A Thousand Ears: A Narrative Fiction

Stuffed between two pillows,my head was still and my breathing was warm and hard,with the prickling feeling of guilt covering me like a blanket.I ached to sob, but my eyes wouldn't succumb,they seemed adement on keeping my irises dry and stinging from perpetual burning.

Sweat blurred her vision as her muscles burned through each movement. The burn, the stress and the fun dripped in the form of sweat from every pore.

Memories of the night before became a vivid memory in the recesses of his dimly lit mind, underneath the sunlight's intruding yet blissful gaze and the sensation of silk against his bare skin felt like a euphoria, a river of midnight encased his slender figure and with the scrunch of his refined nose and furrowed knit of his thin eyebrows, he rose from his slumber. Delicate fingertips leisurely danced across the silken sheets which lost its assuaging warmth only to discern that he was gone, Padding through the spacious house far too big for two alone to fill, and too much of a burden for one to find comfort in. To see his lover, clad in a suit that managed to take his breath away immediately

White light, bright as heaven, swaddled her body as the Ancestors scraped into her skin. It spread fiercely up her arm, eating at her. She fought against the bindings with tears running down her face, but the light was burning and crumpling her skin, sloughing it away, and revealing layers of flesh and muscle

Ruby placed her small hand on his shoulder then pulled him into a tight embrace. Eventually, Henry released his younger sister and held her at arm’s length, only then did he notice her own tear stained cheeks and trembling shoulders. He grasped her cotton wrap in an unconscious effort of comfort and readjusted it loosely across her shoulders, patting her protectively before dropping his arms to his side. Ruby reached up and pulled the wrap tightly across her chest and, despite the heat, Henry felt a shiver snake down his

It was later in the day, near time for all to pack up and go home, when shouts rang through the mill. A blur of green, a cloud of red barreling through the mill. "Stop!" The men shouted, trying to catch the panicked, running girl. Her face was ashen, mottled with red and wet with sweat and tears. Eyes hardly seeing. A splash of wet red across her green dress. "She's hurt, catch her!" Hands reached out but the shrill scream when they near caught her made the men

Upon a closer look, some of the creatures appeared to be alive. Cobwebs and dust was everywhere. It was a pitiful display, a miserable decline from the comfort and glamour of the chambers within Camelot, of Uther 's pampered ward. He had no cause for hope, but if there was a chance of discovering anything about the bracelet, it would be within these appalling walls.

She struggled out of her restless sleep. Rolling on the ground she found herself trying to break free from the grasp of hate. On the cusp of barbarity, she finally woke. She rubbed her eyes awake and sat vigilant, isolated by her own thoughts. Iron bars, circling her cage, tainted the lively fragrance of spring.

Harsh, deep ridges turning your wrists crimson and your face into a twist of agony. Slumped in the bath, you're black hair spilling around you and the clear water tainted with - well you. I couldn't breathe. Sorry, wrong choice of words, I'm sure the lack of breathing was already being handled by you (you would have laughed at that, you always appreciated my dark, sardonic humour) although you were still breathing at the time, slow shallow breaths that shook your too skinny frame. I sprinted out, grabbing my phone off the counter and running back to you, all the while calling for help.

“Cabal… that was the word they were auguring about. I still don’t know what it means.”

“Okay”, she said to particularly no one, “My first challenge will be to find water.” She knew she didn’t have any money, but feeling like anything was possible, she began to lookout for a store. She soon saw a familiar plaza and promptly walked into the nearest food store. Much to her surprise, the store was a disaster. It seemed as if someone, a giant perhaps, had walked in and turned the store upside down, then shook it, put it in a blender, washed it in the laundry room, dried it in a pan, on the stove and then set it down. Everything was backwards! The floor couldn’t be seen because it was covered with all types of food and unidentified objects. “Oh, it stinks!”, Jamie cried. The smell was almost intolerable, there were hints of detergent, which alleviated her nose for a second, but most of the smell reeked of rotten and dead things. She walked out with a slight sting in her eyes and very confused. Why was the store in such a horrible state? What had happened?

The second cabinet opened to show a collection of jars; each containing a yellow-green liquid. Inside the liquid there were objects that had been removed and kept for preservation. The biological forms in the liquid had sat in the jars for who knows how long, thick layers of dust covered the jars. The third and final cabinet had vials of unlabeled blood and used syringes. After seeing what was in the cabinets they turned their attention to the rest of the

I stared in horror – that wall was stained with gruesome blood stains. What the smell was became all too obvious and I felt the need to vomit… that motion put away and forgotten in an instant when the shuffling of feet rustled behind me. Panic. I turned around in a blur, my eyes huge and watering. My stomach stirred in the slightest. A lamp? Indeed, a tall standing lamp radiated a warm light only a few metres in front of me. Was it real or a figment of my abused mind? Curiosity would get the best of me, lending me a tiny spurt of energy to boost me on my feet. Teetering footsteps led me forward cautiously, random tremors reminding me of my weakness. The lamp was close enough to touch, its friendly warmth the only hope in the world to me. Basking in it for some slow seconds, I wondered, maybe there were more things in the room that hadn’t been revealed to the naked eye? Turning sharp on my heel, I let out a blood curdling screech as I came face to face with the most horrific thing I had ever seen. Huge fly-like eyes took in my paling complexion, and a lopsided smile of stinking razor sharp teeth mocked me. Rancid skin that looked like the algae layer that sat upon a swamp bubbled and oozed, trickling down a sharply shaped ‘face’. Flight or fight reaction chose the obvious option and I turned back again to run. Where, I did not

In the summer sun, her hair was bleached to a lighter shade of gold; not evenly, but in perfect streaks, leaving warm caramels in between that contrasted her flawless olive skin. Her eyes were an elegant hazel. The smooth green on the edge contrasted beautifully with the amber colour in the middle, capturing the heart of any man who gazed at her. She had a slender, curving waist; she was petite and delicate. A faultless hour glass figure.

She stood in a laced primrose red dress with her arms resting over the luxurious balcony decorated with snow white leather seats accessorized with robin blue designer pillows. It was a wet and foggy April’s day and it was drizzling ever so slightly. The small rain drops dripped down her neck like bugs. The heavens peeked through the storm clouds and showed exultant colors of coral and lavender. It was as if the sky above was whispering to her the most tragic secrets of life.