The Devil's Silhouette | ✔

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"Get out," the gruff voice ordered in a bored tone.

It all happened fast; too fast for my brain to register. One second I was in the boot of a stranger's car: the next, my body was hitting the cold, hard tarmac. A strangled sound escaped my lips as my eyes begged to close. My parched throat ached agonisingly, and the multiple bruises across my skin made their presence known painfully. The sudden slam of a door and the roar of an engine told me that this ruthless stranger really did leave me here to die.

I sighed in exhaustion and stood up, trying to navigate my way home. My blurred vision became a fraction clearer as I forced my eyes to squint. Scanning the area, a wave of disappointment surged through me, as I saw no sign of light. I had nothing to guide me and it was too dark for me to see things from a distance. Despite this, I couldn't help but feel a glimmer of hope when the outline of a stone hedge caught my attention.

"Axel..."

I almost jumped out of my skin when I heard the strange whispers of my name. Surely I must have been imagining this? I mean, I was severely dehydrated and on the verge of unconsciousness. This couldn't be real, but almost as if I'm the metal to a magnet, I felt as though the stone hedge was calling out to me. It was encouraging me to move further; to move closer. My feet had minds of their own, slowly inching forwards until I was face to face with a black, ivory gate which was dressed in vines. The gate was left ajar, itself and the leafless trees encircling it looking at me expectantly, beckoning me to come through. When I made no move to give in to its hypnosis, a strong and aggressive gust of wind violently pushed me into the unknown territory.

The hairs on my arm came to a stand as a shiver ran down my spine when I heard the creaking of the gate behind me. The sound of the locks bolting forced me to wrap my arms around me in protection.

Deciding that standing around was proving to be useless, my feet begrudgingly carried me deeper into this bizarre land. The thick clouds of fog swayed around the trees, manoeuvring to enclose me in a circle, entrapping me, injecting me with a dose of claustrophobia. The further away I walked from the gate, the thinner and colder the air became. The ground was no longer solid tarmac, but instead, it was damp and slimy. The squelching of my footsteps was the only sound that could be heard for miles, it was my only company.

Or so I thought...

My feet lazily slid on the ground of leaves and thin twigs as I walked through this vast forest for what felt like the hundredth time today. Honestly, I wouldn't have been surprised if it was - I've been trying to look for an exit for hours but to no avail. The overgrowing, everlasting greenery blocked even the tiniest fractions of natural light from entering this dark, gloomy maze. The only noises my sensitive ears could pick up on were my footsteps and the sound of my own slow, shallow breathing. The putrid stench of something rotting stung my nostrils as I desperately searched for a way out of this cursed territory.

Halting to a stop, I tried to control my breathing as I could feel a glimmer of anxiety bubbling at the pit of my stomach. I closed my eyes and tried the breathing exercises my therapist recommended not even a month ago. My eyelids peeled open only for my irises to meet an eerie silhouette of a person, in the distance, standing still - too still. The figure looked as if it were watching me. And the fact that it had claws for nails certainly didn't go unnoticed. I scanned the area once more, searching for a sign of hope - a sign of life. The sound of bats screeching and wings flapping startled me and a flock of crows flew past me, their cawing deafening. The atmosphere grew tenser than it was just a minute ago and I felt the hairs on the back of my neck rise as a shiver crept down my spine, forcing me to shudder uncontrollably. I gulped nervously and that's when I heard it. I stopped breathing, trying to focus on that sound. My eyes widened as the faint humming of a music box could be heard. Except, this wasn't like any other music box, this one played the same melody as the music box my dead wife owned. The tune caused my head to pound and lulled me into a hypnotic daze.

Black and white flashed through my mind. There behind the big oak tree, lay the body of a man who looked about my age. He was sprawled out, lifeless. My eyes wandered to his mouth where blood was oozing out. Across his face, neck, and torso were slashes so deep his internal organs were on view. The revolting sight of his guts spilling made me want to gag, but strangely I couldn't move. I wanted to get out of here. I wanted to run. But my feet - my feet were rooted to their spot. I couldn't move a muscle in my body. Beads of sweat began to run down my face as an earsplitting scream filled the air. I tried to move again but with no hope, I gave up and decided to analyse the victim's face once again. The man looked familiar, very familiar. His blue eyes wide in horror were glazed over and his once blond hair now red, covered in what looked like a pool of his own, cold blood. A gasp escaped my lips and my body started to tremble as realisation struck me. This man wasn't just anyone. This man was me.

My body jolted from its paralysed state and I looked around in confusion. Gone, was the corpse of my own body. Gone, was the strange silhouette of a person. I looked around in paranoia only to turn back to a monstrous face just a few inches away from my own. Its eyes were pitch black, its face was as white as a sheet. A trickle of red trailed down the corner of its lips and a demonic expression formed on its hideous face.

With no time to run, a shrilling scream escaped from my body as the pain of claws digging into my face struck me. Teeth stabbed at my flesh and I felt myself become lifeless as my body was drained of all my blood. My eyes were wide open in hysteria, and my body gave one last jerk before coming into relaxation as I breathed my final breath.

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T H E E N D

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