Ashes Ashes

P.A. Nightmares

Ashes! Ashes!

Seth and his family have owned their farm for generations; they have always grown all of their own vegetables. They grew tomatoes, cucumbers, corn, and many other vegetables that they would sell the excess to their neighboring towns. The family-owned 300 acres, most of that was farmland. Lush green vegetables grew during the warmer seasons. However, the rest of the land was a woodland area. Seth loved the woods; he would always walk through the woods in his free time. He knew every square inch of that land. He had lived there all his life, after all. In the area he was in, it was not uncommon for farming families to live and die in the house they were born in.

It was still early. He got out of bed and got ready for another busy day on the farm. This was their busiest time on the farm. The warmer months were coming to an end, so they would have to harvest the crops till the land for next year, so the soil was fertile for planting. However, as he exited his room, Seth heard his parents weeping. Slowly walking downstairs, he sees his mother crying and his father holding her. What's wrong, mom?” Seth asked.

“Your grandmother passed last night.” In between sobs, his mom said, ``We have to go to her house in a few days for a will reading.” The days passed by slowly as they did their chores around the farm, ate, mourned, and slept. Days later, they all got ready and traveled to his grandparent's home a few hours away on their own farm. Upon getting there, they were greeted by his family. Uncles, aunts, cousins, he had a large family. It was good to see them; Seth just wished it was under better circumstances. After meeting and reminiscing about the good memories, they all had with his grandmother and receiving the will. Most of his grandmother's things would be divided between the siblings, but his grandmother left something special for Seth. A doll, yes, most guys would not like a gift like this. But Seth knew its value and significance. This doll had a history; it came from a family member that died during the black death. It was old and fragile, but Seth loved history and treasured this gift with his heart.

The days after the will reading, and his grandmother's burial were hard, but Seth always enjoyed walking around the farm land his parents owned. This helped him clear his mind usually. However, today was different from when the skies were overcast, making everything look less vibrant and alive than usual. In fact, the world he found himself in was almost colorless, just gray all around bordering on black. As he walked outside back to his house, he heard children singing. This was odd. No child should be out at this hour, let alone in this kind of weather. The sun would be going down shortly, and with no moon to guide them, it will be pitch black and dangerous for adults, let alone kids. Seth decided it would be a good idea to go to them, so he knew they got home safely.

Seth turned in the direction of the singing and could hear the song they were singing was ring around the Rosie. Cresting the hill, he saw six little girls that could not be more than seven or eight in age holding hands. They were dressed identically. They were all wearing white nightgowns and no shoes. For some reason, this sight caused him great fear., They felt out of place like they came from another time. As they were finishing the song, they all fell to the ground. But where you would expect giggling from the children came painful mons. Laying on the ground, Seth noticed they were bleeding from the mouth and looked sickly. The girls vanished. Seth turned to run, but the instant he turned around, the ghostly apparition of the girls was there.

They touched him, and images flooded his mind. They showed him and his family dead and the farmland he lived on fire. But that was not the worst; it showed him whatever this was spreading to the town near him and going well beyond that. Seth woke up on the ground hours later; no moon in the sky darkness surrounded him. But knowing the terrain as well as he does, finding the house was easy. All of the lights were off in his house, and his parents had long gone to bed.

“Huh, that odd they went to be and never bothered to look for me. I guess they thought I had gone to bed early or something.” He shrugged off the thought, opened the front door, and headed straight to his room. Turning the light on, he was instantly unnerved. The doll he had received from his grandmother sat on his bed, clutching a note. Seth slowly approached the letter with trepidation. He picked up the doll and took the note from its tiny hands. However, he had to pull it away; it was almost as if the doll did not want to let the letter go. Finally freeing it, he opened it and began to read its contents. He did not recognize the handwriting; it was sloppy, almost like a child had written it.

“Beware the setting sun, for, on the 3rd day, your crops will wither away. Beware the blood moon, for when they moon rises, all your calltel will fall. And finally, beware for, on the next night, your family will only begin their true plight. This will not stop with you, and I am afraid none will make it to see next month.” This note sent a chill down Seth's spine as he read and re-read. The letter spoke of all the images he had seen before he passed out earlier. Also, as he examined the doll, she was dressed the same as the ghost children.

“Could she be one of the spirits I have seen come to warn me? Or is she here to bring about the death?” Seth shook his head. “This was ridiculous. This is a trick. Someone is messing with me,” he thought. “Hell, it could be one last joke from grandmother for all I know. She was always a trickster.”

Seth went to bed that night and was repeatedly plagued with the visions. He was powerless to stop anything that was going to happen. At one point in the dream, a little girl appeared again in her white nightgown and no shoes. She was coughing up blood. Her words were paid, but she was very clear.

“There is nothing you can do to save your family. Your family's fates are sealed. However, you can stop the spread and make sure no crops and meat leave the farm. It can not spread to the next town. If it does, the world will know death as it happened in my time. The plague will strike again, and the casualties will be much worse this time.”

Waking up, Seth gets ready to go out and continue to harvest crops with his father, only to be greeted by his mother at the table. “Mother, where is father this morning?”

