AUGUST PROMPT!

[Pirate Queen Crow]

Name: Crow
Characters: Matthew Reid, Vapour
Words: 1100
Note: Back out of AU, following on from the May prompt.

p.s. GUESS WHO DID IT BEFORE THE LAST DAY OF THE MONTH! *boogies*
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- Begin a story with, "The hallway was silent..."
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The hallway was silent. Swirling and twisting beneath his feet, but never making a sound. The darkness reached up the walls in ribbons and ivy-like vines. It spread across the walls like hands pressed flat against a surface, each limb laid out for inspection. He lifted his foot to walk forward and found himself kneeling on the floor. Shadows seemed to move like smoke across the floor, reaching away from him as though trying to escape. He tried to stand, though fell back to his knees and so began to crawl across the checkered floor. Slowly but surely he moved, almost dragging his legs behind him.

Minutes seemed to turn to hours and the dark vines and ribbons stretched along the walls either side of him, leading the way down the silent hallway. Doors lined the walls, though he didn't stop for them. He had to keep moving, but he had no idea why. Light appeared at the end of the area, the darkness moving to escape its rival. It shone brighter with ever inch forward. Eventually, he reached where it was, only for it to be snuffed out by the on-coming darkness. He turned on the floor, desperate to find a way out, and found himself standing.

A step forward, then another. Each step was harder than the last, heavier than expected. A chill began in his feet and ankles and ascended through him, climbing his legs and body with each step forward. Reaching one of the doors, with the chill now having spread to his chest, his hand closed around the weightless handle, only for it to disappear into smoke. He stumbled away, tripping over the streamers of cold, unusual darkness and ending up on the floor. A glance around told him that he hadn't moved from where he'd been stood, but merely fallen to the hard ground.

About to stand, he noticed a figure in front of him. It was made entirely of smoke though looked like a living shadow. His gaze turned up to the featureless face before what appeared to be a mouth stretched into existence. It had no teeth nor tongue and seemed only to be a hole in the figure. He knelt where he'd fallen and the shadow knelt down to him. The chill grew stronger in his limbs and chest as the figure reached for him. It didn't speak, though he understood the message regardless. It had him. He tried to move backwards and fell through the floor into a room. He was standing in this room, the light from outside the windows flooding everything though he couldn't remember how he got there.

"What are you t-t-talking about?" She sounded like a broken, jumping song. He shook his head, though wasn't aware of telling himself to do so. He spoke, but his words were silent and suddenly there was a weight in his waistband. His hand moved behind him to retrieve the weighty object, causing him to surprise himself as he drew a gun on his sister. Her eyes widened. Her hands were held up, palms facing him in surrender.

"Put the gun down, Ma-..." Her voice faded out as he shook his head again, the object still pointed to her. She took a step forward and he began pacing back and forth, ranting silently to her. Whatever she heard scared her physically and she gave a nod.

"W-W-We can get help for you." Her fear drove through her broken words, which sounded further away than they were. He could see them weaving through the air, floating from her. He shook his head again, having now stopped pacing. The gun was pointed shakily at her. He continued to shake his head.

"No one can help me."

Only now did he hear his voice. She shook her head and moved to speak. She didn't get a chance as the gun went off. No noise sounded, though the recoil make his hand jump. The bullet tore through the air before ripping into her chest. Surprise showed on her face. She fell to the ground as the shadow stood over her. The featureless figure watched as he moved hurriedly to her side and looked down at her. He shook his head, speaking silently again before walking to her front door. The shadow followed silently, like smoke.

Opening the front door with ease, he found himself somewhere familiar. The hallway was silent. Swirling and twisting before him, laid out to tell him where to go. The darkness was spread across the floor like a carpet of indistinguishable leaves with no sign where one ended and another began. He lifted his foot to walk forward and did so unhindered. The light didn't shine this time. Hours seemed to shorten to minutes as he walked, drawing closer to the end of the hallway. Once he reached the inevitable end, he paused in front of a small table. The only thing on it was a card, a small card with swirling text on it though it leaked across the card as though it were ink in water. The writing was clear despite the dancing ink.

I own you.

He stepped around the table and reached for the handle of the door behind it. Smoke and darkness stretched across the front of the door, though it withdrew slightly as he gripped the handle. The weightless handle turned as his hand did and he pulled. The door disappeared entirely, leaving him looking out at darkness. Nothing but darkness stretching for eternity, it seemed. He stood a step forward.



The lights of the city outside shone through the thin curtains at his bedroom window. The ceiling was lit up by the headlights of a passing car and he took a deep breath, unnerved by the dreams though they slowly disappeared. He sat up and rubbed his face, pushing his hair back after a second. He looked around the room and took another deep breath, trying to shake off the feeling of being watched. He looked at the window and stumbled out of bed before reaching the curtain-covered glass panes. Pushing the curtain aside, he ignored the cold feeling in his stomach and watched the cars passing outside while breathing deeply. In the back of his mind, a shadow grew. It captured whatever dreams it could find and smothered them with its darkness. The owner of those dreams, completely unaware, turned his gaze to the sky above as his eyes traced the stars in an attempt at calming himself, though the shadow still loomed...