♧♢Short Stories and Poems [A Collection]♡♤

Holly✔ [2014]

I wrote this in 2014 so I was 16 then and just new to writing. Don't judge this. Please enjoy. 😊 Beware: apparently  I have problems with punctuation. I'd like to be told where or given an example. This was proof read and my teacher saw none. Thanks if you do!
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Holly

Salem, Massachusetts, 1692.

It is a dark and moonless night, and the only way I can tell this is by the small, lone window in my cell. I sit on the hard cot, when I hear the dark, eerie howl of the dogs that roam the hillsides, taunting me. They are the reason why I am here, awaiting Death. They ruined my life when I first encountered them. Those dogs are deadly beasts; one bite from their jaws means certain death. Their saliva carries pestilential bacteria that will eat the flesh of any animal, including humans, and they will eat what they can.

That is what happened to Holly Burr, my best friend.

I was out in the barn, feeding my horses when I heard the pounding of a closing gate. Turning, I was face-to-face with the beautiful Holly Burr. She looked the opposite of me. Where I had pitch black hair, purplish-blue eyes, and a tall, curvy frame, she had bright blonde hair, a small, petite frame, and the brightest blue eyes I have ever seen. Boys loved her. They would trip over their shoes to get to her. I was appreciated too, but not like her.

She looked at me with those eyes, a smile carved on her lips. "Hello," she chirped. Her voice sounded like water running over smooth stones. I smiled at her, running my fingers through a horse's think mane.

"Hi, Holly," I replied. The horse started to nudge me, trying to get the carrot that was in my pale hand. Holly nodded to the horse.

"Blaze looks hungry."

I giggled, feeding the auburn-colored horse the carrot. "He was just fed. Blaze is just being a pig." The horse snorted as if he has offended, then he pulled his large head back into his stall. Holly giggled and stumbled as my large, black dog, Wolfe, poked the back of her leg with his wet nose.

She leaned down to pet Wolfe. "Hi, Wolfe, Miss me?" she cooed. He barked once to say 'yes.' Holly smiled then turned and looked at me. "I came over to see if you wanted to go riding. Do you?" She batted her eyelashes and gave me an innocent look.

"Sure, I'd love to. Just let me round up two horses we can use." I walked down the barn to the two stables located at the end. Two beautiful horses stuck their heads out to meet me. One belonged to a large, pitch black horse and the other belonged to a smaller, pale horse. Holly came up beside me.

"We are taking Shine and Wildfire?" she asked, rubbing Shine's pale snout.

"Yes. They are well trained and won't go running off if spooked," I answered, opening Wildfire's stall and leading him out of the barn. Holly did the same with Shine and walked up beside me. We saddled up our horses and started to trot off in the direction of the field. Wolfe's barking sounded after us in an almost warning manner, as if telling us not to go. I felt a heavy sinking in the pit of my stomach but shrugged it off and kept on going to my destination.

I caught up to Holly and Shine, who slowed down to wait for me. Holly turned her head towards me, her blue eyes full of worry. "Something wrong?" she asked me quietly. I shook my head and looked ahead to see the field in front of us. It was as peaceful as always, with its soft green grass swaying in the wind. We debouched from the wooded trail into the bright green field. Holly stopped Shine dead in her tracks and stared at me. A look of horror was etched on her face.

"Did you see that?" she said quietly, looking over her shoulder for a brief moment as if she was frightened of something.

"See what?" I looked around but saw nothing out of the ordinary.

"There was a dark shadow in the grass. It looked like a dog. Did Wolfe follow us?"

"No. He knows not to leave the house. Besides, Holly, I don't see anything."

"I know what I saw, Ra-," she started.

"It was nothing. Stop being so paranoid," I snapped, cutting her off.

"Fine," she huffed. She started to turn her horse, that's when I saw what had frightened her. A large, pitch black dog was standing in front of us. Its eyes were red and burning as if they were made of fire. Holly and I let out screams of blood murder and urge our horses to start running. The dog's mouth started to foam, it howled, and then it went chasing after us. Other dogs started jumping out of the grass in front of the horses, trying to spook them, and then followed in pursuit with the first dog.

While I urged Wildfire to move faster, I heard a scream from behind me. Turning, I saw one of the dogs latch on to Shine's back leg. The pale horse fell with a thud on to the grass, crushing Holly's legs underneath it. The horse started whining as the dogs started to devour it, tearing at its skin to get to the meat. I paled when I saw Holly. Holly was crying and screaming as the largest dog dragged her out from underneath the dying horse. She thrashed and kicked at it but it refused to let her go.

She looked up at me, horrified, when another dog bit into her neck. She was bleeding out when I realized she wasn't breathing or moving any longer. Holly Burr, my best friend, was dead. Wildfire started becoming restless, thumping his hooves on the ground, so I ushered him forward. He took off, galloping away from the fallen Holly and Shine. We ran home without stopping. When we got back to the house, I dismounted my horse and started yelling for help. The police arrived shortly after.

They didn't believe me. They thought I killed Holly, and then had my dog eat her to dispose of the body, since they did not find one of Holly or the horse. They accused me of being a witch that took beautiful girls and killed them. They believed Wolfe was evil too; they killed him by tying him up and burning him alive. My death was set for tomorrow morning. The dog howls again and I cringe at the memory it sent me. The door of my cell opens and the form of a guard floods the doorway. His deep voice cut through the dead silence and jolts me from my memory. "It is time, Miss."

I sigh as he hand cuffs my hands and leads me away from my cell to the gallows, where the townspeople had gathered to watch my demise. The executioner loops the noose around my neck and tightens it to fit. "Do you have any last words, Rashel," he said, roughly. I shake my head and close my eyes, but not before I caught sight of a black dog in the distance, watching me.

My last thought was of Holly in our childhood; when we first met, our friendship afterward, and how she had died. Then, I felt the floor disappear beneath me and the world went black.

-The End-