Tradition, comes in many forms, and they exist for many reasons, ‘The Ritual of The Light’ simply existed to protect. For those who do not know of this tradition, fear not, not many do, but Jonathan and his family knew it well. It took place December 31st, from sundown to midnight. The tradition was simple really, before sundown a certain lantern in the house was to be blessed by the eldest male of the family this blessing being to assure the light of the lantern is strong enough to ward off the beast. A creature of evil and torment, a creature that hounded children, drank blood like wine and drove men mad. The light was to remain on all night, to ward off the beast, and one was ever to be out of the lanterns light for more than two minutes for if one was, they would surely be doomed.
Jonathan lit a match as the sun dipped low into the horizon, disappearing behind the sky, and as darkness was enveloping the world around his home he lowered the match to a lantern’s wick, which had been blessed hours earlier by his Great Uncle Joe. Catching fire the lantern quickly did its job and provided quite an illumination for the living room from its spot on the small coffee table.
“Ah, quite a fine light wouldn’t you say, boy?” Said an old voice that crackled like a dying fire, which belonged to Jonathans seventy-five-year-old Great Aunt Gretel.
Jonathan looked at his Great Aunt who sat illuminated by the light of the lantern, wrapped in a green sweater with a pair of thick pants and boots, rocking back and forth rhythmically on a rather large sofa while she knit a scarf, beside her resided Jonathan’s Great Uncle Joe, who was not much older than Gretel. He was dressed in a sweater, with coveralls, and had also wrapped himself in a rather large blanket whilst also wearing boots, the heavy clothing the both of them wore shielded them from the winter cold, which permeated throughout the room.
“Yes, yes indeed, a good light, I think it should last us through the night.” Said Jonathan, who quickly went to one side of the room, lighting another match to set the logs in the fireplace alight, providing little but much-needed protection against the cold, after all the Beast was not the only danger of winter. After doing this, Jonathan resigned himself to an armchair adjacent to his family, the lantern as well as the coffee table it sat on acting as a median between them. The air was cold but thankfully Jonathan found himself protected from it by his thick jacket, pants, and boots. The one thing he was not protected from was the solemn air stemming from the seriousness of the tradition, which lay over them all.
Jonathan turned his attention to the familiar surroundings of the living room of the old house, the gaudy pink and green wallpaper, the many decorative vases that sat scattered amongst various tables, casting peculiar shadows on the room, the paintings of ships which hung on every wall powerful behemoths, plowing forward through the vast ocean and off into the great unknown, Jonathan longed to see the ocean really, he wanted to get out of this house one day. One day he did. He wished to see the unknown, the unexplorable, however, he feared he would never, he feared he was trapped. His Great Aunt was always rambling about the Beast, a creature of which he was unsure even was real.
Jonathan sighed and all was silent and quaint as Jonathan stewed in thought...and it seemed like just another December 31st.
When suddenly, a scream was a heard, one that could only belong to a child, a girl, a small girl.
The scream shot through the air like a gunshot. Piercing the air like a bullet pierces the skin and utterly shredding the peace.
A scream? Thought Jonathan, How? Where? Jonathan’s house was not only in the middle of nowhere but surrounded by a thick wood, the only town was thirty miles away, and only his Great Aunt and Uncle ever went there. They were also to remote and isolated to be near any main roads In the whole of his life which totaled sixteen years Jonathan had never heard a scream in this neck of the woods.
The screams got louder, screams of anguish, of pain, the screams turned to wails, and the wails themselves turned into cries for help.
“Help me! Help me please!”
For the moment no one reacted, everyone was too stunned, it was as if they had been struck by lightning, no one seemed to breathe, never before had such a thing happened, and on December 31st no less.
Finally finding the will to overcome his paralysis Jonathan shot to his feet, his entire family looked to him, and he looked back.
“We have to help,” Jonathan stated simply, his voice unwavering, commanding almost.
“No.” Said his Great Aunt looking into his eyes, her body still, her eyes boring into him, she spoke only one syllable but she had communicated so much, “sit down.”
“No,” Jonathan responded.
Tension filled the air, it was as if the very paintings in the room had come alive and the waves of water had crashed into the living room, filling it to the brim. Jonathan further waded in defiance as he continued on. Feeling he could not stand idly by as an innocent child screamed for help.
“We are going to help her. Let’s go together, all of us with the lantern!”
“We can’t!” Jonathan’s Great Uncle Joe cried rasping, “we are too old...to slow...and you can’t go out their alone.”
“If you can’t go out there to help, then I will. Alone.”
