The black went on forever. Unfeeling darkness crept along the curves and rises of little Todd Casil's face. It was cold. Numb fingers clung to one another unknowingly.
Coarse, fake fur outlined a small bear. The large black buttons shine with unseen life. It looked towards the boy.
'Something is coming?' asked Shmee. 'Well, how soon?'
A pause.
'What do you think I could possibly accomplish in that amount of time?! It is far too hopeless.'
Hissing and moaning swam through the small chamber.
'Him? What does He want with the child?'
Silence.
'Well, it won't take very long to find out, now will it?'
Pushing the glass door open, Johnny ran as fast as he could to the small car. Gravel crunched beneath his boots. The windshield of the automobile was cracked and dusty. Johnny took his keys out of his pocket and inserted one into the ignition. The car sparked to life and left the parking lot.
Quickly, Johnny found a road that led across the freeway and drove up to the tree as close as he dared. Turning the ignition off, Johnny sat back in the driver's seat. He exhaled a long breath. A moment passes.
A hand reaches for the door handle and then he is out in front of the tree. It is magnificent. Branches reach towards the sky like dead fingers. Bark clings to the trunk here and there. Johnny lifts his arm and presses his hand against the cold wood. It feels smooth. His palm grazes along the trunk. Fingers touch a gap in the trunk. Two gaps. Johnny looks to see what is there.
EW & JC
Johnny stumbles back, startled. The letters were etched into the side of the tree. A still very unskilled hand cut through the wood to write those markings.
A terrible, searing laughter slashed through Johnny's brain. Reverend Meat stood to his left.
'See? Do you see yet? Do you know what you did Johnny?!' More hysterical laughter gushed forth from the eyes of the doll. 'It is all right there. Everything you ever wanted to know, Johnny.'
"And what is that?" whispered Johnny from clenched teeth. A throbbing pain had begun to travel through the backs of his eyes. Swirling images of things he could almost remember flashed inside his brain.
'Your past.'
Johnny leaned against the tree. It was his only support to hold him up. Nausea swept through Johnny's stomach and he threw up what little was left in it. Crouched on the ground, Johnny wept. The pain was unbearable now. It throbbed. Every second a new pain pushed passed his tolerance. It felt as though a snake had managed to get inside of Johnny's head and had begun to slither through the folds of his brain. Something terrible was happening. Something terrifying.
And then, it stopped.