Game of destiny

Mysterious figurine changed Milo's life. After Jason finds the same one, he has to take destiny into his own hands. But, for what cost?

- What's this? - My girlfriend asked. In her hand, there was a small wooden figurine. 

- I don't know... Let me take a look.

     As she handed it to me, I noticed it represents a person with Capricorn's head. It had really long horns, and I could swear I've never seen it before. 

- Where did you find it?

- Inside one of the pockets, on a sweater you gave me last night. 

- It's not mine...

- It's not mine, either... Can I throw it? It's scaring me. - She gave me such sweet and shy look, that I could never resist. Besides, that thing wasn't mine, and she can throw it if she wants. It was scaring me, too.

- Yeah, sure. Throw it and come here to watch the movie with me.

- Sure, baby.

     She came back, and folded under my arm. I loved her so much. She fell asleep like that, and I just didn't have the heart to wake her up. She looked so peaceful and beautiful. My thoughts came back to the figurine. Something about it was sinister, and it got me worried how I got it. Someone must have put it in my pocket, but who? The only person who had the chance, was Milo. He seamed nervous and anxious to leave, but if he really did gave it to me... I have to ask myself why? It's not my birthday for a couple of months, and what's up with the mystery? Why being so secretive? I'm going to call him tomorrow about that. Now, I need to carry Sarah into bed. My one and only love. My everything.

 *     *     *

- Why isn't Milo returning my calls?

     My best friend shifted in his seat. We were in a caffe, and there weren't a lot of people near us, but Derek talked in a lower voice.

- Hey man, something's wrong with Milo. I think he's on drugs again. Why do you need him?

- I saw him on the bridge last night, and he gave me something. Like a figurine...

- That's impossible. Milo hasn't come out of his den for a week now, at least...

- What are you talking about? I'm telling you I saw Milo, and he looked ok. Nervous, but ok.

- Something is wrong with him, and no one knows what. He isn't talking to anyone, and he isn't answering his calls. 

- Is there a way I can reach him?

- Milo? F**k Milo... I don't get it why you need him. Because of a figurine? Just forget it, man. Forget him. 

- Yeah, you're probably right. The guy has his own problems right now...

- That's right. Now, what should we drink?

 *     *     *

     I came back into the apartment, and there was a figurine on the coffee table. The same one, from last night. I threw the trash this morning, on my way to work, so how is this possible? Did Sarah put it here? She must have. I took the figurine and aimed trough the opened window. It was perfect. Went straight over the next building. I should have played baseball. With a smile, I went under the shower. Cool water flowing over my body was a salvation, after a hard day. I just rubbed my hair with a towel and sat on the couch, in hope to see a great movie. Instead, I saw a scene from horror movies. The figurine was back on the table, at the same place, just staring at me. My neck hair stood up. The room just became colder. I looked around to see if anyone is in the apartment, but nothing. I was alone. It made me look into every room and every corner, and I didn't find anything. It should have been a relief, but it wasn't. How did the figurine appeared here? Is someone messing with me? I threw it again, behind the building across the street, and closed the window. Something inside of me, was afraid to turn around. But, eventually I did. 

     There it was again. Evil, represented in form of a figure. A man's body and a head of a capricorn. His eyes were red, and I could swear my life that they weren't red before. It spooked me out, so I just grabbed it and smashed into the wall. Foolish thing to do. Figure is made of wood. I took the hammer from the toolbox and smashed it with all my strength. It broke to pieces. Just in case, I threw them out the window, again. 

- What the hell? - In desperation, I looked onto the figure on my table. Eyes were even more red. - What is this s**t?

     I decided to hide it under the couch, where Sarah won't find it. It was a really bad idea.

 *     *     *

     As soon as Sarah came back, she threw up. She looked so pale and sick, from the moment she walked in. It lasted a couple days. I've called a doctor, since she was too weak to walk. He diagnosed sickness, and prescribed plenty of fluid and vitamin C. I tried my best, but she just couldn't get better. Finally, we decided it was best for her, to visit her parent's house, out in the country. Fresh air should help her. As for me... I had the worst time of my life. Haven't slept in days, or if I get lucky and fall asleep, nightmares woke me up. Every time, the same face, with red eyes haunted me throughout the night. Whenever I turn on the other side of the bed, there it was. Long black hair, grey skin, rotten teeth with blood around it's mouth. I've gotten tired of waking up in sweat, screaming and being terrified to death. It was the figurine, I just knew it! Couldn't take it anymore, so I grabbed it and ventured into the night. 

     I've found out where Milo lives, and that's where I was headed. After knocking and knocking, one of the neighbours, an old lady, peeped through the window on the first floor.

- Milo is out!

- Do you know where he is?

- It's the middle of the night, go to sleep!

- Please, tell me if you know...

     Lady rolled her eyes, annoyed by my disturbance. 

- I heard him talking about going to the bridge. He is always rambling about it. Kid is probably drugged all the time... Now, go! I wanna get some sleep!

- Thank you! - I screamed, as I was running towards the bridge. Wind was blowing into my face, like it was trying to slow me down. But, I didn't had the choice. Sarah was sick, and everything is wrong since we found this figurine. I tighten it in my hand, determined to find Milo. As I approached the bridge, a familiar silhouette was standing on the fence. He was holding onto the chains of the bridge, staring into the distance. He didn't noticed me, till I called him.

