Tree of souls

The tree of souls

Once in a grave yard not far from your house, there was a grand oak tree. A legend haunts in every graveyard, when a person dies and gets buried their souls tend to linger with their bodies and when their souls finally move,the oak tree will capture the soul and put it in hell. Anyway a boy called Jimmy heard this legend told by his grandmother and didn't believe it until one Halloween night he went to the grave yard and witnessed a person getting buried by this big oak tree.

He stayed their for hours until it got dark, when he was about to leave the tree came alive and pulled out a net from its trunk and the souls raised from the graves and attempted to go to heaven, the tree was selective and let a few souls go to heaven but he captured other souls and putting them in another grave ready for being condemned to hell by the devil himself. Jimmy couldn't believe what he saw and ran from his hiding place, the tree saw and captured him. Jimmy tried to plead with the tree telling him he was alive and not dead but the tree crafted a smile on its face and laughed, "I know you are alive breather! But you have witnessed the passing of the souls so you must die!"

"No! Please I beg of you!" Shouted Jimmy but the tree didn't listen! He got a piece of rope and tied a noose on its branch and tied Jimmy to it by the arm!

"Help!" He pleaded

The tree just roared with laughter, Jimmy's hand brushed the branch and saw before his eyes people touching the tree, screaming and black smoke appearing out of nowhere before the person disappeared, all that was left was a few leaves.

He screamed for what it seemed hours until he passed out.

He dangled there until morning broke from its domain. His arm dislocated landed with a crunch beneath him, cuts and bruises all over his body not to mention the words 'EVIL AWAKES' engraved on his arm, blood dripping from his cuts and those words on his forearm. Jimmy looked at those words, pale with fright and pain. He collapsed as blood dripped.

He awoke and saw that the tree was lifeless again and the net and the grave where the souls to hell have gone. He couldn't believe what he witnessed and couldn't believe it.

He moaned as well tried to get up but frozen with fear as the tree appeared to have this creepy smile on the bark like someone has scratched into the bark.

He heard the soft thud of foot steps. He listened and saw his grandmother with tears in her eyes and a crucifix in hand.

Jimmy she screamed. He looked at her with glassy eyes. She rushed towards him putting the crucifix on his chest as she inspects his wounds and calls an ambulance from her mobile phone she kept hidden down her bra.

All Jimmy heard was Sirens then he blacked out once more.

His grandmother was praying and muttering that he will be alright, tears sprung from her eyes and she stroked her grandsons cheek and placed sage in his pockets to try and keep any evil away from him. The paramedics arrived and quickly inspected Jimmy before putting him in the ambulance, no one questioned the writing on his arm, no one cared. Only his grandmother knew the marking of evil.

His grandmother looked back at the tree and hissed before joining Jimmy.

At the hospital after cleaning his wounds and putting a cast on Jimmy's arm, his grandmother placed drops of holy water on her grandsons forehead.

'My dear boy, what have you done?' She whispered. 'Why didn't I lock you in?' 'Why didn't I see you're ignorance?'

Jimmy just looked at her with a frown on his pale face. Fear still in his eyes. He sucked in air before whispering 'the stories were true'. His grandmother nodded.

He sighed and shivered.

'When I touched the tree I had flashbacks of other people touching the tree and the tree engulfing them' he whispered. His grandmother quickly looked away and said 'yes, the stories are true and did you see anything else?' she said and he looked at her with tears in his eyes and he said 'is that how you lost you're little brother gran?'

She looked at him and replied 'yes' tears streamed down her face, into her wrinkles that looked like valleys. Her brown eyes darkened.

Jimmy looked at his grandmother, have her a awkward hug since his arm was in a cast. 'I am sorry gran I didn't believe a word, I am sorry' he whispered.

His grandmother sighed before helping him down off the hospital bed and leading him home. The bus ride was silent. Both pairs of eyes that saw too much. No one questioned them on why they were so sad. No one wished to know. They both got off on their stop. Jimmy looked on the house before stepping on the porch, his grandmother unlocking the door before sitting on the deck chair on the porch. She sighed.

She whispered 'promise me you will never go back'.

Jimmy understood. 'I promise' 'I am so sorry' he said, tears dwelling in his eyes. His gran looked with hollow eyes.

'I know' 'you cannot say anything to anyone for all they know it is a Halloween story'.

'Why?'

'Because they will put you in a mental home'.

He looked at his grandmother with wide eyes.

He sat down beside her and saw markings on her arms and a faint lettering on her wrist.

She noticed what he was looking at and sighed before saying 'when I was a little girl, I did the exact same thing with my brother. I never believed in superstition I was ignorant like most people. That day I lost my little brother, my parents never found him again, I knew what happened. The devil himself caught him. I tried to save him but it was too late. I passed out and when I woke up, a few hours later my mind was wiped, my parents didn't remember my little brother like he was never born. Then I remembered piece by piece in dreams and told my parents and they thought I was mad and possessed by the devil and sent me away, then I met you're grandfather when I got out and never spoke of it again then the dreams started to happen again when he died and I never forgotten that day ever'.

'Ever'. That word was engrained in Jimmy's mind. It will be the only word that he would never forget. No one told him about these kings on his arm covered by the cast. No one told him that the tree will be calling him. No one told him that he has been claimed by the devil.

Thanks for reading, sorry this didn't make much sense.