“Niedzwetzkyana” by Jordan Underwood

He pins my arms against my body. I throw my head forward, and a sickening crunch of bone echoes. Syrupy strings of blood drip where my forehead collided with his face. Eyes crazed, his hands let go of me and fly to his crushed nose.

His monstrous form looms above me. I push past him and crash through the door into the forest. His rough hands wrap around my arms, lift my body, and throw me down into the cavernous basement.

He jumps down into the basement and stands above me.

Lying on the icy cement, I look up at the deep gouges that mar his face, and his lip that begins to swell from my failed escape attempt. Droplets of his garnet blood rain down on my skin, painting me as a Crimson Delight. The Red Delicious nectar is a triumph against him. I am his Niedzwetzkyana hidden beneath the earth.

“You won’t be able to run from me again, my little crabapple.” My bones shatter under his beastly hands, and I fight the urge to cry out. Leaves crunch under his feet. His bloodshot eyes linger over my defeated body

I turn my head and stare into the empty sockets of a rotted skull and realize that I am going to be another skull decorating this basement. I try to disassociate into my memories. The sweet smell of the orchard swirls around me. The day he took me, the warm autumn sun was soaking through my sweater. I remember the laughter of running children, and the smell of smashed pumpkins and scattered hay.

“Why?” I ask. The throbbing pain of my broken legs ripples through me. I look down at my useless limbs and realize there is no chance of escape. “Why me?”

His thunderous roar scratches my nerve endings. “Because, crabapple, you smelled just like she did. Apples and honey and sunshine.” His swollen lip twists into a grin.

Fingers tangle in my hair, and I stare across at the collection of bones, wondering how many of us had the misfortune of smelling like her.

Jordan Underwood is a writer, artist, and creator. His writing and other works are inspired by horror, curiosity, and nature. His works capture intensity and the unseen in the natural world.