Elf's stories cause Elf needs writing practice

[Elf]

I'm doing a thing where I'm gonna write a story every day for a month. It might be 200 words, it might be 900 words. It can vary. 

The first one is a horror story written in second person pov. 

 

1. SIlent starts, violent ends. [Content warning- mention of smoking]

Spoiler

You creep along the underground tunnel as silently as you can. Which is to say, not silently at all. But hey, you're trying your best. You wish Taylor was there. You had grown accustomed to hearing mindless chatter while you both stood in holes in the ground, sweat pouring down your backs and the sun in your eyes, as you dug up the heirlooms of the past. 

But no. That's a topic best stayed away from for now. You wish that you hadn't ever come to this place. There! What was that? You could swear you saw something in the corner of your eye. Perhaps this place is getting to you. You don't know how long ago you fell in the tunnel, but it feels like you've been searching for an exit forever. 

The walls feel narrower now, like they're closing in on you. You mu- "Caw! Caw!" Where did that come from? You immediately turn in the direction of the sound, hope flaring bright in you. The exit may lie that way! 

You walk with renewed vigour, and that's when you feel it. A cold and clammy hand grasping your leg in an iron grip. You look down, but you see nothing. Hope is gone in an instant, and replaced by soul-crushing terror. 

Everybody, everybody told you not to go digging up the remains of the Arilon Empire. After their mad king tortured his subjects and burnt down the empire himself, the vengeful spirits would make you pay for disturbing their resting place. But you and Taylor didn't listen. 

Theres a hand on your other leg too, now. You feel someone's breath ghosting over your neck. A hand runs down your spine, gentle as a falling leaf, and you can't supress a shudder. 

Taylor was dead. Because of you. Becuase you insisted on digging up things which were none of your business. You wish things hadn't gone this way. You wish you could see those blue eyes and that blonde hair again. You want to share a cup of hot chocolate and listen to Taylor talk about books. You want to sit outside and share a smoke, and forget all your problems, just as you did when you were teens. 

The hands are running all over your body now. Cold sweat running down your skin. And then you hear Taylor's lilting Irish accent whispering in your ear, and you know you're never getting out.

 

Edit: i made an illustration

Spoiler

 

Edited May 17, 2022 by Elf

[Morningtide]

So good! I love it. Your writing is amazing and I love your descriptions. The second person is really cool too. Not many people can actually pull off writing in second person, but you did it really well!

[Elf]

Thank you! This makes me so happy! I literally have like such a wide grin on my face right now :))

[Morningtide]

32 minutes ago, Elf said:

Thank you! This makes me so happy! I literally have like such a wide grin on my face right now :))

Yay! I'm glad I could make your day better

[Medium]

yooooooo Elf that right there is some goooooood writing. Brilliant job, mate!!

[Elf]

Thanks a lot buddy!

Now here's the second one  

2. Nightmares [genre- horror/fantasy] [content warning- dark]

Spoiler

For as long as I can remember, nightmares have plauged my sleeping mind. They haven't ever been the time of nightmares you would expect a 15 year old to have. I didn't dream of a break-up, bad grades, or even something under my bed. 

No. That's not it at all. I dreamt of men and women with razor sharp teeth and blood stained lips. Of fairies dancing around a human baby. Of ships being listed to rocks by a melodious and malacious voice. 

In all of these, I was only ever the spectator. None of them interacted with me, and i could not interact with them. I couldn't do anything to help the man being drained of his blood, or the baby crying for its mama. I couldn't warn the sailors of their piteous fate.

And that's what made these dreams as nightmares more than anything. That visceral helplessness that I felt night after night outweighed any fear.

Of course. I was soon to discover what fear truly meant.

It was a dark night. I don't mean dark as in- the absence of light. I mean dark as in- the absence of hope. The kind of darkness that crowds around you and closes around your heart and pushes till you feel you might shatter.

It was on such a night when it happened. I'd fallen asleep at my desk, listening to the tap - tap of the raindrops against the windowpanes. In my dream, I'd awoken to the sound of lapping water. I opened my eyes to see a wine-dark ocean, and an overcast sky. The smell of salt water hung heavy in the air and I breathed in a lungful. 

The place was ghost-silent, and lifeless. I couldn't see a single fish, bird, human. Nor could I see any monster.

I started walking along the shoreline , curiosity and nervousness beating a strange rythm in my chest. Out in the distance, I saw a light- as faint as a firefly's glow, but present. I inched closer, rubbing my sweaty palms against my t-shirt.

I came near enough to see that it was a tall. black horse. It glowed faintly, illuminating it's surrounding in a sea-green light. I drew closer; the horse didn't look like a monster at any rate. But then again, not did the mermaids, till they opened their mouth wide enough to swallow a cat and revealed two rows of rotten teeth.

I waited, waited for the arrival of some other character in this dreadful drama. Waited for the horror to begin. And then the horse tuned its head towards me as if it sensed I were there. I held my breath.

