[b]DAY 16: SLIT THROAT – YOU CAN'T ESCAPE FROM YOUR SINS[/b]

He had seen it again. The face that had been so familiar to him, but which now was a haunting memory. No matter where he would go, it would appear at some point. Elliot had been having a stroll around the town at late hour when the sky was black and only comfort came from the pale lights on the streets. He had been smoking a cigarette to relieve some stress, but dropped it when he saw it. In the display window, behind the glass, a white figure was staring right at him. Once a beautiful woman, now a terrifying sight as she had a deep, bloody wound on her neck. Elliot had started running immediately, but in the end, this figure would always haunt him, wanting to make him pay for what he had done.

Love is a strong force. It can make you happy and heal your soul, but it can also be destructive. Elliot had been happy with his girlfriend Sophia, until one day his world got broken. He learned that Sophia had cheated on him and that was a devastating blow to Elliot. He was sad, angry and confused. Sophia had apologized so, so many times, but none of her apologetic words would heal Elliot's broken heart. It drove him mad, and so, he did a horrible deed.

One night, he had snuck on her bedroom while she was sleeping. He had a sharp knife with him and right on that spot, he slit her throat open. He was a coward and didn't watch her die, he just fled from the scene as fast as he could. This event really took a toll on him mentally, but he kept it as a secret. Getting drunk almost every day was how Elliot would cope with what he had done. So when he started to see the ghost of Sophia, he had thought that it had been just his drunken mind making up things. But the visions were getting more frequent and would appear even when he was sober. This terrified him and he attempted to get away from it by being constantly on a move.

But little did he know, the more he tried to run, the closer his demise was getting.

The ghost of Sophia was feeding on his fear and guilt, but was also turning her own resentment into her strength. Day by day, she would grow stronger. She was evolving into a vengeful spirit, getting so powerful that she could harm living people. And her eyes were fixated only at the man who murdered her.

Elliot was running through the streets in fear, as if like he would have the hounds of hell on his trail. He got few puzzled looks on his way, as well as grumpy noises from people he almost bumped into. But he didn't care. He just wanted to get away. So he ran, ran like never before. But it seemed that fate would intervene, and made him run into a dead end. He had turned into a wrong alley, now having a concrete wall blocking his way. He turned around, but it was there – the ghost of the woman he had used to love. And she was holding a bloody knife.

Elliot gave one more glance at the wall out of desperation, but then returned his look back at where Sophia was. For a second, he was surprised, because the ghost had disappeared. But then, he could feel something cold behind his back, sending shivers down his spine – then he realized that he couldn't move. Some mystic force had taken a hold of his body. He could feel how something passed a knife to his hand and he grabbed it, his hand moving on its own. His hand started to rise, the blade was getting dangerously close to his throat, he couldn't control it. He was in panic, panting heavily.

“No! No, no, no!”

Then something made him slit his own throat. That was when his body was freed again, only for it to drop to the ground. He was gurgling, he could feel his life force bleeding out of his body with the blood. The last thing he saw was the smiling face of Sophia.

Murder a person, get killed like that person.



[b]DAY 17: DROWNING – JUST TO BE WITH YOU[/b]

I was walking through the forest, like so many times before. I was all alone, just the shadows following me behind. It was evening, the colors of the sky were gorgeous, and some birds were still singing their songs. In that moment, the world was beautiful. But it didn't matter to me, for my heart has grown cold. I wandered through the forest like a ghost, captured by time to repeat the same tasks. A miserable sight, pitied by anyone who would see me in this state. But everyone knows, or at least has a feeling, that I'm a lost spirit, who just can't be helped. I have seen the pain in the eyes of those dear to me, but even they had stopped trying to heal my soul. I'm just like a flower that they're watching to slowly wither away.

The tree line receded and I came to a cliff. I walked on it, all the way to the end that reached above the sea. When I was on the point, I stopped. The setting sun in the horizon painted the sky with warm and pleasant colors, giving also some glimmer to the blue sea. A gentle wind was playing with my clothes as I was looking at the vast scene before me. The bell you had tied to my neck was jingling, and the sound of it brought memories to my mind. Sweet, but also painful memories.

You arrived from the land beyond the sea. When we saw each other at the port for the first time, we connected immediately. I offered you a place to stay in my family's manor. It didn't take long before we fell in love. Those days were the happiest time of my life. You stayed in this region longer than intended, all because of the love between us. Our hearts were beating as one. We were meant to be together, forever. You told me that you had finally found a place to call your home, because you had been a mere traveler up to that point, just seeking for a purpose in life.

