THE DRAUGAR
BY
ILEKA NETOCHUKWU PETERPRECIOUS
AUTHOR'S CONTACT ADDRESS:
E-MAIL ADDRESS: ilekanetochukwu@gmail.com
PHONE NUMBERS: 09032445671
DEDICATION
DEDICATED TO ALMIGHTY GOD
Page 1
The small town of Grimstead was nestled on the edge of a dark forest, where the trees seemed to whisper in the wind, and the moonlight barely touched the ground. For generations, the townsfolk had lived in peace, but beneath the surface, a chilling secret lingered—one that had been buried in the pages of an ancient book known only as The Draugar.
The book was said to hold the truth about an ancient terror, a creature that once roamed the earth, bringing death and despair. But over time, the stories became legends, and the book itself was locked away, hidden in a forgotten part of the local library.
Until one stormy night, when everything changed.
Page 2
It was Eliza, the town's librarian, who discovered the book. She was a curious soul, drawn to the obscure and the forgotten. One evening, while cataloging old texts, her fingers brushed against something cold and heavy. She pulled out The Draugar, its leather cover cracked and worn. The title was written in an ancient language she didn't recognize, but the presence of the book sent a chill down her spine.
Eliza took it home, convinced that the book was a relic of the past, a curiosity that would provide her with endless fascination. She set it on her desk, the candlelight flickering as she opened the
first page.
Page 3
The first few chapters were written in a language that seemed familiar yet alien. But as she read, the words began to translate in her mind. The Draugar—an ancient being from the Viking era—was more than just a myth. It was a creature of shadow and death, capable of rising from the graves of the dead. It was said that when the Draugar awoke, it could possess the living, stealing their souls and leaving behind only hollow shells.
Eliza was intrigued but skeptical. She continued to read, despite the unsettling nature of the text. The further she went, the more disturbing the content became. The Draugar was bound by a ritual—one that had to be performed to stop its return. The book detailed the steps, the symbols, and the incantations needed to keep the beast at bay.
But there was one detail that made her heart race. The Draugar was no myth. It was real. And it had begun to stir.
Page 4
The wind howled outside as Eliza closed the book with trembling hands. Her mind raced as she thought of the implications of what she had just read. Could it be true? Could something so terrifying really exist? She glanced around her room, the shadows stretching unnaturally in the dim light. A sense of unease settled over her, but she brushed it off as a figment of her imagination.
But as she prepared for bed that night, a coldness seemed to seep into the room. The air grew thick, and she could hear the faint sound of footsteps outside her door. She crept to the window, heart pounding, but saw nothing but the dark, empty streets of Grimstead.
Then, the whispering began.
Page 5
It started soft at first, like the rustling of leaves. But soon, the whispers grew louder, more insistent. They seemed to be coming from within the walls, as if the house itself were alive, breathing, and waiting.
Eliza's breath quickened. She wanted to dismiss it as a trick of the mind, but deep down, she knew something was wrong. She grabbed the book, flipping through the pages, desperately searching for answers. The whispering grew louder still, until it felt as if the very air around her was vibrating with the voices of the dead.
In a moment of panic, Eliza slammed the book shut, but the whispers didn't stop. Instead, they grew more frantic, more desperate. The shadows in the room seemed to shift, and for the first time, Eliza understood the true meaning of the words she had read: The Draugar is not bound by time. It is always watching.
Page 6
The next morning, Eliza tried to ignore the unsettling events of the night before. Perhaps it had been a nightmare, a trick of her mind. But when she went to the library to return the book, she found that it was no longer in her bag.
She searched frantically, her heart pounding in her chest. It had vanished. There was no trace of it, no sign of its existence, as if the book had never been there at all. And yet, she could feel its presence, lingering like a dark cloud, watching her from the shadows.
As the days passed, strange things began to happen around town. People reported seeing shadows moving in the corner of their eyes, hearing footsteps that weren't their own, and feeling an overwhelming sense of dread. Eliza's nightmares became more vivid, filled with images of the Draugar—its hollow eyes and twisted form, always just out of reach.
