Horns

I was thrown to the ground

Beneath their blasphemous altar

Hundreds of candles haphazardly arranged

Their feeble light barely reaching

Only able to illuminate the surface they stood on

A rough hewn trunk of some massive tree

A book stood open pages yellowed with age

And upon the page were the words “Ritus de Obscura Luna.”

Someone took my hand and I felt a burning sting

They had cut me with something

They forced my hand over the altar

Then suddenly the candles went out

Despite the lack of light

Even from the moon

We could see

As if the altar itself effused some otherworldly light

Above where it had been hidden

Hung the torso of a man

No arms nor legs nor head

And suddenly as I watched

The body began to contort

Something sprouted from the arms

Long and curved

Two horns grew impossibly from this body

Then a seam tore along the bottom of the torso

Flesh tearing and separating

Within I could espy numerous blunt teeth

Then finally the chest tore upon either breast

And two eyes stood open

Burning fiery red as they stared down on me

“Now, his heart.”

Commanded this grotesque thing

And before it all went dark

I screamed for my God

For anyone to save me

They fell silent in return

And I died alone

Knowing only the cold cut of a blade

Collection

Arrayed in fantastic display

My vast collection of memories

From fragments to days

The whole of a life

Within a bauble or two

Here a girl’s birthday

Shown now only

As the cake she ate

And the toy soldier she was given

Yet as you gaze upon them

Time unravels

Unfurling the scene

In all its glory

The minutest detail

All accounted for

And here

A man’s first kiss

This case displaying

The car radio

Always playing Gloomy Sunday

Billie Holiday, of course

And the wheel of his car

Now it reveals

That sweetest moment

When breath was heavy

And lips finally met

Ah but here now

Look further

Something strange

And far more wondrous

This display

It…

It contains only

A black ink stain

And a spilled wine glass

The night was dark

Cold and lonely

Even the coyotes abandoned their call

The wine was cold too

Chilled to perfection

A soft clink

As they shared

A quiet moment

Then she whispered

“I’m ready…”

He took up the ink pot

Cradled carefully in both hands

Before pouring it slowly over her

Coating evenly

She was left shimmering

Black and glimmering

Then she screamed

Mouth distending

Contorting at a strange angle

And he screamed too

Eyes bleeding thick ink

This is not the memory I wish for

I…

I did not put this here…

No I do not wish to remember

I reject this

She-

She was everything

We would transcend together

But here I lie

A castle in mind

Holding only

Our memories

Ritual

Precision

That is what is required

Exact measurements

Perfect lines

Drawn in felt black pen

Exactly 1 inch wide

The angle of curve

Follows prescribed notes

I can feel it now

The approaching chaos

The tumult of the cosmos

Revolting against this

My most perfect rite

Still the door opens

The walls bent to hyperbolic oblivion

But what issues forth

Is all too much

Light

And sound

Sonorous booms

Gyrating pillars of flesh

Iridescent clouds of scarlet and violet

I feel a question encroach

“Your desire?”

I collapse to my knees

“Order…”

I mutter

There is a laugh

Like the tearing of time

A great sundering of sense

I then plucked my eyes

Straight from their sockets

But still the sound

Bore into my mind

Always to rebound

In my quiet moments

Then

The door closed

With a calamitous slam

And an exhalation

Of a now unseen behemothic beast

My plea

My desire

Had been rejected

The universe is chaos

It is disorder

And now I

Shall serve entropy

Hair

Stuck to roof of mouth

Damnable string of hair

I dig in with digits

Finding it quickly

And pull it out with great vigor

Only

It doesn’t come out

Instead I feel it pull taught

Dragging down my throat

Caught somewhere deep

I gag hard

Clenching fist

I wrap it round my finger and pull again

Harder this time

Again something within me tugs

A loathsome smell eminates

Filling my nostrils

I fight back bile

And pull again

This string cannot be hair

How strong

Strong as Tungsten

Iron

Steel

Cutting a wedge in my finger

I pull again

I must dislodge it

My mind reels as I sense

That thing

Deep within

Stir

Pulling back against the string

I scream around the string

Eyes flooding with tears

I hold on with both hands

And pull

It gives

The thing shifts

Thick as a fist and forcing up my throat

Blocking air

I grip the counter

It is moving

Dragging up my throat

I look in the mirror

And see it pulsing in my neck

Darkness closes in

Head hot as I choke

I collapse

Numb

I gasp

Leap up as I come to

I panic slide across the slickened tiles

gripping quick the porcelain sink

I look about and see nothing

Nothing wrong

Except

A small trail

Of something wet

Leading out the bathroom door

Rope

Above the door

Chiseled roughly

A few words

“To appease Them what live below”

Coils wound round gears of wood

Pulling and groaning in protest

What was its purpose precisely?