Jonathan’s Great Aunt’s eyes turned to fire and her nostrils flared for a moment and then they grew sad, filling with tears, which slowly flowed down her cheeks, “then you will surely end up like your father and mother…”
Jonathan froze stiff, his mind pulled under by memories like a body in a riptide, he remembered that night, three years ago, he tried to shut it out but sometimes the walls of his mind failed and he was dragged back down in the memories, Jonathan shook his head, grabbing onto the present and holding it with a tight mental grip, he would not allow himself to be consumed by such thoughts at this moment.
Jonathan looked into his Great Aunt’s eyes with conviction, “I am going out there with or without you.”
The tension had broken, it had frozen, shattered and dissipated. And all that remained was a cold air, and the sound of the girl’s constant, somewhat distant scream. The storm was over but the mission had only just begun.
“Take this.” said Jonathan's Great Uncle, reaching beneath his blanket and pulling out a knife, holding it out to Jonathan, “for protection.”
Jonathan nodded in thanks and retrieved the knife from Great Uncle's hands.
“I don’t like this one bit,” interjected his Great Aunt, “but take this boy,” she said holding out a piece of string originating from a large ball of yarn at her feet, “wrap it around the knife, once you reach a minute, we’ll tug on the string, signaling for you to come back, so you won't be in danger of the beast.”
Jonathan nodded again and grabbing the string quickly tying it around the knife handle and looking to his family, uncertainty, and fear shaded their faces.
“I will return…” Jonathan said firmly, keeping his voice as calm as possible whilst turning to the door and throwing it open, the full chill of the winter night filled the room, hitting his face full force, stunning him for a moment, he shivered, the cold air already worming its way through his pants and jacket to his skin. Jonathan looked to the woods, the light of the lantern and fireplace shining through the doorway and windows, allowing a small amount of light in the winter night. And the uncertainty of his mission filled him for a moment, would he find the girl? Could he navigate his way through such a massive wood? In the dark no less? As the wails persisted, Jonathan did his best to cast aside any doubt. He must do this...he must. He was the only one who even would or could he reminded himself. Taking a deep breath the frigid air tickled his lungs and he took a step forward, sinking almost up to his knee in the snow, he almost lost his footing but he quickly put one foot in front of the other, “come on Jonathan! You can do this!” he hissed to himself, trudging forward towards the woods edge.
Until there he was, facing frost covered trees and an endless darkness before him, yes he had gazed upon this wood and even explored them during the day but at night, it was as if they had been transformed. It was as terrifying as it was mysterious. Could it be, there was a creature, a beast in there watching him right now? Was the Beast even real?
It was contemplating this that Jonathan left the light of the lantern and the house behind and trudged into the wood.
Jonathan felt blind, his eyes having nothing to grasp in the inky blackness, there was no light, no shadow, only darkness.
He knew he needed to find the girl and fast, looking this way and that he tried getting his eyes to adjust as much as they could to the forest while walking forward slowly, but before he could even begin his search he felt a tug on his knife. The string. Quickly he turned and trudged as fast as he could out of the wood, following the string which turned out to be a useful tool. He emerged facing the house, where he saw his Great Uncle Standing outside the doorway, watching him. He waved and Jonathan waved back before turning and making his way back into the wood.
Jonathan knew he couldn’t wait for his eyes to adjust, the cold was catching up to him and his pant legs and shoes were beginning to feel wet, not only that but the girl’s cries were growing fainter, Jonathan knew she must have been getting more tired, she could have been on the verge of death at that very moment.
Hoping for the best, Jonathan put his hands in front of him to make sure he didn't run into a tree and trudged fast and headlong into the wood, moving his head left and right, relying more on his sense of hearing than sight, trying to pinpoint the girls shouts for . Until, yes, he got it! A general direction, “don’t worry!” he shouted. “I’m coming!”
Whether the girl heard this or not Jonathan did not know as there came no response but the continued cries for help. As he continued his search, Jonathan felt a feeling of unease make its way into his being, wrapping around his soul like a snake. Choking his bravery, was there something legitimately wrong? Or had the story of the Beast been ingrained him so much, he couldn’t help but be scared of the idea of it?
There came another tug on the knife in Jonathan's hand, “Dammit!” Jonathan screamed in anger, he turned and trudged back, holding the string as a guide and trying not to bash his own brains out as he hurried back. Reaching the edge of the wood Jonathan stumbled out of the wood and into something rather large.
Crying out he hopped backward holding up his knife defensively in fear, only to relax once he realized it was his Great Uncle.
“I’m sorry,” Jonathan said gasping for breath, feeling quite drained from his strenuous activities.
“Boy,” his Great Uncle began, shivering, “the search is hopeless…”
“No!” Jonathan shouted.
“The girl will be dead soon.”
“I almost got her!”
