Craw's Past

By

Penelope Peterson

The characters used are of the author's imagination The events portrayed are based off actual events. The theor(ies)y placed here are just of the imagination of the author. Any similarities concerning real people, living or dead is purely coincidental. Places have been changed to avoid real life events.

This is converted from the original short story from FictionPress under the same name.

Many people have found treasures in their life span, but have they uncovered the secret in the small town of Elmore?

I saw her walking that day, skipping along the road and the sidewalk, following the trail of the forest. The forest was a dark place to be seen. Not many were seen near the forest.

Did that ever stop her? Not even if you tried.

The girl's name was Annable. She had bright black hair. One of the things unusual to see about her is to see her hair in the light. When you do see it, you'll find yourself saying: "Let it all shine upon us."

I walked past her and saw her in those gray shorts, bright white t-shirt, and black gloves.

I never questioned her, but the suspense of knowing the meaning of those black gloves can really make you ask questions.

I yelled out: "Whatcha need gloves for, it's summer!?"

She looked behind, but stared deep into myself, thinking I was probably checking out her rear end - butt, if you want me to spell it out for you.

She said in a whisper kind of voice, I could barely hear her, but I was able to hear her say, "It's a secret, feller. Keep your eyes to yourself. Don't get hurt when someone finds you sniffing 'round their shit."

Ana - as I like to call her - started to run towards the forest. What she didn't know was she was heading toward Craw's Past.

Craw's Past is a dangerous place. Many kids have been reported to have been found there, but most of them were from different parts of the country. One of the most strangest things that was ever reported was finding William Fincher.

William Fincher was a child that ran away from home and was never seen again. Will was only 6, but they still found him as a 6 year old. It was more than 50 years since his disappearance.

Many of reporters have tried to get people to research the place, but the location was never clear. Many places in the forest was considered Craw's Past. There is no exact location for that place.

Nobody knows why its called Craw's Past. Someone once said, "Craw's Past is one slice of hell. Its scarier than any angry cry from your momma or even a go' ol' fashion whippin' da bitch than you ever fear. When you think you're lost, Craw's Past has a new victim."

I know that I said she was heading towards and there's no specific location for it, but she ran from like she wanted to get away; Ana - still calling her that - might have thought I was following her.

She went into the direction that most kids have gotten lost; she immediately just ran and took a turn into the forest.

If she knew her way, I think she'll be fine, but she has no future in anything. I mean it. Once in class, she squirted glue and ate it.

If you're a tourist, you'll think she's the hottest girl alive. Maybe she is, but she will tear your soul from the toes to what you have left for a brain.

Either way, I had to go after her, she may be a lost cause, but if word gets out that I saw her go in and get killed, then her blood will be on my hands.

I had no choice.

Luckily, I knew my place well enough around the forest, so I'm not one to get lost.

I ran in as fast as I could and yelled out her name out.

No answer.

I kept running and running, passing near by trees, squishing some flowers without looking, killing some bugs that got in my way. Still nothing.

Then, I heard a voice.

"Nic!" it screamed, louder than any speakers that reached to the limit and caused those around to go deaf.

Then I saw someone yell.

I couldn't hear them. I did see that it was a woman. She was wearing somewhat of a wedding dress, but was just running.

I even tried yelling. But nothing came out.

Soon enough, I realized that I had gone deaf. I waved my hands, but soon I saw her fall down. She fell down into a hole.

I looked down and saw it to be a black abyss.

Then I heard the same girl yell. The only difference now was it was a whisper.

The name said, "Will. Will where are you. Come back. I miss you."

I looked down and I heard it better, but it had turned into a gruesome voice that would give you chills. Chills among the sensation of being burned alive out in the sun and cooling off at the pool.

"You fucking little bitch! Look at me when I'm talking to you you cunt. Look at this dick! Do you want it in your mouth!? Want it in your slutty pussy!? Who are you fucking, bitch!?"

I couldn't take much to it, so I ran but I immediately fell.

