The Short and Eventful life of Percival Edwards

Someone's lost in the woods and being chased by something. This letter was found on the body of a dead boy.

January 4th, 1889, Washington                                                     

To Percy,

The first thing I heard was the screeching. Oh, the terrible shrill cries from above. Like a thousand nails racing down a chalkboard, They chased me through the tree-choked forest. My feet could barely get a hold on the ground as I ran, for every few steps a jagged root would attempt to snag me and pull me to the earth. They nearly did many times, but the adrenalin pulled me further. I could not let that screeching beast catch me. I continued to run, the trees began to fan out until I found myself in a clearing. Ahead there was what might have once been, a luxurious mansion. Now it was but a gutted-out, rotting corpse of its former glory. Most of the roof had collapsed leaving massive holes, vines clung to the side as one on death's door clings to life, and the once beautiful outer face was smeared with decay and filth. The smell of death perpetrated my nostrils. I looked past my inhibitions as I tumbled inside. The interior shared the same dilapidated look as the outside. What I could only assume were furnishing, had been shattered, the remains of which lay strewn across the cracked tile floor. There were four doors each coated in a deep crimson paint that dripped slowly onto the floor. Below one of the holes was a stack of bleached furnishings…? No. To my horror, it was an effigy of bones, arranged as if in praise to the sun.

 Hearing the screeching again, I hastily ducked behind the bones as some sort of hiding spot. When it finally came to a halt, I tentatively looked towards the sky. What greeted my eyes was a monstrosity, a patchwork abomination of skin and feathers no less than eight feet tall. Its stick-thin arms dangled near the knees with fingers long as knives. The legs were obstructed by a thick black fabric that wreaked of month-old meat. Its chest was draped in what appeared to be cords from curtains, ensnared with costume jewelry that glittered in the harsh sunlight. Atop this beast's body lay an oversized head of a bird, a head that danced over the room, not focusing on one thing, and never stopping its constant movements... until it laid eyes upon the bones behind which I hid. That head became still, as its disgusting stare pierced my soul with its bulging eyes. It opened its mouth and the screeching returned, far louder than ever before. Too long, it took me to conclude that it was the monster in front of me emitting that dreadful, dreadful noise. The beast reached out with its unnaturally long arms to take hold of me, till at the last moment I rolled away, suffering a deep wound to my leg. The creature charged towards me, its strike lacerating me with unholy speed and precision. Their fingers wrapped around me like a vice, crushing two ribs I'm sure as it began to drag me closer to the doors. The smell grew more and more metallic as the distance closed. I could not think clearly with the ever-present droning from the monster. By the time I came to a coherent conclusion as to what was happening, I had been dragged through the red ink that had dripped down off the door. Blood... 

That terrible screeching ceased as the door swung open, to reveal a grizzly pile of corpses in the center of the room. A window, yellow with age and cover in spiderweb cracks, let in a small beam of sunlight into this otherwise pitch-black room. A static grew in my mind as I sat huddled in the corner. My only sense of time was that small beam of light that came from the lonely window. Too weak and weary, I could not keep my focus upon it. 

When the door did open again, the sudden burst of light stunned me as two of the wretched abominations dragged me off. In the calamity that ensued, I lost time, and when I came to, it was in a circular room. Inside sat two of these avian beings, roughly designed wooden chairs and what seemed like a massive cauldron between them that shot a foul-smelling smoke into the air. The two that had hauled me off, took a place behind the two seated ones and opened their mouths. Instinctively, I recoiled, fearful of that horrible screech. To my surprise, what I heard instead was a mix of a chirp and a moan. This new noise came from the seated ones as the ones in the back let out a deep bass growl. I sat up on the damp mossy ground, confused at what was going on. Then as suddenly as it had started it stopped and the beings stood up. They were taller than the others, 3 feet or so. The cloth that covered their legs was the same tone of red as the doors, and their chest rather than being covered in cords was decorated by what were very clearly intestines, draped over their shoulders, and wrapped many times around their body. The blood dripping from them stained the cloth at their feet. One reached into that cauldron that they flanked and pulled out a knife as long as my forearm, and as sharp as a wolf's tooth. The creature bent down, putting its cracked beak to my ear, and whispered in a tongue not heard in over a millennium, Rejoice. It dragged the blade across my back, tearing my skin in a crude impression of wings. I was in too much pain to cry out as they did this, my only thought was why? Why do these dreadful beasts exist? Why would they carve open my back? The taller ones continued to rake the knife across my body, forming the characters of some archaic language. As they did, the pain lessened until I could only feel a cold creeping up my body and nothing more. The shorter two grabbed my arms again and dragged my back to that red door. As I was laid down in the room I had become so accustomed to, I noticed that the pile of bodies had been arranged into a macabre nest of sorts. Forcing myself to stay conscious, I pulled myself over to it and began to drift off.

  Moments later I felt something forcing its way out of the exposed muscle on my back. It was a small pinprick at first but blossomed into a thousand cuts overwhelming my body. I looked down and saw feathers begin to obscure my chest, as my arms grew longer my feet curled in on themselves. 

I write with what little humanity I have left, not as a warning, but as an invitation. I know that this might sound odd given the beginning of my letter but allow me to assure you this is a world of bliss, with no pain, and no suffering. A world where you are free from the trappings and pressure of society. I await your arrival, my dear nephew. I know I'll be seeing you soon.

-Marvin (how do I make it look like he went insane writing names?)

A letter found on the half-eaten corpse of 15-year-old Percival Edwards. According to the police he lost his way in the woods and was accosted by wolves. He had disappeared four days ago. If you have any information regarding Percival’s death or disappearance, please contact Claudia Millburn at 9124 Grasivle Rd.

Author's Note

This is still a work in progress I might add more I'm not sure yet.