Misfortune's Night

We had been out walking, and the night sky had blessed us with stars brighter than memory served. We walked by everything from our past together; the streets silent and vacant. The feelings were transcendent between us, and her eyes were magnificent in the starlight. It was enough for both of us, and the world seemed to agree. But then the screaming started. It came tearing from every direction, not just one, offering no escape from the nightmare. The multitude of voices, all blended together to compose the tormented symphony that would become the music of the night to come. Huddling closer, still we continued on, as if it didn’t matter. In a way though, it didn’t; it was too late to help anyone anymore. The screaming; the cries of desperation; the bitter sweet nocturne; beginning to accelerando, commencing the allegro, and at last reaching the climax of the crescendo for an instance, before all was still once more. In time, our eyes were drawn to the sky, just to see our happiness fade along with the stars.

Through the night we hurried, seeking shelter from our fears; our hearts wrenched and our spirits dwindling. The labyrinth of night we traversed overwhelmed our senses, and drove us onward, deeper and deeper, towards the heart of it all, trying to make sense of the despair. The houses along the streets glowed dreamily, as though they simply ceased to exist, and maybe they did. She then turned her face to mine, but not a word was said. Apprehension at once flooded her soft features, and I held her close; we both felt the pain that was to come. The twisted path of darkness that we followed narrowed its scope, and soon it was just big enough for the two of us, and along we trod, keeping pace with our heartbeats. Seeming to be drawn inexorably to the farthest outskirts of this dark realm, we approached the only destination we were meant to find: a church, the apparent epicenter of this distorted world. The area around the church was riddled with craters, and the earth around the craters was scarred with the deep gashes of foreign, animal-like claws; but not a sound was made, and silence prevailed all around. We treaded lightly as we made our way to the doors of the sanctuary; our sanctuary; and we entered with tender care. The inside of this chapel in particular had a certain homely charm, which echoed refuge and tranquility to the wanderers of this world. Entering through the French doors to the large cruciform sanctuary, we shuffled by the rows of pews, and made our way to the altar, where we rested under the shadow of the cross. Those were the final moments we had together, before hell erupted one last time. The earth shook as the altar behind us collapsed, and a horrible shadow emerged from below, bringing with it the screams of eternity in a symphony all too familiar. In a shower of splinters and shattered construction, we were thrown hard and to the ground, and as I shouted for her, I clambered to my feet, looking about frantically. The room, however destroyed it might have been, couldn’t hide her from me. She lay twisted unnaturally, with her head propped against an overturned table lucky enough to survive the emergence of the being, which now lay throbbing in darkness following its birth to this world. Ignoring whatever spectacle lay down in that abyss, I scrambled over to her as best I could, pushing aside debris, until once more she was tight in my arms.

Now standing by the edge of the newly formed crevice with her supported in my arms, I began to cry as I watched the thing begin to move and squirm into existence. Looking up to me, the odd thing rambled forward, and lazily attempted a haphazard lunge for me, which missed by a wide margin, but was close enough to cause me to slip to the floor. I kissed her, and told her I loved her one last time as she slipped out of my arms, and into the pit below. Dazed for a moment too long, I turned, looking to grab what I could to defend myself as the creature lunged for me again. Seeing the attack, I dived for cover under the overturned table, and watched as the thing’s malformed body collided with the wall to the right of me. Stunned from the impact, the creature paused momentarily, allowing me to examine it in its entirety. At first glance, I likened it to have the appearance of a largely over-sized tree frog, but that was where the similarities ended. Its flesh seemed to have been stripped clean, assuming it had ever had any at all. With claws that hooked uncomfortably too much, and slits where eyes should’ve been, the thing had an unholy presence, that contrasted sharply with the church that had housed its birth. Far sleeker than the average frog, and seemingly tuned for unimaginable agility, the beast turned its head towards me once more, and I could see its bare muscle and tissue gleam in the dark of misfortune’s night. It lunged again, and I sidestepped to avoid the creature’s embrace. A fraction of a second too slow; I felt its claws rip into my side. The force of the impact spun me to the floor, and I felt my strength leave me. But I couldn’t give up. I couldn’t give up after what had happened here. Too much was at stake, and I wasn’t dead yet. So I stood once more, and looked for my newest acquaintance, which was silently circling, portraying its power with every stride. Letting out a gargled scream of defiance, I announced my readiness for the finale of our showdown. Facing each other for the last time, I clutched my side, feeling the blood slip through my fingers….but none of that mattered anymore; she was gone and the frog-man was to blame. But the blood…it keeps flowing…but I can’t stop now, I can’t do it. Yet…I slipped to the floor on my knees, and soon to my hands as well. The floor seemed to be so nice…but no…no… no… NO! Forcing my way to my feet, I found a piece of rebar that was to be my Excalibur; and my Merlin was on the cross above me. The creature reared back its head with a shriek, and began to paw the ground in anticipation. Lowering its head, the beast began to charge forward, and I with my rebar, leaped to the side, raising my weapon at the same time. Seeing the shadow surge closer, I thrust downward just as it passed, and impaled the creature through the neck. Writhing and gurgling, the creature-being-thing-beast-frog-man crashed about through the ruined rectory until finally, it collapsed and let out its final breath. Shuddering, I looked to my Merlin for comfort as I finally fell; and as I fell, I fell through the floor, and through the earth itself, emerging myself in a place inconceivable to mere human comprehension, and beyond, to where all things must go.