The winter's beast

it's time to confront the winter's beast

I have to confront him! I watched the once so beautiful village that I grew to love. The village I built for years with my own hands and sweat, trying to perfect the structure. The village that I also destroyed with my own hands.

      I walked the snow filled ruins that filled my face with dull colors. The beige snow slowly dropped on my bare skin leaving a cottony feeling instead of that smooth substance.gusts of dust and ash found its way through my nose, tickling it a harsh tickle. The sound of a gunshot rang in my ears and made my skin crawl. Terror and insecurity filled my thoughts and pounded my heart, which shot them through my veins.  The smell of death and decay is all that my nose received. I was the reason for all of this.

      Now the villagers spend their time drinking and throwing their money away. They forgot their jobs and responsibilities. Families split. Gang wars broke through the village . They are destroying themselves and the village along with them.

   A cry interrupted my thought, it was a cry of terror, but there was a twist to it. There was something that gave it depth and complexity. It was a cry of pain, yet it had a tinge of beauty. It made my body tingle and burst with emotion. Every hair on my body stood up in harmony with a plunge of my heart.

      I searched for the source and found a woman dressed in rags  carrying a baby. Her face was drenched with tears. Her baby carried an innocent naïve smile.

      I opened my mouth, but words failed me. Her eyes said everything and I knew what I had to do.

      There was nothing else I could do. Her eyes told me to, so I moved on. I walked through the village until there were no more houses and in front of me lay a cave. I stopped.

    This is where I rid myself of fear. This is where I save my village. This is where I find resolutions. This is where our new year starts.

   I shouted out loud producing a loud ring of echoes in the cave. My flow stopped. The responding grunt was far more terrifying than I had expected.

A gruesome, bony black figure emerged. His fur was black with a mix of white snow and splatters of fresh blood. His bloody razor-like hands were dripping. He stood on strong talon shaped feet. His face was too much to withstand.

 His bony, skeletal head had empty eye sockets, yet he could see me clearly. Hi jaw was full of red teeth. His skin was partly ripped, as if he was wearing a mask that is too small for him. His voice was the language of horror, and I heard it with every breath. It made me want to run away, however, something kept me in place. Blood dropped from his mouth.

We both know why I came. “back off!” he snarled. I stood still, keeping my motives focused. Every part of my body told me to run away, but I wouldn’t, nay, I couldn’t.

He struck at me, thus the battle begun. However, they were both still. It felt as if our whole surroundings were watching what seemed to be nothing. No, it was a raging battle. we were each tugging at each other’s mind, trying to penetrate their defenses. 

 The beast had an advantage though, he knew my deepest and darkest fears. He forced them into my brain. He was making me endure immense mortal terror. I shrieked a shreak that protruded from my deep inner heart. He had managed to tear out a part of my soul. He found my strength, and now he crushed it. I fell to the ground, paralyzed, in pure lifeless agony.

A heartless strategy, crush my soul, then kill me.  He’s` giving me a dose of torture deep within my soul, scarring me for life, or what is left of it.

 This is where he struck his final move. He leapt. There wasn’t anything else I could do but watch helplessly, in defeat. I failed this village, and myself. It was far too late. I had already condemned it too much.

  I thought of the woman and her baby. I remembered her powerful cry. It was the cry of hope. Tears slowly rolled down my eyes. It was so beautiful, the cry of an angel. I remembered the baby’s naïve smile that would soon fade. With the beast getting closer, I thought this can’t be the end.

HELP ME! Screeched a soul, it was much more powerful, and it, no, she entered into my heart, producing warmth. I can’t give up. For a moment, I closed my eyes, thinking of what’s at stake, in complete and utter belief.

The beast was only inches away! A familiar spirit shot through my heart, it was a villager! Another! Another! Just then, a horde of souls entered my heart, harmonically and peacefully. I felt infinite.

Alas, it was too late; the beast’s razors had impacted. However, I felt a glow growing through my heart instead of pain.  Lights shot out of my chest, drowning the whole place in light.

  As I stood up, I saw a sun rise and heard a crowd’s cheer. It was a new year, a new start. I had killed the beast inside of me.

Author's Note

I worked so hard on this and appreciate any kind of feedback, especially critical feedback