Thirty One Days

Acceptence

Branches pulled against me, leaving scratches across my exposed skin, pulling my hair as I pushed myself through the trees. The sound of snapping twigs under my feet, my labored breathing, and blood rushing in my ears was the only sounds that I could hear. The forest around me was a mix of greens, blacks, and browns.
Everything seemed to tower over me.
The shadows around me created creatures who would run next to me, then beelining towards me only to burst inches away from colliding with me. My shoes were wet as I ran through puddles, a chilled wind blowing strongly tossing me around. Making me pinball from tree to tree.
I had no idea where I was going but something was telling me I was doing the right way, then a moment of déjà vu passed and I realized it. The reason I knew where I was going, the reason I knew the path, was because I had dreamed this moment.
I dreamt this moment.
As I ran I marveled at the thought of being able to predict the future. Or at least dream it. Was this my gift? Gypsy fortune tellings? Could I read tarot cards too?
Terror tore through me as my foot got caught by something, forcing myself to turn around I found that it was only a puddle. Stopping, I took a few deep breathing trying to ease my panic but something was watching me.
Turning around I noticed a Faceless person, this one wore a Victorian suit with nailless finger tips, dripping blood.
"Why aren't you running?" He whispered, not moving, barely making a sound.
"I- I got stuck," I explained, he stared at me, as much as someone who didn't have eyes could, with his fingers twitching. "Who are you?" I asked, my voice becoming a whisper mimicking his.
His body twitched unnaturally for a moment before relaxing again, "I was one of the first to feed his hunger." His voice grew hoarse and strained but the Faceless man continued to whisper. "Now I am here, forever, doomed to never see my loved ones again."
My mind began to race, he said he was one of the first. What did that mean? Doomed to be stuck in the forest forever?
Wait, was he talking about the Skelton? That's the only thing that could make sense, "Are you talking about Umbr-"
The Faceless man lunged at me with bloody finger tips but just as I stepped away, he shrunk back in the shadow he was standing in. Lifted one bloody finger to his missing lips and "shhh" before disappearing. Fading back into the darkness of his prison.
Keep going
I forced myself to keep walking, that was the only thing to do now. Much of the forest looked alike and at serval times I wondered if I had walked in a circle, or if the whispering I heard were real. Or remanence of a dream. There seemed to be no end to this maze of trees and monotoned colors, the only continuous sound being my heart beat and foot steps, constantly wondering whether or not the whispers I heard were real. Or coming from within me.
The sun would never rise.
As I leaned on a tree to rest my feet I heard more whisper, this time directly behind me and when I turned around, two girls sat Indian style in a puddle.
There dresses both stained and ripped, while only one of them really had hair. The older looking one was brushing the younger looking ones hair. Quietly, they both turned towards me and "shhh"
"Do you know how to get out of the forest?" I asked after a moment of us staring at each other.
"No one leaves the cage." The older one whispered as she began brushing the others hair again.
"No one. No one. No one." The younger one began to chant, which was quickly ended by the older one grabbing her face.
"What do you mean cage?" Glancing at the sky I wondered where the stars had gone, unlike the moon that hadn't moved since I was separated from the group.
Oh my god, are they okay? Are they safe? My eyes began to water with the thought of them, why was I so stupid? Why did I run away instead of staying with them? Unknowingly, tears started to fall down my cheek, as I tried to control myself.
The terrible, wild feeling I had inside. I had to control it.
"Shhh," I jumped back as I realized the older one had crawled her way towards me and placed a disgusting finger on my lips. Her hand dropped, "Do not do that."
Then she too, with the younger girl, faded back into their cage. Their eternal prison.
When I finally found the strength again to began walking again, I lose the will to go on, why bother? If I was in this cage, as those girls said, and no one escaped, why continue? I would just spend the remainder of my life running from something. Hiding away. Hating myself. What I've become.
There was no point to any of this, to keep running, keep tiring myself out, keep living a life that I didn't want to live.
The one of crashing waves broke my train of though. Something different?
Looking up, I noticed a clearing just a couple yards away.
I began to run, finally a way out, I can get help, get out of this forest. Then I ran into something hard, falling onto the ground and into a bloody puddle. My skin started to burn intensely and I worried that it would just come off, I glanced up.
A Faceless person was towering over me, then he bent down and leaned in close. I backed away in response, I knew what would happened next.
As I pushed myself up, he screamed in a rough voice, "Run," But by that time I had already been running, dodging the Faceless people that began to pop up around me. All wearing different clothing from different periods in history, all bloodcurdlingly screaming for me to run. Over and over, all I could do was stare at the clearance.
It's safe
I had to get there. It would be the end. And then, another puddle.
"Jesus Christ!" I screamed, the pain surging through my body as a chill ran through my spine. Pushing myself up, I glanced back and was unable to hold in my gasp.
