The Ladies of Horror
Picture-Prompt Writing Challenge!
Fade to White
by Lee Mitchell
I thought I’d thought the decision all the way through. It had made perfect sense at the time. My thoughts had been rushed and overwhelmed, though; I was so caught up in so many cumulative little things, and I’d become so tired. That alone had been enough to skew my perspective, so nothing else mattered—not even any of the things that should have.
The frozen wilderness felt fitting. Lonely. Empty. Tears turned to ice.
I’d considered the pilgrimage many times before, romanticized my trek through the pristine snow, the flocked pines my only witness as I wandered off to my final resting spot. Long beyond my abandoned car on the roadside, gas tank empty, I walked. I continued until my frost-bitten feet could no longer move me forward, and then I collapsed into the cold bed before me, turned to my back, and considered all the heaviness I planned to leave behind as darkness crept over the ridge and stars filled the night sky.
But as the reality of my decision sank in, my body no longer able to rush back to safety, all I could think about was what had already fallen so far away: my soft, warm bed; my beautiful home that I had worked so hard for; the pleasure of a hot bath; an exceptional meal; a good cup of coffee; the handful of people who would truly mourn my absence.
I had felt so invisible that disappearing for real seemed the only option. But now, as the snow falls and my body fades to white, I realize how wrong I was. My life wasn’t a show dependent on others’ ratings or contingent upon my acceptance or popularity in this world; it was a gift, a fleeting ride that I’d sought to control and had mistakenly assumed was supposed to be fair.
Heart heavier than ever, my soul aching with regret and remorse, I scream desperately into the cold, empty darkness for help. But my body burns and the snow falls and I slowly become one with the ice.
And the darkness laughs back.
.
Fiction © Copyright Lee Mitchell.
Image courtesy of Pixabay.com
More from Author Lee Mitchell:
Alisha Brown led a mundane life until the day monsters started trying to kill her and random strangers began to shy away from her in awe.
All hell broke loose, quite literally, after Randy Thomas turned right on Main for Honey’s instead of making a left for home and then murdered his beloved wife in an unusually gruesome way. Escaping police and stopping traffic in New York City with a gas-spewing tentacle erupting from his mouth, his fears are confirmed: That one small backslide would serve as the final tipping point for all mankind, inviting in a timeless destructive force that would lead him to the frontlines of the war to end all wars.
A growing population has succumbed to their worst fears, some transforming into dreaded fictional monsters—leaving the streets flooded with vampires, werewolves, spontaneously combusting humans, and other horrors—while others have become angels and demons determined to fight in the holy war they believe is upon them.
Questions soon arise as Randy’s and Alisha’s roles in this bizarre apocalypse become uncertain. One is a professed sinner, the other an asexual virgin. Each has been touched by the hand of fate, and each believes they are humanity’s last hope. But belief can be a funny thing…
The Divine Darkness is the first installment of The Divine Darkness apocalyptic horror trilogy.
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