What We've Become

Him

An evil grin was spread across Arrow's face as he listened to the rioting chants. These were the people who could help him to stop those men once and for all. This was exactly the sort of energy that he needed.

"Which of us was the last to die?" Terrence mumbled, confused as he looked at Anna.

She shrugged. "I didn't watch. I can't stand to watch it..."

They all nodded. 

"Kasey died first..." Danny mumbled quietly.

Arrow squeezed his eyes closed, refusing to let the tears that had formed in his eyes fall out. The image of his brother's gutted body slumped over in the chains on the tree, his green eyes glazed over and open wide from the shock that had shook his body. Arrow shuttered.

"I think he went after Arrow next..." Terrence grumbled. "Then me..."

Arrow clenched his fists as he saw his best friend's mutilated body struggle against the chains as the men tore chunks of his flesh from his body, practically eating him alive. His blood curdling screams of pain and fear shrieked over all the slight noises that forest produced. Arrow's stomach churned.

"So then... I was last?" Danny asked, his voice meek. "They're talking about me? I DON'T WANNA LEAD A CULT!"

The three chatted, encouraged Danny, and Arrow stood up as the image of Danny's paled, scared face struggled against the chains. He was covered in his blood, and all of his friends' blood. The knife made a strange and hollow thud as it pieced Danny's skull, and he went still.

Without a single word, Arrow vanished into the trees yet again. Everyone believed that it was Danny now, though, Danny didn't bare the thought that Arrow did. He had watched them all die. He'd watched them all suffer before they met their doom. He watched each of them take their last breath. And he, unlike Danny, could have done something about it, but instead, his body gave out and he laid in the grass, fighting in and out of consciousness, forced to listen to the sounds of his friends' dying breath. Their screams, their struggles, the blade piercing their flesh. They could all think that Danny was their leader. They could all worship him and look up to him, idolize him, but he did not hold the scars that Arrow was forced to bare. It had taken him over an hour to finally bleed out and die. His wounds had not pierced anything vital. So he laid there. In and out of consciousness, begging someone, anyone, to find them. To save them. To bring the men into justice. An hour he suffered there with the searing, white-hot pain of the stab wounds he bore, and any time he looked up at anything besides the grass and dirt, he stared at the destroyed corpses of the ones he cared about. The blood dried, chained up corpses that didn't even resemble the people that they had once been. Many times, he attempted to drag his broken body to them, hoping and praying to a god he only just began to believe in that there was still a slight echo of breath in their chests. Each time, he collapsed, not making it more than half of an inch. 

Soon, the chants of the spirits died down into nothing as Arrow strolled through the trees. The sun had fully set, leaving a dark cast over the woods. He closed his eyes, allowing himself to zone out. Memories of his life haunted his mind, playing out scenes in full detail. He sat down on an ancient, decaying stump, the movie of his life rolling around in the hellscape of his mind. He stared ahead of him, out at a small outlet of the stream that ran through the meadow where all the other spirits were. It had congested, the water tumbling out of its track to form a mushy pond. Beavers worked on the dam that they had spurred up along the stream, which is what caused the chaos of the stream. The sight of the small, furry beasts brought Arrow back to the real world. It made him consider a much simpler form of life. One that he wished he'd had lived besides the troublesome life he had lived.

For hours he stared at the wild beavers that worked tirelessly in the moonlight. The longer he watched, the more at peace he felt, and the more he longed to live once again. He yearned for a second chance before he settled down in hell for eternity.

As the sun began to rise, the beavers dove under the water and did not resurface. When his animal friends were gone, Arrow stood and continued his aimless walk deeper into the trees. For the first time ever, the boy was content and at peace. The light breeze that ruffled the needles and leaves of the trees that towered over him set a calming affect on the area. As dawn gave way to morning light, he reached the end of the tree line. Below him was tall buildings and dozens of familiar streets that tangled together. He stood rooted to the ground for several minutes before his yearning took over of his best instincts and he slid down the slop of the hill. Seconds later, he was pacing down the streets he had walked for years.

People walked along the streets of the town, heading for work or school, or wherever else they deemed necessary. He passed them, careful not to touch them, in fear of what would happen to himself or even the innocent people around him. They did not seem to notice him, and for once, the people of the streets didn't stare at his skinny, emo form. Instead of walking slouched over, staring at the ground, he straightened his form and looked at every person who walked passed him. No on noticed that he was there, and he knew that they couldn't see him.

Eventually a lady walked passed him, holding the hands of three young children. The lady looked exhausted, and her cheeks were tear stained, her hair a total disaster of red curls. The two boys, seeming to be ornery at one point in time, were dead silent and still, their mother dragging them along behind her. The third child, a small girl with long and elegant blond curls slowly paced behind her mother and brothers, dead silent. She too looked worn, tired, and sad. Arrow stood in place, looking the family over with eyes the size of quarters.

The little girl gazed up at him, her beautiful blue eyes meeting his for a few solid seconds before she  pointed at him with eyes as big as Arrow. "Its Arrie, Mommy..."