By Matt Poppiti
Vincent Barton tossed a snowball at Yon, and snickered. It was winter, once again…His favorite time of year. With the blizzards this year, schools were gonna be closed for a while yet, so in the meantime, he was locked up in his Aunt Marie's old mansion. His parents dumped him there, expecting him to be responsible. Feh, it's like they don't even realize Aunt Marie's been isolating herself for almost three years. She's not gonna be around much longer…and they bring my friends and I here? Vincent pondered these things, but really it was all half-hearted. He was having the time of his life.
Bradley Maxwell strolled out onto the balcony where his friend, Shizuka was staring out into the endless white sheet. "Yo, Shizuka!" he casually said, placing his hand on Shizuka's shoulder. "Brad-san…" his voice held his heavy Japanese accent, but Bradley could feel there was something wrong in his voice. "What's the matter?" Bradley asked. Shizuka's eyes narrowed, "Evil." He replied. "I sense evil on the rise." Brad looked at Shizuka, not knowing whether to feel his forehead, or listen contently. "Blood will be shed. This house is cursed, and we…we are it's victims." Shizuka explained, his voice shaky, "We're going to die." His eyes closed. "I've seen it…in my dreams, the evil. It's so dark…it shows me things. It shows me Hell, and our fate…and…" Shizuka grew white, and Bradley could see him growing cold. "What is it?" he asked, shaking his clammy shoulder. "K-Kahlil…" just as the words escaped his mouth, a scream that could make angles cringe rang out along the hallowed corridors.
Vincent heard the high pitched scream of the young Arabic boy, Kahlil, Vincent's best friend since childhood. "KAHLIL!" he yelled, throwing open the doors of the huge mansion, and flinging off his coat. He sprinted down the halls, each continuous hallway blazing by like a fast-paced dream. Finally, he met Brad and Shizuka by the door outside Kahlil's room…they warned him not to go in…
"Kahlil…" the young boy, blonde hair and blue eyes…was slumped in the corner of his room. There was no sign of a struggle, but Kahlil's left arm was completely severed…nothing remained but a stump of blood. His arm was nowhere in sight, and there was virtually no blood. Kahlil pointed with his right arm at an entity only he could see, and mumbled gibberish that couldn't be translated. He looked at Vincent, and Vincent looked back…his eyes, they were no longer soft, no longer a blue haze…it was now glazed over, and glassy like a madman's. Kahlil stood up, and started screaming gibberish at Vincent…but soon, his words became understandable…as he shouted, "L-L-L-LEAVE! LEEAAAAVE!" Kahlil's screams sounded so tormented…so forced, as he stumbled back, and well through the window, on to the snow below.
"KAHLIL!" Vincent peaked down, and saw him lying in the snow…his good arm now shattered through the bone. Vincent looked down, and blinked…but in that split second, Kahlil had a revolver in his hand…given to him by an unseen evil. "Kahlil! No!" Vincent pleaded in vein as Kahlil opened his mouth, and pulled the trigger.
"Kah…lil…" Vincent dropped to his knees. Brad and Shizuka stood there, thinking. Shizuka explained the evil he had felt earlier to Vincent, who listened. "It's Aunt Marie…that witch has locked herself up in her room, rarely comes out…I know it's her." Vincent took off, and bursted into his aunts room…
The feeling of the old, musty air filling his lungs was like setting off a flock of butterflies within him…the dusty room was laid out in typical old fashion. A canopy bed, and furniture that was covered by sheets or cobwebs, it was all too thick to tell. He cast his eyes to the pictures hanging on the wall, and quickly looked away, because his Aunt'' friends were especially creepy to him. Vincent threw open the canopy curtains, and recoiled in terror.
There, in the bed, was apparently the body of Aunt Marie, stripped off her flesh…a bloody, festering sight. Bone and muscle exposed, intestine spilled out across the bed, coiling in a heap at the foot of the bed, and blood painted across the sheets like a demonic candy cane…but what accentuated the horror, was the still beating heart of his Aunt. Vincent jumped up, and watched as the body began to quiver and shake, and the absolute evil was spawned…
The bed glowed, and was shattered. In its place, was a dark, shape-less shadow. The shadow zoomed past Vincent…totally ignoring him. The frightened teen sprung to his feet, and spilled into the hall…he saw the shadow, cornering Bradley.
Bradley cowered, and leaned back against the wall, he looked Vincent in the eyes, showing a fear that he's never seen before…the kind of terror provoked by Hell itself. "Help…me…Vince…" he choked out, as the shadow engulfed him. "BRAD!" Vincent yelled…Bradley's terror filled screams echoed throughout the halls, as his body was burned away into nothingness.
Vincent raced toward the shadow, but it only slinked to the outside. "Damn." He muttered, running downstairs, and stepping onto the snow…feeling a wet, slippery mass under his feet. He looked down, and was Yon Chang, totally mutilated. Vincent screamed, for the pain, screamed for his mental anguish. Then he saw the shadow hovering over him.
"VINCENT-SAN!!!" Shizuka leapt out of nowhere, and pushed Vincent to the snow, out of the shadow's reach. Shizuka and Vincent watched as the shadow transcended, into a massive, scaly creature, with pincer-like horns, and blood red eyes. What ever it was, they were sure it came from Hell.
"O…Omae o…korosu." Shizuka muttered, limping toward the beast. "Omae…o…korosu…" the thing drooled, and raised it's massive claw, but Shizuka stood tall. "OMAE O KOROSU!!!" he started to attack the thing, but it fought back. Slashing a huge gash into him, and making him bleed heavily. Shizuka grabbed the thing by the claws, and an unusual transformation took place…the demon disappeared. "It's…inside me…" Shizuka muttered, "Go…go now…"
In fifteen minutes, the police had arrived…but by then, all the bodies had mysteriously vanished, as did Shizuka…and the snow remained untouched. "Well son, we don't see any blood or bodies…" the sturdy police officer said, looking about, slightly mad about the prank. Vincent looked at the snow, and said to the officer, "I remember, when I was a child…my grandfather would make home-made caramel, and on a snowy day, he could pour the hot liquid onto the snow…and it would harden like candy…Akumo Shizuka did the same…he must have. He licked the blood off the snow." He felt like he was rambling. "Son, I don't think-" the officer was interrupted by a distant gunshot, deep in the woods. "Rest in peace, Shizuka". Vincent muttered, sticking his hands in his pockets.
The End