Blunt fire

Blunt fire ~ a short story

The Stones
The grey clouds swirled above the great heads and the lighting shot from the sky. The large looming stones surrounded their people, protecting them from humanity. Their chanting grew, voices cracking against the storm. Silence. It struck without warning like fire to young tree.

New York City
'Ding' the familiar sound of the elevator comforted Ashley as she took the the long walk to the chief editors office. Today was the day, the day she got her first big story. Ever since she was young she had dreamed of her name, there in bold for everyone to read, b oy! was this her day.
She stopped outside the door. Her heart pounding as she raised her hand to knock. Before she had the opportunity to touch the door, a voice boomed from inside "come in Smith" here goes nothing she thought,­ not knowing what was to come...
"Easter Island, ever been there? no? good! we want you to do us a story; drama, action, we want it all. We've heard reports of strange goings on down there for years, an old reporter, mike sullivan, took a story there last month, haven't heard from him since" he paused briefly, his eyes boring into her "this is your story miss Smith, are you ready?"

Easter Island Airfield
It was the stench that hit first. The sea combined with rotting fish, sweaty changing rooms and stale popcorn. Ashley took a step back, as if trying to escape the smell, falling into a large, what looked like ­native man as she did so. "Its the flowers" came a murmur. She looked around, coming to the realisation that the tiny voice had come from the hulking man. "It's the flowers" he said again, this time his voice ­clear as day, reverberating through her skull. "They're the smell, awful things things they are but been here longer than we have." The perplexed look on Ashley's face now turned to one of great interest, whilst the great man continued "the ancients used them for all kinds of medicine, could even knock you out cold if they wanted, cacomisu flowers, awful things."
Ashley moved sideways, letting the man past while she looked toward the gravel road, spotting a taxi as she did so. She hopped into the cab, alerting its driver of her destination, and she drove off into the night.

The Stones
"Hey ah no yo na na ne ah no yo na na ne ah no yo na no yo"
The chanting grew as they dragged up the body. The man's breathing was heavy, his chest rising and falling rapidly to the sound of the things chanting. His limbs were tied to a long pole, his body clearly giving up after his long , arduous fight. They lifted him over the fire as they tore off his already shredded clothes, leaving his naked body to the flames. He let out a blood curdling scream, his eyes bulging out of his head. He writhed and screeched as his blood boiled, whilst the creatures sliced his fleshed and seasoned his wounds as if preparing him for the table.

Catsaw town, Easter Island
Ashley looked at the piece of paper in her hand once more, scanning the road signs continuously. "Aha!" she said to herself, finding the place she looking for. The old house was made of wood planks and leaded windows, it leaned and groaned with every little breath of wind. As she glanced around she noted the cobwebs on the front decking, the the sellotape on the window panes, the bones under the outdoor chairs, the multiple crosses along the roof and the tiny gravestones in the old flower bed which was now overgrown with ferns and scrub. She felt as if someone had walked over her grave and a feeling of dread washed over her as she heard the floorboards inside the house creak, closer and closer to the door.

The Stones
Slowly they began to hack off his fingers and toes, their blunt stone weapons struggling to saw through the brittle bones making a sound like nails down a chalkboard as they went. By this point the mans life was close to over, yet his chest still rose and fell ­with his breaths growing smaller every time. Suddenly there was a flurry of sparks as chips of bone fell into the flames, the chanting stopped and the group of creatures parted like the red sea as another creature. It was seemingly larger than the rest as it approached the fire, wielding a large machete-like weapon, the gleaming flint sharpened to a deadly point. He lifted it high above his head and brought it crashing down. The mans head plummeted, the flames enveloping it with a large roar, burning the body black as blood spurted out of the neck and let off an ear piercing screech. His eyes exploded from his shut sockets, splattering the creatures in a white goo. His teeth shot out of his gums a wicked angles, some hitting the creatures skin with a harsh 'wpang'.

The House
"Ah, now, come in! You must be the reporter, I'll find my son, he's the guide, not me, haha! I cant even find my fridge sometimes, tee hee hee" the old woman at the door looked her up and down, opened the door for her to come in and screeched something in an odd language. Ashley then heard the living room floor groan as the man left his chair. This time he looked Ashley up and down. He paused "age?" Ashley looked at him, puzzled "oh erm 25" he glared at her and spoke again, his words sharp and cruel as he spoke "You're not what i expected, you will do. Put this on, we leave in ten minutes. Leave your belongings by the door, you won't be here very long" he handed ashley a pile of old black clothes and walked back into the room.
She changed into the clothes in a tiny back room of the house, it stank of rotting fish and meat and was filled with flies, so she changed faster than she ever had before.
They left the house in the man's jeep, it was old and rusted but sped through the silent streets like fire. They approached the stone heads with the engine turned off, they rolled down the hill, skidding to a stop behind a large tree. A screech louder than anything Ashley had ever heard echoed from inside the stone circle. She heard chanting that made the hairs on her body stand up and was frozen until she recognised a smell. It was the cocamisu flowers again. The man handed her a handkerchief to hold to her face to protect from a something he said the creatures had, but unfortunately she could smell the flower, even stronger now despite the thick cloth over her nose. Then she saw them.

The Creatures
They were grotesque. A hunched human form with purple black skin like leather. Long gnarly teeth pointed outwards from blood red gums and wide jaw lines crushed their hollowed cheeks. Wearing clothes made of leaves woven un­neatly, to provide simple and cold cover. The man behind Ashley laughed a cruel and spiteful laugh, then scratched his forehead until a line of skin began to peel unevenly off his head. He took a strong hold of it and pulled it all the way down to his ankles. He looked like one of them now but with a strange pinkish tinge to his skin and a normal human shaped head. All Ashley could do was gawp, she felt her heart beating in her mind and went completely weak, she still had the cloth over her face and was breathing through it heavily. Suddenly she dropped to the ground. Out cold.
She awoke slowly to find herself in a damp, dark cave. She went to move but was stopped by the rope which held her limbs tight to a long pole, she struggled but could not break the ties that bound her. As her eyes adjusted to the deep and never ending black she saw that bones lay all around her and blood dripped from cracks in the wall.
She heard a stone behind her drag along the ground and the vibrations shook her teeth. Light spread into the cave and ashley saw the large figure in the doorway, tears ran down her face yet she could not make a single sound. The creature lifted up the pole and pulled her toward the fire...