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The Medal
I was here again. The thought ricocheted in my brain as I stood in front of the train station. The lights flickered time to time giving the station an abandoned sense. Paint peeled from the walls and the railway was rusted and cracked. The monotonous sound of the clock ticking filled the room. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. It was enough to drive you mad. I turned and walked up the stairs eager to be released from the gloomy prison of the dark station.
The wind smacked me in the face making me gasp. It stung my cheeks and made my eyes water. What now? I had gone all this way yet there was no reason. The sun had surrendered to the moon and now an inky blackness crept across the town. Aimlessly, I wandered down streets. I didn't know if it was fate that had twisted my path, but when I looked up, the state library looked above me. It stood tall and proud in all its glory of bushes and flowers. The moonlight showered a dim glow onto the sandstone pillars. A light breeze swept over my hair and as if a cue, I stepped in.
The faint chirping of crickets could be heard from outside. My footsteps echoed around the empty building. I hadn't come for the books but I still felt something pulling me deeper into the library. As I ventured in, I saw purple sparks that had shot out from a bookshelf. Curious I bent down to look. Immediately, I regretted that move.
I was paralysed to the spot, the menacing aura holding me in a tightening grip. I tried to scream but no sound came out. The shadows engulfed me and I was thrown back at the force of it. The glowing purple light intensified and my arms tingled as the light brushed them. Nowhere to hide now. A voice spoke in my mind, slurred but enticing. I leaned in. No one will remember. I have come. A powerful blast of light threw me against the wall and the room glowed white, pure white that danced in spots across my eyes blinding me, then it turned black.
It hurt to look. Every light seemed intensified and sharp colours blinded me. Rubble and loose books created a nest around me, and I turned around painfully to see that a chunk of the wall was gone. I lay there in the rubble when something caught my eye. A shadow danced across my vision and I reached out to grab it. Though it was small, a shiver went down my spine as I held it, unnaturally cold. I quickly let go of it and it flitted around my head before retreating into the shelves. I stood up slowly, digging my feet into the ground as I wobbled. I was about to leave when something shimmered in my nest.
I bent down and pulled it out. It was a medal rusted with age. It shined a dull silver and it was tied to a thick rope. I held it in my palm and stood back up. The shadow had returned and it was now examining me curiously. A book on a shelf caught my eye. It glowed a deep purple and floral emblems covered it. Reaching out I pulled it, but what came out was not the book, but a passage. Cogs whirred and the mechanism twisted into a door. Where the shelf was, there was now a stone archway. I looked at the shadow and as if a cue, it disappeared into the archway. Taking a breath, I followed it into the unknown darkness of the passage.
My eyes adjusted to the darkness and the first thing I saw were giant tongues of flame. They glowed a deep purple and they flickered over the floor casually. The walls rose to a dizzying height and runes were etched into them. The air in the chamber hung with perspiration and the flames emitted wild smoking fumes. I tensed. Turning around, I saw two unblinking eyes staring back at me.
They shimmered in the air and colours swirled in their crystalline depths. I stood, entranced by their intricacy. Looking closely, I realised that the faint outline of a body could be seen. A soft voice brought by an invisible breeze snuck into my ear. I am back. You do not remember me do you? The voice faded into the air leaving me slightly confused. The voice was familiar yet, how could that be?
I should have learnt to not trust entrancing voices by now. Pure white light had once again blinded me and I soon realised that the voice was the same one I had heard earlier. Now defeated, I lay in a crumpled heap on the floor. I could not help but think of the familiarity of the voice. Soft and enchanting yet underneath was of hard intentions. Who did that remind me of? I closed my eyes in a vain attempt to rouse sleep, but I was not welcomed. Suddenly, the truth dawned on me. I knew who the figure was.
I slowly rose and paced around the chamber. The medal still hung around my neck and I chose to examine it more closely. A name was inscribed on the side but age seemed to have covered it up. It was a simple design with nothing else but the royal emblem on it. I leaned against the wall but instead of a hard surface, I felt air.
I stepped through the doorway and walked into another room. It's as smaller but grander with swooping curtains and a chandelier. A figure sat at a small desk and it looked up to reveal the two iridescent eyes. I backed away slowly as the figure stood up. Don't worry. You know who I am. And the figure warped into someone I did in fact know.
A tear slid down my cheek. "Grandma?" Come my darling. It has been too long. I stood up and followed her into a room. I have waited a long, long time to avenge my death. I looked confused. "What are you talking about?"Yes, I will have my revenge. A burst of light shot out from her hand and binded me.
This was not Grandma. No, it was someone else entirely. I slumped against the wall and examined the medal again. I blinked. It had changed! I watched as it morphed. Now all that was on it was the words 'This holds the secret.'
The ghostly figure had come back. I had to use my wits if I wanted to make it out alive. I stood up and unbinded myself with the medal. The ghost was outraged. In an attempt to cocoon me, it released wispy shadows that weaved themselves into a coffin. Except it wouldn't be mine. I held the medal like a shield and I heard a blood curdling scream. The soul of the ghost was sucked out of its body and into the medal. I guess it's strength was also its weakness.
Three Years later...
The clouds heaved and grumbled as a storm was ready to be released. I ran to the nearest building and took cover. I didn't mean to stumble into the state library, but I had and now memories clouded my mind. Everything seemed to be normal but underneath the library were the memories that still pulsed with horror. I slumped into an armchair and was about pick a book when a straggly figure caught my eye. The figure looked up at me and a pair of eyes I would have chosen to never see again, stared back at me.
