The Ladies of Horror
Picture-Prompt Writing Challenge!

It’s Almost Peaceful… 
by Rie Sheridan Rose

It’s almost peaceful sitting here under this tree in the clearing outside my house. It’s easy to forget the house is a smoldering pile of ash behind me. Down to embers now, but all that’s left of my entire life.

            It’s kinda funny. I never expected to be around for the end of the world. I thought I’d be heading to grad school in the fall. I was going to marry Peter at Christmas. Everything was perfect. Working out just the way I’d planned since I was six.

            Then everything fell apart. Peter drove off the road into a tree the night it happened. The sheriff had arrived to tell me about Peter. As I stood there in shock, a tremendous crash echoed through the forest. The sheriff dashed off to investigate, and I never saw him again.

            One by one, the people I’ve known all my life disappeared. No one ever told me what had caused the crash…but I had my suspicions. As loud as the crash had been, it had to have been something huge—either a plane of some sort…or something extraterrestrial.

            I know, I know. There’s no such thing as aliens. That we’ve seen yet.

            But I saw it a couple of weeks ago. It rose above the trees like a giant. Its footsteps shook the earth. The head swiveled back and forth, as if it searched for something. It had almost reached the house when it froze, head cocked, as if it had heard something behind it. Then it turned and plodded away.

            I knew it would be back, though. So, I burned down the house. I wasn’t about to let it touch my things.

            And now, it’s coming back.

            The sun’s been down for an hour, but all at once, the clouds are lit from behind as if by a huge lantern. And I hear its giant footsteps coming closer. I don’t know where it came from, but I don’t care anymore. I’ve lost everything that was important to me.

            Now, I’m just sitting here in the clearing, waiting. It’s almost peaceful…

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Fiction © Copyright Rie Sheridan Rose
Image © Copyright Rie Sheridan Rose

More from Author Rie Sheridan Rose:

Overheard in Hell:
Dark Poetry

Poems exploring hell and damnation. Tales of sorrow, vengeance, betrayal, and redemption. Ghosts, ghouls, and demons stalk these pages. Don’t read in a lonely house…in a darkened room by a single candle…

…unless you like the touch of an icy finger up your spine.

Available on Amazon!