Stolen

In the Nightmare Realm where the Nightmares rule, souls get stolen...that's the rule...

I ran…running as fast as my legs would move. The blood rushed in my ears, my heart pounded within my chest as though it would rip right through the skin. I couldn’t breath…the scent of decay filled my nose and made me cough. This time, as I coughed, blood dribbled down my shirt. “No…” I tried to scream but all that came out was a hoarse whisper.

            Sharp pain shot through my arm as the necklace began to glow. I held it tighter still in my shaking hand as the bright green light shone from it. The scent strengthened, and I coughed up more blood. “Stop this…stop this Circe…” I choked the words out, fighting back the scent that was slowly making me dizzy. Finally, the forest closed in around me…My head spun, my legs gave out, and I collapsed onto the hard forest floor. As my eyes shut, the last thing I saw was the necklace, shining so blindingly bright, laying there in front of my face. The world went black.

            Then the Nightmares came. Just like all the other times I had been overtaken by the Nightmares, I was sitting in a huge black and red throne. I sat there, held back by heavy leather straps. The man approached, his face hidden by a hood. He drew his dagger…Then I felt my breath escape me. I looked down and saw the handle sticking out of my stomach. Laughter followed the action like death followed the ill. Sad thing was the laughter was real. The pain was real. Everything in the Nightmare was real.

            My eyes opened slowly, although there wasn’t much to see. The gray walls, the barred window allowing milky white moonlight to stretch like bony fingers over the floor, and of course the man in the black hood standing in the doorway. “Good morning Jasper.” He hissed mockingly. “Sleep well?”

            I tried to move, but I was strapped into the chair. Oh god…OH GOD! Please don’t let this be what I think it is… My mind swirled, my stomach churned…This was my death. My final moments would be spent watching myself in the mirror across the room as I was slowly injected with poison.  But the man held no syringe as he strode towards me. “Now, now, now…” he said, lifting my chin with his icy cold hand. “You know the punishment for trying to escape, correct?” I could only nod and swallow hard.

            “Hm. I wonder if I should spare you. You could prove very useful you know. A lot of wit, a lot of courage…You know if you join us, you won’t die. You’ll never die actually. Immortality will be yours.” I knew the drill. They tried to convince you, and if you said no they killed you. I narrowed my eyes…but then nodded. If I could get out of the chair, I had half a chance of escaping.

          But in some ways I knew that was impossible...I knew I was now going to be used for evil. The Jade Necklace was useless. I took it out of my pocket as he led me towards another door. "What have we got then?" the hooded man asked without looking over. "A useless piece of junk." I hissed before throwing it to the ground. It shattered...and a hot white light blinded me.

             There I stood, before the tree of Chaos. It was a mighty tree with black leaves, leaves that held the souls of all who had died. Only one reason anyone found their way here...and I knew that reason. Anyone who is about to die comes here...

              I watched the roots of the tree snake out and wrap around my ankles. I fought, but it was no use. That "worthless piece of junk" held my soul. And I had shattered it. The tree dragged me below ground. Thousands of sharper tiny roots shot into my body from all over. My screams were muffled by the dirt, as I was slowly ripped apart by the roots....

              LATER

The tree's leaves swayed in the wind. A small bud had sprouted on one of the branches, and was now unfolding into a pitch black leaf. Slowly, menacingly...laughter began to ring out around the tree as the roots spread back out over the ground.

           

Reviews

[DarkLovingRaven]

Oh my stars... That is AWSOME! LOVE IT!

[DeathByChoice]

This was absolutely amazing! I think you should actually make this into a book. I would love to leanr more about this; the tree, the people who were laughing, the necklace. I though this was an original idea, and you don't find those too often. And I loved the first lines you wrote:
"In the Nightmare Realm where the Nightmares rule, souls get stolen...that's the rule..." That immediatly caught my attention and made me want to read this.
Great job, Love!