LostShadow

I would like to tell you

The trees were brushing against your window because of the wind.

The shadows were longer because of your nightlight.

The creaking was coming from the neighbours.

But,

"Oh my gosh, are you okay?"

"Yes, I am perfectly fine."

"Oh thank good-"

"Yes, being surrounded by a pool of blood due to a deep wound is perfectly normal and I am sitting on the bumpy ground because I enjoy it so much and not because I can't stand. Oh and of course, my arm is naturally purple in colour."

"Is there a problem?"

I've decided to take part in @cawolters FFF the title being ~ *cue drumroll*

"~Hush little baby, don't you cry, or the demons will come and eat you alive~" She sang, her voice high and clear.

"She singing again." Said the CCTV operator as he frowned, turning to his partner, who seemed bored.

"How long have you been working in phsyciatric hospitals?" Asked his co-worker, "Let them do whatever they want."

She smiled as she moved around the room singing, her hands as if cradling a baby. Sometimes wounds would appear on her hands, wounds even the doctors could not understand how she hurt herself. Yet she was different, her eyes were shining and long luscious hair flowed down her clean shoulders. When asked why she wanted to go over the trouble of doing so, she replied, her eyes filled with curiosity and a smile all too bright, "It's not that we can't look good too, is it?"

It was weeks before she stopped singing in the morning, and did so only when night fell. She started waving her hands around and told stories of princesses and princes that die of gruesome deaths.

He remembered that day, when he went down once with the doctor, telling the doctor about her condition. The doctor had joked, "Soon she'll be writing all over the walls."

Apparently they were closer to her room than they thought, as they entered, she cocked her head at an unnatural angle, the side of her head almost lying entirely on her shoulder and asked. "Why write on the walls when you can write on the ceiling? Then you can see them even as you drift to sleep."

They couldn't explain it, the security cameras showed nothing on how she had managed to decorate the ceiling with drawings. She refused to moved out of the cell since then, somehow always appearing there the next day when she was transferred, her previous room with no sign of a breakout and the security cameras have never been more pointless. They couldn't seem to ruin or clean the drawing as well, the unknown substance seemingly laughing in their face as they tried to clear it off.

Still she continued talking and blurting out into the occasional song. He soon got used to her routine, it being a simple one, but more unexplainable lines and curves appeared on the ceiling and more wounds on her skin.

Then one day, she laughed. It was a cheerful hearty laugh that echoed through the corridors which they could hear both through the recorder and through the door as she hug herself. Wait, was she hugging herself? He leaned in closer to the screen and stared as a red creature took form in her arms.

He stumbled back, freaking out his co-worker as he dialed every possible number that could offer help.

The doctor followed with some of the hospital's security guards, bursting in her room only for their eyes to be drawn to the now glowing drawing on the wall.

"My son is fully grown," she announced cheerfully, dismissing the shocked looks on the people before her. She smiled as a small breeze started blowing around the room, "And we, are not alone." She turns to look at the camera in her room with a smile all too bright. "Checkmate."

He remembered the screams as the doctor and his team were wiped out in an instant, followed by screams from other patients room. Light flashed in the hospital, shadows long as they stretched across the walls. He remembered running with his co-worker down the corridor, their legs bringing them ever closer to the exit.

