2018 Writing Scrapbook

A Brethren of Evil

Something was lurking in the darkness. A brethren of evil was concealing itself in a shadow. I figured that either it was too shy to show itself, or too afraid. Either way, it was a danger. I thought as to whether I should reveal its face or let it scurry away. On the one hand, my personality was not one where I was likely to let justice go unserved. On the other hand, the ghastly presence of this being was one that sent a shiver up my spine.

It was chilling- the cold, tingling feeling that arose through the air when I spotted it. It breathed blackness, for I was sure it was a living being. The muffled outline disturbed me. It was small, sort of round, and it could've been a rabbit hiding behind the tree for all I knew.

But I could tell that this was no rodent. No, this wasn't a scurrying mouse, or even a possum creeping through the grass. It was much too big. I turned around, grabbing the basket in my hand to head back up to the house. When I turned back, it was unmoving, but I could see them. I could see their eyes.

Malicious, glittering yellow eyes. Bloodthirsty eyes of ambition and malevolence. Eyes of a creature not to be reckoned with. Ones that could even destroy a human, if it really wanted to. Ones that could leave me in my grave.

I started walking away at a quick pace, anxious to reach the safety of the cabin. Once I reached the twinkling candlelight inside the house, it spread warmth and comfort through me. I flung open the door, accidentally sending a gust of bitterly cold wind through the interior.

"Would you shut the damn door, boy?" Ma shouted at me. "I know you weren't born in a barn! God!"

I ducked my head. "Sorry, Ma." I set the basket down on the counter next to the woodstove, looking around at her freshly cooked cranberry relish.

Maisy was already fast asleep in her little straw bed down below my loft. The blankets covered her up, only revealing her rosy red dimples and gently closed eyes. Pa was snoring in the sitting chair next to her, not having taken his muck boots off yet. Ma seemed exhausted, but she continued cooking late into the night, just as usual. She scrubbed out an empty jelly jar. "You'd better be sorry. Not a single soul wants that frozen

arctic ice in our house. Unless you want to freeze to death, I'd recommend closing it behind you."

I walked over and started pulling off my boots, looking out the window at the horses grazing in the pasture. "Ma... I think I saw something out there," I explained warily.

"What is it this time?" she asked, undisturbed. "Lynx? Bobcat?"

"No," I shook my head. "I don't know what it is. Looked to be the size of a wolf."

"You'd better head out tomorrow with a shotgun and take care of it before it disturbs the livestock," she advised.

I nodded and headed over to wash up and dress for bed, before climbing up and falling asleep.

She was not concerned about this creature as I had been, and rightfully so! She didn't seem to be thinking about the connection, how this could be the same creature as...

If she did, she didn't say so.

The sun woke me. Clean, clear air aroused me as I stretched and got to my feet. Birds chirped in the golden light as if nothing was wrong. There was a sweet feeling, like the smell of honey. It reminded me of a picket fence or lemonade in the summertime.

My surroundings were quite different from that vision, though. Snow adorned the ground, a silent white blanket. It was no longer falling from the sky, and clouds had been banished from the heavens. Instead, it glittered in the blinding sunlight.

I ate my breakfast and headed out to the barn to grab the gun, strapping it across my back. "Here, take this hunk of meat," Ma had instructed me, sending me on my way with a bit of food for lunch.