It was evening and by the time our school bell rang most of the students had already left for their dormitories. I picked up my books; a pile of chemical studies and went out. The school nestled in a mountain region, the utmost divinity of what I saw when I stepped outside took me back by several emotions overcrowding my mind. For once and only once could I, a mere schoolboy with minds jumping from ' Van Der Waal's force ' to 'that girl who sat alone looking beautiful in the winter cold sun', noticed the beautiful painting.

As, I saw the orange clouds roaming around, playing with the wind. I strapped my coat shut. The air had a taste of itself. It felt sweet. The lush green lawn which lay in front, crafted nearly by the 5 gardeners who came either early in the morning or in the evening. The lawn felt like the plush bed when I sat down on it. I was not much of a social person and not did anyone find me much interesting. But it goes as they say, ' You are not alone on the journey to death. '

I let the books slide out of my hand as I began to feel the cold wind with same sweet taste. It the perfect sweetness, not too much nor too little. Just the amount I needed. The smell of the grass made me remember my home. I was born and raised in a place where there were lot of farmers and shepherds. My father is a mechanic, and my mother was a florist but gave it up when she had me. I remembered the time when I had gone walking with the sheep and how on coming home at 8:00 PM made my mother slap me and father to give a good amount of heated comment for me. But I had always fallen for nature. I never did cease to love it no matter what.

As I had been recalling all my dearest moments, tears had automatically formed and they fell on the grass like the dew of the warning of incoming cold weather. I wanted to be home. None of this study was going to take me anywhere. It was where I wanted to be, and it was where I belonged. I belonged among the poor peasants and shepherds not in this posh university where people would bring in all sorts of imported material to bloat in front of their friends.

The evening dawned further, with my weeping stopped and mind calmed, there remained one option in my mind. I thought, maybe I could do with some stroll. After all the weather is perfect and the moment is perfect. With perfection lies Harmony.

How wrong was I .

With my mind set on walking. I picked up my books and stashed them into the bag. Then cheered myself up a bit by reminding that Shirley will be very happy to see me. She and I had met just few days before. It was during the 3rd lecture when she had sat beside me. I passed her my homework which she had forgotten to do. Then our eyes met, and both of our hearts connected to perform the happiest symphony for both.

It was she who made me stay here. And, as she confessed later, it was my unique view on my surroundings which kept her in this university. I looked at the big clock, it was 6:55 PM. Shirley still had five minutes. So, I picked my pace and left the university grounds.

I chose the less trodden path as Robert Frost had pointed me to do. As I began to disappear amongst the crowd. I could hear people squeaking in hushed tones, '' They say a dog was seen killed near the edge of the cliff-side. It had big scratches on the belly. Poor Taby had gone bonkers when she saw its state. Horrible it was. '"

Pah! I said in my head at that time. They care if a small dog gets killed but they simply look away when they see poor suffering from food shortage. Damn them. I had been getting quite angrier sometimes. Maybe it was because of the cold. I share a room with a guy named Ricky. Ricky " Spermy" Farr was in the most respectable term, an utterly stupid boy who had the body like that of a giraffe with an enormous head. Which indeed made him look like sperm.

I walked on the stony path which was heading towards the back of the university. With my thoughts still on Ricky, I wondered about my anger. It had been due to the cold. Somehow my room was always getting shivering cold at times. It was as if, the whole room was the North pole. I had taken at least 5 big thick blankets with me from the laundry. But still it felt ice-cold. Slowly it had begun to increase too. Even after applying almost a splat of moisturiser. Within an hour my skin would already be ready to peel off. Even Ricky had felt it at times when he was in the room. After couple of weeks feeling the same thing, I had decided to complain to the Prefect.

A faint mist had begun to settle in, I passed the road and chanced my eyes on the sinking sun. It was like an orange ice-cream scoop which was melting slowly over the sea. Two birds fluttered by and it set in the back I of my mind a perfect scenery. The crow cawed as it sat in the nearby tree. Its caw reminded me of the prefect. I had talked with Ricky to be my witness, but he had been taken ill the next day when we had decided to talk to the prefect. So, it was all upon my manner, courtesy, and words with which I had to lure the prefect in looking into my problem. But the chances were slim. The prefect was a boy who had recently joined the bad-boys gang. At start of the term he looked as if he were a kind fellow and studious but turns out that people would rather throw away their gifts for temporary fame. Somehow, I had picked up the guts to ask him to hear me out.

I had found him out roaming with 6 boys all looking like future criminals and 3 girls who will later live their life waitressing or move from place to place doing abortions and divorcing.
" Can I talk to you? " I asked. His boys looked like they would mould me into any shape at any time. " What's it about? " he asked, I knew the next words would decide my fate, so I took a long pause, " Wha' happen' never seen girls this close eh? " laughed one of the boys. Everybody else joined in.

" I wanted to ask you that are you experiencing a cold temperature at times? "

" What? Speak straight dude no need to be professor in front of me "

" It's just that I had been feeling a bit colder at times and it's getting really distressing for me. "

" So? Want me to give you a hug to keep you warm? " They laughed again. I gripped my hands tightly.

" I just wanted to tell this so that you can tell it to the Dean. And maybe we sort this matter out "

" Or I can just tell Ben to lock you in a room with heater. How about the outside toilet? I heard that lot of sheep wander there, that would comfort you. " He smirked. My temper crossed.

