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The Heartless

She started down a narrow alley with high brick walls on each side and paused to listen. She was sure she had almost lost them in the crowd a block back and waited to be sure

By Steve BrewerPublished 3 years ago 4 min read
3

She started down a narrow alley with high brick walls on each side and paused to listen. She was sure she had almost lost them in the crowd a block back and waited to be sure. Dusk had fallen on the city and what light there was on the streets did not make it into the alley. Steam from the vents on the walls and the smog that hung in the air made the distant street lights little more than wisps.

The footsteps paused at the entrance to the alley. It was the footsteps that had brought her here. She was on her way home when she noticed the footsteps. They rose no louder than a whisper as they entered the alley behind her. She had not seen the person the footsteps belonged to but she didn’t need to bother to turn to see their face. She knew who they served and why they had been sent. The locket.

Her hand rose to the heart-shaped locket that hung around her neck and slipped it beneath her blouse. She felt its cool gold filigree warm against her skin. It pulsed with its queer energy. She couldn’t feel it before but now pressed against her skin she could feel every beat it emitted.

A person’s heart was their life and removing it meant death for the wearer. No one knew why this was or when the hearts came to be. They were worn all day, every day, and were never removed. Not by the school kids who dared each other to take them off, not by teenagers who would fight each other but never lay a hand on their enemy’s heart, and not by adults who taught the younger generations to never take their hearts off.

It is known that people once were able to live without hearts but could no longer do so. Some theorized that during the dark days the environment became inhospitable to people and the hearts allowed us to live on until our bodies can adapt to the new atmosphere. Others say it was our lack of faith in God and this was now his punishment, the hearts our sign of faith in Him which caused Him to will us to live so long as we kept them on us.

For her and many in her circle, they believed that the hearts were a way to control the population which had grown far too large for the planet to sustain. It was said, often under breath, the governments of the world had come together and made the populace dependent on the hearts. Whether through magic or a forgotten science they had succeeded and the hearts were taken back once the wearer reached a certain age. This was used to explain why no one lived past their fortieth year and the people who stole hearts from others.

These killers had earned the grim moniker of Heartless and were cursed by men and women alike. She spat at the thought of the name and tightened her cloak. She didn’t know why they had chosen her over everyone else on the street and she didn’t care. If the devils wanted her heart they would have to fight for it. She pulled her hood over her head and quickened her pace.

The footsteps quickened too, the assailant had seen what she saw. The alley led to one of the city's main streets and it was there she saw what she hoped. People. A much larger crowd than the one she passed through before. They were no more than one hundred feet from the end of the alley and the crowd.

She opened into a full run. No need to keep up pretenses with her would-be murderer. She wondered why she had kept the pretense of walking at all. She pushed the thought out of her mind, it didn’t matter anymore. She would keep her heart and live to see tomorrow.

The end of the alley loomed ahead and the sound of the crowd drowned out her footsteps and the footsteps behind her. She couldn’t tell if her assailant had stopped or still pursued her. She pushed herself to reach the crowd but an arm caught her around the neck.

All the air escaped her and she was wrenched back from the end of the alley. Her fingers felt the corner of the building but could not find their grip. The assailant pulled her back into the alley, found the chain of her heart, and yanked the locket from her neck. The last thing she felt was the chain snapped against her neck before everything went black.

Her thoughts spiraled and turned to regrets. Tomorrow. Above all else, she regretted not living to see tomorrow. Her consciousness began to fade as death approached to take her to the afterlife. Tomorrow. She wanted to live to see tomorrow… it would have been her birthday.

Horror
3

About the Creator

Steve Brewer

Certified movie nerd with concentrations in Star Wars, Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, Marvel, fantasy, horror, and sci-fi.

Also an avid hiker, camper, racquetball player, cat dad, and loving uncle/godfather.

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