“He took some fruits, vegetables, and a pig he slaughtered this morning to the town. He got word that a family was in need of food, so being your father, he decided to help. We have plenty more than enough to help this family out and sell the rest we don't need to market. Don't worry, Seth, we will be fine.” She must have seen the blood drain from my face. Thinking it was from worry and not him remembering a dream from last night.

Seth went out to do his chores, trying to keep the dream off his mind. It can't be true. He told himself modern medicine has cures for anything that is out there. This thought comforted him, and he forgot about the dream for the next few days. Nothing strange happened until that fourth day. He woke up and went outside, as usual, only to find that everything that had yet to be harvested withered and died overnight. Upon seeing this, he broke down and cried. My parents both asked him what was wrong. So Seth recounted the dream visions, and yes, even the ghost children they did not believe him. They thought it was all stress-induced and took Seth to the doctor. They gave him some meds that Seth knew he would not take. After all, he doubted that he would be on this earth much longer anyhow. If this was the case, Seth wanted to be as clear-minded, and psych meds would do the opposite of that.

Getting back home, Seth went up to his room. Using the excuse that he was tired and wanted to rest. His parents thought this was for the best. Seth knew that the next full moon was in less than 29 days and that it would be a blood moon of that; he had no doubt. Seth was, in fact, tired, so he decided it would be for the best if he tried to get some rest. Almost on cue, as his head hit the pillow, he was out. The sleep was not normal; it was almost a supernatural kind of sleep. His body was unconscious, but his mind was very awake. He once again started to dream about the ghost girl that were connected to the doll.

In the dream, the ghost child showed Seth images of his death, lying on the ground with blood pouring out of his mouth. The ghost girl warns him that if he does not burn and free her spirit from the earthly prison, aka the doll, she can not protect us, and Seth would be doomed to die this way. His last sight was his childhood home on fire; cattle and other animals lay scattered in the yard. One last detail did not escape his notice: the grass had died, and the trees were also dead. Whatever this thing is has made this land inhospitable to any linked organism. Set shot straight up in his bed, sweat pouring from every pore of his body. He was coughing and hacking, causing blood to come up as well as saliva. This caused a yell of surprise to escape his mouth.

Seth decided at that moment he needed to burn that damn doll. This would at least give them a fighting chance if the dreams were true. Set walked over to his closet and opened the box that housed the doll. However, he looked at the box closely for the first time. The box was hand-crafted and beautifully made with a strange inscription in an unknown language. Seth went over to the computer and typed it into the google search engine. It did come back with a translation.

It was in Lattin turns out it was a verse in revelations “And the living one. I died, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades.” Confused about what this meant, he found a hidden note in the box. This was a note from my grandmother.

I am sorry, my love, that I now must burden you with this doll, but you must not do as it asks no matter what it foretells or what comes to pass. The spirit in the doll is, in fact, an ancestor of ours. However, after the years of captivity, the doll has turned her vengeful. She wishes to spread the plague of her time into this world and bring it to its knees in hellfire and brimstone. But we can not allow this. It will not be the plague of 1347. However, she will infuse it with her supernatural powers, and it will kill so many more people and could cause an extinction-level event. Keep the doll safe, my grandson, and be strong for us all.

Love Grandma

Unsure as to what to do, Seth locked the doll back in the box. He did have some time to think about it. On the one hand, if he didn't burn the doll, he and his family would surely die. If he did, the ghost said she would help. He never felt in danger by her. Maybe grandma was wrong about her. Over the next few weeks, he did his chores and pondered over the ghost children. They didn't entirely go away over the next few weeks. The one ghost girl would often plead with Seth to free her. He would consider it, and then his grandmother's pleas would enter his mind. Finally, twenty several days had passed, and the blood moon rose on midnight of the 28th.

The following day animals, trees, and grass were all dead. Seth's parents were still in bed. As the sight of all this sank in, he could think of only one thing to do: he rushed up the stairs grabbing the doll. He rushed back outside, and Seth ran over to the shed and grabbed the gas can. Bolted to the burn barrel, he threw the box into the can. Dumped all the gas out of the can, lit a match, and burned the box. The whole time pleading, begging, and crying for the spirit to protect him and his family. The warning his grandmother gave him all but forgotten.

As the flames licked the box, he heard giggling behind him. He turns around and sees all of the ghost girls once again all holding hands. Singing their song. They stopped and made a spot for him to join them. Seth was unsure of what to do at first. As they sang, the sky darkened. Not the kind of darkened to signal a storm. It was pitch black. Seconds later, he heard a loud crack of thunder and saw the lightning strike the house and burst into flames. They spread unnaturally quickly. Seth ran to the house, trying to get there to save his parents. Why was this happening? They said he would be ok. But the ghost girls teleported in front of him, hands outstretched as they sang that accursed song. But Seth could not help but sing it as he walked over to join them.

Seth had his hands outstretched as if he was holding hands with two children. He started to sing. "Ring around the Rosie. Pockets full of posies. Ashes! Ashes! We all fall down." He falls to the ground with blood pouring out of his mouth with the last line. One of the ghost children, the one connected with that accursed doll, walks up to him. "Thank you, Seth, for burning the doll and finally setting me free. Now the world will know the suffering that our family endured." She let out a giggle, disappearing as Seth drew his last bloody breath.