Chapter 1: Down with the Sickness

What is this strange locket?

            Every night, as the clock strikes eleven sharp, Miso finds his way up the stairs and to his bedroom.  Feeling his body ache with each new step he takes, he finds relief in the fact that in a minute he will be whisked off to the world of dreams.  Having a very boring life that seems to drag on as each day passes, Miso can take comfort knowing that at least in his dreams, there will be excitement.

            As a younger boy, Miso had always had strange and wondrous dreams.  One night he could find himself flying through the skies on the back of a giant bird, the next he might be taming lions in a traveling circus, and maybe the following night he could be slaying dragons and rescuing the proverbial damsel in distress.  There were many possibilities for him, but Miso could always take assurance in the fact, his dreams held adventure.

            Tonight should be no different, just another wondrous night of adventure.  Laying his head down on the pillow, and closing his eyes, Miso felt a wave of calm roll over his body.  As his eyes were closing, in the dark, he could of sworn there was a glint of a grin, snickering in the silence of the night.

            “Is…Is someone there..?” Miso whispers into the dark, hoping there would be no response.

            The laughing grew slowly, and Miso knew there was something lurking in the shadows of his room.  Standing up out of the bed, and taking a few steps forward, trying to summon all of the courage his heart holds, Miso searches out into the darkness.

            “Who are you?  What do you want?” He questions the laughing smile, knees shaking, voice filled with fear.

            A golden locket, in the shape of a heart, suspended in mid-air, hanging as if affixed to a string, slowly swinging from side to side, like the pendulum of a clock, appeared before him.  It looked as if it had once been a beautiful work of art, but was tarnished by age and miss care.  Covered with scratches and dents, the locket was surprisingly ugly in it’s current state.

            Carved into it’s cover, Miso could see a single eye, large and cyclopic.  A few inches below the eye, etched into the golden surface of the locket, curved a malevolent smirk, giving the locket an evil and malign look.  Miso could feel the evil seeping from the locket, it seared at his soul, stealing away the joy from within him.

            “The darkness steals those whose heart is weakest first.” A soft voice whispers in the air.

            “Who said that?” Miso questions the darkness, feeling his nerve crack with fear.

            “THE DARKNESS STEALS THOSE WHOSE HEART IS WEAKEST FIRST!” The voice bellows out, a thick coat of hatred floating with the words.

With a sudden, frightful realization Miso turns to find the locket’s eye snapped open and mouth clattering together.  It’s teeth were long and pointed, covered in a yellow, blackish crust.  The eye, bloodshot and green was staring straight at Miso.  He couldn’t help feeling as if the locket could see right through him, glaring into his soul, searching for something within it.

With a loud cackle the locket screams out, “You have been judged Miso, and the verdict is in!  For the crime of weak heartedness, you are sentenced for eternal damnation in the pit of the human psyche.  Welcome to an everlasting nightmare!”

The words rang loud in Miso’s heart.  With what he could only imagine as drums beating loudly in his ears, the world around him grew darker, hazier.  Miso sensed himself drop to his knees, but couldn’t feel the force of impact.  It was as if he were floating above the scene, watching it all occur, but at the same time he could hear the beatings of the drums in his body, echoing to his core.

“See you in your dreams, Miso.”  The locket said as a final, spiteful farewell.

With a crack of light the locket was gone and Miso was left alone, crumpled and heaving on the floor.  He had never felt a sickness as great as the one growing within him now.  A cold sweat running down his brow, sharp pains in his throat and stomach, a headache so horrendous it felt as if an axe was cleaving him in half from head down.

“What the hell is happening to me…”  These were the last words Miso could manage before the sickness took over.  Lying on the floor, Miso’s heart gave one last thunderous beat and extinguished forever.

Chapter One:  END