(Series: Town) Salvation

Content Warning: Gore and Horrific Imagery :)

~~Authors Note: This story is a part of a 5 part series. ~~

There are only a few things that a writer has that they can work with, those few can be winners or losers. Insane or Sane, both are great for their work. -Author

"Oh my god, Jonathan, get over it already!" yelled my girlfriend.

"I know I should, b-but I can't..." I managed to stammer out.

"I forgave you years ago, yet you still haven't forgiven yourself! What have you been doing this whole time then?!" she asked me, waving her hands around.

"I- I don't know..." I said with my head held low.

She scoffed, "Of course, you don't know. You never know, do you?" she asked, with a disappointed tone of voice.

I went silent.

She chuckled slightly, "Well, we can't continue this relationship if you don't accept the past and move forward," she told me.

I didn't say anything, I just looked down at my feet, hands in my black jean pockets.

"Nothing?! Are you going to say nothing?!" she yelled as she asked me, with a very angry tone.

"I'm sorry, I can't talk right now. You don't understand what's going through my mind, I can't tell you because if I do, you'll get even madder, and everything will go right down the drain between us," I tried to say, but all that came out was "I-"

She scoffed again and started packing her things.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~-----------------

I'll never forget that day, and I still haven't forgiven myself for everything that I did, and didn't do.

It's not a big deal at that, she's just overreacting. I thought to myself, If I just go back to her and tell her that I have forgiven myself, then maybe she would love me again. And everything would be okay between us again.

"I highly doubt that she would believe me anyways," I said with my hands in the pockets of my parka. I was walking down a sidewalk on the side of this small town's Church, snow falling heavily, covering the hood of my parka and the whole street, making the scenery look like something straight out of a Hallmark Christmas movie.

From a distance, I can smell the bakery making some fresh pumpkin pies and prepping some hot peppermint cocoa for the winter.

It would be Christmas in a month or so, but it's already snowing heavily. I don't mind it, it's nice, but it does get in the way of seeing anything while walking. It also does look nice with the roofs of the house looking like it's being kept warm by some snow blankets.

"I can't say anything to her, she'll just kick me to the curb again... I have no place to stay or a place to sleep. I wish I could have just accepted the fact I screwed up and left it at that," I said out loud, kicking a pebble off the curb.

"Oh, she will, huh? I can relate to that," called a guttural voice from behind.

I jumped, looking around for the source of the voice, not seeing anything behind me, I looked back in front of myself and saw the source of the voice.

Blood dripping down from its mouth, its jaw hanging ajar, one side disconnecting from its skull. Its clothes were tattered and ripped, showing wrinkly skin that looks a little... green? yellow? A mixture? It's hard to tell.

Its hands are rotted and nearly clear to the bone. It doesn't have eyes, just black sockets that show it had eyes at one point. The smell that surrounds the area around it smells of old rotten leaves, rusted copper, and dried blood.

Trying not to gag, I backed up, eyes wide with shock. I tried to scream but nothing came out. The street lamps only illuminated the worst of this... thing.

I swallowed, regretting it right after, tasting the smell.

"W-What are y-you?" I managed to say in a small voice.

"Oh don't worry about it," it reached out and touched my arm. I could feel the rotting flesh through my parka, and the boney fingers gripping my shoulder area, "All you need to know is I will be your salvation and your savior."

I was holding back from blacking out at this point, with the smell of it engulfing my senses and blocking out any thought of reason.

"C-C-Could y-y-you--"

"Oh shut up, don't speak. Just let me lead you," it said with a twisted half-grin, with its rotting black teeth trying to help form a smile.

I couldn't say anything, my vocal cords felt closed up.

It went behind me and pushed me forward, hand still on my shoulder, I started actually feeling it on my shoulder as if its skin was melting through my parka's cotton and fibers.

Leading me to the forest that surrounds the town, it kept pushing me. As far as I could tell, we were in the middle of the forest when it let go of me.

I looked at the area where its hand was and noticed it did melt through my parka. Millimeters away from my skin.

"Here we are," it said, hands on its hips.

I looked around, seeing nothing but trees and woodlands. Not even a bird or animal could be heard.

"Wh-Where are we?" I asked.

"In the middle of the forest, can't you see?"

I couldn't respond, no words came to my mind, or out of my throat.

"Whatever," it said, walking towards an opening in the trees, sticking its hand out and turning it, as though there was a door there.

I saw a light shining through an open spot in the area between the trees as if there actually was a door that just opened. I could see multiple people, normal-looking people, and kids running around, enjoying their time. I could see the summertime pool glistening in the sunlight.

I walked forward and stepped through the door, seeing my girlfriend in a house, waiting for me to come back to her, crying and smiling because she missed me. Seeing the dog we used to have had really thrown me off, but I didn't think too much about it, I was just so happy that she was waiting for me.

With open arms, I threw myself into her, basking in her scent.... her scent... it's a rotted scent... like the one the other thing had. That brought me here. I looked up to see my girlfriend with blood covering her face, deep gashes in her used-to-be beautiful face... her eyes gauged out. Her face with a twisted smile that showed rotting teeth.

I looked down at my hands and they were slowly disintegrating. I screamed and screamed... but no one came to help. My messed-up girlfriend looked at me with the smile that I now grew to hate. I tried to run, but my feet turned into a puddle of goo. I couldn't run. I couldn't scream, blood poured from my mouth, stopping any sounds but gurgling liquid from coming out.

"Welcome to your Safe Place, Jonathan. You will be fine, you'll have a family, and everything you ever wanted."