The Vigil
Title: The Vigil
Summary: Sneaking down to peek at your presents isn't as safe as you'd think.
The Vigil
The only reason she was sneaking downstairs on Christmas morning was that it had only been so for a few minutes. She had been eagerly waiting for her parents to go to bed and was quite annoyed that it had taken them so long. Usually, she would just wait another twenty minutes, until she could hear her father’s slow snores and her mother’s soft breathing; but today something was calling her downstairs. Memories of previous presents dancing through her head also influenced her decision.
The carpet was hard beneath her bare feet, its thick red threads worn down by years of use until it was a mere millimetre thick, offering no more warmth than the linoleum in the kitchen. To compensate for the groaning floorboards, she went slowly, biting her lip every time the ancient staircase creaked. If her parents caught her… well, she definitely wouldn’t be getting any desert tomorrow after supper. She set her feet near the edges of the stairs, thinking that maybe it wouldn’t make as much noise.
After three stairs, a large creak disproved that idea. She froze, just waiting for one of her parents to stir. She could hear her father’s snores skip a beat as the man approached waking and felt her heart rate hasten.
It slowed as his breathing became regular, and after a few minutes of watching the snow fall through a small window facing the stairs, the girl started to move again. She had heard the wind blowing against the walls of her room, threatening to overcome the houses’ old support. Fortunately, the house continued to stand as it had for the past hundred years.
She only remembered the bundle of clothes near the start of the staircase as her foot touched a soft velvet shirt, the reduction of friction making her foot go forward more than she was expecting. She lost her balance for a moment but managed to stop herself from falling down the stairs.
Thirty seconds after that scare, she was opening the door to the living room. Someone, probably her mother, had shut the indoor Christmas lights off. To compensate, the moonlight streamed through the slits of the closed window shades, casting light upon the ornaments, making them glimmer eerily. Normally, there wouldn’t have been enough light to see the details, the nearest lamp-post was a couple blocks away after all; but tonight the snow reflected the moon’s light, making it almost as clear as day.
Her attention wandered to the things beneath the tree. She could see the toy car her brother had wanted, and the toy train set that her father -an avid collector- had been mooning after for the past few months. A smoother box contained a new stereo to replace her old, broken boom box. She then investigated her own stocking, licking her dry lips as she handled a chocolate orange.
She was so focussed on her gifts that she failed to notice Mr. Puss’ entrance. The ageing cat had been snacking on the treats left on the table and the glass of cold milk that was keeping them company. His eyes gleamed yellow-green in the low light, padding towards the child on silent feet. He paused in the doorway, noticing something in the air around the child. Small dark particles danced along the threads of her hair, twirling around it like snow would.
The cat was about to look away when something shifted, a glamour that flickered as it neared exhaustion. It could now see little men where the particles were, beings with sharp features and pointed teeth. Their eyes were darker than the night, sucking in the light greedily.
Slinking forward, all the while keeping to the darkest of shadows to make his black fur more or less invisible, the cat approached the oblivious girl-child. He could hear the beings laughing now; high-pitched cackles that spoke of madness without fear as they slid down slides of microscopic matter. They looped around the child’s head, an invisible train track that carried them up and down, side to side. One managed to tug a strand of the child’s hair, making her scratch her head absent-mindedly. The being spiralled away from its comrades as the air was disturbed and drifted towards Mr. Puss.
The cat was tempted to smother the creature with a paw but he had a feeling that instead of yielding to the pressure, its sharpness would probably puncture the pad of his paw. Instead, he kept his ground, tail sweeping side to side. The sharp little creature landed perhaps five feet away from the cat and immediately headed towards to the child, jumping from a strand of fuzzy white carpet to the next like a flea.
The little human’s energy seemed to be decreasing as time went on. Instead of cheerfully inspecting everything under the tree, she idly poked at one of her grandmother’s unwrapped presents. Her eyelids kept closing for short amounts of time; starting with a quick series of blinks… then longer blinks… until finally she was sitting still for a few seconds at a time with her eyes closed. Getting unsteadily to her feet, she wandered over to the couch. The sharp creatures trailed after her, whooping with delight.
Within seconds of her head touching the pillow, the girl was asleep. The cat watched as the sharp creatures land on her face. The one who had fallen jumped onto the couch and then joined his fellows, a nasty grin on its face. Mr. Puss watched as the creatures gathered around in a circle, chanting in their high-pitched voices.
“It’s feeding time
It’s feeding time
Time to eat one who was nosy
With flesh all nice ‘n’ rosy.
“Give us your breath
Give us your dreams
Give us your soul
Give us your life.”
The girl’s breath became visible as it rose from her mouth, a thin fog that gathered around her mouth. Unlike true fog, it did not spread through the room, away from its place of origin; it remained in the circle of sharp little creatures. They were no longer speaking but their mouths were open wide, personalized black holes that made the cat’s fur stiffen.