I woke up afterwards. I looked around and saw the sky was a light midnight blue with more flavor than in sight. The trees seemed to have been taller and thinner. I looked up and it seemed that all of the trees, from the top, were connected. The branches seemed like claws reaching out to something.

I started walk a bit and look around. Soon enough, I checked over to see if the abyss was still there.

Nothing was there anymore.

More to my dismay, I learned that I was now a goner.

Craw's Past had me. I was now in it. Nobody that has ever set foot in this god forbidden place has ever seen the light of day again.

I tried not to panic, but I heard a lot of bad things. What I've told you isn't even the worst.

I thought I could run-like the little idiot I am. Nothing could stop me from trying though, right?

I ran and ran, but I tripped again to see that I was running normally; but there I later learn that Craw's Past won't let you leave.

I fell into the long abyss. In a way I thought it was its way of letting me take the easy way out.

That was just a trap. I fell, but I knew that the minute I opened my eyes from that fall - the one that should've killed me - would just prolong my nightmare.

My fall lead me to a dark hole. I couldn't see anything.

I started to breathe a lot, and I was just about ready to get out. But that's why Craw's Past let me live: to make sure that I wouldn't escape.

I later tried to move up but immediately I heard a snap - a mouthful of toothaches couldn't have hurt more than this.

My leg had snapped, but I couldn't tell how - not that I didn't know how it happen, but the condition it was in.

I was trapped.

Maybe it was just me having an anxiety attack or just me being paranoid, but I felt something near my hand.

It was a lighter.

I just couldn't believe it.

The minute I felt something, I thought it was just a rock, or worse, a creature inside Craw's Past or what the abyss had for me.

But the thing felt familiar. So familiar. I decided to put my thumb and do its flickering and set if it was what I think it was.

And it was.

I flickered it and saw a spark. Didn't turn on. But it still has something to get it to make a spark.

I did it again and saw another. And finally, after the third flick, it had given me light.

I was happy to see where I was, but I then I looked at the lighter.

It was stainless steel, but when I turned it, I saw that a name was inscribed there: Peter.

That was the name of my brother.

I looked over where I found the lighter and I saw a body.

The body had everything: Timberlake boots, worn out - and ripped by the knees - jean, black sweater, and finally, the one that made me wish I were dead, was the necklace.

I crawled a bit to see if it was there, a gold chained necklace with a small photo. The photo was with our family: Dad, mom, Alison - our baby sister - Peter and I.

When I looked, it was there.

My brother Peter was something that never should have happened.

My mom and Dad only wanted a son and a daughter. Different ages, of course - a boy as the oldest and a girl as the youngest.

That's what they only wanted.

One night - the night of their anniversary was to be. Soon, my mom and dad had their casual fancy dinner, then go into the bedroom and make love. In my opinion, I think that when you hear your parents having sex and enjoying it is a good thing. Most kids freak out, but I don't when I heard it. It makes me feel safe, knowing that they're not splitting up or leaving each other because they still love each other - plus, I have a bit of weird side of me, but I don't think it's bad.

They were talking about waiting for two years until they had a baby. Obviously before sex since it would be a big turn off if you talk about it during it.

I know that they use a condom, but we all know it eventually breaks when you go too far.

They did.

What happened later? They had Peter.

I can't speak personally on what they thought of him, but I can make a prediction and say they loved him.

Five years later, my mom was pregnant again.

I think they were happy since they could get a girl. They didn't, though. Life doesn't always go the way we plan it.

Peter knew I wasn't considered a mistake. They say that God has plans to give us a family. And he did that for them.

Our sister was planned either way but kept a five year distance.

Peter and I were close as we could be.

Nothing could separate us - say you like having someone around but eventually you develop this feeling or bond that would just come and hurt me, or him, that would just almost leave my head to bleed, chilling up my the tip of my spine through the my stomach getting torn apart with pliers.

We were like connected.

The day after Alison was born, everything changed.

We had to wait out in the hospital waiting room.