“No, you don’t! Don’t you get it? If she isn’t dead there’s no way you’ll even make it back in time and there the b-”
“Have you ever seen the beast?” Jonathan said cutting him off.
His Great Uncle was quiet, “has Aunt Gretel?!” Jonathan shouted.
“N-no…” his Great Uncle stuttered.
“Then how do we know it’s even real!” He shouted. Suddenly angry. The Beast? Who would even believe in such a stupid fairy tale, he had never seen it, and neither had his family apparently and even if it was real, who would allow it to stop them from saving an innocent life.
His Great Uncle was silent as the cries of the girl continued to grow fainter, Jonathan dropped the knife into the snow.
“I don’t need this…”
“Jonathan…”
“Go back to your light…”
“The Beast took your mother!”
“My mom always had sleepwalking problems, she walked out into that blizzard while everyone was sleeping, and dad tried to find her and he died, end of story.”
“The lantern was off when she went missing!”
“What does that prove? Did Gretel see the beast?”
“No b-”
Before Jonathan’s Great Uncle could even finish he had already turned around and plunged back into the wood.
“Jonathan!” His Great Uncle screamed as he trudged as quickly as he could through the snow once more, following the sounds of the girl’s cries, Jonathan pushed himself to go faster, neglecting his sight like before he was instead completely relying on his hearing, trying to discern if he was getting farther away or closer and if he was even going in the right direction. He was completely devoid of caution now, not even using his hands to feel anymore, Jonathan was moving dangerously fast now as he ran, constantly clipping trees and almost falling over as he simply focused on getting to the girl as fast as he could.
Jonathan knew could do it, he could find this girl and save her, he could even prove that the Beast was a myth. Time was of the essence, he needed to find this child. He could hear her cries, they were louder now. He was close, he was close.
Then Jonathan’s world went downwards.
His foot fell into oblivion, looking down Jonathan saw a massive drop beneath him...and with a cry, he fell.
Jonathan felt an intense pressure in his legs for a brief moment, then heard what sounded to be a snapping sound followed by an intense burning pain. Jonathan gritted his teeth as his thoughts, his emotions, his very being was filled with one thing. Pain. His vision blurred and darkened for a second but Jonathan remained conscience. He lay still for a few minutes before gathering himself even as an intense heavy throb pounded his legs, fighting through the torment he propped himself up on his elbows to get a better look at his legs. It took a few minutes for his eyes to adjust but when they did he screamed...his legs were twisted, like two twigs snapped by a child during playtime, pointing in directions they shouldn’t, a bone poked out of one pant leg, the opening allowing blood to flow freely from his body.
Jonathan grunted and fell back, his hand brushing against something to his side, it was cold and hard, a metal? Propping himself up again he turned his head and noticed a double-barreled shotgun.
“The hell?”
Reaching out he grabbed it and pulled it close to examine it in the dark, he immediately recognized it, it was his father's shotgun. The one he had brought with him all those years ago when he went to look for his mom in the blizzard. Jonathan broke it open looking inside the breach he saw two shotgun shells. One of them fired. What had happened? Why had he shot? Had he found mom?
It was in this moment, Jonathan realized, he could no longer hear the cries of the little girl. His eyes wide, he began looking in every direction for the body of a child.
“Oh no, oh no!” Am I too late?”
Was she dead? Had she fallen down this steep hill and been mangled as well. Was she somewhere else entirely?
“Hello!?” Jonathan shouted, “little girl?!”
Jonathan looked left, and right, he could barely see five feet in front of him even with his now well-adjusted eyes, he saw a steep cliff face to his left and more endless woods to his right. The silence was eerie, deafening even, he could hear his own heartbeat.
Jonathan shifted his legs, forgetting they were injured for a moment and crying out as a sharp pain ran up his leg.
Then he heard it, footsteps, light steps coming from the woods. Jonathan looked up, was it the girl? They seemed to be getting closer.
“Little girl!” He shouted once more, “is that you?!”
WIthin his field of his vision from amongst the wood emerged a large creature of grotesque proportions, Jonathan felt the air leave his lungs as he froze, the many eyes that covered the creatures upper head focused in on him, a thick, long tongue covered in teeth unfurled from the mouth of the creature, as it glided forward with remarkable, unbelievable grace, its thin spindly legs barely making a sound, its large hands never leaving its side.
The creature stopped before Jonathan, hovering over him, it cocked its head to one side and chuckled, then, it spoke.
“You will find no little girl here...boy…only me.”
Side note: This story was done by another Twitter friend who you can follow here @KindOfaTrollLOL. Fantastic story writer and you can check out more of their work from their Twitter page. Thanks for letting me use this story on my blog.
