gently closed the lid of the locket and stood, his heart feeling as if it had chosen to stay with the black figures below him.

The man turned his back on the blackened house and took a shivering step towards where he had left his crossbow, but before he could take another step, he noticed something in the corner of his eye. The man turned to look at what was seen and noticed a slight glint coming from some shallow hills in the distance. The man looked at the glint wondering what it could be. He was doubtful that there was any metal for the sun to glint from, unless…

The man’s eyes grew wide, and he threw himself backwards just as a loud crack smacked the air and the wood wall behind him exploded into a dozen tiny wood splinters that leapt all around the house. The man felt his back slam into the hard snow before rolling fast to his left.

For a second, time must had stopped because nothing moved and not a sound could be heard. Then the man began to crawl as low as he could. He had to reach his crossbow; the man crossed over a fallen wood slab. His crossbow was now only a few feet away and the man threw himself forward to grab at it. Another crack ripped through the air and the wood just over the man’s head blew out almost making the man death from the impact.

The man worked quickly and had a bolt in position and ready to fire in a few seconds. He slid behind the wall, which he hoped would block his location from the gunman. His breath sped up and his heart felt like it was ready to explode out of his chest. The man peeked into a hole in the wall and looked at the distance between where he thought the sniper was hiding. The man knew that his crossbow would never accurately fire a bolt over such a range; however, he doubted that he could get close enough without being seen. The man sucked in a deep and lingering breath before deciding that he could not win this battle and had to run, for now.

The man turned around and began to sneak to the far side of the burnt house. As he turned the corner, the man saw a small and wispy man walking down the back of the house towards him. The man froze and he felt his feet slip as the wispy man flipped a shotgun upwards, towards the man.

A bright flash ignited in front of the man, and he felt a deep pain rip through his chest and out of his back. The man cried out as he stumbled back into the house. His hands clung to the walls and he stumbled into the room where he had found the two black figures. He pushed hard against his chest where the blood bubbled up between his fingers and the heat from it brought feeling back to the tips of his fingers.

He tripped and collapsed back into the snow. His head slamming into the smaller of the black figures. The man felt his insides heave as blood trickled out of his mouth and began to pool around his head.

His vision blurred and darkness crept in around the edges. His throat felt like it was collapsing in and the last thing the man saw was his wife and daughter. Their beautiful faces and joyous smiles beaming down at him.

The rest of his vision went black. The heart shaped locket sat next to his body with blood droplets on its golden surface as it slowly got covered in falling snowflakes, never to be seen again.