A New Year's Introduction...

Hey there, members of the Steemit community (I've heard Steemians is the term used here).

I only joined Steemit a few days ago, having stumbled across it somehow a couple of weeks ago (I can't actually remember how I got here :P). I decided recently to take the plunge and create an account, and here I am today.

One of the things that really intrigued me about Steemit was the fact that there's such a wide variety of people interacting and contributing their content to the platform - just a quick scroll through the trending page yielded so many different kinds of people, and I find that to be a great thing! Crypto blowing up recently shows that it's a force to be reckoned with for the future, and perhaps Steemit can lead the charge in creating a platform to reach an even wider range of people.

So. Perhaps a short introduction about me. I'm a student in the UK, and in my spare time, I like to write short stories and pieces of fiction. I decided that Steemit would be a pretty cool platform within which to showcase my work and receive constructive criticism from what seems like a great and supportive community! I tend to write whatever comes into my head, but sometimes I like to use photos as prompts for my work. In the future I'll also consider extending the length of what I work on into a more serialised piece, with parts of the same story being released periodically...

Just as a quick introduction to my work, I've included here an example of what sort of stuff I write, and the sort of pictures I like to work from when I do. I plan to release my work every Wednesday and Sunday, so perhaps if you like what you read here, you can check back later - I've already got two other stories up, so consider checking them out if you enjoyed this. :)

---

This isn't exactly the image I worked from, but I couldn't find it again and this is pretty close.

---

The wind whips around me in sweeping gusts as I stumble, shivering, along the lonely path, spurring me forward and pushing me back. It brings with it a penetrating, insidious type of cold – one that cuts deep into bone and blood, as flesh turns pale and drains of life and colour, a cold that consumes your very being. My way is lit by bright street-lights which hold off the darkness of the night, faithfully standing watch to protect me from the void that laps at the sides of vision and threatens to consume all. I retract further into my coat to insulate myself from a particularly vicious gust that threatens to throw me into the void, stabilising myself so as not to fall prey to the dark. I stumble on, alone.

The trees shake with fear under the assault of the wind, leaves screaming as they are raked by sharp swipes, providing a suitable ambience to the scene. I would have smiled at the cliché of it, had I not been so preoccupied with the task of keeping myself alive. Hah. What next, bargain-bin horror movie track? A creaking door? A thunder storm? I do smile at this thought, but grimace as the wind flings dust into my eyes. I halt my stumbling and stop to clear my eyes, muttering under my breath. My vision blurred, I resume my course, heading towards the end of the path and away from the darkness.

It begins with a slight flickering, almost unnoticeable at first. Vision still blurred, I flick my eyes towards the nearest street-light. The flickering becomes more pronounced, the gaps between the light and the dark increasing steadily. Amused by the cliché of it all, I smirk, but it is a scared smirk, a worried smirk. It is at this point that the lights turn out for good. There is a brief period of blindness as my eyes adjust to the sudden change. A whisper is carried towards me on the wind, whistling through the air until it reaches me. I turn towards its source, quicker than I anticipated. In the darkness, I can see the faint outline of something. A humanoid figure? I call out to it, voice shaking as much as my body.

‘Hello?’

There is a crushing silence then, and the wind drops completely. There is something about this silence that is unsettling, there is something different about it. Then I realise. The faint London backing track of cars and bustle is gone. I can hear nothing. And it is this absence of noise that scares me the most.

The figure moves in the darkness, and the void shifts and melts as the figure makes its way towards me, slowly. My breath catches in my throat and I reach towards my pocket instinctively, searching for my lifeline to civilisation. My hand closes on nothing. I screw my eyes shut in frustration, remembering how I left my phone at home. Then I remember where I am. I stumble away from where I remembered the figure to be, and begin to run towards the exit of the park, breath wheezing in and out in gasping and shuddering waves. My fear consumes me, takes control of my body and throws me faster towards the exit, screaming in my ears, ‘QUICKER! QUICKER!’

My foot catches on the floor and I stumble, my momentum carrying me forward and throwing me into a shivering heap of flesh. My face contorts as the pain washes over me, and I open my mouth, mouthing a silent scream of pain. The crunch of gravel gets closer, and I know that I have been caught. I screw my eyes shut and keep them closed, shaking with pain. A cold hand grabs me, and rolls me onto my front, and I prepare for the final thing that I will ever see – I prepare to meet my destroyer.

‘Are you okay, Bill?’ a high-pitched voice asks me, with a touch of childish concern.

‘Shut up. I hate this game. I always lose!’ I whine, and I open my eyes to see my friend, Jim, staring back at me.

‘It’s not my fault you’re bad at running,’ he retorts. ‘Anyway, we’re gonna get ice cream now.’

Jim helps me to my feet and we walk together towards the ice cream van, our roles as players of the eternal game of hide and seek forgotten.

‘You didn’t even hide properly. I could see you from the playground.’

‘Shut up.’

---

If you liked this piece, I'd love to know why - and the same for if you didn't! I'm looking to get my work to be analysed through Steemit, and any suggestions about how to improve are much appreciated. If you made it this far, thanks. I hope to see you around here again - have a great day, and a great new year!

dex