I followed the hemp cordage

But always it moved farther

Deeper within the mill

Below the basement

Before reappearing

Now slick with something oily

And fatty in smell and feel

This mystifying contraption

This horrible machine

Ground away at something unseen

And just behind this noise

I was just cognizant of

A distant and harried cry

From those untouched depths

The sobs of a woman

The squeals of a pig

Melded and twisted

All I could think

Was the farmer’s words

“My wife’s the one

Who works the mill

I’ve not seen her

For a few nights now”

What had she wrought?

What had she aimed to mollify?

What in God’s name lay below us now?

Thumbnail Source: https://www.deviantart.com/4ddesigner/art/Old-mill-252991403

Dolls

A standing layer of dust

Covered every inch

Of every surface

And as I perused slowly

The smell curled and soured

The scent of abandonment

I ran a finger over glass

Cabinets laden with antiques

The dust piling under my touch

Something stirred within

I stopped

And leaned in close

Porcelain placid face

Stared out at me

Hand held up

And beckoning

Then her mouth

Twisted slowly

Into smile

Teeth shimmering in the dark

Human teeth

Children’s teeth…

I should have ran

But I stood

Frozen by fear

As the doll stood up

Pressing forehead to glass

A crack appeared

Down its head

Slowly spreading

Then opening

The jagged edges

Lined with yet more teeth

And within

Something fleshy

And quick

Pressed into the glass

Sucking

Needy

Hungry

I awoke screaming

On the floor

Of that self same shop

And readied myself

For yet one more pass

The fear repeating over again

Just as acute

Just as sharp

Silent

The books were lined perfectly along their shelves

Battlements of knowledge

An army of thoughts

I eased my way between the stacks

Careful with each footfall

Paying heed the warnings given

“Oh sure plenty of value to be found there

In thought or coin the library’s a trove

Though…

You must be quiet…”

I slid past adult fiction

Approaching the archive and rare books

I held my backpack before me

Hands gripping the tools within tight

No jingle or rattle would I allow escape

The cabinet stood before me

Cracked leather spines

Cloth worn down to wood

Each one worth enough to feed me for months

Gently I set the backpack down

Undoing the strap which held it closed

I lifted from within my lock pick set

With nimble fingers I tested the size of the lock and tumblers within

When satisfied I began gently lifting and testing each one

Finding the order in which to move them

And the height at which they caught

A smile broke over my face

As I managed the final tumbler

Slowly

Carefully

I turned the lock

Then

click

It turned and opened for me

I had a sack within my backpack

Which I then pulled out

And with greatest care

Lowered the tomes within

A bible

Illuminated and gilded

A Tree of Codes

Barely held together

On the Origin of Species

Signed too infact

creeeeak

Behind me

I didn’t look

I simply grabbed my bag

And ran

Ran with all my might

Behind me something hissed

Serpentine

But footfalls crashed as it followed

Barreling ever closer

I felt the breath

Its labored heat

The doors but feet away

The moment I passed the threshold

The sound stopped

Replaced instead

By churring crickets

And a gentle breeze

Which were quick drowned out

By my own panting

Keeled over

And clutching my books

Months of food

Waiting to be traded

Thumbnail Source: https://andriishafetov.artstation.com/projects/Pe6bZ

Box

Mom kept it at the back of the closet

The one that curved beneath the stairs

She caught me trying to open it once

Tanned my hide for that…

Just a dumb box

What’s wrong with it?

