HEY! Thanks for reading this story. It's a gothic short I had to make for school and I got a really good mark. Don't read it in a forest. You'll find out why. Please leave nice comments, or constructive ones. Rated K+ for being gothic.
A wander in the woods
Wandering around the murky wood, I tell myself, 'It's not real. It's not real', but the stormy weather doesn't help. I've been told about the bride and the horseman. They should've been married in the church. However, driven mad to the point of insanity, he stole her soul. So her lifeless body wanders around at night. He was hung afterwards. But the brides song is a warning to travellers, of the horseman approaching. I set out to prove everyone wrong, so I must stay by my opinion. After all it's just a legend...
You wouldn't want to come here, mud squelching under foot. I can't see anything, the fog is too thick. So I stumble around choking on the viscous air. My breathing becomes heavy as I hear the forlorn screams of owls as I crawl around the ominous forest. A sudden voice whispers to me, 'He's coming little man, he's plotting your death'. Without a second thought, I run.
Run.
Run with fear, hearing voices is not good. Is never good. I turn around to see what the creature is that chases me. Nothing. Nothing? That's when I hit it. Scared, and out of breath, I fall on the floor. Everything goes black.
Fear. It's all I can taste, as well as he blood from my teeth going through my lip. Now I know I'm wrong, I only have one wish: to escape! But shadows engulf me what ever way I turn. After hours, I come across the abandoned church from the legend; anyone with sense would avoid it - So I do. That's when I hear it. Hear what, you ask? My heart pace leaps faster and faster, my veins fill with fear. I know what this means-the chase is on.
I've faced death before, but I never thought it would end like this. I hear the bride's voice. Like a siren, brain-washing the men, changing them. I smell rotting flesh, I hear taunting voices, but worst of all, I see my fate approaching. I run as fast as humanly possible, like how a snake strikes for its prey. But yet again, I run into something unwanted. A shadowy man on a dark ominous horse. It steps closer to me, all I can do is whisper, 'What the-' before I sprint an hide.
Holding my breath, I hide from the horrible monster. But, stalking its victim, the creature sniffs around for the fresh scent of fear. It finds me, and the monster, with its misty grey eyes, stares into my soul. I run, but fall again, into a muddy river. The current is too strong for me, as it drags me back, and I struggle for freedom. The horseman approaches me and steps on my fingers, which cling for dear life. I look around, staring for an escape root. A ledge! If I could only let go...
The current carries me down, and I grab onto the small ledge and drag myself up. Soaked in river water, and victory, I clamber out and keep running. But my water-clogged clothes weigh me down. But - a house. A house! The ancient house looks safe enough, to hide from the monster anyway. Loudly, I shake the door open and dive in, slamming the door behind me. Heavily swallowing, I fall to my knees, and see a pair of feet in front of me. 'Well?' A voice says. I look up to see the source of it, and stand up to see his misty grey eyes peering into my oak brown ones. 'What?' I ask, questioning his speech. 'Well, what the hell are you doing in my house?!' he asks. So I tell him everything. But then I come to think; was that wise? He tells me that it's a lie, that there's no such thing. There's a heavy knocking at the door.
Knock.
Knock.
Knock.
The old man peers out of the dusty window and fall back in fear. 'You... You lead him here! It's your fault! He's come! Save yourself.' He shouts, grabbing a bag and climbing out a back window. The door falls off its hinges, and a figure walks in. His axe in his hand clear. He strikes.
I wake with a start. It's a bright morning, birds are singing and I'm in my house lying down in my bed. I'm comforted to know that it was a dream. But scared. I didn't leave my room this clean, did I? However I don't give it a second care and I get out of bed. As I wander through to the kitchen, to get a cup of tea, and I avoid the mirror. I don't see the red line that stretches over my stomach, from the wander in the woods...