Vermillion
Dark.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The whole world seems to be bleak. The bodies lay on the ground, the gruesome remains of everyone I have ever loved.
The creatures, ghosts, sit around marvelling at their beautiful accomplishment; Death.
To be in the presence of the ghosts is to feel a longing. A longing for death, a longing to be unbroken, or so they say. I have never felt such desires, for when I am near them I feel cold, I feel empty, I feel nothing, yet I feel everything.
They laugh in triumph for causing so much agony, so much destruction, and so much red. It is captivating the way of which things give some such beautiful pleasure, give others such agonising pain.
Red blood stains everything, the lifeless bodies covered in the red poison. There is no escaping the red haze that now encompasses the world.
Drip. Drip. Drip.
All I can hear is the sound of the devastating crimson liquid slowly leaving a trail of everything it touches.
Drip. Drip. Drip.
The buildings. The buildings are covered in the final red reminder of the life that was once in the now pale and icy corpses.
‘They are gone’, I murmur as majestic tears flow down my cheeks.
‘They are gone!’, I shout this time, not caring if any abhorrent spirits hear me.
How could they leave me? How could they leave me all by myself, surrounded by loneliness? How could they let their souls be destroyed?
‘It is such a beautiful tragedy, isn’t it?’, quietly asked one of the ghosts.
‘They left you’, the creature states blatantly.
‘They left you’, they scream in unison.
They did leave me. How could they willingly let their souls be demolished whilst knowing that I would be left by myself. They left me.
‘You are all alone!’, they chant, over and over, a never-ending nightmare within my psyche.
I can’t think, their words filling my every thought, I am so alone.
Drip. Drip. Drip.
My hands are burning.
Drip. Drip. Drip.
My body painted with the colours of purgatory. A burning red so bright, it puts the suns flames to shame.
‘You are all by yourself, you’re alone!’, the voices are getting louder and closer, creating a clamorous sound that spirals around me.
My hands are burning, the tingling sensation sending numbness throughout my body.
‘They did this to you’, they whisper in my ears, repeatedly.
It is true, they did do this to me. I feel so broken, so lonely.
‘They destroyed their own souls, they were so impure, filled with darkness, they had no hope, they were destined to be ruined’, they are screaming now, I can feel a ringing in my ears.
Drip. Drip. Drip.
‘They are gone!’
Drip. Drip. Drip.
I can’t focus. I can’t concentrate. The voices of the ghosts being the only thing I can hear.
Drip. Drip. Drip.
It is hard to think. So, I stop, I let go. I can feel the pain and loneliness leave. I forget.
‘You could be with them’, they whisper, their poisonous words filling my soul, and I don’t fight to stop them.
‘It is very easy, we can help you’, they say. I want to. I want to.
They pass me a knife.
Drip. Drip. Drip.
Phoebe Thurlow
The horror around me
Why did I take that dare? Why did I agree to go into the abandoned building? I had just heard a scream. It echoed through me like a hot drink on a hot day.
I tried to run but my legs weren't working. My stomach has a roaring ocean in it and my brain was frozen. A smell of rotten eggs took over me. The smell burnt my mouth and stung my eyes. I moved closer, my legs were like lead, I stopped.
I saw a shadow. I screamed but no sound came out. I ran for it. Down stairs, along hallways. Then I saw it. The door. I ran towards it. 30 metres, 20 meters, 10 metres. Bam. I fell.
I looked around. A rotten hand grabbed hold of me. The last thing I saw was that hand and big red eyes. Then I fainted. I woke with my friends around me. I was still in the building. I screamed. My friends jumped. Then the same smell came over me again.
Jack said “what is that smell”. It's the monster I screamed. I saw it. The rotten hand.
We sprinted. We heard a scream. Bill was frozen on the spot, the monster was next to him. He fell dead.
He was in the hallway where the door was. We raced up the stairs. We were separated. We were lost. I ran around trying to find my friends. I heard a scream. I ran to the source. It was Jack. He was dead.
Over the next hour there were two more screams. Both victims dead. It was me and Fred left. I saw a baseball bat. I grabbed the cold hard wood of the handle. It made me feel a bit braver. I heard Fred scream. I ran to him. He was dead.
I saw it, the hand! I had my bat. I'm going to hit it I thought. It came around the corner. I screamed. The hand was attached to a green fat arm which had another on the other side. The arms stopped at a green fat chest.
Eight hairy legs started to walk towards me. The half unzipped mouth open, the red eyes staring at me. The top of the head was split open and the hair was growing into its brain. It came at me. I tripped on to the stone floor. It jumped on me.
I died.
Jed Young