Ad Mortem "Watch out for Ad Mortem, he'll eat you alive!" my grandmother said. "Ad Mortem is just a myth, everyone knows that!" I said back. "He feeds off of fear!" "I don't believe you!" Looking back, I wish I listened to my grandmother. If I listened to her, maybe I wouldn't be in this tower, trapped by an invisible enemy. She told me never to go out at night, and I wish I listened. I went to play in the yard in the summer, outside out little house, and I never thought I'd be so far away from home. It's been 10 years, 10 years I was sentenced to this prison, with no way out. The only light that comes in is the eerie moonlight once in a while. It's almost always dark. The tower was on a tiny island, surrounded by stormy oceans and the island was filled with misty forests with unknown beasts lurking within the dead plants. This is Ad Mortem's island. It's always cloudy during the day and rainy during the night. Summers are cold and winters are colder. I've recieved little food and water, I'm even surprised I survived that long, feeding off of small portions of poisoned food and contaminated water, breathing in air that reeked of death. My only company, aside from Ad Mortem, was a guy around 10 years older than me. He left for food one day and I never saw him again. I was sharpening a stick one day and a curl of black smoke came from the floor and a young boy appeared. He looked no older than I was when I arrived here, maybe 7 or 8 at the most. "W-w-where a-am I-I?" he stuttered. "You don't want to know," I replied darkly. "I know Ad Mortem took me but where am I?" "Ad Mortem's island. His home. How'd you get here?" "Ad Mortem took me. My mum and I were camping and he killed her and took me," the kid bursted into tears. "Everything will be fine," I said,"I'll protect you." Days went by, each one the same as the previous years. The boy wasn't going to survive on rations of contaminated food, and I knew I had to do something. So one day I said,"I'm gonna go look for food." "B-but Ad Mortem! He'll kill you just like he killed my mum!" the kids cried. "I've been watching for 10 years, maybe even longer. I know what he does and I know when it's safe to go out. I have a sharp stick and there are plenty of animals in the forest and fish in the sea." And with that, I watched as the shadow of Ad Mortem's cloak disappeared into the darkening horizon. I waited for a second, making sure the boy's asleep, and climbed down using the cracks and crevices in the cold stone wall. The wind whipped in my face as the rain started pattering down, making the rocks slippery. I reached the ground and for the first time in years I felt the cool mud and grass on my feet, breathing fresher air. I took my stick and headed down a trail into the forest. I heard a rustling in the bushes and saw a squirrel dart across. I threw the stick and the moment it touched the squirrel, the creature's flesh fell apart in ashes, leaving a pile of bleach white bone and shiny gray ashes. I took my stick and hit a blackbird, which exploded in a shower of dark feathers and unusually thick globs of blood. I looked at the trees, which seemed to be smiling deviously and extending their splintery arms, as if trying to choke me. I moved swiftly and saw a glowing red river ahead, coming towards me. It was almost too late when I moved, the river of liquid fire flowing past. The wind whispered barely audible curses at me, and a large shadow seemed to loom over. I felt a blade slash my side and saw blood - my blood - mixing in with the rain and fiery river. Through my blurry vision, I saw the dark cloaked figure of Ad Mortem, holding out a long silver knife now stained with my blood. The wind rushed in my ears and I tried to do something, anything to help myself. I told myself to move but all I could do was blink wearily and barely move my fingertips. I saw the blade come towards me again, and the last thing I remembered was Ad Mortem whispering,"They never learn, do they?" ~ Chloe