Category : Books-Fiction

Sub Category : Fantasy

The wind howled and whistled as it worked its way through the trees in the desolate Pennsylvania woods. The night sky was heavy with rain. Thunder crashed and lightning illuminated surrounding trees, grass, and one cozy looking cabin. Within the walls, the cabin looked even more welcoming. Three doors lined the far wall, all leading to bedrooms. An archway to the left of that lead to the kitchen. A great fireplace stand unlit on the south wall of the living room. The walls were crowded with many framed pictures of a happy looking family of four. 

    Nestled on a billowy satin couch were three of the four. The t.v. kept them illuminated as they soundly slept in each other's arms. Timothy lay on the left most side. He was a tall lanky man with untidy black hair, and small ovular glasses resting on his nose. One arm was draped across his wife, Lily’s, shoulder. Lily had long flowing red hair. Her face was speckled with faded freckles. Her head rested on her husband’s chest, as their daughter, Emily, slept soundly across both of their laps. Emily shared her mother’s long red hair, but lacked the freckles. Six years of age meant she was the oldest of two. Her baby brother, Dillan, was sleeping behind the closed door of his nursery.

    The peaceful ambience was interrupted with a small crackle as a log in the fireplace shifted. Then, without warning, it abruptly burst into an enormous flame. The bellowing roar from the fire startled the three awake. Lily and Tim pulled their gaze away from the fire to meet each other with bewildered stares. 

“Emily, honey,” Tim started as he stared down at his little girl. “Were you playing with the fire?” He spoke as though trying to convince himself. She looked up to her father with big, fearful eyes.

“N-no Daddy!” Tim and Lily gave each other a short glance again, before he got up and faced the fireplace. Lily and Emily did the same as Lily wrapped her arms around her daughter.

Tim noticed at the base of the flame was a little purple glow. As he stared at it, he became eerily fixed on it.. Almost as though he was being hypnotized by it. He slowly inched his way closer and closer to the fireplace. 

“Careful Tim,” Lily called out in a cautious voice. But he didn’t even notice her as he approached the flames. He knelt down six inches from it and continued to gaze. He couldn’t break his trance. All he could feel was a need. Almost like a silent voice was directing him. He slowly brought his hand up from his knee, and even slower, slid it towards the purple glow. 

“Tim! Stop!” Lily yelled out in a pleading cry, but it was far too late. The glow had him. He jolted his arm into the fire, and let out a piercing howl as he held it there.

“DADDY!” Emily squealed as her face turned to pure dread. Lily held her tighter and let out scream after scream. Tim’s face turned white, as he bellowed in pain with the skin on his arm boiling in the heat. It was abruptly brought to a halt as an invisible force sent him flying across the room. He crashed into the t.v., which immediately exploded into flames, sending shards of glass soaring through the room. One of the biggest shards flew straight at Lily and slid through her cheek and planted in the roof of her mouth. She staggered back and threw both hands to her face. Blood seeped through the cracks of her fingers at first, then poured down to her neck. She let out a muffled and gurgling howl of pain. Tim was now fully ablaze and lifeless, as Emily could do nothing but choke on tears in horror. Lily noticed her and immediately broke from her state of shock and pain, and outreached her arms to Emily. As she brought her hands down you could barely see her chin through the blood that gushed out violently. 

“Come here baby, it’s ok,” she directed to her hysterical little girl. In the next moment Lily’s face flooded with shock and surprise as she bolted up straight. Emily watched as a hole formed in her mother's chest as though an invisible blade was shoved through her back.

“MOMMY!” Emily shrieked, as her mom was then lifted into the air. She was suspended there for just a few seconds, and then flung through the air. She crashed down, limp, meeting Tim’s charred body, still ablaze. Emily stared in horror as the flames spread from her father to her mother. “M-mommy. D-d-dadd-y.” she cried softly, as she fell to her knees. She dropped her head to her lap and sobbed for several minutes.

She snapped her head up in fear, as a booming knock came from the front door. She allowed the knock several more times, unsure what to do, before she bolted up and ran to the door. She unbolted the lock and swung the door open to reveal a tall figure. He wore black carpenter pants, and a skin tight, black, long sleeved shirt. The chrome buckles on his black combat boots reflected the flames. His belt buckle also shone chrome in the shape of a skull. He wore a metallic mask of a skull and metal gloves, that separated at each knuckle. The gloves only covered the top half of his hands, leaving the only visible skin on his palms.

“Are you okay?” came a raspy, weathered voice from behind the mask as he looked down at Emily. She threw her arms around his leg in a hopeful embrace.

“Please say you’re a hero,” Emily implored through her sobs. The man bent down to her level.

“I will get you out of here safe,” he insisted to the devastated girl. “But, first you have to be brave, okay?” Emily wiped her eyes and nodded. “Now is there anyone else in the house?” She looked to the door of the nursery.

“My little brother, Dillan.” She looked back at the masked man waiting for a response.

“Okay, I need you to be super brave,” he said as he held her shoulders gently. “I need you to wait right here.” Emily nodded once more, and the man slowly got up. He walked to the door of the nursery cautiously, but unfearful. He grasped the doorknob and with one slow motion, turned and opened the door to reveal a crib. Inside lay a sound, sleeping baby boy. He walked up to the crib, bent down and slowly picked him up. Dillan squirmed slightly, and gave an ever so slight fuss. Then fell back into slumber in the stranger's arms. The man turned around, baby in arms, and exited the room.

When he reached the doorway he stared in horror as Emily stood facing him. Blood seeped down her neck from a newly formed hole directly in the middle of her throat. As a final tear rolled down her cheek, she gargled one soft cry of fear and then collapsed. Before the stranger could even react, he was thrown to the floor as Dillan flew out of his arms. The baby stopped mid air, and flew towards the fire as though being carried. The man in black shot up and chased after him. He reached out both arms to grab the child, but as soon as Dillan reached the fire, the flames collapsed around him with a small purple flash. With that, the flames and the little boy vanished.

The man stopped. Everything went still. He looked down to the little girl, lifeless on the floor. He was not the hero today. He looked over to the bodies of her parents, still roaring with flames. He reached out a hand and faced his open palm towards them. And out of his palm shot a cone of snow, like a fire extinguisher. The flames smothered under the powder, as the man bent down to the little girl. He pulled her into an embrace.

“I’m so sorry.” He rested her head gently down on the carpet and closed her eyes. He shot up and pointed to the empty fireplace, and yelled, “YOU SICK BASTARDS! Your day will come.” With that he placed two fingers on the side of his skull mask. “This is Harper. It got away.” He paused for just a moment to keep his composure. “He took the child with him.” 

At that, he turned towards the open front door and walk to it. When he reached the doorway he turned his head back for just a moment. “Your lives and this day will never be forgotten.” And he walked out into the night.