But you had lied to me. Or more like, you hadn't told everything about yourself to me. You just disappeared one day. The only thing you left behind was my broken heart and a letter where you said that there was something important you had to do in your homeland, so you took a next ship which was heading there. Why did you have to leave me behind? Why didn't you take me with you? I thought that I was the most important thing to you… Am I wrong?

I've been waiting for your return ever since. It's been months. Every day I have come to this cliff and watched at the horizon, hoping to see your ship arriving again. I've been the most faithful to you, doing this day after day. I just want to see your smile again, feel your touch, lay in bed next to you… But even I have my limits.

One day the winds brought me a message. They told me that you had died in a battle. I wish I wouldn't have heard these words, but the winds never lie. It had been a devastating blow to my heart… I couldn't believe it. I hoped that I hadn't understood the whispers of the breezes. That's why I denied the truth for a while and just kept coming here, in hopes of seeing your ship again.

But it's been so long… I can't live like this anymore. If you're truly dead, then there's only one thing I can do.

I took a deep breath. My hand found the knife I had taken with me. I looked at the flawless blade, seeing the reflection of my own sorrowful face in it. Without thinking it further, I stabbed the knife to my chest, then letting my body fall from the cliff. Was my heart dead or had I just slightly missed it because I still had my consciousness when I was falling? I hit the surface of the sea, somehow still retaining my awareness even though the impact damaged my body. I was sinking, further and further into the abyss. I couldn't breathe, I was drowning. But somehow, the sea's cold embrace felt comfortable. So I just let myself sink to the bottom.

Maybe the death will reunite us. Even if I have wander here in the cold abyss looking for you, I'll do it, for I desire to see you again. Nothing can keep our souls apart.

We will meet again.



[b]DAY 18: UNDER THE SKIN – PUNISHMENT[/b]

The inn of Black Horse had been welcoming and offering travelers a safe place to stay in their journeys. Most people who spent the night in the inn were going to the town Fortinmar or coming out of there. Black Horse had a good reputation, and mostly people enjoyed their stay in this modest and friendly inn. It has been doing business for over a century, pretty much ran by the same family throughout all these years. A lot of people had always traveled the road here, so when Black Horse got built, it was a welcoming relief for wanderers, having a place where to rest.

Black Horse got its name from a monument that lied not far away from the inn. A small cemetery was located in there, it was the final resting place for many travelers that just couldn't finish their journeys. It was founded by a mass of exiled people that were then passing through this region, as for some of them, the journey had been too harsh. They had moved on towards Fortinmar, but left a statue of a black horse to guard and soothe the souls of their fallen friends and family. This was also the time when the inn had got built.

All these years the hosts of Black Horse and the travelers alike had been respectful towards the cemetery, not disturbing the peace of the dead. But things will always change.

And tonight, things changed with a horrible price.

A rather ordinary group of four men came to the inn, seeking for a place to stay before they would continue their trip to north, probably to Fortinmar as well. They were quite a loud bunch, but the folks at Black Horse had got used to visitors like them. They ate a lot and drank even more. They would laugh and sing, chatter with other guests. They kind of lifted the spirits of the inn for a moment, everybody seemed to be in a good mood. But as they drank more red wine, the men began to show signs of impudence.

So the four friends began to whisper among themselves, conjuring up a plan to go to the cemetery and have a little fun over there. In their intoxicated minds this was a good idea. One of them refused, explaining that he was feeling nauseous and sick. But the three others were excited, and left the inn, singing drunken songs along the way.

As the drunk men arrived at the cemetery, they started to act like adolescents, vandalizing the place. They kicked the tombstones, making them appear crooked, lifted some smaller ones of them and threw them to the bushes, and even urinated at some of the graves. All this time, they were shouting loudly. The men had no idea that by disturbing these final resting places, they angered the guardian.

The men got alarmed by a cracking sound. It was coming from the horse statue. All three directed their gazes at the monument. Cracks had appeared all over the surface of the statue, it was like something was hatching from it. In flakes the pieces of stone began to fall from it, soon revealing the figure of a black horse that had eerily glowing green eyes. It snorted and jumped off the pedestal where it had stood. Even in their drunken minds the men understood that they were in a big trouble and started to run away clumsily – but because they were intoxicated, they didn't realize that there was no escape from this situation.

Obviously, the horse was much faster than few drunkards. It galloped past the men, then turned around to face them again. With sluggish and wobbly movements, the drunkards stopped, trying to figure out what was going on. The majestic animal opened its mouth and sprayed something green and stinky at the faces of the men. Then it just galloped away, just like that, leaving behind the clueless men.

They tried to process what had just happened. But before they could discuss anything, something started to happen to them.