I blinked and the horse was replaced by a tall man with skin the colour of chocolate and hair the colour of clouds on a sunny day. His eyes were the colour of the deepest part of the night, where nothing stirs and even the dead whimper. His hair, strangely, had sea weeds in it. 

He smiled, a sharp, wicked smile that stood gave me goosebumps. One minute, he was there, and the next he was directly in front of me. I sucked in a breath in shock and more than a little fear.

He tutted in displeasure and bent his head down till his lips were mere inches from mine. He brushed them against mine and I tasted salt. Then he put his mouth to my ear and whispered in a voice like dripping honey,

"Don't be scared, sweetheart."

I gasped and opened my eyes to find myself at my desk, heart pounding. It was a dream, I reminded myself. A new kind of nightmare and nothing more. 

The next day, I went to buy meat from the butcher. We were having beef stew for dinner. I walked up to him, ready to haggle, but the man I saw behind the counter had chocolate-coloured skin and cloud-coloured hair.

I fell back in shock and then the portly old butcher, with a balding head and kindly eyes, was coming to my side and helping me stand up. I mumbled apologies and bought the meat.

I walked home with fear thrumming through every part of my body, mind, and soul. I would have disregarded the incident as a product of my over active imagination, had not such things happened again and again over the next few days. 

Was I dreaming still?

What was dream? What was reality? Was there any difference?

Seven nights from the night I first met the white-haired man, I had no nightmare.

No.

Instead I awoke to an open sea and I realised I was standing at the very edge of the harbour, that I was one step away from falling in.

I scampered back and turned to run home, when I crashed into the white- haired man's body. 

I looked up at his eyes and decided that enough was enough. I forced my voice to be steady and asked.

"What do you want?"

He smiled that infuriating smile again and said. "You."

"Why?"

He cocked his head. "Because you're special. You want more. You want to be more; you have to be more. You don't want to stay in a tiny village in Scotland for the rest of your life." 

He lowered his voice and said "I can help you."

He changed into his horse form once more and I continued to hear his human voice in my head.

"Come on, darling. Doesn't the water look beautiful? Come, ride on my back and let us sink into its depths forever."

I felt it. The pull of the water, the pull of his voice . It almost broke me, but still I held on. Held on to this mortal world.

"No" I said.

The white-haired man was back and there was cold fury in his eyes. But then his expression softened and he bent his head down to kiss me. I knew that if he kissed me, it would all be over. 

Suddenly I noticed the silver chain around his neck, and my mind flashed to something I'd read in a book a while ago.

This creature was a Kelpie and the chain was his birdle. I reached out and pulled hard at it. It broke, and the he let out a fearsome growl.

Then the man was gone, the horse was there. Then the horse leaped into the water, never to be seen again.

I cried in relief and joy and made my way home, and there I promptly fell asleep from exhaustion. 

The nightmares never stopped. Incidents like the Kelpie's would happen again. I tried to find out what I was and why such things happened. Was I just crazy? Or was I something like a psychic? 

In the end, it didn't matter. I lived with it. I survived. There was no other option.

 

Edit: I made an illustration

Spoiler

 

Edited May 26, 2022 by Elf

[Medium]

Intriguing...

That seems like a good preface for a story. 1000000/10 you are an amazing writer, elf, i'm serious.

[The Wandering Wizard]

I agree with Corvus. That is an amazing snipit of a story.

[Elf]

5 minutes ago, CalanoCorvus said:

Intriguing...

That seems like a good preface for a story. 1000000/10 you are an amazing writer, elf, i'm serious.

*Blushes* 

Thank you so much! 

Thank you too, @The Wandering Wizard!!!! It makes me so happy to hear you guys say that

Edited May 17, 2022 by Elf

[Morningtide]

That's fascinating! Creepy. I love it! You ARE an amazing author! The illustration is amazing as well. 

[Elf]

okayyyyyy i hope this doesnt count as necroing because its my thread and i didnt want to make another one 

Also @Kajsa :) and @Morningtide thankkk you because your advice made me feel more comfortable with writing again. i was probably just being dramatic. you guys dont have to read this, i just wanted to thank you.

so here it is 

TW: gore, war, death 

its just something i came up with. might continue, might not 

Spoiler

Rain shatters like ice crystals on the much-trodden pavement. The sky weeps for you, my love. 

The world’s cries mingle with my own and I wonder once again. 

Where did it all go so wrong?

But maybe…maybe it was never right to begin with. 

And I only see it now. 

If you gaze long enough into the abyss, the abyss also gazes into you. 

We are cautioned against fighting monsters, lest we become monsters ourselves. 

But what if we were never any different?

What if to become a monster was the only way?

My knees hit the pavement. I throw my head back and…scream.

A scream like the death rattle of dreams dead and buried. A scream that swirls higher into the air, till it breaks off into a desperate sob, hands trembling, lungs gasping for air. 

People look at me strangely. Let them look. They can never know your loss; they can never know what it is like to not possess a heart anymore.

You took my heart with you, love. All that’s left is an empty, festering, gaping cavity. 

