This Island of Sorrow

WARNING!!! THIS STORY CONTAINS GRAPHIC DEPICTIONS OF GORE AND VIOLENCE!!! READ AT YOUR OWN RISK!!!

         I could barely breathe when running away from them. Them, with their abnormally long arms and legs bent at crooked and awkward angles. I never have been a good runner, but even I surprised myself tonight. It’s funny how the human body works in ways that seem impossible. I start to slow down when I hear a scream off in the distance, signaling that I could stop and breathe for a bit. They like to hunt all together, meaning that they were no where near me now. I come to a complete stop and catch my breath, leaning down and pushing my arm up against a nearby tree to support my weight. My legs were aching, while my lungs felt like they were on fire. My heart feels like it’s going to explode from my chest, and as it starts to slow down, I take a look at my surroundings, not recognizing where I’m at. After being dragged out of my cell, I haven’t been able to stop and think about what is happening. The only thing that those people in lab coats and such told me back at the prison is that they were running tests on this island. This island, and all the horrible, terrifying things it has to offer. I originally came here with 45 to 50 people, but over the last two and a half weeks, that number has shrunk down to around 9.

                 Another scream, this time it sounds closer. They were closer. With their backs hunched from running on all fours from time to time. I have to move now. I take a deep breath and start jogging the opposite direction of the scream, not wanting to use all my energy now. While jogging, I silently think to myself, as I get lost in my own thoughts. I think about what I did to deserve to be in this hellhole. All I did was defend myself and the judge decides to put me on death row. The guys that were trying to kill me were apart of a gang, and the judge didn’t want to be next. In all honesty, I can’t blame him. These people were brutal, and if you did any wrong towards them, you could basically call yourself dead. Still, he could of given me a life sentence, then I wouldn’t be here now. They only took the people that were done for, the ones that were destined to die by the hands of the guards. Even death by chair or injection would be a thousand times better than this.

I come to a stop, my hand quickly coming up to cover my mouth, so I don’t scream any longer than I already have. My eyes widen in horror as I realize they now have my location. With their sunken eyes skittering about everywhere, and their mouths big enough to fit limbs inside. I keep my hand on my mouth as I slowly look down at my foot in shock. Tears start falling out of my eyes as I see that a rock that has a razor edge has completely stabbed through my right foot. Blood, my blood, starts oozing out of the wound as the pain seeps further into my body. I hear them in the distance, the sounds of their snarls and growls coming closer with each passing second, knowing that the longer I stay here, the more likely I am to get mauled to pieces. I grab a nearby branch to bite on, take some of my shirt and rip it off, and slowly, I pull the rock out of my foot. My eyes widened in pain, as I bite down as hard as I can on the stick, my sight being blurry and red from all the tears and blood spilling out onto my hands. I take the ripped part of my shirt and stuff as much as I can into the wound, while taking off what was left of my shirt and tying it around my ankle tightly, making a temporary tourniquet. One thing good about me is that I have always been good in survival situations. I have always been able to think quickly on my feet, but that might not be so easy now considering that one of them is ruined.

I quickly get up and find the tallest tree that is close to me, before climbing it as quickly as my injured body could go. My foot is still throbbing, and I just pray that when they come, they won’t be able to smell the blood. I finally get as high as I can in the tree, which is around 40-50 feet from the ground. I get on a thick branch that looks sturdy enough to hold my weight, and I hold my breath as I hear them get closer and closer, listening to the branches snapping and the leaves crunching, the birds flying away quickly. Then, I see them.

                 They all run so closely together; you can barely tell them apart. With their heads just slightly too big attached by long necks that are connected to their box-like torsos. They all moved swiftly together, looking for the next thing to tear to shreds to feed their never ending hunger. I shivered slightly, thinking about all of the unlucky people they have taken so far. I can’t stop looking at all the dried blood clinging to their bare, fleshy, dark grey skin. My mind starts to wander slightly, before being brought back to the tree shaking. I look down and see one of them staring directly back up at me, their dead eyes burrowing deep into my mind. It’s mouth shapes and twists itself into a crooked grin as it let out a shriek. In less than a moment, all of the others came running towards the tree, before looking up at me.

                 I was surrounded. I was finished. There was nowhere left for me to run to. Nowhere left for me to hide. They were going to stay there until they got what they wanted. Staring and watching. I know that they would never leave me, not faltering one bit. Waiting for me to come down, so they can tear me limb from limb and devour me. My heart felt as if it had stopped. It was in that moment that I decided what I was going to do. My final act of free will. I would much rather take my own life rather than starve to death or die from dehydration. And I definitely wasn’t going to die from them. They would make it last a lifetime, every second feeling like one long, agonizing decade. With a shaky sigh, I pushed myself up, so I was standing on the branch. My foot crying out in pain, as it slipped from beneath me, making me topple over, and down. Down all the way to the ground. I didn’t mean to fall like this, but I’m still achieving my goal. As I’m falling, I close my eyes, waiting to take my final breath. Memories of my life flashed before my eyes before I feel a crack from my shin. Then I felt a crack on my forearm.

I opened my eyes and saw that my body was hitting the branches, one by one, slowing my fall. I felt terrified, knowing that by this happening, I wouldn’t get my final act. I would have to face them. The fall was slowing down, and I could see the bottom branches. My body would get to them battered and broken, but still alive. I desperately tried to grab on to one of the branches, but it was of no use. I hit the ground with a thud, landing on my back. They surrounded me in a circle, their toothy grins growing more by the second. Then, I felt their hands. Their cold, clammy hands, slick from the blood of the deceased. They grabbed my arms and legs, before tearing them all at once. All the nerves, tissues, and muscles being ripped apart with a disgusting sound that I can’t even begin to describe. I let out a blood curdling scream, which lasted as long as I could, before the others started running at me clawing at my stomach ripping it apart. Pain was the only thing I could think about, as I saw my intestines getting yanked out. My rib cage has pieces of it broken off, and my vision started going blurry. Then, I felt a pair of hands grab onto my head. Before I passed out, they twisted my head off. Finally, everything went black.

Hope you enjoyed, happy Halloween everybody! :)