A Christmas Carrion

Chapter 2: Continuous Cacophony

Silent night Scary night

All is dark

All have died

Round yon bleeding mother & child

Heaps of falling slime and bile

All will be dead in a while

Planned by icy hands working in guile

Damien froze as he walked the cobblestone path. It was not the dark parody itself but the voice rendering it that bothered him. It seemed to be that of a child, about four or five at most (though how one gauges that is beyond this author).

He looked up – and froze again. Forty paces ahead stood a little form – and this time he was sure it was the size and shape of a little girl about five. It seemed to suddenly come closer – without moving a step. He couldn’t tell if it was simply looming larger though. Suddenly the form seemed to hover over him, extending what looked like claws (or branches, depending on one’s psychological state) to within millimetres of his face …