Something was crawling under their skin. They raised their sleeves, only to witness that there were lumps crawling all over the arms. They touched their faces, and as expected, same kind of moving lumps where there too. The same was probably with the rest of their bodies. It was a freaky sight, and soon it also started to hurt like hell. The things moving under the skin wanted to get out, and shortly they started to do so. Small tentacles burst through the skin, causing pain and bleeding. The men were screaming in agony and fear, trying to rip those pesky things off. But they just kept coming. More and more of them appeared, staying relatively small, until few of them burst forth from their eyes and mouths. The men had no more the ability to talk. They just stood still as the tentacles conquered their whole bodies. They strangled the lungs and choked the heart. Soon their mutilated bodies fell to the ground.

This is the punishment they got for disturbing the peace of the dead. Now, they won't leave this cemetery ever, for they shall be buried to this earth.



[b]DAY 19: BROKEN GLASS – SHADOW PEOPLE[/b]

Ava had been seeing the same reoccurring dream for over a month. First, she didn't think much of it. But after she had seen it for a few times, she began to wonder what its message was. As the dream showed up more frequently, the more it bothered Ava. In her dream, she was surrounded by vast darkness. There was no ground, she was standing on a glass. Beneath the glass was flowing a red stream, like a pool of blood. This made her afraid, because she definitely didn't want to fall into the red liquid. She could only hope that the glass would support her weight. She would start walking, not into any particular direction, but just somewhere. And as she moved forward, sometimes she could spot few eyes around her, watching her. But if she tried to look at them, they would disappear. She couldn't really decide was this a good thing or not.

And then there were the mirrors. They would always appear at the end of the dream. Hanging from an invisible thread, they would descend from the upper darkness, accompanying her trip in this odd world. They didn't reflect her image, but instead, she could see shadows of people. They had wide grins and they were trying to speak to her, but she couldn't really understand what they were saying. She would walk among them, feeling anxious, because she felt like that they were expecting her to do something, something that she couldn't do.

And then she would wake up. Time after time feeling dazed. But she would always get over the perplexed feelings, having a normal day. Dreams were just dreams, after all. 

But what if when they start to seep into reality?

Suddenly, Ava's dreams started to take form in her waking hours. She was very much distraught when she started to see the shadow people from her dreams in different kind of places of her own reality. Not that much at first, but as the time passed, the more recurrent they became. She had thought that she really had lost her mind. But she didn't dare to speak about her experiences to anyone, not to her friends or family. It's not like they would listen anyway, since they had swept even her anxiety under the rug. She had people around her, but she still felt like she was all alone in this world.

Oh well, at least now she had those shadow people with her.

Eventually, Ava started to understand the whispers of those who hid in the mirrors. They were begging for help, but for what, she couldn't tell. But she was a nobody. It's not like she would be any help to anyone. And yet, the shadows kept pleading. She had asked what they meant, but didn't get an answer. She just had to deal with them.

And one day, came the breakdown. It was such a shitty day for Ava. She had got humiliated at school, and what's even worse, it was by the person she had a crush on. Then she learned that her mother had got into a pretty serious car accident and was hospitalized. It was a huge blow to Ava's father who then grabbed a bottle and got drunk, instead of visiting his wife at the hospital. He had been a recovering alcoholic, but this incident made him relapse. Suddenly, everything started to fall apart. Ava locked herself in the bathroom and cried, cried probably more than ever before.

The shadow people appeared in the mirror. In that unstable state, Ava hit the mirror with her fist, breaking the glass, but got sharp pieces in her hand as well. Blood was dripping to the floor as she stood there, panting heavily, looking at the broken glass, and hundreds of other faces were looking back at her. Then she just collapsed to the floor and continued crying.

“Ava… Ava…”

She could hear somebody calling her name quietly. Instinctively, she looked at the pieces of the mirror, noticing that all the shadows were gone, except for one.

“What do you want?” Ava grunted at the figure, sniffling. 

“We need you, Ava”, the same voice spoke.

“No, you don't”, the girl replied.

“Yes, we do. Just grab a piece of this mirror and strike it at your heart. That will take you to another place.”

In a normal state of mind Ava probably would have declined immediately. But now her mental state was a mess. She picked up the biggest shard of broken glass and stared at it for a while.

[i]Just a stab to the heart, huh…[/i]

She grasped the shard tightly, so tightly that it inflicted a wound on her palm and began to bleed a little. She really wanted to get out of this place. In a moment, she had made her decision. She closed her eyes and struck the piece of broken glass to her chest. She felt no pain.

