Library:Awoken

This story by KuBaTRiZeS was submitted as part of, but is currently unpublished.

Awoken
A Folk Tale Anonymous

With a sudden chill in her spine, the little girl woke up.

Keeping her eyes closed, she let the blanket engulf her, not sure of what might lie with her in the darkness. As the feeling subsided, she gathered enough courage to reach backwards to the other side of the bed, and sighed with relief as her fingers felt just the holes in the mattress.

Still covered with the blanket, she turned around slowly, looking at the room she was in. A moonlight ray coming through a small window revealed a dusty floor, and gave the cobwebs in the opposite corner the appearance of silver threads. The little girl almost enjoyed the vision, but skittering sounds in the shadows made her aware again. Why did she wake up? What was she doing in that rickety room?

The sound made her pay attention to other corner of the room, into the inscrutable darkness. The unpleasant sounds became louder, thicker, as if creatures were crawling into her tiny skull. The gloomy corner captured her sight; unable to look away nor blink she saw the blackness twist and expand, acquiring an almost solid state. The ambient light became increasingly dimmer, and her confusion became fear as she felt an unfathomable presence in the deepest, furthest segment of the murky tentacles the darkness formed. It wanted to reach her. It wanted to grab her. A million inviting whispers in a language she couldn't understand came at her at once, becoming a silent scream that terrified her.

Suddenly, a sound of unsheathing came from the lower room, ripping away the darkness. She found herself in the middle of the room with her right arm extended, her eyes drowned in tears sliding by her face and soaking the blanket underneath. She then heard steps accompanied with the squeaky noises of old stairs. Without a chance to wipe her face, she tightened the blanket around her in a desperate attempt at gaining protection. Once again, the darkness shrouded her as the steps came closer. Again, the ambient sounds penetrated into her, making the climbing steps into a heartbeat of sorts. In that state, she waited, wishing for the intruder to leave.

The steps finished climbing. Trying not to make a noise, she stayed inside her blanket, but the moonlight betrayed her, revealing her position. An unexpected force took the blanket off and she faced a man in his twenties, clad in mail armor and pointing a sword at her, her blanket in his other hand. The determination in his eyes changed into kindness as he saw the skinny little girl trembling in the ground.

As he sheathed his sword, she suddenly remembered the fear and rage she had felt when evil men murdered her and her family, giving her the answer of why she was there. As he extended his hand, she lifted her head and their eyes met. At the sight of fresh meat, she felt the insatiable hunger that had awoken her.

After feasting on flesh and blood, the little girl felt drowsy. She left the young warrior's corpse, and hushing away the voices calling her from beyond, she went to sleep again.

Trivia

 * Awoken was a runner up in the Scholars of Novia's "The Sisters Grim" contest.