Dark Brightness
A nervous, twitchy gentleman looked around in his paranoia, uneasy in the unfamiliar surroundings of Nature. Nonetheless his agitation did not detract from an enigmatic solemn countenance the children of the Occult possess. He yearned to be in the shadow of a sprawling metropolis, where lights better served in creating shadow and drawing the lazy eye away from the significant. There he could be anonymous and free in his devotion. He felt conspicuous in the dark creeping woods. He constantly brushed what felt like tiny legs tickling his skin only to find a rustling leaf. He quietly muttered to himself as he walked into the woods, guided by bright strips clinging to trees boughs and reflecting from his flashlight. Suddenly the bright colors were lost. His destination was before him.
Tall trees were planted in a large circle, so meticulously placed that one would believe they were planted by hand. However, the distance they were from the nearest civilization and the ancient creak they made as they shuddered in the chill night wind claimed otherwise. Six trees formed the circle. He stared at them for a moment then looked away, quickly bored. A voice drifted on a breeze and the man looked around, head whipping in every direction to try and ascertain the origin of the startling human voice. Quietly the voice spoke again as he looked at each tree in turn. "Oak, ash, thorn, yew, rowan, and elder." As the last name was intoned with a certain reverence a lithe figure slipped down the elder tree. The gentlemen coughed a little nervously "You were late. I thought we scheduled for half past twelve and it is twelve forty." He grasped the excuse of punctuality to collect himself before the meeting really commenced. The figure's silhouette cast broadly on the tree trunks. A soft chuckle seemed to emanate from the trees. The gentleman dared not shine his flashlight directly. Fortunately the moon lent her light to reveal the mysterious numinous entity. The moon light brushed across her laughing lips first then illuminated a draping dress and enveloping cloak. The darkness still hid the upper half of her narrow face. The rich claret that dripped from her and gathered around her face seemed to be a cape of bleeding roses and even an Occult member, like our gentlemen, shivered at her presence. Her lips curved into a smile of dark vanity at the fear her mere appearance invoked. The brief moment of amusement passed.
She grasped the edges of her hood and slid the dark velvet folds back to raise her face to the full moon. Without glancing once at the gentleman, the moon-kissed figure spoke. "Ah she has her full attention on Earth tonight. However my tardiness has naught to do with our gathering this night." The gentleman ventured to raise his face and perused the blood-clad figure. She met his glance. The man shuddered for a second. He brought himself upright. "Pertaining to our-" he hesitated looking for the correct word. "Gathering" - the woman supplied the word and it was spoken with such prominence that the gentleman found it hard to continue "-yes our gathering. The person of whom you spoke was supposed to accompany you." In that moment he thanked the benevolence of Fate that he did not have to behold this bloodcurdling creature. He pitied the person that had traveled with this unsettling woman. She inspired stories that made the most intrepid Occult lapse into terror. The woman turned and cocked her head to the side, as if listening to a faraway sound. "He is new to the forest. Unlike you he slowed down to appreciate it. His ecstasy over the small wonders of the forest forced me to consent to him reuniting with us in due time." Her words seemed so normal that it relaxed him slightly, but her sinister purr caused him to retain his wariness. Now he could imagine, instead of some poor soul being this woman's travelling companion, someone who was just as sadistic and malevolent. The woman turned her eyes in the direction she had been listening. The gentleman, who had seen many preternatural events, wondered if she used any extra senses. No doubt her gleaming eyes could see into the inky blackness surrounding them. He himself had some ability to perceive others.
He assumed, with the great mystical shroud enveloping the glade, he would be unable to feel anything beyond his normal senses. So he was astonished to feel a light like a ray of sunshine falling despite the dark clouds that surrounded it. The feeling was so unlike the comfortable cold contact of his colleagues he instinctively stepped back into the gloomier shadow of the oak. There they waited, one who was girded in blood in the glade and the cabalist gentlemen who lurked in inkier shadows. When the bright sunlight became perceivable to his other senses his earlier impression to seek the sanctuary of the night dissipated and he drifted under the moon that now shone more brightly. The woman softly glided to the opposite side. They both donned more appropriate stances to greet the last component to their gathering. The gentleman fancied he heard a jovial whistle. In strolled the third companion. The open mouth curved into an amiable smile once his eye alighted on the gathering. The occult gentleman was unnerved by such evident and open delight. As the smiling man ambled up to the erect, glaring form of the inwardly twitching figure he held out his hand in introduction.
After introducing himself the woman glided towards the newcomer. They shared a nod of recognition, her silently sinister and him smiling gaily with real warmth. Then the gathering commenced as the chanting began from the first two of the gathering. A dagger was exchanged blood glinted, wine drunk while the smiling gentleman stood between the two a slight smile on his lips. When the time came the woman finally turned towards him and intoned the pledge, asking him if he would swear. As the smiling gentleman shook his head he spoke "I'm afraid I cannot swear to any of this." There was a moment of confused shock and the grinning man unsheathed a sword and drove it through the occult man. The woman hissed and flew away. A complacent sigh left the smiling gentleman. Sheathing his sword, the man put his hands in his pockets. "Ah well, I only got one of them. But there are always other nights." He strode without a backward glance whistling with the moon shining on the glade.
This piece was written for a general audience, not age specific at all. The theme of this story was different kinds of sadistic/scary and how things are not always what they seem. The man seems all bright and happy but turns into probably the most cruel of them all. I made the characters in contrast to each other to emphasize their physical differences. The differences were apparent and they all were sinister in their own fashions. Part of this spooky, illusion theme was the setting. I made sure to have the setting convey the tone of the theme, with the gloomy forest. My main usage of the mini lesson , on showing-not-telling, can be seen in my description of the claret cloaked woman. My main struggle was big sentences that run on. I also have trouble with grammar, mostly commas. I am proud of the vocabulary I used in this piece along with my description of the claret cloaked woman.