WARNING: intense violence
The wind blew, and leaves rustled quietly.
Ash and Mira walked through the dark night, their path illuminated by the moon.
They walked through the thick brush quietly.
The sound of insects buzzed around them. Ash slapped his face to kill a mosquito.
"They're everywhere huh?" said Ash as he slapped a few more mosquitoes that landed on him.
Mira nodded as she waved a few of them away.
They continued their walk. The leaves crushed under their shoes. Crickets sang into the empty night.
They stopped for a while and sat down. Many more bugs crawled over to them.
Ash froze a small portion of the ground, dismaying the critters to come any closer.
"How much longer till we're back home?" asked Mira.
"Probably a few more weeks of walking to be honest."
Mira nodded. She looked up at the sky. She began to count the stars out loud.
Ash looked at her fondly, "Heh, just like when we were younger huh? You still remember the name of the constellations?"
Mira nodded, "Yeah."
She pointed at the many twinkling lights in the night sky, "That one is Apollo, then there is pegasus, Taurus, and c-"
She stopped talking as she turned around seeing a hooded figure looming over them.
"And Crater." said the hooded figure.
Ash's eyes widened as he heard the voice. He tried to stand up stumbling walking backwards.
He moved Mira behind him as they looked at the figure with fear.
The figure removed his hood revealing an older man no older than forty. He had jet black hair, and his face was defined.
His eyes were blood red. His nose was small. The shape of his eyes was one of a hunter.
"The fuck are you doing here!" yelled Ash as he lifted his hand up.
"None of that Ash." He calmly walked and moved his hand down staring into his blue eyes.
Ash stared into his eyes. He could see the souls of all he had consumed swimming in his retinas.
Ash fell to his knees in front of him. Mira backed away in fear, her legs shaking.
"That's more like it," he grabbed Ash by the head, squeezing him tightly as he lowered his face to his, "Being on your knees is more befitting of a lipless freak like you!" he yelled into Ash's face, spit splattering all over him.
"Why are you here Eldrim," asked Ash defeated, "Please just don't hurt Mira. Kill me, but let her live!" cried Ash looking up at Eldrim
Eldrim looked down at him with a scowl and sighed, "Fine. I won't kill the woman, but I'll have you for myself."
Eldrim hovered his hand over Ash.
Ash shook and convulsed as he foamed from the mouth.
Mira watched in horror and pleaded for Eldrim to stop, but he did no such thing.
Everything went black for Ash. A short time later he awoke.
He was in his living room back when he lived in his mother's house. He looked around getting a wave of nostalgia of all the toys he had littered on the floor, the big T.V. hung on the wall.
He remembered all the times he and his brother would sit to watch their favorite T.V. shows.
He heard the door open, it was his mother.
She smiled at him, giving him a kiss on his forehead.
He tried to recuperate it as he shook. His mother was here. He didn't understand why, but he began to cry.
"Why are you crying honey?" asked his mother concerned as she wiped his tears.
She handed him his mask, "Here put this on when you're sad or scared. Remember mommy infused it with her love!" she giggled.
The sound of her laugh was a cure to his solemn heart. He looked at her beautiful long brown hair, shining from the light in the house.
Her face was supple and her eyes were a beautiful piercing blue.
Ash put on his mask. Instantly he felt better.
His worries and fears washed away. He was ecstatic to be back.
He went to his brother's room and opened the door. He laid there asleep.
He decided to not interrupt his brother's slumber and quietly closed the door.
He sat down on the island of his kitchen as his mom cleaned and prepared to make dinner.
"Did you do your homework Ash?" she asked, smiling at her son.
Ash wasn't sure how to respond, so he looked at her silently.
"Take that as a no. Go finish your work before dinner is ready ok?"
Ash nodded and went to his room. He saw his backpack against the wall near his bed.
He looked over and saw his old desk.
He grabbed the papers from his bag and sat down. He took off his mask and began to work.
He began doing his math homework, but something felt odd. It was as if he didn't belong here.
He kept doing the math. It was very easy. Almost as if he had done it before.
Ash turned around.
He saw a quick appearance of a man. His eyes were unrealistically wide and bloodshot.
He strangely and quickly moved away from the door. He could hear his footsteps.
Ash felt startled by the encounter, yet intrigued.
He grabbed his mask and walked out of her room. He turned his head side by side.
He noticed the bathroom door was opened and so was the window inside.
He closed it and walked down stairs.
"Mommy?" he cried as he took steps down. He was about to turn the corner when he heard a wet sound as he stepped in a liquid.
He looked down to see the floor was crimson. The stench of iron began to fill up his nose.
He turned the corner. His mother was on the floor motionless. Blood poured from her body.
Standing over her was the man. The same man who had been watching him from his bedroom door.