It was him.
The Cloaked Skelton was standing a few feet away from me. Watching. Observing. But not moving.
I stood, his gaze followed me.
He seemed to be there and not at the same time, constantly jumping back and forth between two places, blurry as well as solid. The smell that lurked off him turned my stomach and I wholeheartedly believed that I would have thrown up if I had anything in my stomach. The skull was scratched and cracked, smudged with dirt and dried blood.
Taking a step away, I watched him. He tilted his head a tab bit to the left but didn't move. I took another step and he did the same thing again, was this a game?
"What do you want?" I dared, my voice shaking just as much as my body had been. I cursed myself for appearing so weak.
The Cloaked Skelton's body jerked before his bottom jaw dropped open and a horrid screech came out. Covering my ears I worried that they would bleed. Then, a laugh seeped out of him. Slowly.
As he tilted his head back in his laugh, I ran. Unsure if he would be following me or not but didn't want to risk missing the opportunity. Looking back for a moment, I saw that he was still there, and I collided with something. Again.
I could feel the impact throughout my body as I hit the ground. The air became unimaginably hard to breath, too thick, too heavy.
"Run." A voice commanded, and when I looked up I saw a hoard of faceless people had appears in front of me. A path cut through them, leading towards the clearing.
A tree groaned causing me to look back and I wished I hadn't. He was coming.
Forcing myself up, I began running again, as fast as I could manage through the narrow path that they had created. Behind me I could hear their bodies being tossed aside, like rag dolls, the sickening sound of their bones cracking, the images following.
Pushing myself as hard as I could, I broke out of the forest tree line. Fresh air and the sound of water greeted me, I had found a cliff and tree bathed in moonlight.
"Vivne Mortua," A creaky voice said, the Cloaked Skelton was standing at the edge of the tree line. His head tilted towards the right as he watched me. "Silver."
I looked around myself, unsure what he was talking about then noticed that I was glowing. Silver. Like Madam Luna glowed, and Jack, and Istvan, I glowed too. I wasn't insane or alone, I had people like me.
He stepped out of the shadows and into the moonlight, flinching for a moment. "Drain yourself." His boned hand with slivers of rotten flesh on it reached out towards me. I could feel myself growing tired, fast, as I watched him walk towards me.
Before I knew it his disgusting hand was wrapped around my throat, squeezing ever so lightly as he leaned towards me. "So much pent up." A groan came from deep within his cloaked body, a tremble to follow.
"Leave me alone," I pleaded through teary eyes, unable to control my emotions, and losing the will to do so, I began to weep. Heavily. My entire body began to tremble with the force of it.
"Stop!" The Skelton screeched as he dropped me, shading his face from me. Then I notice the reflection in his cloak.
I was illuminating silver, like a beacon, blinding him.
"Alone. Broken. Afraid. Worthless. Unloveable." He spit venom at me, aiming each word carefully. He wanted me to feel those things, he wanted me to put myself down, to feel alienated and unfixable. It's how he won, how he was able to feed and grow. By breaking them down before consuming them.
"No," I said in response, finding courage deep down buried under my self doubt. "I am none of those things. Not anymore."
"Wrong. Wrong. Wron-"
"No, you're wrong. I am not alone. I have friends and family who care and understand. I'm not broken. I just don't understand my new gifts." I began walking towards him, every step I took he fell back one. "I am not afraid. Especially not of you. I am not worthless or unloveable. Istvan has proved that to me."
The Skelton looked up at me, watching me then, in a flash, something struck me along the side of me head. As I lay on the ground I tried to steady my breathing, touching my head I could feel bloody pouring from a wound. Burning me.
Turning to face him, as he towered over me with bloody stone, I felt something wild stir inside of me. And without knowing it, a branch came down and smacked him. Sending him across the clearing.
The Skelton stood there, stunned then began to move towards me again. Looking at the rock that had fallen when he was thrown, I imagined it flying toward him. And it did. I made my way towards the tree, keeping an eye on him.
He stood watching.
As it was in my dream, a mirror was placed inside the tree.
"Ignorant." He croaked as he began stalking towards me, anger flared inside of me with an unknown power behind it. Before I realized it, the Skelton was sailing through the air and slammed into a tree. And again. Then a third time, hitting every tree.
Something to the left of my caught my eye, my reflection, she smiled sadly and held out a hand. Without hesitation, I took it and fell into the tree.
The last thing I saw was the Skelton, trying to break through his new prison mirror. 

"Okay, text me when you guys get there." Mom yelled from the front steps, dad waved from the doorway.
"I will mom, promise!" I said as I waved back, climbing into Istvan's car.
"Are you ready?" He asked, pulling out of my parents house.
"For spring break? Of course." I laughed as we made eye contact, he stopped at a stop sign and turned towards me.
"It's good to see your hazel eyes again," He smiled as he leaned towards me, my cheeks blushed scarlet as I looked up at him. I began to lean in but something else had distracted me.
Something that shouldn't have been there.