"Take my hand, and we'll own the night

let me be your light, put your faith in me"

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“Mommy! where are you, mommy?” A child’s voice echoes through the night. “Mommy, where are you, mommy?” The cries echo through the night.

“Dam Echoes again,” the old guard said. Behind the guard was a cell that had scratch marks on the door. Like something was trying to get in, not out, “Where is the other guy?”

Off in the distance, he could hear whistling. As it got closer, the old guard knew that his shift was over. “Hey, Jack Ass, where is Smart Ass?”

“She wasn’t feeling well,” Jack Ass said. “So it’s just me.”

“You didn’t get anyone else?” Question the old guard.

“Nope! I didn’t bother.” Jack answered.

The old guard, concerned by this, asked Jack, “Do you need me to stay?”

“Nah, I got this. Plus, you must be tired.” Laughs Jack Ass. “Why don’t you get some rest, old-timer?”

The old guard started walking off. When Jack thinks the guard is out of hearing range, he says, “I’m twenty-seven, you jackass.”

“Is there something wrong with your ass!?” Jack responds.

“No!” The old guard hollars back.

Within a few minutes, the old guard was gone from view, leaving Jack alone. The moon was the only source of light piercing the night’s darkness. Twenty minutes had passed since Jack had taken the old guard’s position over. Nothing happened, which caused Jack to relax a little since there had been no sightings of the wolf. Jack stabbed one of the two metal spears he had into the wooden deck and drew his name.

Rustle! Jack hears something stirring in the bushes a dozen meters away. He grabs his free spear and goes into an offensive position. A shadow dashes out of the bushes, zigging and zagging coming towards him. It got within a few feet before stabbing the shadow.

“Gotta!” Jack shouts with enthusiasm. He then lifts his spear to see a bunny at the end of the spear. “Gross,” Jack said as he scraped the dead bunny off his spears between the wooden deck and the ground.

He walked back towards the cell door and stood there. “Stupid bunny… poor bunny.” He stabbed the blood-covered spear into the ground and pulled the other one out.

The voice of a little boy broke the silent night, “Mommy! Where Are You!”

“Dam echos,” Jack said.

“Dam echos,” a distorted voice said from behind Jack.

A dark, sticky liquid drips down onto Jack’s shoulder. As he looks up, he sees what looks to be a flower opening up around him. It then grabs onto him before he could even make a sound. Dropping the spear, Jack tries to free himself as it lifts him into the air. It then swallows him whole. The flower then turns its body in a complete circle. CRACK! SNAP! The sounds of bones broke from its distorted stomach. It then leans over the roof of the cage and starts regurgitating Jack. GULLACK!!

The flower opened its five petals slowly, puking out Jack along with some dark liquid. SPLAT!! Jack’s body hit the ground in two separate pieces; his body and his torso separated. His skull is inverted inwards, along with part of his body digested. A right arm was missing along with his left foot. The flower then reached into its mouth, pulling out some clothing and a hand. It then tears down the metal door without it making a sound and entering.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

Its long arms entered first on the ceiling with one of its feet on the door frame. As it enters, it casts a shadow over two small girls, one with black hair and the other with white, huddling in the corner, sleeping. The flower extends its arms into the ground, slowly loosening its grip from its right foot. It then folds the right foot over its heads, followed by its left. Now on all fours, the flower pushed itself upright. The flower now towers over the little girls. Its black, slender body, revealed by the rays of the moon.

“When someone told me that there was something good here. I was not expecting this.” The flower gently grabbed the white-haired girl. “You don’t know how delicious and rare you are. You taste best when young or are carrying young.” The white-haired girl was now suspended in the air by the flower’s arm. She stirs by the change in her environment. As she woke up, her chains slashed by the flower as its five-petaled mouth opened up. Before the girl could react, the flower wrapped its mouth around her.

The black-haired girl awoke from the sounds of the white-haired one screaming, attacks, but the flower pinned her to the wall by the flower’s feet. Its grip tightens whenever she tries to struggle. The creature overpowers her and watches what is going to happen to her next.

The flower swallows the white hair girl with speed, tightening around her until she stops struggling. It then lifted her body and swallowed her whole. “I have to thank you for the feast. Now it’s time for you to join her.” The flower’s mouth opens up again.

The black-haired girl looked down at the hole. Too exhausted to fight, she drifted back into sleep. She is then jolted back awake by the flower as it swallows her, not wasting time, as it did with the white-haired girl. All that remained of them was the distortion they create on the flower’s stomach as they struggle. The flower then twists its body like it had done with Jack repeatedly until the movement stopped. It felt some movement in its stomach, “still alive? Well, unfortunately for you. It will take a month or two to die.”

“Over there!” A voice shouted.

“Thanks for the diner.” The flower then dashed out into the night.

“What the hell is that!” Some shouted as they saw the flower dashed off.

“The cell is empty. Search the area!” A mercenary shouted. A couple of squads started searching, illuminating the once quiet night with noise.

“Yawn… What’s going on?” Aze said, still in a sleep gown.

“Well, a creature raided us?” Dave said. He was on his knees examining something.

“Was it Simps?” Aze asked.

“No, they don’t do this.” Dave pointed towards the ground where Aze was standing.

Aze looks down to see her shoes covered in blood and standing over what was formerly Jack Ass. “AGH!!” She screamed, jumping back but fell into another pile of Jack.

Dave helped her back up, “It was probably a Chad or a Nighthowler.”

“No, a Chad would have stuck around and gloated. And a Nighthowler travels in groups. Only one creature did this.” A heavily armed red cowboy entered the chat.

“Sir! We lost it.” A mercenary said to the red armored cowboy.

The red soldier drew a long rifle blaster and fired crimson shots into an area without even moving his head. “Look over there.”

“Sir! Yes, sir!” Two squads of mercenaries began searching the area the red cowboy fired.

“May I butt in?” A tall, slender man with messy long hair approached the group. “But don’t bother searching. It’s long gone now. I suppose” The man wore overgrown clothes and scratched his hair. “Hey, you!” He pointed at a few mercenaries cleaning the Jack, “Put that in my lab. I want to play with it!!”

“So R.O. White?” The red cowboy asked.

“Oh yes, send Smart Ass my condolences. It’s a shame she lost her older brother, I suppose.” The skinny man said.

“No. What do you think attacked?” The cowboy corrected.

“I suppose I could tell you?” R.O. White replied. He then spun around, “I was talking to Stein. Apparently, around here, there is a myth about something they call The Flower of The Forest. It’s a tall, slender creature with a flower-like face that eats sleeping, children. It will either turn the children into flowers or use them as nutrients. I don’t remember, but you should check on the others. Anyway, I got a new plaything!” R.O. White then twirled away like a demented ballerina.

In the distance, the flower overheard the conversation. “Others…” It noticed the sound of branches breaking and turned towards the sound to see a stray mercenary. “Hmm…”

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"When you're lost and all alone, I'll be here

in a world without an end, together with your soul"