He walked over to Ash and smiled, knife in hand, "Hey son." he said, his voice sounding jaded.
That's right. Ash remembered now. This was that day. He watched as his father ranted about why he did it before leaving and closing the door.
Ash walked to his mother's dead body as he cried. He put on his mask and began taking deep breaths.
"Wait a minute, that's not how it went now, did it? You're still repressing the memory Ash." the voice of Eldrim said behind him.
By the time Ash turned around he was back in his room.
He turned around to see the same man staring at him before running down the hall. Ash followed again with his mask in hand. He was curious about the man.
Who was he?
He turned around and saw the bathroom door open and the bathroom window broken.
He heard a scream and turned his attention downstairs. He ran down the steps seeing blood on the floor as he panicked.
He heard his mother pleading for her life as he turned around to see the man viciously stabbing her in the gut.
He stood over her and brought down the blade, ripping her flash and muscle, as blood sprayed all over him, leaking onto the floor.
Ash watched in horror before the scene stopped once more.
"Again." said Eldrims voice.
Ash stood there watching his father and mother argue. His father pulled out a knife and stabbed her.
She held her wound as his father got on top of her ruthlessly stabbing her. Ash stood there watching in shock.
Before it continued it stopped once more, "Not quite. Again." echoed Eldrim's voice.
His father stood atop his mother slashing his blade across her face as she shuddered beneath him. He slowly dragged the blade across her face, flaying her. Blood oozed onto the floor.
He watched his mother's body spasm as he continued. Ash cried and pleaded for his father to stop.
Ash put on his mask and breathed heavily, mumbling to himself, "Mother's love. Mother's love."
His father looked at him, his eyes crazed and blood shot red.
He peeled off the face of his mother, pushing it into Ash's arms, "You want a mask so bad! Huh? Here! Take it! Take it!" He yelled hysterically.
Ash shook his head, crying as his father yelled; thrusting his knife manically into his own wife.
His father began to pull his hair squeezing his eyes shut as he dropped the knife, "Fuck! Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck!" He got up and ran out of the house.
Ash sat there in his own mothers blood breathing heavily. His heart was beating miles an hour. He looked upon refusing to see his mother.
He felt an invisible hand move his head toward his mom as his eyes shook. He saw her.
Her face was nothing but bone and a mesh of tissue and meat. Her chest was cut open. She was unrecognizable.
Ash yelled in horror, he could still hear her mother breathe.
He heard the voice of Eldrim whisper into his ear, "Look at your mother when she speaks to you. Be respectful." he mocked.
He heard his mothers strained breathing and looked at her malformed face.
He heard her speak between her wheezing, "Take… Wheeze care of your…. Wheeze brother Ash."
His eyes widened when he heard those words. He watched his mother take her final breath.
The wheezing stopped, she was finally dead.
The area around him faded into black.
He saw Eldrim standing in front of him smiling, "Aww did you hear that? How sweet your mother asked you to protect your brother. Her dying wish. How did you do with her wish? Throw it away?"
Ash choked as he spoke, "I- I took good care of my brother!"
"Oh really? Where is he now huh? Oh that's right! In the belly of some stranger!" yelled Eldrim, "You could have avenged your brother yet you let his killer live!"
"That's not true!" yelled Ash, his throat straining.
"Then why the fuck isn't he here then huh? Have you thought about that Ash? You stupid failure bastard!" yelled Eldrim at his face.
"He was right there in your hands. And you let him slip away!"
Ash looked down. He was shocked, and full of rage. Eldrim was right.
"It's all that girl's fault."
Ash stood there in the forest. His eyes were clouded. He couldn't see well. He turned to Mira.
"A- ash are you o-" she was cut off.
The sound of splinting bone echoed through the forest. She simply fell limp collapsing onto herself. Her head bled, a massive hole through the center of her skull.
Ash lowered his hand breathing heavily. His eyes unclouded. He could see clearly now.
He looked down at Mira and wept, "You said you wouldn't kill her! You fucking Liar!"
He fell on his knees crying, he looked up at Eldrim who smiled.
"Now that's not true. You killed her. I didn't lay a finger on Mira."
He hovered his hand over his head once more, "Now it's your turn to hold your end of the deal."
Ash stared at Eldrim, terrified, ready to die at any moment.
"Want to know the best part about all this Ash? None of it was real. Your mother never said that, and she was never murdered. She simply fell down the stairs and died. Like I said. What you saw wasn't quite right. I wasn't able to find your mother's death in your memories, so I made up my own. Sorry."
Ash reached for his mask instinctively, but it wasnt there. He screamed in utter outrage.
His head exploded. Blood splattered on the right side of Eldrim's face.
Eldrim looked up to the sky. The moon at its peak.
"I should head back now. The sun soon awakes."