Silly Pretty

I had never walked past that house on the hill, with its broken windows screaming out through the ivy, without getting chills sent up my spine.  An unseen, unknown man lived in the house, yet it looked vacant and un-kept.1

“Yet, still romantic” I sighed, watching the willow trees brush against the untamed garden stretching towards the stars.  The icy wind stung my eyes and made my face flush.  Suddenly a light flickered in the west wing and curiosity overwhelmed me.  My hand clasped the rickety gate as I pushed past it.  My tiptoeing steps echoed in the quiet night.  My silent approach was abruptly broken when I stepped on a dry branch, snapping in two.  “Blasted nerves!” I whispered to myself as I kicked the branch out of the way.  My hot breath lingered in the air and danced off with the wind.2

At last I reached the front door.  Only inches away from its unstable frame, I heard a large crash from inside.  I hesitated and looked once more at the empty road.  The gas lamps flickered in the wind as the moon crept higher in the sky.3

With a large gulp I turned the handle of the door.  Rust chipped off the door hinges as it swung open with a large creak.  I tightened my fist and peered inside.  One step.  Two steps.  The door swung shut behind me with a bang!  I spun around and eyed the room.  The only light gleamed from the bay windows lighting the spiral stairs.  I touched the banister and quickly removed it.  My hand was veiled in dust, setting off an eerie glow.  I wiped it on my apron before fastening my dress buttons around my neck.  I felt cold, and goose bumps prickled my skin.  Rubbing my arms, I went upstairs. I wandered through the twisting interchanging halls, passing cloaked furniture and noticing a tall chandelier reflecting light dimly across the room.4

It was then I heard footsteps, swiftly bounding along before a door slammed shut.  I sped up my pace, my skirts twisting about my ankles.  There at the end of the corridor I could see a light flickering from under the door.  I gently pushed the door open and stepped silently inside.  It was a pale room, hazily light with a fire.  Cobwebs flashed silver gleams and dust motes danced in the air.  A large wheeze startled me, making me glance frantically around the room.5

“No words, child,” came a whisper. Then something tugged a wisp of my hair near my neck.  I gasped and leaped away, falling upon a pile of shredded canvas.  A woman watched me.  Her back was hunched and her hair hung over her eyes.  Her sharp teeth gleamed in the firelight.  She edged closer, her left hand outstretched, feeling her way through the dimness.  My breath caught in my throat as she stumbled closer, a mere foot away.  She shook her head, her dirty clumps of hair flying about.  Her face was severely burned and was harsh looking.  Not even her eyes remained; only small black sockets where her eyes were gouged from.6

“Silly pretty.” She cooed before erupting into a maniacal cackle, shattering the silence.  With her yellow fingers inches away from my nose, she rubbed her them together, and the reek of rotting flesh made my eyes water.7

“Who are you?!” a shrill voice bellowed from the doorway.8

The creature turned her head and snapped it back at me.  She stroked my arm and tried to pull me away from the light.  “I won’t let her hurt you.” She flashed an eerie grin, “Come child.”9

“ANNA!” The other woman’s voice screeched once more, closer yet, causing the creature of a woman to cringe and slink away.  As she crawled over broken furniture, her chest heaved with the exertion.  She perched in the corner of the room like a vulture.  My hands trembled so I clenched my dusty skirts.  10

“Why are you here?” said the woman who now loomed over me.  I looked up breathless and glanced back over at the creature.  She repeated her question once more, agitated, “WHY are you here?!” she slapped my face with a stinging blow.11

“Hey!” I hollered, my hand covering the sting.  The shrill woman looked once more at the wheezing creature before pulling me forcefully out of the room.  She yanked me out the door and locked. I gasped in pain as her nails dug into my wrist.12

“You should never have come here!” she screamed.  She turned and looked at me, surveying me as if I was a disease.  “I will now repeat myself.  Who are you?” She brushed the bangs out of her face and looked at me with contempt.13

“Katherine,” I replied as I peered up at her suspiciously, the numbness of my limbs fading.  She was a large woman with her hair slicked back in a tight bun. Dark eyebrows framed her hard brown eyes.14

“Fine, Get out!” she spat, pointing at the door.15

“Pardon me?” I whispered, frozen in my stance.16

“GET OUT!” Her face mutated with anger as she continued looking at me.  Her eyebrows furrowed in impatience.  The woman down the hall let out a large scream of agony.  Terror driven, I sprinted from the house and all I saw was a whirl of shapes, the creature’s screams and the crashing of the door behind me.17

I ran until my heart was in my throat and I couldn't’t hear those dreadful screams and crashes.  I fainted, near the trees that scraped the sky with black forbidden branches.18

I awoke to a calloused hand, shaking my shoulder.  “Miss you’re not safe here,” A panicked voice choked.  “Miss?” I opened my eyes wearily to an old man.  The stench of tobacco filled my nose as he breathed heavily; his yellow rotting teeth jutting from his hairy untamed beard.  I shifted my weight cautiously away from him.  19

“Those ghosts burned down the old house a mile back miss.  Creatures loom in the forest around us.” He looked around; his eyes bulged from their sockets as he wrung his hat in his hands.20

A twig snapped behind me, causing me to jump up.  Growling immersed from a bush as a human hand snaked out from the foliage.  “DON’T LET THEM GET ME!” The old man screamed as he ran off into the night.21

“Burn… burn…” came a voice from the shrubbery.  “Die… die…” Another hand emerged from the bush.  Suddenly the creature leaped out of the bush at me. “Come, silly pretty!” it screeched.  22

I fell backwards, scrambling for footing.  In a last desperate attempt, I stuck a fallen branch in front of me, hoping to fend her off.  My eyes widened with fear.  She writhed in agony, clawing at the branch which stuck through her like a stake.  With one last breath she sneered, “I killed them all, I did!”23