The mist seemed to crawl towards the creatures, reluctant to leave its host. However, the creatures’ pull was too strong and it soon disappeared into their mouths. The child’s breathing became erratic, her body becoming tense even in sleep. The cat smelled death in the air, the rotten scent becoming thicker as time passed. He continued his vigil though, knowing that he could not harm the creatures. Actually, they would probably feast on his life as well if given the chance. The only thing he could do was watch and hope that some of the magic humans gave to this day would materialize.
The creatures feasted for a good five minutes before the mist became thinner. Compared to the beginning, the girl’s breathing had slowed considerably and her body was now slack and yielding. Being preoccupied, he initially failed to notice the shiny white particles that seemed to drift through the window as if the glass did not exist.
At first they were translucent -barely more than a speck of light really- but then they seemed to become more real as the shadows in the room defined them. Sharp little heads turned and sharp little eyes focussed on the window, attention effectively snared. The mist still gathered in their circle but now that they weren’t actively inhaling it, it seemed to thicken. Some of it even was reabsorbed into the child’s body. Ethereal light shone upon the circle, making the sharp men break formation to find refuge in the shadows. When they saw that the opposition was not about to leave, the dark creatures dematerialized.
The light particles drifted to the sleeping girl only to hover above her body indecisively. Without knowing why, the cat jumped onto the side of the couch before stepping onto the girl’s stomach, spurring the lights into action.
The white particles seemed to grow, then shrink. It took a few seconds for the cat to realize that the light matter was joining the mist, making it denser. He could feel the girl’s body grow warmer under his feet and the scent of utter loss started to fade. The sharp little creatures were fading as light overtook the room, chased back into the darkness of nightmares.
The mist disappeared into the child’s body once again. The cat knew that the portion lost to the sharp creatures could not be regained, those happy memories and dreams that were stolen by the darkness; but the child would no longer suffer physically from it. The white particles were taking that damage from her.
There weren’t that many left at the end, an army reduced to the size of a few individuals. Even those were fading, their energy spent.
As the last one blinked out of existence, the child awoke. “Mr. Puss?” She mumbled, opening her eyes blearily. “What am I doin’ here? Let’s go to bed before mommy comes down and yells.” She held him to her flat chest, cradling him like a precious newborn.
By the next morning, the girl did not even remember that she had been downstairs. That was okay though, the cat could remember enough for both of them.
Summary: Sneaking down to peek at your presents isn't as safe as you'd think.
The Vigil
The only reason she was sneaking downstairs on Christmas morning was that it had only been so for a few minutes. She had been eagerly waiting for her parents to go to bed and was quite annoyed that it had taken them so long. Usually, she would just wait another twenty minutes, until she could hear her father’s slow snores and her mother’s soft breathing; but today something was calling her downstairs. Memories of previous presents dancing through her head also influenced her decision.
The carpet was hard beneath her bare feet, its thick red threads worn down by years of use until it was a mere millimetre thick, offering no more warmth than the linoleum in the kitchen. To compensate for the groaning floorboards, she went slowly, biting her lip every time the ancient staircase creaked. If her parents caught her… well, she definitely wouldn’t be getting any desert tomorrow after supper. She set her feet near the edges of the stairs, thinking that maybe it wouldn’t make as much noise.
After three stairs, a large creak disproved that idea. She froze, just waiting for one of her parents to stir. She could hear her father’s snores skip a beat as the man approached waking and felt her heart rate hasten.
It slowed as his breathing became regular, and after a few minutes of watching the snow fall through a small window facing the stairs, the girl started to move again. She had heard the wind blowing against the walls of her room, threatening to overcome the houses’ old support. Fortunately, the house continued to stand as it had for the past hundred years.
She only remembered the bundle of clothes near the start of the staircase as her foot touched a soft velvet shirt, the reduction of friction making her foot go forward more than she was expecting. She lost her balance for a moment but managed to stop herself from falling down the stairs.
Thirty seconds after that scare, she was opening the door to the living room. Someone, probably her mother, had shut the indoor Christmas lights off. To compensate, the moonlight streamed through the slits of the closed window shades, casting light upon the ornaments, making them glimmer eerily. Normally, there wouldn’t have been enough light to see the details, the nearest lamp-post was a couple blocks away after all; but tonight the snow reflected the moon’s light, making it almost as clear as day.
Her attention wandered to the things beneath the tree. She could see the toy car her brother had wanted, and the toy train set that her father -an avid collector- had been mooning after for the past few months. A smoother box contained a new stereo to replace her old, broken boom box. She then investigated her own stocking, licking her dry lips as she handled a chocolate orange.