Page 7
It was on the third night that Eliza saw it.
She had just drifted into a restless sleep when she felt a cold hand brush against her face. Her eyes snapped open, and there, standing at the foot of her bed, was the Draugar. It was a monstrous figure, tall and gaunt, with skin that seemed to rot away as if it were part of the earth itself. Its eyes, black and empty, stared at her, and she could hear the whispers, louder now, echoing in her mind.
The creature opened its mouth, revealing sharp, jagged teeth that dripped with black bile. "You woke me," it rasped, its voice a gravelly whisper that seemed to come from everywhere at once. "Now, you will serve."
Eliza screamed, but the sound was swallowed by the oppressive darkness.
Page 8
When Eliza woke, she found herself back in her bed, drenched in sweat. The room was silent, but the air was thick with an unshakable feeling of dread. She knew now that the Draugar was real. It was no longer confined to the pages of a book. It was here, in her world, and it was hunting her.
Desperate, she ran to the town's elders, hoping they could help. They had always spoken of the old legends, of dark forces that once plagued the land. But when she told them about the Draugar, their faces went pale.
"You must leave this town," one elder whispered, her voice shaking. "The Draugar feeds on fear. It will not stop until it has consumed everything."
Page 9
But it was too late. The Draugar had already begun its reign of terror.
Eliza returned home, but the once-familiar streets of Grimstead now seemed twisted, distorted. The air was thick with a palpable evil, and the shadows seemed to stretch toward her, beckoning her closer. Her mind was unraveling as she searched for a way to stop the creature. She knew there was a way—the ritual. But time was running out.
She found an old map of the town in the library, a map that marked the ancient burial ground at the edge of the forest. The Draugar's grave.
The ritual had to be performed there. But how?
Page 10
As Eliza stood in front of the burial ground, the wind howled through the trees. The shadows moved like living things, reaching toward her, wrapping around her. She could feel the Draugar's presence, close now, its cold breath on her neck.
The book had warned her. The ritual would be dangerous. It required a sacrifice—a life. Eliza's heart pounded in her chest. She had no choice. She began to chant the incantations from memory, the words flowing from her lips despite the terror gnawing at her soul.
But the Draugar was close now. Too close.
Page 11
The ground beneath her feet trembled as the Draugar rose from the earth, its skeletal hands reaching out to claim her. Eliza felt the pull of its darkness, the suffocating weight of its presence, as if it were inside her, tearing at her very soul.
With a final, desperate cry, she threw the book into the flames, the pages crackling and burning as the Draugar howled in fury. The creature lunged at her, but in that moment, the earth beneath it split open, and the Draugar was dragged back into the abyss.
Page 12
Eliza collapsed to the ground, exhausted, her body trembling from the ordeal. The shadows began to fade, the air growing still once more. The Draugar was gone.
For now.
But as Eliza stumbled back to town, she couldn't shake the feeling that the creature was still out there, waiting. Watching. The book was gone, but the Draugar was not defeated. And one day, it would rise again.
Page 13
In the years that followed, Eliza moved away from Grimstead, seeking a life far from the horrors of that night. But the memories never left her. She kept a journal, chronicling everything she had learned about the Draugar, hoping that one day, someone would read it and understand the danger.
But as the years passed, the pages of her journal began to fade. The ink began to blur, as if some force was trying to erase the truth. Eliza's mind, too, began to slip away.
One night, as she sat in her quiet home, she heard the whispering again.
It was faint at first, but it grew louder, more insistent. She knew, with a cold certainty, that the Draugar had found her.
Page 14
The last entry in Eliza's journal was scrawled in a frantic hand: "The Draugar is real. It has returned. It will never stop. No one is safe."
Her body was found the next morning, lifeless, her eyes wide with terror. And beside her, on the floor, lay an old, cracked book—The Draugar.
Page 15
No one ever saw the book again. But the whispers continue, carried on the wind that blows through Grimstead. Some say the Draugar is still out there, waiting for the right moment to rise again.
And others say, it never left at all.