So I was lying in bed earlier today and I was suddenly struck with an idea…an idea for a story.
Instantly the scene began to form in my mind, and I knew I had to write it, get it out as quickly as possible. So that’s what I did.
It’s fantasy/gothic/horror in nature, and I’m used to only writing general romance/realistic fiction. I’ve never written anything even remotely similar to this before and so I’m very critical of how it is written and the description used. I know it’s probably not the best, but I feel as though it is pretty good for my first time. Hopefully you guys (whoever is out there reading this) like it… here it is, seeing as it isn’t very long I figured I’d post the whole thing:
“TURN”
Chill.
The night air was brisk as it kissed her warm skin. She was a furnace. The breeze flowing through the open window did little to calm the fury that was growing inside. She tossed and turned, unable to shake the churning ache in her belly. Fear crept into her half-conscious mind like a fog. She thought she was going to die.
Her moans went unheard as she clutched a pillow to her abdomen, hoping to soothe herself in even the slightest way. She was alone, as usual. The sounds of the night blanketed her ears.
The thin material of her shirt clung to her naked body, cloaked in sweat. Her chest heaved, up and down, rising, falling, faster and faster. The drumming of her heart showed no signs of slowing. Try as she may, her breathing would not slow, and her breaths were short and harsh.
What is going on? What’s wrong with me?
Her thoughts were scrambled, clouded and tangled with pain. She tried to focus on what could have caused this. Was she sick? Could it be something she ate? Maybe a virus going around…
Every thought drew her attention to the grinding feeling from within.
She lay on her back, wincing with every breath, gazing out of the window. The night was calm, peaceful. Her room smelled of violets and fresh rain. The scent intensified as the breeze increased. The oak tree outside of her window swayed to and fro, causing the moon-cast shadows to shift eerily along her bedroom walls and furniture. The moon, in all its fullness, shone gloriously. It illuminated everything it touched; her lavender satin sheets, the metallic embroidery on her crumpled blanket, the perspiration on her thighs. They all glittered in the moonlight. The moon…
She had found something that soothed her, something that calmed the fury. Her breathing became less ragged and her muscles relaxed. That’s it, the moon. Keep focusing on the moon.
Slowly the pain dulled and for a moment it was as if she became numb, no pain, no fire lacing her skin. Nothing. She exhaled and shut her eyes. Finally.
Suddenly, as she inhaled deeply, a sharp pang shot through her spine and her body arched upward. Her feet and hands dug into the bedding and a guttural scream clawed its way out of her mouth. The satin sheets were bound within her fists. She clenched them as tightly as she could, trying to find another release point for the pain, but the prickling below her ribs was all she could feel. The fire had returned.
A loud crack could be heard when her body slammed back onto the bed. Another snap from inside her chest and her body flexed again, she shrieked as water welled within her eyes. Every muscle in her arms pulsated and expanded. They cracked and contorted in ways she had never known to be possible, bent in three places. She yelped, afraid that this is how she would die, mangled and writhing in pain.
Tears spilled from her eyes, her shoulders yanked from their sockets. The ripping sound horrified her. She felt her knees buckle and twist abnormally, the skin on her legs tightened from the strange swelling, muscles tearing and inflating. When her forearm burst open another agonizing wail resonated through the semi dark room. All she could hear was the rapid beating of her heart. It muffled the ferocity of her screams. With every thump, she felt another muscle being torn, another piece of skin split and peel away.
The pain intensified, she clawed at her stomach, scratching to release the flames from within. Her skin, paper-thin, broke easily from her violent attack.
It was then that she noticed her hands. The skin on them had torn and a yellowish liquid seeped out from the seams. Somehow her hands had swollen to a monstrous size. Her elongated fingers were bulky, muscular and discolored in the darkness. Her once manicured fingers now housed thick, long, nails that curved to a sharp point at the tips. Frantically she scraped her palms and wrists, eyes bulging with fear. Razor sharp, her nails dug deep into the fleshy warm tissue releasing more sticky pungent liquid. The blood infused slime clung to what was left of the scraps of skin. Wet and gleaming in the moonlight, her arms were covered in a thick coarse layer of what appeared to be fur.
She gasped.
What is happening? She though fearfully.
Yanking the blanket from her partially covered legs she could see that the skin had split on them as well. Her feet and ankles had morphed into bulkier distorted versions of their former selves. They too had fur bursting from the seams.
Her calves throbbed, bones still snapping. Muscles expanded and defined themselves where they had not been before. Terror lanced through her and she felt like her limbs were on the verge of combustion.
As if on cue, her ribs all shattered simultaneously. The sound that echoed off the walls was not of this world. Skin tore, flesh exposed, bones rearranged and reformed. The internal inferno lathered her organs, causing her to double over in pain. It felt as if she had been submerged in acid.
Her eyes strained and her throat was raw from terrorized screams. The pain surged from spine to chest instantaneously, and she tumbled to the floor. Shattered in a dozen pieces, the lamp that was once on her nightstand lay dismembered next to her. Dismembered, that was how she felt.
The cool wooden planks felt heavenly against her convulsing body. Her shoulders twitched and jerked rapidly. Tears streamed down her face, burning as they traveled. They splattered on the floor along with the strange liquid that spewed from every crevasse on her body. She felt weak, worn, ravaged. But the suffering continued.
When her jaw broke the pain shot through her mouth to her eyes and she could not scream, could not blink, although she tried. Someone had rammed a sludge hammer into the side of her face, or so she had hoped—that would at least explain why she felt such misery. Her gums trembled and she could taste blood and something else. She could not know for sure, but it tasted like bile. The fluid leaked out from the sides of her broken and stretched out mouth. The bones continued their antagonizing break-and-enlarge routine—this time spreading to her cheeks and skull.
The ringing in her ears was so acute that she was sure blood had been pooling within them. She clenched her eyes shut. A low throaty moan could be heard somewhere behind the ringing. She felt the harshness of her breath in her throat. The flames were trying to make their way up and into her mouth.
The cracking of her skull incurred a whimper and her eyes bucked open. They were met with the glowing face of the moon.
On the once beautiful cherry wood floors she saw her shadowed self, jerking around in vicious spasms. The silhouette was monstrous in size and alien in form. Oh God.
The pressure was building, and the fire blazed ravenously; she knew the end was soon approaching.
The sea of flames centered itself, withdrawing from her arms and legs, and traveled to her pelvis and belly. The last of the breaking and tearing of the remaining bone and flesh had commenced. The tremors increased. Her feet flexed, back arched and neck bulged. This is it…
Focusing as hard as she could she tried to force the pain outward. It rolled, and the flames encased her wholly. The claws on her feet and hands dug deep into the floor splitting the wood. Her head and neck jerked up to the moon—full, beautiful, serene. All at once the anguish, the blazing heat, and convulsing peaked and rippled through her, erupting with a howl that shattered the nearby mirrors and glass.
Silence.
Numbness engulfed her and she collapsed to the floor, gasping for air and blinded by the light of the moon.
/\/\/\/\
Tell me what you think!
Ciao! ❤
2 Weeks Notice 