Ψ
SMACK... SPLAT... SLAP... SMACK...
Damn! They were going to hear the sound of his bare feet on the pavement even if they couldn't see him in the shadows of the old factory! What had happened to his shoes? His memory was a jumbled mess of blurry images... all he knew for certain was that "they" were chasing him!
CRACK... RUSTLE... SNAP... CRACK...
Running in the forest at dusk was too dangerous! He'd better stop until full dark if he didn't want to be discovered ~ every footfall crunched leaves or snapped a twig. Breathing heavily, he slid as far under the old tree root as he could get. He covered himself with the detritus of the forest floor and hoped that no animal would catch the scent of blood on him if he fell asleep.
SPLISH... SPLOSH... SPLASH...
Running through the stream under the full moon left him too exposed. The glint off of the blade of the knife clutched in his left hand might catch someone's eye. He paused long enough to bury it beneath a pile of rocks in the shallow water.
CRUNCH... RATTLE... SPLASH... SLURP...
Running along the narrow pebbled bank of the creek sent stones skittering off into the grass and tumbling down into the water. His foot slid along with the tiny rocks and, before he knew what happened, his left foot was sucked into the oozing mud. He fell to his knees in the stream and thrust his hands up to the heavens.
"Help me, Lord!" he cried. "I haved sinned but I am asking for your forgiveness."
But the Lord God refused, telling him "GO TO THE DEVIL, SINNERMAN!"
HISS... SPLAT... SPLASH...
The smell of sulfur burned his lungs... sweat burned his eyes. Trying to take shallow breaths, he waded through the stream as it began to bubble and hiss at the edges. His bare feet were already blistering on the hot stones beneath the water.
"Lucifer! Lucifer!" he called out. "I beg sanctuary! Tell me what I must do!"
The Devil sneered and said "OFF WITH YOU, FILTH! GET OUT OF MY SIGHT!"
SHUFFLE... SCRAPE... SHUFFLE... SCRAPE...
They had set the wolves on him. He could hear the howling not too far away but his raw, bloody feet could not move any faster. Was it still the same night? Or had he lost an entire day like he had lost his clothes and his memories?
Blood spurting onto walls... onto the sheets... onto him...
Red, crimson, scarlet. What you called it didn't matter.
That bright vermilion spraying all over was the only clear memory he had.
Ψ
Clothed in naught but the darkness, ol' Sinnerman shook his head like a dog, trying to get the sweat out of his eyes. Not that it mattered if he could see. Rejected by both Jehovah and Beelzebub..... he had nowhere to go.
›·• Ψ •·‹
When e'en Lucifer
Has shunned ye..... Oh, Sinnerman,
Just what did you do?
›·• Ψ •·‹
SMACK... SPLAT... SLAP... SMACK...
Damn! They were going to hear the sound of his bare feet on the pavement even if they couldn't see him in the shadows of the old factory! What had happened to his shoes? His memory was a jumbled mess of blurry images... all he knew for certain was that "they" were chasing him!
CRACK... RUSTLE... SNAP... CRACK...
Running in the forest at dusk was too dangerous! He'd better stop until full dark if he didn't want to be discovered ~ every footfall crunched leaves or snapped a twig. Breathing heavily, he slid as far under the old tree root as he could get. He covered himself with the detritus of the forest floor and hoped that no animal would catch the scent of blood on him if he fell asleep.
SPLISH... SPLOSH... SPLASH...
Running through the stream under the full moon left him too exposed. The glint off of the blade of the knife clutched in his left hand might catch someone's eye. He paused long enough to bury it beneath a pile of rocks in the shallow water.
CRUNCH... RATTLE... SPLASH... SLURP...
Running along the narrow pebbled bank of the creek sent stones skittering off into the grass and tumbling down into the water. His foot slid along with the tiny rocks and, before he knew what happened, his left foot was sucked into the oozing mud. He fell to his knees in the stream and thrust his hands up to the heavens.
"Help me, Lord!" he cried. "I haved sinned but I am asking for your forgiveness."
But the Lord God refused, telling him "GO TO THE DEVIL, SINNERMAN!"
HISS... SPLAT... SPLASH...
The smell of sulfur burned his lungs... sweat burned his eyes. Trying to take shallow breaths, he waded through the stream as it began to bubble and hiss at the edges. His bare feet were already blistering on the hot stones beneath the water.
"Lucifer! Lucifer!" he called out. "I beg sanctuary! Tell me what I must do!"
The Devil sneered and said "OFF WITH YOU, FILTH! GET OUT OF MY SIGHT!"
SHUFFLE... SCRAPE... SHUFFLE... SCRAPE...
They had set the wolves on him. He could hear the howling not too far away but his raw, bloody feet could not move any faster. Was it still the same night? Or had he lost an entire day like he had lost his clothes and his memories?
Blood spurting onto walls... onto the sheets... onto him...
Red, crimson, scarlet. What you called it didn't matter.
That bright vermilion spraying all over was the only clear memory he had.
Ψ
Clothed in naught but the darkness, ol' Sinnerman shook his head like a dog, trying to get the sweat out of his eyes. Not that it mattered if he could see. Rejected by both Jehovah and Beelzebub..... he had nowhere to go.
›·• Ψ •·‹
When e'en Lucifer
Has shunned ye..... Oh, Sinnerman,
Just what did you do?
›·• Ψ •·‹
Copyright ©2012 dani harris. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce in any form, including electronic, without the author’s express permission.
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This story originally appeared in poetic form on the my heart's love songs site on February 16, 2012.
#
If you like this story, check out dani’s other stories, published on this site: Bugged, Camellia, guardian angel {sorta} and haboob {another creepy tail}.
#
AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY
dani {not a boy} opened her poetry blog my heart's love songs in February 2010 and is now venturing into prose, though terrified. It seems her terror manifests itself in much of the prose, becoming a short tale with an element of horror or fantasy. She also writes sensual poetry and is attempting to write humorous prose and poetry.
thank you SO much for publishing "Sinnerman" Steve!
ReplyDelete{don't tell anyone but i found out what Sinnerman did ~ instead of worshipping a false god, he worshipped a false devil. after he sacrificed a non-virgian to his idol, both Jehovah and Lucifer wanted nothing to do with him.}
Congrats Dani!
ReplyDeleteI love all the fascinating imagery! It guided us so well...
thank you, Ella! ♥
ReplyDelete