I was 5 and Peter was 9, so they kept the age difference with me.

They couldn't find us a babysitter or any nearby relatives. How could we, though? We didn't have anymore family. My grandparents were found dead at the retirement home when the oxygen went off and a bastard of the employee was smoking a cigarette, but he was also drunk and didn't see where he threw what was left of his cigarette butt.

That guy was definitely overlooked as an now-here's-a-guy-we-could-count-on-kinda guy. They died.

My aunts and uncles loved going at the beach or the lake with their children and friends. None of them would have suspected that going to the lake was toxic and polluted.

Many locals weren't aware of it since they preferred to head by the beach. But they went to the lake. They remembered what it felt to live life and to appreciate it. They heard loons and ducks come around, along with the hummingbirds and mockingbirds.

Life was meant to be enjoyed and to not wasted.

They did that, and they were all together.

The lake had become the highest killing in the state, over 50 locals were found dead in their homes, while my family had lost their hair, soon their own train of thought, and eventually their skin was left behind.

Doctors attempted to try an autopsy and investigate the chemicals inside, but they disintegrated and their bones - skeletons - caught on fire. The touched it and had this greasy feel and the lights eventually caused too much heat and got them to be...gone.

But for my brother and sister, they're all we have left.

But Peter - simple Peter, as I would call him - wanted to go see our mum - as he likes to call her. Peter couldn't wait any longer.

He waited for about 13 hours - didn't have much to do but walk around and be a bit impatient. Stumping his feet in a fellow rhythm where it couldn't be memorized, but rather that it comes...naturally.

Finally, he just couldn't wait any longer. He had to see her.

Peter sneaked past a couple of nurses and made his way through.

He's very smart, even tracked mom's room by listening to a couple of nurses make direction points to the interns and overhear dad being told what the number of the room was.

Eventually, he followed the screams from mom; he could always recognize mom's voice.

He found her, alright - Peter saw, what he claims to be the "most bloodiest thing" He has ever seen in his entire life.

I could go on and on and tell you about childbirth and its traumatizing power to destroy every ounce of innocence you ever had left in your body. But I won't. What he saw, the horror, he claims, is just one of the childhood traumas that went too far.

Peter couldn't see the world the same after he witnessed it. He wouldn't talk about it. Not a sound came out for over a year.

We didn't hang out as much. It seemed that bond was destroyed when he witnessed the miracle of childbirth.

If it wasn't any worse, Allison had down syndrome. She even had tourette's syndrome.

Allison was difficult enough. They tried teaching her, but it seemed they just couldn't understand her.

My parents thought she may have been a mistake when God didn't want them to have another baby after me.

I even heard them talking about Allison having a future.

They said she was hopeless.

I felt sad for her. But I wouldn't let her go down a kid who was quit on by her parents and had no chance of having a life in the world.

I knew we had to make this work.

I knew Peter was isolated and wouldn't be much help anymore. We weren't close as we used to be.

By the same time I had turned 9, and Allison was 4, we had already improved a bit.

I helped Allison better, which she did better, but very fast. She was able to be more social (hopefully in the future, as we did together), learn better, connecting these ideas very fast. She even helped me out since she kept this idea of keeping things simple when I actually kind of over-thought the idea.

She was very helpful, and a good friend to me.

Peter had spent most of his time upstairs in his room. It was almost a miracle if we can get at least one word from him each month. He was almost becoming mute. My parents tried to interact with him, but work pushed them harder, and they separated farther.

One day, we were about to go on vacation to an amusement park (or at a small town where some of my cousins used to live, I don't remember), but my dad forgot to turn off the TV.

He went back to turn it off, and we waited.

We waited for a while, until my mom decided to go see what was the hold up. Again, we waited, but was only me, Allison, and Peter.

Finally, after a good amount of time wasted, we all went back to see what was going on.

We saw our parents scared, and almost frozen. I looked at what they were seeing and it was the TV. I could read at the tine, but what struck me hard was what they were watching.