When I close my eyes, I hear you. I hear your laughter, I hear your sweet nothings whispered between kisses at midnight.

When I close my eyes, I see you- your smudged eyeliner, your chipped nail polish. The ebony curls that bounced whenever you walked. 

When all the colours were black, you were the only one that lifted me up. That kept me going on. 

Why then, was I not able to do the same for you?

Desperation. Such intensity of despair and unholy terror that it left your teeth chattering, your heart racing.

A level of panic that left you unable to function on even the most basic level. Something so rancid, it tainted you to the very core. 

War was something terrible. Something bloody and cruel like an animal stuck in a trap. Willing to chew off muscles and tendons, willing to snap bones because it wanted to live. 

“Please god, let me live,” I thought as the scent of blood and agony hung heavy in the air. 

“Please god…”

I couldn't escape. There was no escape. War was both the trap and the animal.

“I don’t want to die…”

But then your body fell near me, too much blood to be possible, and I was gone anyway. 

I had to do it i had to do it i had to do it

I didn’t want to lose you. 

What a shame, I lost you anyway. Because now another memory assaults my mind’s eye. 

The memory of red eyes that have no recognition of me. The memory of fangs dripping with sticky crimson, protruding over full lips. The memory of the dead bodies, puncture wounds in each of their necks; the feral expression on your face- the animalistic edge with which you held yourself.

I scream again. I scream because it is the only thing louder than weeping. 

 

 

Edited June 20, 2023 by Cruciatus_heart

[Edema Rue]

Duuuuudeeee. Dude. That was really, really good. You write beautifully, and all the figurative language paints an incredible picture. I loved the ending too.

[Kajsa]

Holy crap, that was SO good. I don’t even have words.

And I’m glad I could help!!

[Elf]

*happy giggling and dancing

Im soooo glad you guys liked it!

(Edit: sorry, the formatting was weird, but i fixed it)

Edited June 20, 2023 by Cruciatus_heart

[Morningtide]

12 hours ago, Cruciatus_heart said:

okayyyyyy i hope this doesnt count as necroing because its my thread and i didnt want to make another one 

Also @Kajsa :) and @Morningtide thankkk you because your advice made me feel more comfortable with writing again. i was probably just being dramatic. you guys dont have to read this, i just wanted to thank you.

so here it is 

TW: gore, war, death 

its just something i came up with. might continue, might not 

  Reveal hidden contents

Rain shatters like ice crystals on the much-trodden pavement. The sky weeps for you, my love. 

The world’s cries mingle with my own and I wonder once again. 

Where did it all go so wrong?

But maybe…maybe it was never right to begin with. 

And I only see it now. 

If you gaze long enough into the abyss, the abyss also gazes into you. 

We are cautioned against fighting monsters, lest we become monsters ourselves. 

But what if we were never any different?

What if to become a monster was the only way?

My knees hit the pavement. I throw my head back and…scream.

A scream like the death rattle of dreams dead and buried. A scream that swirls higher into the air, till it breaks off into a desperate sob, hands trembling, lungs gasping for air. 

People look at me strangely. Let them look. They can never know your loss; they can never know what it is like to not possess a heart anymore.

You took my heart with you, love. All that’s left is an empty, festering, gaping cavity. 

When I close my eyes, I hear you. I hear your laughter, I hear your sweet nothings whispered between kisses at midnight.

When I close my eyes, I see you- your smudged eyeliner, your chipped nail polish. The ebony curls that bounced whenever you walked. 

When all the colours were black, you were the only one that lifted me up. That kept me going on. 

Why then, was I not able to do the same for you?

Desperation. Such intensity of despair and unholy terror that it left your teeth chattering, your heart racing.

A level of panic that left you unable to function on even the most basic level. Something so rancid, it tainted you to the very core. 

War was something terrible. Something bloody and cruel like an animal stuck in a trap. Willing to chew off muscles and tendons, willing to snap bones because it wanted to live. 

“Please god, let me live,” I thought as the scent of blood and agony hung heavy in the air. 

“Please god…”

I couldn't escape. There was no escape. War was both the trap and the animal.

“I don’t want to die…”

But then your body fell near me, too much blood to be possible, and I was gone anyway. 

I had to do it i had to do it i had to do it

I didn’t want to lose you. 

What a shame, I lost you anyway. Because now another memory assaults my mind’s eye. 

The memory of red eyes that have no recognition of me. The memory of fangs dripping with sticky crimson, protruding over full lips. The memory of the dead bodies, puncture wounds in each of their necks; the feral expression on your face- the animalistic edge with which you held yourself.

I scream again. I scream because it is the only thing louder than weeping. 

 

 

:OOOOOOOO My reaction while reading this was to repeatedly go 'WHOA!!!' quite loudly. This is fantastic! You are incredible!! To quote Eddie, DUUUUUUUUDDDDE. I would read a whole book of this it's fantastic!

Also I'm glad I was able to help!!

Edited June 20, 2023 by Morningtide