But it was halloween

She thought I was out

Trick or treating with my friends

I crouched low beneath the steps

Squeeze charged flashlight in hand

Pumping slow and steady to keep it lit

There it sat

Brown and plain

No markings

No indication of contents

I kneeled and slid forward

The cape of my batman costume dragging

The world’s greatest detective…

I reached it and slowly grasped its sides and pulled it out a bit

I held the light in one hand, still pumping away

And with the other I eased open the unsecured lid

Nothing was inside

No not an empty box

Nothing

I saw nothing

Black

Endless

Nothing

The inside edges of the box were there

But where the bottom should be

Nothing

I didn’t get it

I couldn’t get it

I still don’t

My hand shook as I slowly eased my flashlight down into the box

Passing the floor and dangling it in the void below

The light dimmed

battery draining quickly

I heard something

Deep and low

Predatory

My body jumped

And the light fell

Fell

So far

Then nothing

Gone without a trace

I slowly closed the lid

Slid it back

And never spoke of it again…

Thumbnail source: https://www.deviantart.com/jusdog/art/The-Scary-Box-449433139

Haunted

My last patient of the day

Her eyes were pocketed and harrowed

Thumbs fiddling nervously

“Is there something specific

You want to discuss, Priscilla?”

I asked

Penciling in my observations

She nodded slowly

“Yes Dr. Jacobs…

I haven’t been sleeping well

I haven’t closed my eyes

In so long

Because when I do…

It…

It…”

She began to cry

Great heaving sobs

The whites of her eyes

A pinkish hue from strain

I let her have a moment

Waiting

“Two days ago

It started

I was having coffee

I closed my eyes for a moment

Just a blink really

And then crouched

Slavering and bestial

It sat on my table all fangs

And claw

And piercing predatory gaze

I ran

But it did not give chase

I eyed it from behind a corner

As I blinked

It was halfway across the room

Eyes locked on mine

I fled to the bathroom

Locking the door behind me

I shut my eyes

And heard it pacing

Claws scraping the wood flooring

Breath heavy

Excited

Then it hit the door

I heard splintering

Eyes flying open

It stopped

The door was split in the middle

Wood poking out at odd angles…”

She took a deep slow breath

Trying to steady herself

“I managed to get past it

Holding my eyes open the whole time

And left my apartment

I slept in a hotel that evening

But in the middle of the night

The window of the room I was in

Shattered inward with explosive force

I saw it as I sat up

Frozen in air

Claws extended

In mid-pounce

Saliva fell in long ropes from its fangs

It-

It’s been chasing me ever since

I can’t

I can’t sleep

I can’t run

It always finds me…”

She shut her eyes and weeped

Palms pressed to her eyes

I heard a bang from the reception

Valerie screamed

Then the door shattered into hundreds of pieces

Nothing stood there

Priscilla screamed

Suddenly lifted from her chair

Eyes still shut

“Kill me damn you!

Do it!

Fuck you!”

Claw marks appeared over her clothes

Long streaks that quickly bloomed crimson

Her screams became strangled

As punctures pierced her throat

Her body shuddered as the flesh was ripped

Tossed to the side

And soon her body fell limp

Collapsing to the floor

Then silence

A complete

And perfect

Silence

Hollow

I was sent to the Principals office

I had been passing notes in class

“This is very serious

You’re here for your education

If you don’t shape up

You know what will happen?”

His tone was scolding

But face

Tranquil

I shook my head

“You’ll miss what we’re teaching you

Then you’ll fail out

And you’ll be fed to Them.”

His voice was now tinged with concern

But still

His face was calm

“What?”

But he lifted a finger to his lips

“If you listen…

You can hear…

They’re hungry.”

I could hear the whine of the AC fans

But then

Behind that

A scrabbling scratching noise

Like rats

But hundreds

So many individual scratches

“And if they eat you…

Then you’ll be just like me…”

The Principal opened his mouth wide

All I saw was black

He gripped the bottom of his jaw

And pulled down

Flesh stretching

Extending

Impossibly far

Still all I saw

Within his mouth

Was an inky black

His mouth grew further

So massive

Down to his chest

And still only that impenetrable dark

I screamed

And ran

I ran until I was home

A sobbing mess on the kitchen floor

My mother held me

“It’s okay sweety

It’s okay…”

She consoled

“And now you know

Not to pass notes

So you won’t end up

Like your old man

All hollow.”