She was so focussed on her gifts that she failed to notice Mr. Puss’ entrance. The ageing cat had been snacking on the treats left on the table and the glass of cold milk that was keeping them company. His eyes gleamed yellow-green in the low light, padding towards the child on silent feet. He paused in the doorway, noticing something in the air around the child. Small dark particles danced along the threads of her hair, twirling around it like snow would.
The cat was about to look away when something shifted, a glamour that flickered as it neared exhaustion. It could now see little men where the particles were, beings with sharp features and pointed teeth. Their eyes were darker than the night, sucking in the light greedily.
Slinking forward, all the while keeping to the darkest of shadows to make his black fur more or less invisible, the cat approached the oblivious girl-child. He could hear the beings laughing now; high-pitched cackles that spoke of madness without fear as they slid down slides of microscopic matter. They looped around the child’s head, an invisible train track that carried them up and down, side to side. One managed to tug a strand of the child’s hair, making her scratch her head absent-mindedly. The being spiralled away from its comrades as the air was disturbed and drifted towards Mr. Puss.
The cat was tempted to smother the creature with a paw but he had a feeling that instead of yielding to the pressure, its sharpness would probably puncture the pad of his paw. Instead, he kept his ground, tail sweeping side to side. The sharp little creature landed perhaps five feet away from the cat and immediately headed towards to the child, jumping from a strand of fuzzy white carpet to the next like a flea.
The little human’s energy seemed to be decreasing as time went on. Instead of cheerfully inspecting everything under the tree, she idly poked at one of her grandmother’s unwrapped presents. Her eyelids kept closing for short amounts of time; starting with a quick series of blinks… then longer blinks… until finally she was sitting still for a few seconds at a time with her eyes closed. Getting unsteadily to her feet, she wandered over to the couch. The sharp creatures trailed after her, whooping with delight.
Within seconds of her head touching the pillow, the girl was asleep. The cat watched as the sharp creatures land on her face. The one who had fallen jumped onto the couch and then joined his fellows, a nasty grin on its face. Mr. Puss watched as the creatures gathered around in a circle, chanting in their high-pitched voices.
“It’s feeding time
It’s feeding time
Time to eat one who was nosy
With flesh all nice ‘n’ rosy.
“Give us your breath
Give us your dreams
Give us your soul
Give us your life.”
The girl’s breath became visible as it rose from her mouth, a thin fog that gathered around her mouth. Unlike true fog, it did not spread through the room, away from its place of origin; it remained in the circle of sharp little creatures. They were no longer speaking but their mouths were open wide, personalized black holes that made the cat’s fur stiffen.
The mist seemed to crawl towards the creatures, reluctant to leave its host. However, the creatures’ pull was too strong and it soon disappeared into their mouths. The child’s breathing became erratic, her body becoming tense even in sleep. The cat smelled death in the air, the rotten scent becoming thicker as time passed. He continued his vigil though, knowing that he could not harm the creatures. Actually, they would probably feast on his life as well if given the chance. The only thing he could do was watch and hope that some of the magic humans gave to this day would materialize.
The creatures feasted for a good five minutes before the mist became thinner. Compared to the beginning, the girl’s breathing had slowed considerably and her body was now slack and yielding. Being preoccupied, he initially failed to notice the shiny white particles that seemed to drift through the window as if the glass did not exist.
At first they were translucent -barely more than a speck of light really- but then they seemed to become more real as the shadows in the room defined them. Sharp little heads turned and sharp little eyes focussed on the window, attention effectively snared. The mist still gathered in their circle but now that they weren’t actively inhaling it, it seemed to thicken. Some of it even was reabsorbed into the child’s body. Ethereal light shone upon the circle, making the sharp men break formation to find refuge in the shadows. When they saw that the opposition was not about to leave, the dark creatures dematerialized.
The light particles drifted to the sleeping girl only to hover above her body indecisively. Without knowing why, the cat jumped onto the side of the couch before stepping onto the girl’s stomach, spurring the lights into action.
The white particles seemed to grow, then shrink. It took a few seconds for the cat to realize that the light matter was joining the mist, making it denser. He could feel the girl’s body grow warmer under his feet and the scent of utter loss started to fade. The sharp little creatures were fading as light overtook the room, chased back into the darkness of nightmares.
The mist disappeared into the child’s body once again. The cat knew that the portion lost to the sharp creatures could not be regained, those happy memories and dreams that were stolen by the darkness; but the child would no longer suffer physically from it. The white particles were taking that damage from her.
There weren’t that many left at the end, an army reduced to the size of a few individuals. Even those were fading, their energy spent.
As the last one blinked out of existence, the child awoke. “Mr. Puss?” She mumbled, opening her eyes blearily. “What am I doin’ here? Let’s go to bed before mommy comes down and yells.” She held him to her flat chest, cradling him like a precious newborn.
By the next morning, the girl did not even remember that she had been downstairs. That was okay though, the cat could remember enough for both of them.