CURSED
It began in 1777....
Chief Cornstalk of the Shawnee tribe lay dying, shot by colonial settlers. As his lifeblood spilled onto the floor from no less than 8 bullet holes, he sucked in a rattling lungful of air, and said...
"I was the border man’s friend. Many times I have saved him and his people from harm. I never warred with you, but only to protect our wigwams and lands. I refused to join your paleface enemies with the red coats. I came to the fort as your friend and you murdered me. You have murdered by my side, my young son.... For this, may the curse of the Great Spirit rest upon this land. May it be blighted by nature. May it even be blighted in its hopes. May the strength of its peoples be paralyzed by the stain of our blood."
As Cornstalk's soul took leave of his flesh, the curse took hold of the town where he died, Point Pleasant, West Virginia, and the surrounding areas. For the next three hundred years, a series of freak accidents and suicides constantly plagued the area. This is the story of the most fearsome incident. This is the story....
...of the MOTHMAN.
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The year was 1966. Jack, and his friends (Elijah and Justine) were taking a visit to a popular tourist attraction in West Virginia. The TNT area was a WW2 explosives plant, formed by a number of concrete "igloos" and a few dilapidated old buildings consisting of rusting steel frames and a few brick walls, slowly disintegrating under time's relentless pressure. But Jack and the others weren't interested in that.
You see, another teenager, Jonas, had dared them to go there. At night. Naturally, they accepted, because it was just a dare to go to a place at night. So, there they were. They arrived, and all stepped out. Milling around the SUV, they were all agreeing this was the easiest fifty bucks any of them had ever made. Then, they heard a noise from the other side of the road. In the vague light of a faltering fluorescent tube, struggling valiantly to remain lit, they saw a vaguely human-shaped figure step out from the crumbling building.
The figure shuffled forward. It was covered in ragged gray hair, hanging limply from its arms and shoulders. It's arms were outstretched towards them, as they all stared at it. Then, it reached up and pulled off its face.
It was Jonas.
"What's the matter, you scared of my costume? Man, that was totally worth fifty dollars! You should see your guys' faces..."
He trailed off as he realized they were not, in fact looking at him.
Behind him was an apparition straight out of Hell. It stood at seven feet even, and was broader than a man. Its feet were pincer-like claws, razor-sharp and gleaming in the flickering light. Brown-gray mottled hair coated the entire creature. Wings the size of a small plane lay folded against its back and sides, with a single claw like a rail spike jutting from the "elbow."
It had no visible head.
But worst of all...
...were the EYES
Twin red lights glowered from the "chest" of the creature. The crimson light emitted by these fell orbs seemed to transfix those who regarded them with terror.
But Jonas saw nothing of this. Confused, he opened his mouth to say something to the petrified party across the street from him, when one of the talons pierced the base of his neck, blood spurting out of the wound onto the grass. The entity pulled, and Jonas' entire spinal column split away from his body, blood pouring from the wound as the backbone peeled away. Jonas made a gurgling noise, then toppled forward, his head cracking on the concrete as his blood surrounded him in a pool.
The entity took a step forward, the light from its eyes growing more intense as it focused on its prey. Its talons made a squelching noise as it trod over Jonas' carcasse, then a clicking noise as it began to cross the street.
Elijah was the first to recover.
"Get in the car!"
The other two reacted quickly and jumped in. Elijah was climbing in when the entity, moving with astounding speed, launched itself across the road at him. He was just closing the door when a talon closed around it, crumpling the metal like tinfoil. It gave a sharp tug and the door flew off with a metallic scream. Elijah then contributed his own scream as the creature's other talon flew into his stomach, slicing it wide open. The luckless teen stared as his entrails, loosed from his body, tumbled down onto the concrete. Then the first talon was back, closing around his head.
Justine had been fumbling with her camera during this, and managed to snap off a shot just as Elijah's skull burst like a melon, blood spattering everything in the car. Jack, who had been transfixed, now stomped on the gas and the SUV shot away from the creature.
Just as Jack was about to say something, he heard a squeaking noise like a giant mouse. He looked up, and saw the two pincers descend into the roof of the car, punching easily through. Then the car's roof was being pried open. He wondered vaguely how it caught up, he had been doing over 100 miles per hour. He wrenched the wheel, trying to shake it off, but only succeeded in swerving out of control. Fortunately he was able to floor the brake and the SUV screeched to a halt, upside down with the entity underneath. Both of the shaken teens got out of the car, and both of them immediately dialed 911. Just then, the car was rolled over, and the aberration reared up from the ground, spilling malevolent light over the two of them.
"Run for it!" Jack roared, and the two of them did. But neither of them got very far. He heard a flapping of wings, and one of the rail spike claws on the wing joint slammed into his shoulder, knocking him to the ground in a pool of his own blood.
He pulled himself, agonizingly, to his feet just in time to see the creature's talon whip out and slice Justine in half at the stomach. The red-brown blood coated everything within 10 feet in a thick, shimmering layer of it. The reek of it filled Jack's nostrils, and he gagged. Hearing the noise, the entity bore down on him. He barely registered the claw that severed his neck, sending his head spinning into a tree.
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The next day, the town's newspaper had gotten hold of the story. Four teenagers had been found dead in the vicinity of the TNT Area. Their bodies had been mutilated nearly beyond recognition. The picture Justine had taken of the abomination as it crushed Elijah's skull was all over the headlines of the entire state. The monstrosity was given the name Mothman, after the popular Batman TV series.
Over the next two years, reports would pour in from the Point Pleasant area of more sightings of this and similar creatures. A headless hulk in Grafton, breaking concrete apart with its bare hands. An alien entity in Flatwoods, spewing poisonous gas and setting brush alight just by its proximity. A floating, bulbous four-armed ghost that haunted the highways of the area, terrifying motorists.
Creatures with glowing heads that imitated headlights and ran vehicles off the road, then devoured the occupants. And a horse-like kangaroo creature with similar glowing eyes that went on a two-week rampage in the area's cities.
When Native Americans curse...
...they sure mean business.
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This was an assignment I did for English class. The idea was a Poe-style story, but I seem to have drifted into Michael Crichton and Steven King, or at least my dad says so.
