Ol' Flint the Crow

Richter Valentine

~~~

Suspended from glowing coils, that flashed with lightning, dangled a sagging mass of flesh that puffed in and out like a muscle being flexed. This wiggling blood-drenched object floated above a bottomless pit. Circling around the pulsing muscle, one would notice a slithering strand clinging itself around the flesh mass. This pink leech like creature grew fat off the muscle's life force. It whipped its tail joyfully as it feasted.

Samuel could only stare at the terrible scene in weary horror. Too weak to move, the minstrel watched as his heart slowly withering away by the heartache worm slowly but steadily sucking out every drop of precious blood from it.

Suddenly, the bulging creature became aware that someone was watching. It quickly tore its razor-sharp teeth away from its delicious meal and sneered at the human. With a cackle, the worm taunted Samuel by snapping its jaws together loudly.

"Heh heh!" laughed the creature, heartlessly.

Samuel clenched his palms together and pleaded earnestly to the worm, 'Please! Don't do this.'

However, no words came out of his lips. Instead, it reverberated around his skull and eventually trailed off into nothingness. The worm resumed his feeding and slurped at the heart all the more greedily now that it knew someone was watching.

Just then a bolt of electricity, from above, lit up the darkness. It blinded Samuel for a moment. But the flute player could distinctly hear a screech oozing out of the worm.

"Grawrrr!!!" the worm cried; its body trembled in agony.

The creature was not the only one affected by the suddenly bolt of lightning. Falling over in a ball, Samuel could feel each of his limbs uncontrollably jounced. When another electrical spark bit into the worm, the minstrel jerked involuntarily again. Again and again lightening hit Samuel's heart and both the creature and himself wailing in fright.

There was a final bolt that blasted the worm with so much force that the flute player would have sworn he himself was set on fire. However, once the storm calmed, Samuel witnessed the worm peeling off of his heart. But it used its last remaining strength to dig a fang into the tip of the bucking muscle. Clinging desperately, the creature squirmed in fright.

A crack of thunder sounded through the dark. Samuel looked up expecting to see another spark of light, but instead a swirling mass of dark feathers, twirling around like a cyclone, rained down and gathered itself together. The feather circle burst in two and out flew Flint. Lightning shot from both eyes. The crow pointed its sparkling rapier out in front of him as he dove beak first into the killer worm.

With a bitter cry, the worm was pierced through the chest. One last shriek and the creature plummeted into the pit while its tail twisted around. The creature was gone and Samuel was left to witness his celestial friend glowing through the darkness.

Samuel shivered more than he ever had at the horrendous sight of the deplorable heartache worm because Flint's stare cut deeper into him than any teeth the worm had.

Just barely able to squeak out, Samuel gasped, "F-Flint! Oh, Flint, forgive me!"

The crow sighed; and when he did so, from his eyeball wiggled out another worm that mewled as it snapped its baby teeth for something to eat.

Flint did not even flinch in pain. He just stood there on the top of the massive heart, glaring at the minstrel.

Watching the worm's head slowly morph into the face of Pongo, who winked slyly at him, Samuel felt his body go lip. "Flint..."