He turns the death garland over in gnarled hands.
A wreath of bones, and things resembling bones; fragments of animal, man and machine. Lives, deconstructed.
Death, reconstructed.
Debris, become the key to beyond.
He had been bound for millennia; buried with penumbral beasts from the flickering, cave-fire dawn of fear, with the scritching, scratching of fraying claws and too-big teeth in snapping jaws. Then the Earth split and scraps of modern man fell in.
Now he yearns, a yawning ache, for the world without.
He turns his key. The lock cracks.
He walks free... and dark things ride his shadow.
(originally written for Lily Child's Friday Prediction)
Yow, that's a killer scene!
ReplyDeleteBut am I a bad person for misreading at first glance and seeing "penumbral breasts"? 8-}
Ooh this character fascinates me. Seductive imagery as always, I was caught at the first sentence. :)
ReplyDeleteHa ha, thanks, FAR, Maybe I'd get more clicks if they were penumbral breasts... ;)
ReplyDeleteThank you, Zaiure. Originally, in my head, he was guardian of the things locked in there with him, a kind of ultimate sacrifice, but I think time in their presence, away from everything good, has changed him...
Awesome!!!
ReplyDeleteThe original comment that Blogger ate...
ReplyDeleteHa ha, thanks, FAR, Maybe I'd get more clicks if they were penumbral breasts... ;)
Thank you, Zaiure. Originally, in my head, he was guardian of the things locked in there with him, a kind of ultimate sacrifice, but I think time in their presence, away from everything good, has changed him...
And, thank you, Steve. =D
Sort of a Biblical gravity here. Dug the notion of a garland of bones.
ReplyDeleteThanks, John. It's a creepy thing, ain't it? ;)
ReplyDelete"Lives, deconstructed.
ReplyDeleteDeath, reconstructed."
Those are my two favorite lines, something about the contrast made them stick. Maybe it's the balance between life and death, or the fact that I'm dying to know who will continue the reconstruction and the deconstruction: the entombed character or the dark things stalking him.
Thanks, Magaly. =)
ReplyDeleteI think a lot of power in writing can come from dualism and contrast, the friction created can be far greater than the parts.
Very dark and mysterious. Creeped me out and pulled me in.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Lara. If it makes you look at shadows just a little closer... ;)
ReplyDeleteI'm with John, I liked the garland of bones, and that last sentence was gorgeous.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Erin. =)
ReplyDeleteIt's a great example of how Lily's prediction can push you creatively. 'Garland' was one of the three words. =)