I was here again. The thought ricocheted in my brain as I stood in front of the train station. The lights flickered time to time giving the station an abandoned sense. Paint peeled from the walls and the railway was rusted and cracked. The monotonous sound of the clock ticking filled the room. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. It was enough to drive you mad. I turned and walked up the stairs eager to be released from the gloomy prison of the dark station.
The wind smacked me in the face making me gasp. It stung my cheeks and made my eyes water. What now? I had gone all this way yet there was no reason. The sun had surrendered to the moon and now an inky blackness crept across the town. Aimlessly, I wandered down streets. I didn't know if it was fate that had twisted my path, but when I looked up, the state library looked above me. It stood tall and proud in all its glory of bushes and flowers. The moonlight showered a dim glow onto the sandstone pillars. A light breeze swept over my hair and as if a cue, I stepped in.
The faint chirping of crickets could be heard from outside. My footsteps echoed around the empty building. I hadn't come for the books but I still felt something pulling me deeper into the library. As I ventured in, I saw purple sparks that had shot out from a bookshelf. Curious I bent down to look. Immediately, I regretted that move.
I was paralysed to the spot, the menacing aura holding me in a tightening grip. I tried to scream but no sound came out. The shadows engulfed me and I was thrown back at the force of it. The glowing purple light intensified and my arms tingled as the light brushed them. Nowhere to hide now. A voice spoke in my mind, slurred but enticing. I leaned in. No one will remember. I have come. A powerful blast of light threw me against the wall and the room glowed white, pure white that danced in spots across my eyes blinding me, then it turned black.
It hurt to look. Every light seemed intensified and sharp colours blinded me. Rubble and loose books created a nest around me, and I turned around painfully to see that a chunk of the wall was gone. I lay there in the rubble when something caught my eye. A shadow danced across my vision and I reached out to grab it. Though it was small, a shiver went down my spine as I held it, unnaturally cold. I quickly let go of it and it flitted around my head before retreating into the shelves. I stood up slowly, digging my feet into the ground as I wobbled. I was about to leave when something shimmered in my nest.
I bent down and pulled it out. It was a medal rusted with age. It shined a dull silver and it was tied to a thick rope. I held it in my palm and stood back up. The shadow had returned and it was now examining me curiously. A book on a shelf caught my eye. It glowed a deep purple and floral emblems covered it. Reaching out I pulled it, but what came out was not the book, but a passage. Cogs whirred and the mechanism twisted into a door. Where the shelf was, there was now a stone archway. I looked at the shadow and as if a cue, it disappeared into the archway. Taking a breath, I followed it into the unknown darkness of the passage.
My eyes adjusted to the darkness and the first thing I saw were giant tongues of flame. They glowed a deep purple and they flickered over the floor casually. The walls rose to a dizzying height and runes were etched into them. The air in the chamber hung with perspiration and the flames emitted wild smoking fumes. I tensed. Turning around, I saw two unblinking eyes staring back at me.
They shimmered in the air and colours swirled in their crystalline depths. I stood, entranced by their intricacy. Looking closely, I realised that the faint outline of a body could be seen. A soft voice brought by an invisible breeze snuck into my ear. I am back. You do not remember me do you? The voice faded into the air leaving me slightly confused. The voice was familiar yet, how could that be?
I should have learnt to not trust entrancing voices by now. Pure white light had once again blinded me and I soon realised that the voice was the same one I had heard earlier. Now defeated, I lay in a crumpled heap on the floor. I could not help but think of the familiarity of the voice. Soft and enchanting yet underneath was of hard intentions. Who did that remind me of? I closed my eyes in a vain attempt to rouse sleep, but I was not welcomed. Suddenly, the truth dawned on me. I knew who the figure was.
I slowly rose and paced around the chamber. The medal still hung around my neck and I chose to examine it more closely. A name was inscribed on the side but age seemed to have covered it up. It was a simple design with nothing else but the royal emblem on it. I leaned against the wall but instead of a hard surface, I felt air.
I stepped through the doorway and walked into another room. It's as smaller but grander with swooping curtains and a chandelier. A figure sat at a small desk and it looked up to reveal the two iridescent eyes. I backed away slowly as the figure stood up. Don't worry. You know who I am. And the figure warped into someone I did in fact know.
A tear slid down my cheek. "Grandma?" Come my darling. It has been too long. I stood up and followed her into a room. I have waited a long, long time to avenge my death. I looked confused. "What are you talking about?"Yes, I will have my revenge. A burst of light shot out from her hand and binded me.
This was not Grandma. No, it was someone else entirely. I slumped against the wall and examined the medal again. I blinked. It had changed! I watched as it morphed. Now all that was on it was the words 'This holds the secret.'
The ghostly figure had come back. I had to use my wits if I wanted to make it out alive. I stood up and unbinded myself with the medal. The ghost was outraged. In an attempt to cocoon me, it released wispy shadows that weaved themselves into a coffin. Except it wouldn't be mine. I held the medal like a shield and I heard a blood curdling scream. The soul of the ghost was sucked out of its body and into the medal. I guess it's strength was also its weakness.
Three Years later...
The clouds heaved and grumbled as a storm was ready to be released. I ran to the nearest building and took cover. I didn't mean to stumble into the state library, but I had and now memories clouded my mind. Everything seemed to be normal but underneath the library were the memories that still pulsed with horror. I slumped into an armchair and was about pick a book when a straggly figure caught my eye. The figure looked up at me and a pair of eyes I would have chosen to never see again, stared back at me.