Catching the Red-Eye (standard:horror, 882 words)
Author: MJ Dayton	Added: Jan 24 2011	Views/Reads: 3056/4	Story vote: 0.00 (0 votes)
Written for a 24 hour contest, follow a young girl's journey through a nightmare.

Topic was provided, story had to touch on the topic. 

Topic 

The feet of her pajamas offered no protection as she trudged through the
deep drifts. She had been crying throughout her ordeal and, when she 
lowered her head for protection from the wind, she almost missed a 
light piercing through the trees. As she instinctively turned in that 
direction, she heard a train whistle... 

Catching the Red-Eye 

Icy needles pierced her skin like a barracuda's teeth as freezing tears
carved lines on her wind-burned face, yet she soldiered on.  Images of 
the night haunted her vision - blood-filled scenes of desperation and 
the end of hope.  She wrapped her arms around herself, squeezing 
tightly against the cold and the memories.  Faces flashed through her 
mind, faces of terror, faces of pain, and the black face of death.   
She trembled violently, more from fear than cold, for she knew there 
was nowhere she could hide.   And so she ran, ran through the frozen 
landscape in a desperate attempt to escape. 

She rounded a mass of tall pines and, for a moment, relief flooded
through her lithe body as she met only darkness.  The reprieve was 
short-lived.  A minute later a light pierced the foliage, followed by 
the siren's song of a train whistle.  She cut left toward the trees, 
seeking cover in their canopy.  Her small footprints left a trail the 
blowing snow would soon hide, but blood leaking from cuts on her arms, 
legs, and a wide slash on her torso would not be so easily concealed.  
Each step took more effort; she felt herself weakening but the terror 
in her soul drove her on. 

The screech of an owl, so like the screams of the children, drove stakes
of pain into her heart.  The night's descent from tedium to torture was 
slowly working its tentacles into her brain, each touch illuminating a 
new horror in her consciousness.  She alone had survived, but the night 
wasn't done dealing out its cruel hand. One by one her younger siblings 
had succumbed, each hideous death etching a deep scar on her soul.  And 
the fate awaiting her was the worst by far.  For Kira Alexandria, the 
time was near. 

She thrashed through the clustered trees, scratching her face and hands
as she broke through to a clearer landscape.  The darkness swallowed 
all sound, frigid air laying a heavy hand upon the night, daring any 
form of life to resist its strength.   Shrouded in a thick coat of 
clouds, the moon offered no break to the endless black. A lightless 
expanse, until the train, once again with its beckoning call, cut a 
swath that opened the night with a sickening glare. 

Across the open field she ran, her leaden legs propelled by unbridled
fear.   This cat and mouse game she played with the train was all too 
similar to the night's earlier events as the children, seeking shelter 
in dark spaces and huddled alone with their fears, were discovered, one 
by one.  A thick coat of suffering dripped down the walls, closing in 
around the small beating hearts as the nightmare continued.  Only 
Nicky, the oldest of her younger siblings, had tried to save them.  At 
15, he was nearly grown.  Driven by rage, he had attacked after the 
first cuts were made and little Anna's shrill screams filled the air.  
He briefly held the upper-hand but a minute hesitation cost him his 
advantage; his bravery winning him only a front row seat to the brutal 
slaughter.  He was the last to die, and welcomed the escape from the 
sickness and the pain. 

For Kira, the reprieve of each escape was dwindling.  The train's
relentless pursuit had drained her.  As dawn began to break, Kira's 
pale features took on a bluish hue as death's fingers began to tighten 
their grasp. Haloed in deep pink and majestic purple, the sun cast 
fiery bands of orange over the horizon.  Kira stood transfixed as the 
train's eye threw a spike of white light through the dawn's cascade.  
Limbs nearly frozen, weakened by the loss of blood from cuts that still 
oozed; she could no longer run.  Crumpling as her legs gave in, her 
body broke the snow's icy crust with a sound like snapping jaws.  
Collapsed and nearly breathless, she watched the train pull close.  
Darkness edged upon her vision, but would not release her from her fate 
so easily. 

The train ground to a stop, the car door slid open, and there he
appeared.  He was tall and thin, with yellowed hollow checks and eyes 
that shone with reptilian hunger. 

He spoke a low voice gravely voice, “Welcome, my child, I've been
looking for you.” 

Kira's mouth opened to scream, but instead her breath carried away the
last bit of life left in her body. 

“Huh, huh,” he chortled, “it's time for you to come on home!.” 

He leapt from the train and, with clawed hands and red eyes blazing,
dragged her lifeless body back.  He took it as a souvenir, for he 
already possessed what he most desired.  She had served him well in the 
slaughter of the lambs; her soul was neatly packaged for the ride.  It 
was a ride that would last for eternity, a one-way ticket she had 
earned with her madness. 


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