“Dumb Witch! Dumb Witch!” the mocking children shouted towards a frightened little girl.

She covered her ears, hating all the negative energy pointed towards her. The children surrounded her, leaving her trapped in the middle.

Helpless. She heard a voice whisper near her ear, its hot breath stinging her neck like acid.

“Kill her! Kill the Dumb Witch!” the continuous shouting of the children made a ringing sound drown everything out. Having no end to their terrifying banter, she tried to scoot between them, desperately crawling on her knees to break free.

All for its self, or nothing at all. All for its self, or nothing at all. She tasted a strangely familiar zest of faint blood as one of the kids kicked her hard in her stomach with their mud covered feet.

No end, no end. There is no end! The voice kept screaming near her ear. ‘I know! I know!’, she would respond to it, having enough of the endless torture brought to her after the bell rung for school.

Soon, it was all over. She could have smiled in relief but knowing they will come back tomorrow instead forced her to swallow it in.

This is YOUR fault, you know? ‘No, not my fault, never my fault!’ She thought to the figure now standing next to her as she laid on the dewy, cool grass that felt as if they were cutting her arms like tiny razor blades.

The church’s peak loomed over them, almost seeming menacing.

Same blood, same sins. It continued speaking with its croaky voice, which no one could hear but her. The figure still stood in front of her, almost slumping from the weight on it’s back.

It’s clear white, dead eyes watched her as she lay on the ground helplessly. Its mouth was opened wide, as if wanting to speak but not saying anything as thin blood streams poured out. It’s gray, matted hair hung low, almost touching the ground. The pack filled with boulders on its back looked very weighted and big.

“Still ain’t my fault.” the little girl replied, her eyes still gazing at the sky in a trance-like matter.

You may be innocent, but inside you is dark matter. EVIL matter. A flesh wound grows in your heart, spreading it’s germs, contaminating you. Killing your pride and emotions. Yet, your disgusting heart still pulses, waiting for prey to feed off of and infect, so your off-springs will have the same disease. Just like your m-

Before she could let the vile voice continue, she stood up and kicked the dirt of where it was standing, but now it has disappeared. In tatters, she walked on the crooked pavement path that led to where her house stands, hoping that no more demons will invade her mind. Yes, she might have ‘evil’ within her, but she still was a child. She doesn’t yet understand why everyone hates her or why the demons come or why she has the nightmares like her mother did. Yet, she lives with it, misunderstanding it and accepting it.

‘Just keep walking. One, two. One, two.’ She tells herself. Somehow, having the ability to walk, breathe, and bleed reminded her that she was human just like everyone else, which calmed her.

‘One, two. Almost there.’

‘One, two. Car approaching.’

‘One, two. Shadow coming closer; heart beats faster.’

‘One, two. Gun.’

‘One, two. Run!’

‘One, two.’

‘Darkness.’

Credits: Music – Nightmare Freeway by www.soundimage.org

Horror Short Story