Their last shiver of hope disappeared as they were a hand away from the exit and a figure looked above them. It was her, her pale complexion due to the loss of blood from her wounds were gone, and she floated in the air, her hair waves flowing around her. She smiled at them both. "Sorry," she said without a hint of remorse, "No escapees."

~~~

The CCTV operator jerked as he woke up, rubbing his forehead as he found himself lying face first on the floor. What happened? He raised his head to glance at the screens. He saw the cameras and his friend looking at him in confusion. His eyes were drawn to the screen that showed him her room.

She was there her eyes closed as she sat on the floor.

He let out a sigh of relief as he leaned back on his chair, taking a deep breath to calm his nerves. His eyes snapped open as he heard a foreign sound that seemed suffocate him. No, it wasn't a normal sound. It was her.

She was laughing as a red figure appeared in her arms.

(I actually did an alternate ending, but to actually understand what the heck happened there, you had to have a bit of knowledge about one of my worlds, namely Demons and Travelers so welp. Tell me if you're interested.)

Thanks for reading!

- Flickering back into darkness

Random Person 1: Guys, we have a problem.

Random Person 2: That's an understatement.

Random Person 3: Uh, should I be worried?

Random Person 1: Well, considering you aren't worrying about the hellhound in the fire, the dragon in the fridge and the plant on the lawn trying to bite people's head off... No, you wouldn't be worried

Random Person 1: What are we even doing?

Random Person 2: Should ...Should I be worried?

"I'm scared..."

Advancing,

Continuously into the unknown,

As we progress through the once lush land.

Pausing,

For a small break,

Before continuing chasing our hopes and dreams into the unknown.

Forgetting,

What we already own,

As we hunger for a world of luxuries.

Striding,

Forward proudly,

As we saw what we yearned for was beyond reach.

Ignoring,

The pleas and screams,

As we took everything from the seas and mountains.

Dreaming,

Of a future,

As we took all the pairs of wings from the sky.

Wondering,

Why the world was against us,

As waves after waves of natural disasters arrived at our doorstep.

Knowing,

Just a small part of us deep down,

That one day everything will fall,

"You want me to do what?!" I screamed, throwing my arms into the air.

"Umm...follow the plot?"

"Fall in love with a random dude I literally just met!" I protested. "For all I know he has a basement filled with bodies of his last hundred love interests."

"Ewww," the author complained, "Just, no...he didn't."

"And how would you know?" I asked, throwing my hands in the air in exasperation. "Because you're the author? And blah blah blah."

"Just follow the path!" The author was clearly exasperated.

"And meet the strange dude?"

"You'll like him when you see him. I promise," the author muttered, seemingly trying to convince themself "... probably." They added as an afterthought.

I proceeded to wave a piece of junk metal around. "And why on mango puddings and tomato juice am I taking this piece of scrap metal around?" I complained.

"It's not a piece of scrap metal! It's a super cool sword that will turn shiny and sharp when you successfully activate it." The author announced proudly, probably doing a few swishing sword movements.

"Right, because that didn't happen in many other movies and books before," I frowned at the sword, and threw it like a javelin.

"No! That's not how you..." The author trailed off, groaning desperately. Ha! If only that could stop me, I was on a roll now.

"And look at this backpack!" I opened the backpack and starting pulling things out. "How can one backpack hold so much stuff?"

I pulled out a pack of food.

"You're a traveler-"

A long coil of rope.

"on a journey to-"

Some matches.

"-a place far away."

An extra set of clothes.

"Of course-"

Another pack of food.

"You must be-"

A warm comfy sleeping bag.

"-prepared for everything!"

A freaking tent, like how do you stuff a whole tent in there?

"And what do you-"

A first aid kit, with a small bottle of alcohol, bandages, gauze, cream, and medicine.

"-think you're doing?" The author raised their voice, clearly unhappy.

Uh oh, I let the second set of clothes drop back into the bag onto the pack of tissues, the compass, my large world map, the lockpick set and my even larger water bottle.

"Checking stock," I replied calmly with a grin. "Though how can so many things fill into a single, regular sized backpack?"

"Umm... It's magic?"

"Blame magic for your over packing." I grumbled, if the author heard me, they didn't comment.

"Hey, you do know I can just cancel off this story right?" The author said after a pause, clearly exasperated.

I grinned cheekily, "We all know you won't." With that, I held up three fingers. "Firstly, you're too lazy to start a new story. Secondly, you know that you badly want to update your blog."

I took a deep breath, creating what authors call a dramatic pause. "And lastly, you know you love me." My grin grew wider and I let my hand drop with a wink.

"Darn." was all the author managed to conclude from my awesome speech.

On another note... Hmmm, what happens if I stray off the path, I thought, looking longingly at the forest around me. I peeped between the trees, spotting a small meadow far away. Grinning at empty air, having no idea where the author was, I stepped off the path, sprinting into the forest.

"Hey! Where are you going?" The author protested, clearly aggravated to be ignored. Pfft, authors. "You forgot your sword!" The author protested.

"Straying from the path!" I replied back cheerfully. Turning to the sword and giving it a deep bow, I proudly exclaimed, "And may you be forgotten!" With such touching last words, I continued my exciting journey to the meadow.

"Look at this beautiful meadow!" I laughed as I pirouetted in the middle of the fields, my feet sinking into the soft grass and the breeze blowing in my face.

"No! You're not supposed to be here yet!" The author panicked, probably wringing their hands as well. "It's where the final battle will begin!"

I paused mid-twirl, pursing my lips. "Let me guess." I said as a cheeky grin spread across my face. "It's going to a battle for the fate of the world." At the author's silence, mostly due to their surprise that my intelligence is much more higher than theirs, I continued. "And the antagonist just intends to destroy the world, for fun and with no actual reason."

"How... how did you know?" They asked, their eyes probably widening in surprise and their mouth gaping open.

"Because that isn't a scene from a few hundred of stories!" I protested. "That's so clinché! And there's probably a scene where I look like I'm going to die but in the end it's a happy ending." I grumbled as I waved my hands around.

A groan resonated around me. "Stop spoiling the whole story!" Complained the author.

"Can't I get something new?" I whined as I pouted.

"Umm, a love triangle? A painful sacrifice you'll have to make? Oh, I know! How about giving you amnesia?" The author continue rambling cheerfully.

I buried my face in my hands "Nonononono. That's terrible! That's it! I quit!" Stomping over the clearing, my arms crossed, I strode into the thick greens of the forest.

"You can't quit! You're the protagonist of the story!" The author protested once more, exasperated at the turn of events.

I grinned, "Well, there's always a first time for everything. Goodbye, unknown person!"

"How... How could this happen? This is impossible!"

Random Person 1: Guys, I have a plan.

Random Person 2: Same here, I guess mine could be Plan B.

"You know, when you said you never wanted to see me again..."

"Mmm?"