The TV banner on the news said: THE DRAGON HAVE FALLEN!

I saw the TV with both of them, collapsing. I couldn't believe what I saw. They just fell. I couldn't believe that this was happening, or the fact that it was real.

When Peter saw what happened, he ran upstairs and locked the door. They couldn't blame him, but I wanted to know why? Why now? He never felt emotion for this kind of stuff.

Later at dinner, which we postponed the vacation since we felt it wasn't safe for now and just try to enjoy some family time.

They were discussing about memories we had, all that stuff, but I saw Peter just looking at them, as if they were doing something bad. His eyes were in a fistful of rage.

"You know," dad begun, "it's a real sad thing what happened today. I can't possibly imagine how we can look at things the same way, you know."

"You did."

My dad looked at me, thinking I had said that, looking at me as if I just cost him a big promotion.

"He didn't say it you old fuck, I did," Peter said. "What we saw was an attack from people who had enough from all of this corruption and felt that this was a good idea to change things.

"I saw those towers on TV, but I prevision it."

"What?" my dad said, confused at what he saying. He was saying them so fast that he could barely understand them. But I understood. Every word.

My brother left the kitchen table and went upstairs. He came down with a book, a book we have never seen before. He opened it up to show articles and documents concerning violent acts and crimes.

"Back in 1980, it was possibly the highest year that crimes were committed; thieves, crooks, murders, rapist, all the same. But" - he turned the page to a bombing - "in February 26, 1993, there was a bombing at the World Trade Center. A Ryder truck went in with with over 1,500 pounds of explosives.

"That was the first attack, but another incident occurred that time.

"In January 14, 1998, there was a robbery. This was related to high towered gangs, but there are clues to how it could have been planned. It could mean that they were in on this, together."

My parents dismissed the idea, thinking he was just being a bit crazy since it has barely occurred. He got mad, and packed up and left.

I didn't know where, but he said that this had to happen sooner.

I don't know where I'm heading with this. I'm just scared because I don't have much time left, but I can say that my family left to the store, which was why I was walking. I don't think it was bad, just a good old stroll.

In this place I feel like I've been writing for years.

I looked around, seeing nothing pitch black, with the lighter being very little help since it didn't expand its light. I guess I should be grateful that I have any source of light, but I swear that I can't be grateful for where I am.

Peter used to be a happier kid, but now it seems like everything had turned around when he left. He was listed as missing when he didn't take anything.

I always thought that he would just leave his stuff and take whatever money he had and leave.

I saw what I saw. More importantly, I have to tell you something.

When I saw my brother next to, the body that I'm 100% sure now, wasn't alone.

I looked around my brother's dead body and found one of his old body spray. We would always give him some, but we never get to see him use it. But I got a hold of it.

I flickered the lighter and trying to get the body spray into position. I sprayed once, for about a second...and I saw more than just the black darkness that surrounds me.

I saw these dead bodies, all around me.

My mind went black, but I didn't want to believe it. I did it again, for a bit longer, and I saw more of them, not just close by, but all through this tunnel, it went from both sides. What terrified me the most was that these bodies still were breathing. I didn't understand it.

I looked around the darkness, but I saw my family.

My family.

I saw my mom, my dad, and my sister. They were all here. More than just that, I saw all of my relatives, even the ones that were dead. I just couldn't believe it.

What scared me most was the fact that I wasn't able to hear them before. I know Craw's Past gave people delusions, but what if this was real? No way I could try to disprove it. My brother was here, and so was his backpack.

And that's why I'm writing on what's left of his notebook, writing down that I'm going to crawl through these bodies. I have already been thinking about when I began writing. My only hope is when someone finds it it will help them have a hint at what this place is capable of. I know my writings are a bit short, but I don't have much paper left.

I gave you my history because I felt a little guilty. In a way, it's my confession to God for my sins. I just hope I make it out to tell the story (or if you escape and find this).

I'm going to leave now. I just want to say this: Once you've read this, you know you're trapped, because you found this.