Clash Of Furs and Feathers

I've never wanted this life for myself-this life filled with perils and evil. It's like a dream I can never escape from-a dream which I'm forever stuck in. Heh, no one ever wanted this life or ever wished for it. You'd be either insane or extremely evil to wish for this kind of life-the life where you don't have a choice over anything-the life where you're bound by your deepest desires.

I never wanted to enter into the supernatural world. I never wanted to come across the Crimsones[1], Lycanthropes[2], demons and the rest. I never wanted to be involved in anything pertaining to the dark and supernatural world. I had always yearned for freedom and not servitude. But of course I was wrong all along. I had been delusional, thinking I'd be able to escape it all-to escape from fate. I never knew I would be pulled into this mess, becoming one of those dark creatures which roam about in the ungodly night. I never wanted to be a merciless predator who was also a prey to another predator (what a food chain!).

But all is good. No matter what I shall not alli myself to degenerate into a heartless monster who only knew how to tear flesh, spill blood and break bones. I cannot allow my desires to pull me down. I cannot be corrupted by the abyss!

My name is Daniel Stark and what I'm about to tell you is a real life horror. I don't know what you call horror or romance or fantasy but this story I'm about to tell you, you need to listen attentively and not miss a bit of information. This is my story-one beginning with pain.

~

Rumble!

There was a roar of thunder as lightning flashed, illuminating the dark and creepy woods.

Pat! Pat! Pat!

Drops of rain streaked through the air, dropping ferociously as if they had been forced to do so. The leaves, the ground and everything was wetted by the torrential downpour which seemed to continue for ages. The dark trees which seemed like humanoid figures swayed to the raging wind, their branches seeming like extended arms-arms which would grab at you from the shadows. Down here in the woods it was very dark, so dark that only tiny bits of light rays could penetrate at the brightest afternoons.

This was the Crimson Woods, a woods rumoured to have ungodly creatures roaming here and there. Wild tales spread like fire, filling the hearts of the residents of Crimson Springs with fear-fear borne out of the natural instinct to avoid danger and not from wild imaginations. It was said there were creatures with dark red hypnotizing eyes and fangs which sucked the blood of people, creatures like wolves which mauled people, creatures in form of water which drowned people, ghostly creatures which possessed people and many more! All these wild tales pointed to one thing: Danger! These creatures spelt danger to the people. So no one dared to wander into Crimson Woods at all. The brave ones usually went in groups or carried weapons with which they would defend themselves. But against who? Against what? Spirits? Ghosts? That was sure vanity.

And at this very afternoon, a kid was running through this same woods chased by a group of bullies. It was as if they had never heard the tales and wanted to bet their precious lives on them.

Tap! Tap! Tap!

The kid ran very quickly, panting as he dodged the scary looking trees. He kept looking behind him occasionally to see if the bullies were still chasing and was disappointed to find out they actually were. The bullies were actually very relentless in catching him. Earlier at school they had threatened to beat him at school when it was lunch time. To avoid that he had immediately made a run for it when the bell rang for closing. Who knew they would chase him into Crimson Woods.

As he ran he would occasionally see figures receding into the darkness. He would see countless red eyes staring at him from the shadows, an ungodly presence wavering over him. Of course he shrugged all these from his mind, thinking that they were all as a result of extreme hallucinations. He needed to escape from the bullies!

He stopped behind a large tree and hid, controlling his breathing so that it wouldn't be too loud for the bullies to hear. His brown hair was now wetted by sweat, his entire faced drenched in perspiration and tiredness. His brown eyes had hints of fear in them, his narrow lips quivering uncontrollably. He was very much afraid-afraid of what the bullies would do if they caught him.

"I have to find a way to get out of here,"he muttered as his eyes darted at every angle, wary that the trees weren't just trees but the bullies in disguise. His hallucinations was getting the best of him.

"Daniel!" an angry shout filled the woods. "Wherever you are just come out here and receive your beating! You don't want us to catch you!"

Daniel wasn't stupid enough to reveal himself as he continued hiding. He heard the footsteps of the bullies approaching and he quickly made a run for it, going deeper into the woods. He didn't know how long he had run but then his right foot suddenly stumble against something, causing him to tumble down to the ground. He fell on something hard which he didn't bother to check because he was in so much pain.

"Ah," he groaned as he struggled to stand up. His whole body was in pain making his attempt to stand futile. "Don't tell me I'm gonna be stuck in this woods."

He turned his body so he would be able to prop himself up with his hands. His eyes suddenly narrowed in horror as his pupils dilated. Facing him was a human skeleton! He turned his head to another side and discovered that there was a corpse lying beside him. This corpse had been mangled beyond recognition, oozing with pus and releasing a foul stench.

Fear gripped him as his heart palpitated. He quickly stood up and made to run but his legs failed him, causing him to fall again. This time he fell into something that seemed like a pit with a thud.

"Uh," he groaned as he tried moving his body. It hurt badly. He couldn't even move it without pain. He stretched out his hands to grab something. His fingers clasped around something soft. He moved his eyes in fear to look at what he had touched and to his surprise he was holding to two rotten corpses in the pit.

"Ah!" he yelled in fear as he quickly rolled to his feet, trying in vain to get out of the pit. At this moment he discovered that the whole pit was filled with corpses-real life corpses!