Hauntingly - A Collection of Short Stories

Nocturne

'Nocturne'

Enjoy your stay in Nocturne, the sign says. The black ink has faded to a dull charcoal, the white tarnished by years of grey dust. It lies on the grey ground, surrounded by grey trees, under an empty, grey sky.

I sigh. I'm back where I started... again.

The dust stirs lazily as I dart forward, just avoiding the Rot's advance. I have remained still for far too long, just staring at the broken sign. Stupid, stupid move, I curse. You know it never stops.

The stillness of the air is a familiar pressure on my skin. Reluctantly I suck the stagnant gases into my lungs and run. As the trees blur past, I pick up the oddity in my gait. It is hardly comfortable, but at least it means I am running fast enough. Just before my right foot touches the ground, it changes position slightly, as if a frame of a computer animation had been lost, leaving two disjointed images.

Ahead, there is a fork in the road, which is really nothing more than a dirt path. I pick the left path on a whim. It does not matter which one I choose, as I will end up at the old sign anyway. I always do. Even though the Rot must have destroyed the place a hundred times over by now.

I continue on for a while until there is no sign of the Rot. Unlike it, I cannot move forever. The dry earth looks so comforting to my weary bones. The dust looks as soft as feathers and the rocks as gentle as cotton balls. Maybe I could rest, just for a little while...

Water. I need cold water to knock some sense into myself. I stagger on.

At this rate, it should be about half an hour before the Rot catches up. If I manage to get a large body of water between it and myself it will take even longer. But if my aimless wandering does not prove fruitful there will be hell to pay.

Soon I do not know where one tree ends and another begins. They tower over me, their charcoal limbs blocking out the dim skies. There is no sound here; no wind dares to disturb the tyranny of silence. I am the only living creature left.

Eventually I find a small ashen stream. Water is common enough here, but I have not seen water like this for a long time.

It's moving. Nothing moves except me and the Rot. Nothing.

I giggle involuntarily. It looks so strange amidst the suffocating stillness.Today is a good day, although words like day and time mean little in the unchanging grey of Nocturne. Like a child, I jump in wildly. The movement of the cold water against my skin makes me smile. Ancient, half-forgotten memories surface like bubbles. Memories like Rain. Thunder. Puddles.

It does not rain anymore. Perhaps this world was different once.

The stones are smooth and water-worn, they soothe my battered feet. The water itself tugs gently at my wrists, and my leggings are soaked. I have not been this carefree for what feels like an eternity, not since the time the Rot began.

I lift my palms out of the stream and within a matter of seconds they are dry. The Rot will destroy this place soon enough, just as it destroys every place. Water droplets fly everywhere as I stand, drying just as quickly as my hands had. Nocturne has always been odd like this.

I follow the water downstream, my weariness weighing down my feet more with every step. How long was it since I had found this stream? Not long, I'm sure. Could I risk sleep?

My body makes the decision for me. My ankle twists at a strange angle and I am falling, weightless almost, into the mossy ground.

***

There is a familiar crackling in my ears. I jolt upright, staring in horror at the other bank. It is getting louder and louder, filling my ears like wax.