Crow's Writing Room

Blood dripped down his forehead. His breath was short and came out in bursts like hisses. Spittle flew out of his mouth as he tried to calm down. The youth had his back to an hickory tree, twisted with age and perhaps even a bit of malice. All around him tombstones littered the grass. The young man looked carefully around. There wasn't anything in sight but he couldn't trust his eyes nearly as much as he would want to. His eyes quickly darted around once more before he bolted away from the tree.

He had messed up. Slipped. Been forgetful. He turned around in to look at the branches of the trees. On the bark of a thicker branch was a gray and bulbous eye. The iris was jet black and he knew it was staring at him. Clouds overhead broke and the moonlight shot through for an instant. The eye was nearly transparent but the iris was dark. It felt as if he were looking in to the very depths of a deep pool of water. It didn't reflect any light or mercy back at him. In an instant the eye shut and he felt an almost mist-like feeling wrapping around his wrist. With pure terror he looked at the eye once more. Instead of a tree trunk, it sat in the middle of the mist like a lighthouse at sea. The youth turned away with all his strength but the creature held his wrist and slammed him down to the moist earth. More mist grabbed his other hand, then his neck. It felt like there were solid hands restraining him.

He tried to scream but the creature shoved an ethereal hand down his throat. He felt himself grow slower. Even though the moon was blocked by the clouds, he knew it was over. The monster began to loosen it's hold. His eyelids grew heavy as if they were being closed shut. He knew they would never open again. Before he passed he saw what had happened. The creature pulled something light, something very frail from inside of him. He closed his eyes. He couldn't anymore. It was too much work. He opened them with the last of his strength. The thing had a mouth and even teeth. The jaw opened wide and the hands dropped the frail looking object in to it. Unceremoniously the jaw closed as if to say, "Another job done". The creature looked down at the youth. He was already pale and beginning to bloat. Without even a second thought it moved slowly in to the earth. The bulbous eye looked up at the sky before disappearing. The creature wondered, if there were places for poor lost souls like itself.