- Milo!

- Jason?! - He burst in panic, after seeing me. He stepped down, from the fence, but he wasn't coming any closer to me. - What are you doing? You are not supposed to be here...

- Milo, is this yours? - I took the figure out of my pocket and showed it to him. By the look on his face, I knew he recognized it. 

- Don't, get away from me!

- Milo, what is this? 

- You don't understand. He's gonna be here every second, you need to leave...

- Who's coming? Milo, tell me!

- Please, Jason, just go! I'm begging you...

- Not until you tell me, what is this? - I made a step towards him. He backed away. He was turning in place, biting his nails, afraid to look me in the eyes. I couldn't be sure, because of the hood, but it seemed his eyes were a bit red. - It made Sarah sick! I've got nightmares from it, please, just tell me!

- It calls out for demons... I got it from someone just like you got it from me. I tried to destroy it, but it just made it angry! 

- How does it stop?

- You need to give it to someone else... But they mustn't know. You can't tell them.

- Just like that? I give it to someone, and Sarah gets better?

- No... - Milo turned around, visibly shaken. - You have to... It wants a victim. 

- What?!

- Either you kill yourself to save Sarah, or let her die...

- It can't be true!

- Jodie died in my arms, man! It's f*****g true! 

- No, no... - My knees went weak, and I just couldn't stand anymore. Thought of losing my love, destroyed me. How is this possible? A figurine? I looked at it. It seemed as if it was smiling at me, with bright red eyes. So sinister, and evil... My Sarah. My lovely Sarah. Dead. For what? I grabbed Milo for the neck of his sweatshirt.

- You b*****d! Why did you give it to me?

- I didn't have a choice! It told me to!

- It's just a piece of f*****g wood, it can't talk!

- You're wrong... - For the first time, he looked at my eyes. His frightened look made me let him go. He wasn't lying.

- Who is coming?

- Him... He'll let me see Jodie. But to do that, I needed to kill someone and dump his body in the river... I loved her so much, this was the only chance. I can't live without her... I have to see her! You need to leave! Now!

- Why didn't you kill yourself? - I screamed, hating every part of him. - You could've saved her!

- Cause I'm a f*****g coward! That's why... 

- You destroyed my life! 

- And, how do you think it makes me feel?!

- I don't care... - I didn't. He doesn't deserve to live.

- And what're you going to do? Kill me? - Milo smirked. It was that smirk that pushed me over the edge. It was easy for me, because he was too weak. I grabbed his sorry a*s and threw him over the fence. He screamed, and then I heard a big splashing sound. Guilt was the last thing I felt... He was responsible for everything. What should I do? I can't let Sarah die... My heart beats only for her. Without much thinking, I climbed onto the fence. Figurine was still in my pocket, I made sure of that. Tears were pouring down my face, as I stared into the sunrise. It was the second beautiful thing in the world. Right after Sarah. In my gut, I knew I was doing the right thing. I'll miss her soft skin, thin red lips, the sweet smell of her hair, the shy look, that got her anything she ever wanted. I'll miss our whispers on the pillow in the mornings. 

                                                        I'll miss you Sarah... Forgive me.

Author's Note

It's a bit long, but trust me, it's worth it! Say what's on your mind :D

Reviews

[Garry E. Lewis]

I liked it a lot, you did kind of scatter things out a bit at the beginning, and other then some type o's here and there I enjoyed the story very much. Just needs some touch ups here or there. You'll spot what I'm talking about when you read back through it. Really liked it though. Very creepy!

[Laura Maidah]

I found the hyphen marks a little disorienting, no? I know it's trendy lately, but I found the artsy aspects of this piece a little neglected because of the strange punctuation, especially the excess of "...". It's a great read though. Thanks for sharing.

[TheSweet]

Throughout this piece, I did recognise similarities to my style of writing. That's a little odd for reviewing because you tend to think how you would have done it differently. There are parts I liked more than others, but over all the concept and the story are really great :)

My main issue with the content is in the opening section it seems a little odd that the main character is so concerned with the figurine. If someone finds something strange in their pocket, they'd be a bit confused - but it wouldn't worry them too much. Generally, I think you need to do something a little different here in order to bring it down to earth. I might suggest either treating it as nothing to start with and slowly revealing that it is significant with it showing up and things like that. Or perhaps you might consider him thinking about where it might have came from, less erratically - maybe going through a couple of thoughts before comming to the conclusion of Milo. Have a play with the concept.

As far as the grammar goes, I think you can nail down some more clarity with your sentences. Draw out some descriptions and suggest things rather than just saying them straight. There are a few mistakes that could be edited out - but as I suggest to most people, the main thing would be to go through every sentence and think how you can change it to make the most impact from it :) The last 4-5 lines are really good with the description and the idea that suggests rather than says and it gave me a little shivver - more of that please!

Enjoyed it lots. Thanks for sharing!

[Shane Blackheart]

Just a few typos here and there but this was honestly a very good story. It was chilling and it was short and to the point. I personally liked it, as I am a fan of horror stories and movies myself.

[KAREN]

Oh my! This was a wonderful story. More please!