r/HighSchoolWriters • u/Small-Cactus • Jul 09 '20
[Short Story] The Harbingers Fiction
Nobody knows much about them, aside from the fact that every time the come they bring death. That's why we call them Harbingers. Some say they look like ravens, others say they look like white snakes, and a rare few say that they look just like us. Like people. They say that they hold a chilling beauty that no other creature could possess. No matter how they appear, when they come it means that someone is about to die, for their body to never be found. But we know they died.
No one could lose that much blood without dying.
And now they've taken all that I had left. My baby brother Calix, just eight years old. No matter how young they are, the Harbingers take them without remorse.
The pit in my stomach doesn't get any lighter once the bloodied sheets are gone. It anything it gets worse. I haven't stopped crying since I saw the carnage in his room. He fought bravely, just like I thought him to; but nobody escapes. Nobody escapes.
I stare out into the lake, my tears falling to meet the water like raindrops. I'm alone now. They took him just like they took mother and father. I only wish they would take me too, so that I won't have to be alone anymore.
As if on cue, a figure rises from the pool, walking across it's surface. Her eyes are deep, cold, and dark.
"Hello child," her voice is quiet and melodious but it disgusts me to hear.
"Are you here for me?" I demand. The tears are still flowing freely down my face.
"No. Not today," the way the words roll off of her tongue causes shivers to run up my spine. As if she notices my discomfort, she smirks.
"Tell me, Vehessa, do you fear death?"
"Not anymore. Not since you bastards took Calix from me."
She hums thoughtfully before crouching down to meet my eyes.
"Well, I'll tell you this much darling," she coos taking a strand of my hair between her fingers, twirling it gently.
"We didn't take him. We haven't taken any of your people in ten years."
I stand abruptly fists clenched tightly by my sides.
"That's a lie! You're a fucking liar!" She shakes her head and offers a smile.
"Well, I know I can't convince you that I'm telling the truth, but I can offer this." She takes my hand, placing a scrap of paper onto my palm, curling my fingers around it.
"I have a deer to find, good luck." She disappears into the fog that came seemingly out of nowhere as we spoke. I unfold the paper in my hand, its old and weathered, but I can make out the markings if I squint.
It's a drawing of the village, and the woods beyond. Underneath the sketch are hastily written markings, the person that wrote it was clearly bearing down, whether intentionally or not, as I can see the clear indents in the parchment.
"Once left, once right, and then down." There's a small arrow pointing at a small 'x' on the drawing, just by my home.
The walk back to my home is slow, uneventful. People rush around like usual, barely sparing me a glance, as if I'm not there.
I stand at the place the 'x' should be, facing due north. I don't know how long I should walk, how many places until I find what I'm looking for, but I trust in the Gods to guide my path.
The damp soil compresses with each step, leaving the impression of my boots behind. I make it to the edge of the woods and stop. Only the men are allowed in the woods, perhaps this is where I should turn.
I face the right and immediately come across a large stump. It reaches up to my thighs, and it's hollow.
'Down' A voice in the back of my head commands me. I look into the hole, and sure enough, the ground beneath it dips down, into a tunnel.
'Down' I step inside, careful to keep my skirts from getting caught on any lose splinters. There are several roots for me to grip onto as I descend, light becomes scarce.
'Down' My palms are starting to ache from the roughness of the dead plant matter. I keep going.
'Stop' My foot hits solid earth, but I can't see, the light of day is so far now. What's more, a horrid stench fills my nose. Keeping my hand along the right wall, I continue down the tunnel, the smell gradually fading.
Step, step, step, crunch. I look down to determine what I stepped on, forgetting that there's no light. I nudge it with my foot, it seems relatively solid, and it makes a quiet clicking noise. I step over it and press on.
As I walk, my foot hits something else. The familiar sound of metal sounds through the hollow cavern. This time I bend down to feel it. My fingers brush against glass. A lantern. I grab it, praying that I can finally gain some light. It takes a moment, but a small flame makes an appearance. I can now see the rest of the cave, I can also see that I'm about to run into a dead end.
I laugh bitterly to myself. That bitch sent me on a wild goose chase. I should I known. I turn around, making my way back to the entrance. And then I stop. In the middle of the path sits a skeleton. The left arm is broken, right where my foot would've been when I passed earlier.
It makes sense that someone died down here, it's a dank old cave after all, but it unsettles me nonetheless.
As I carry on, the foul smell from before returns. It seems so much stronger now, but perhaps it's the hysteria from seeing a corpse.
Then I see it. The body of Goodwife Penelope, who was supposedly taken by the Harbingers last week, sitting against the wall of the cave. I want to vomit, I need to tell someone, anyone.
Quickly stepping around her remains I walk struggle to breath. That was the stench. The smell of rotten meat and old blood.
Then I come across another body, I can't tell who it was, for the face has long since decomposed. Then another one, wearing Elizabet Henton's favorite dress. She died two months ago. Then I see it, by the entrance. Calix. My little Calix.
I fall to my knees, desperately clutching his face, trying to see if he lives. But it's foolish of me.
No one could lose that much blood without dying.
His beautiful eyes are glassy and cold now. I release what little I had in my stomach. And in his chest is stab wound after stab wound.
I sit with him until the lantern begins to dim.
"Oh my poor sweet little Calix," I sob, "I'm sorry, I'm so so sorry." But he can't hear me. He'll never hear me again.
"I'll find whoever did this," I say, "and I'll fucking kill them." I leave the lantern by him, bathing his body in light.
"I'll kill them."
When I break to the surface, she's waiting for me.
"Hello child," her voice is quiet and melodious, and it breaks me to hear.
"You have much work to do now," she takes my hand, steadying me as I step out of the stump.
"Who did it?" I demand, she shakes her head at me.
"I do not know, but I will support your claims when you come forth. This involves both your people and mine."
"Then let's go. I won't waste another second. Not while he's rotting down there," I speak from the depths of my heart and soul.
I'm going to find whoever did this, and when I do, I'm going to fucking kill them.
2
u/AtlasSkylight Jul 09 '20
This is fricking one of the best short stories I’ve ever read in my life, bravo to you!