" No that'll not be needed. But I can tell you this, " I went closer to his ear, " I think you're just a puny little cat pretending to be the wolf of the street. We both know it. " I said and ran from there as quickly as possible.

Ever since then, I had been avoiding that gang.

I stopped again and shuddered. It was getting cold here. I looked at the watch it was 7:55 PM. An instinct inside me showed my mother's face, that angry face ready to slap me. It was time I returned. I turned back and walked.

It was after a while that I looked around. The sun was still in the horizon looking like a dollop of orange Ice cream. Wait!? What? And after some time as expected, the two birds fluttered by and the crow cawed again. I stopped. Then looked around, this place. . . It was familiar. I had just walked here. How did I?. . .
I looked around a little. At this point my senses had aroused. The eyes searched and as I laid the geographical location of where I was, I felt scared.

I was on a cliff-side.

As paranoia gripped my imagination, my auditory mind reminded me of it, what had they said? ' A dog found dead in the cliff-side with big scratches on the belly. . . ' I began to back out. Turning away, I ran as fast as I could. The mist was getting foggier than ever.

And to my miserable life, I again reached the same spot. Fog made it impossible to see. I could barely see my own breath. I was stuck. In what? didn't know. The fog must've been doing something.

I decided to calm myself down. I had been breathing heavily and each gasp of air felt like cotton ball sucked inside my windpipe. I sat down, trying to clear my mind. Maybe this was not true. Maybe this was just my imagination that I fell asleep on the lawn.

At exactly that point, I heard a cry. A moaning of sort. But I was in no time to go to it. No way. I ignored it. At least I tried. It increased as I tried to block it away. It felt coming nearer. As all my attempt failed, I decided to go for it. She was a little away from me, crying and moaning. She was just as about Shirley, the exact height, and shoulders. Except when I approached her, it was then I noticed, that she was Shirley. She was Shirley with half of her head dangling from the skin. Her body had gotten all pale white and mouth spat dark, almost black, blood everywhere. Her brain leaked all the grey matter as I walked towards her. She was crying, god knows how, in front of what looked like a coffin. It was open, with my dead body inside.

My nerves conducted electricity like that of a cable. Stunned and horrified, I began to move back when the dead-Shirley grabbed my wrist, " Don't you love me Thomas? " she spoke through her half-mouth. I tugged my hand away and along with my hand came her arm, as if decapitated, as if it were so weak. Just behind her I could make out a faint shadow, a tall woman with brown dress. I approached her for my safety. This place was becoming a nightmare. But to add to the horror, that woman was my mother tending to the dead bodies of the morgue.

At that point, I've had enough. So, the scream left from my lips in the call for help, in the pain that I suffered, in the horror that I could see hundreds of eyes staring at me from all direction.

They were looking at me and both supernatural bodies floated to get me, I ran to the opposite direction in flee of my life. But when I looked back, all of them were gone. No eyes, no bodies. For a moment I felt free, I felt safe.

Only for a moment.

As I savoured the seconds of the moment, a limb of some unknown creature grabbed me by my throat sucking all the breath out of it. In matter of seconds, I had been lifted 5 feet of the ground and my face had gone red as if it'll explode at any second. Then another rope-like hand grabbed my feet and tied them together. I was lowered towards the ground. As soon as I touched the dear Earth, the Lovecraftian creature began dragging me inside. A hand as bony as rusted skeleton shut my mouth. Tears had begun to flow out of my eyes, they were the last of my body fluids. A spear like finger ran through my back and I could feel the warm blood coming out of my back all the way to my buttocks. I was beginning to lose my hope. I consoled myself to the fact that this was the end. This was how it was meant for me. I shut my eyes and wished this to be over quicker.

As I was half-way in the cave, something happened. The creature slowed down, and I could hear the distant sound. My face had gotten so red that I was feeling the heat of it. The surroundings had gone sheet white. The temperature must've gone below 30 degrees. But my hopes had ignited yet again. Just the sound coming from far away had given me enough strength to use hands which were not grabbed. With all my strength I clutched the tree nearby and hung on to it. The creature noticed my movement and he began dragging me. My shoulder joints immediately flared with pain. If that creature hadn't stopped later, they might have dislocated.

It did stop and at that point, the sound which was fainter had become loud. A little later a flock of sheep had arrived before me. They were all bleating in what I can describe in an angry tone. As the sheep began to pile up, their noise raised. Then behind them came the shepherd. " Hey! " he screamed and the creature let me loose for an instant. 10 different hands darted towards the sheep, grabbing them, and dragging them inside.

As soon as I dropped down, I kicked my feet and fled that place as fast as I could, not caring that I was stuck or even about the shepherd. I just ran, it was instinctual I had lost all the care for anyone else. All that I cared was me, myself, and I.

I made it out of the fog, suddenly. Still in panic, my adrenalin was being pumped very hard. I slipped, staggered, and almost fell from the hill. But I made it. I made it to my university.

As the people saw me, they screamed their heads-off, but I just ran. Just ran inside the university. For a moment I was able to stand and it was in this moment that I noticed about dozens of things. The sky was bright and not dim. I looked at the building, it glowed like thousand fireflies had lit up the place. Then I saw Shirley running towards me, dropping her books. My vision was becoming blurry, but I looked at the time; it was 7:00 PM.

Author's note
The given story is also published in author's book ' Deadly Silence ' a collection of Horror Short stories.
Link:- https://my.w.tt/nEu8EOEIRbb