The Old Oak
It was a night as dark as this one. We were outside watching the fire burn the sounds of crisp wood burning were soothing during the night. We had started joking around as boys do. Jim said, “ I bet you can’t go and climb that tree” as he pointed to an old Giant Oak.
Kevin looked at the tree with pride as if it wouldn’t be a big deal. He shrugged and then started towards the tree. I sat by the fire watching as he walked up to the tree.
He stopped and exclaimed at the tree as though it were a rigorous assignment. Looking for the right branch to grab to climb to start his ascent. But as he was about to start his climb. An old hag came from the woods and scared the crap out of us. She looked and smelled like something so profound that shouldn’t be. She had long grey and white hair. Her eyes were solid white with no sign of the pupil. I thought she was blind but I was wrong as she said “What..are…You…DOING..TO…MY..HUSBAND.
With that, we all looked are her as though she were insane. She started talking to it as though it were human. We all laughed Jones pointed at her “ Oh my god this lady has lost..” before he could finish the old hag looked over at him with hatred. He shut up and said nothing else. Kevin was still just standing there he hadn’t moved I thought he was frozen in fear. Not facing us we couldn’t tell what was going on in his head. But we soon found out. As he started coughing violently but stood still as stone. A gargled voice could be heard “Ru..n”. We all looked at each other confused. We all thought he was just messing with us.
We were fairly wrong though as we would soon come to find out. Jim walked up to see if Kevin was okay he reached for his shoulder and tried to flip him around but couldn’t get him to budge any at all. Confused he started to walk around him. To see vines coming out of his stomach mouth and eyes all of which jumped straight into Jim pulling him into Kevin with a loud splat sound as the blood was gone from Kevin’s body nothing but the skin was left. The Old Hag just laughed and said “Oh Frank your real hungry aren’t you?” We all were frozen in fear as we looked up to see the branches of the Old Oak moving. No wind was blowing at the moment. But yet the tree moved. Then the moon shined on a face on the tree.
It was full of blood dripping from the crevices where the hole for the mouth was. Vines poured out of the tree like snakes ensnaring us in its trap unable to move. We screamed for help but no one would ever hear us we were so far in the forest no one would ever hear our cries. The Oak reached down for Kevin and Jim and impaled theme with one of the branches now looking as though it were a finger of a hand. Very sharp it went right through them like butter. We watched as we waited to be next. The Old Hag stood there next to the tree rubbing it saying “it’s alright honey I know your hungry eat up baby” with a malicious smile on her face. Jones broke free of the vines only to be impaled instantly and drug up into the air never to be seen again. I was the last one I’d never thought I would die this way but yet. It was to be I screamed I cried I begged. But my actions were pointless I was a meal no mercy was to be shown. Frank grabbed me picked me up and looked into my eyes with its hollow soulless ones. It spoke, “die”.
