Shadow Children
written by: Marie Scampini
@zoeandme
I was wandering in a nightmare
dying to forget a life
where dreams seemed
to ricochet
off my heart
into oblivion
lost
thinking- aren’t we always in the midst
of fighting to save
or surrendering to sell
our souls?!
I was suddenly being chased by demons
Terrified I ran to an ocean of blood
waves crashing
realizing I could not swim
if it meant I would die
I would drown trying to escape
but then the red ocean
turned into a cape
then for a moment undetected
an evil spirit grew
out reached talons of hell
grabbing me by the throat
and I like a magician’s fool
I disappeared beneath
the bloody pool
Through blackened tunnels of ghosts
hanging in chains
tied to posts
I was dragged by this slimy slithering devil creature
reeking of rusted rotting death
to a room with cupboards where I heard
the screams of children high and loud
the devil creature threw me at the wall
then closed and bolted the door behind me
that was all
My bones now in pieces I struggled to crawl
What was in the cupboards that glowed like fire?!
I could not stand
my knees broken shards
but a ferocious courage filled my legs
I lifted myself to an embered cupboard door
When I opened it out flung biting bats that sucked my blood
then flew beyond my view
All I could see through my wild bloody eyes
a row of giant cans
Their screams united in two words “Shadow Children”
A chant, a mantra, a plea
I psychically knew they were trapped inside
and soon another can would contain me
What could I do?
I wrestled my brain from the insanity
clutching at my skull
More haunting voices flew out from the rocking cans
“Free us”
“Who did this to you?”
“The Devil himself. He stole our souls and sold them to wealthy wicked men.
Men who sold their souls long ago. Now wanting a fresh one.
A soul of the innocence they lost then sold.
They paid him lots of money
We want our souls back!
We want to be children again.
We do not want to be shadow children anymore.”
A horror beyond my own comprehension overtook me, shaking out all living breath
I must free these shadow children, or meet with them in death
Suddenly vultures dove down aiming for my face
Just as I thought I met my demise
my broken arms and fingers became razors sharp
and spinning
round and round
and as if to music of the darkest harp
My razor fingers pulverized the vulture heads
as they dropped raining blood on the ground
I flew up to the cupboard and opened all of their tin cages
inside I found
soulless bodies spilling out one and then another and another
the faces of children I knew growing up
Julie and Patrick and Mark and Jack
A rage caught fire in the cage of my heart
It was Judgment Day for the evil living too well
I summoned the children’s souls with the strength of heaven and hell
combined
returning them to themselves
grabbing their hot ember hands in strands of my hair
as my razor hands kept spinning
I decapitated every demon on our way out of this hell
through hell adjacent door
now only cans are left on those cold cold shelves
well, except now they’re filled with the bodies of the soulless wicked men
hollow gutted canned as soulless soup
as the shadow children and I became soul-filled children once more
Marie Scampini aka MZ Clarke writes poetical fiction, poetry, horror and scifi, currently writing the 'Rebelectric Zombie' series as a TV pilot entitled 'Flying Dead', and 'Zizadore' as a screenplay.
- ZIZADORE XIII - August 30, 2019
- ZIZADORE XII - July 18, 2019
- ZIZADORE XI - June 1, 2019