And when she opened her eyes again, she was in the same place which had haunted her in her dreams. The darkness, the glass, the pool of blood beneath it… All of it was there. She just happened to be in here as well.

“Welcome, Ava.” It was a voice of a woman.

Ava turned around and saw a tall woman, dressed in strange clothing, standing there.

“Who are you?” Ava asked.

The woman smiled gently at her.

“I'm a priestess of my people”, she replied. “We have been waiting for you. Come, let's leave this place. I'll tell you everything soon enough.”

Side by side, Ava and the strange woman began to move. Ava didn't know where she was going or what was going to happen, but somehow, she felt like that she had shed all her problems. This was a new chapter in her book. And she hoped, that it would be better than last.



[b]DAY 20: DECAY – MY GUARDIAN[/b]

Owise had noticed that Wendra's son started to venture into the woods every day. All alone, without telling anyone. Did Owise mention anything about this to the boy's parents? No. There were many dangers in the forest for a ten years old boy, but did Owise care? Not at all. Instead, his mind started to get infested with thoughts of what could possibly get the boy killed, or at least severely injured. There would be no witnesses in the woods. He could easily hurt the child.

The man had never got over the rejection from Wendra. Owise had loved her with his whole heart, but the woman didn't feel the same and got married with somebody else instead. Owise was bitter about this, and just couldn't let her go. In the deepest parts of his dark heart, his love for Wendra kept smoldering. Year after year he had to watch from the distance how Wendra became a happy family with her significant other and the kid. And the bitterness only kept growing, for it was painful to see somebody you loved so deeply to be so happy without you. Not being part of that happiness was so agonizing. He could be the father to that child, but no, he had got pushed away.

Maybe he could be the killer to that brat, then. Seeing the child being all alone in a place of danger just fueled his murderous rage.

[i]Do it. Do it. Do it.[/i]

His state of mind turned into frenzy whenever he witnessed the boy going out in the woods. He could barely contain it. And one day, Owise decided it. He would murder that child. It would be his revenge for Wendra because she crushed his heart.

Loitering around some houses, Owise was acting normal, but kept his eye on the border of the woods. And soon, he saw his target entering the forest, his small figure disappearing into the world of shadows in a blink of an eye. The man snuck after him, keeping a little bit of distance; he didn't want the kid to alarm anyone. Owise could feel his heart beating fast from the thrill, he was excited. It was like he was on a hunt, the prize being the most magnificent beast. Deeper and deeper into the woods he ran, into the parts where no one can hear you scream.

He had kept a bit of distance to the boy, but after some while, he saw the child, just standing there. Owise stepped on a branch, snapping it, and that was when the boy turned around to face him. The man stopped his movements, staring at the boy. The child had a pretty blank expression in his face. Even when Owise pulled out a knife he had taken with him, the kid just tilted his head a little. 

“You are here to kill me, right?” the boy asked in such a way that it was like he was asking for what was for dinner.

The man was surprised, he hadn't expected this at all. Though, he got a hold of himself soon.

“Yes, little boy”, he spoke to him in a soft tone. “That's exactly what I'm going to do.”

“You can't do that”, the kid replied.

Grinning, playing with the knife with his hand, Owise said: “I think I can take care of one brat.”

Just after he had said this, the man heard something. And it sounded like it was nearby. It had been a howl, but it seemed like it was coming from a much larger creature than a wolf. It struck terror into Owise's soul, made his blood run cold. Then, he heard a rumbling sound, like something large moving and snapping branches on its way. And shortly, a huge creature appeared from behind the boy, growling with a voice that sounded otherworldly. The man could only stare at it.

It was a huge wolf-like creature, however, this was bipedal. Its huge fangs and claws along with its enormous size where enough to strike fear into anyone's heart, but there was something more disturbing about its appearance. It was like it was rotting. One of its eyes was missing and the eye socket had got filled with fungus. There were parts in its body where the fur was gone, partly showing rotten meat and bones. In few places there was some plants growing from its decaying body. This thing should be dead, but there it was, standing, as if protecting the boy.

The creature moved its large body towards Owise. That was when the man got some sense back and turned around to run, trying to get away from this beast. But the being caught him with its huge hands, raising the man from the ground as easily as if he had been a doll. Owise attempted to struggle, but in vain. He tried to even stab the creature with his knife, but those were just like mosquito's stings.

And just like that, the huge beast wolfed down the man, devouring his whole body.

The little boy looked up at the creature.

“I told you that you can't do that”, the child said as if the man could still hear his words.

Then the boy and his strange friend started to get going, walking deeper into the forest. The boy was humming a song, having no worries for he had a great guardian with him that would protect him from bad men.