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Monday, December 23, 2024

# 2024 # 25 Days of Christmas

The Final Toll - Day 23 #25DaysOfChristmas



Day 23: The Weight of the Curse

The wind howled through the trees, carrying with it a biting cold that cut through Megan’s coat and chilled her to the bone. The forest around them seemed alive with shadows, the branches above them swaying like skeletal hands reaching out from the darkness. Megan held the two bells tightly in her hands, her breath fogging in the frigid air. The keeper’s words echoed in her mind, each one hitting her like a hammer:

"The choice between your world and the creature."

It wasn’t a choice at all. It was a trap.

Tom was standing beside her, his face pale, his eyes wide with a mixture of fear and exhaustion. The dark veins crawling up his neck were a stark reminder of how much time was running out. He was growing weaker with each passing minute, and Megan could see the toll the curse had taken on him. They couldn’t keep fighting the creature. Not like this.

"How do we make a decision like that?" Tom whispered, his voice barely audible over the wind. "How do we choose between letting that... thing loose on the world or being trapped with it forever?"

Megan’s heart tightened in her chest. She had been thinking the same thing. No matter which option they chose, the consequences would be catastrophic. The bells in her hands felt heavier than ever before, as if they carried the weight of the world itself. She couldn’t bear the thought of unleashing the creature on the world, of dooming innocent people to suffer the same fate they had endured. But she also couldn’t imagine a life trapped in the cabin, hunted by the creature for eternity.

"We can’t let it be free," Megan said softly, her voice trembling. "We have to keep it contained."

Tom shook his head, his face twisted with pain and fear. "But if we don’t destroy the bells... we’ll never get out of this. We’ll be trapped, forever."

Megan’s throat tightened as she looked at him, her mind racing. "We’ll find another way. There has to be something we haven’t figured out yet. Maybe the keeper isn’t telling us everything."

Tom let out a shaky breath, his eyes filled with desperation. "What if this is it, Megan? What if there is no other way?"

Megan stared down at the bells, her hands trembling. She couldn’t accept that. She couldn’t believe that this was their only option. But deep down, she knew Tom might be right. The curse was ancient, powerful, and unrelenting. They had been fighting it for days, and every time they thought they were getting closer to a solution, the creature grew stronger, the curse tightened its grip.

The keeper stood at the edge of the clearing, watching them with cold, emotionless eyes. His presence was unnerving, like a shadow that had taken on a human form. He had given them the information they needed, but Megan couldn’t shake the feeling that he was holding something back. There had to be more to the curse than what he was telling them.

"Why are you doing this?" Megan asked, her voice shaking. "Why are you helping us, but not giving us the full truth?"

The keeper’s lips curled into a faint, humorless smile. "I am bound by the same curse that binds you. My purpose is not to guide you to freedom, but to ensure the curse remains intact. The bells cannot be destroyed without consequence."

Tom’s eyes darkened with frustration. "So you want us to just sit here and let the creature hunt us? Forever?"

The keeper’s expression didn’t change. "That is the nature of the curse. Once you are marked, there is no escape."

Megan’s stomach twisted with anger and fear. "There has to be another way. There has to be something we can do."

The keeper’s cold gaze shifted to the bells in Megan’s hands. "You have the power to make a choice. Destroy the bells, and the creature will be released into your world, free to spread its darkness. Or keep them intact, and remain bound to the curse."

Megan’s heart raced as she stared at the bells, her mind reeling. The choice felt impossible—both options were terrible, both filled with unimaginable consequences. But they had to make a decision. The creature was out there, waiting, and they couldn’t afford to wait any longer.

Tom took a step closer to her, his voice filled with desperation. "Megan... I can’t keep doing this. I can’t keep running. The creature is going to kill us eventually. If we destroy the bells... maybe we can at least get away from it."

Megan’s chest tightened. "But if we destroy the bells, we’ll be unleashing it on the world. We’ll be responsible for every life it takes."

Tom’s face was pale, his eyes wide with fear. "I don’t want to die, Megan. I don’t want to be trapped here forever."

Megan’s throat tightened as tears welled up in her eyes. She didn’t want to lose Tom. She didn’t want to face the rest of her life running from the creature, knowing that no matter how far they ran, it would always find them. But she also couldn’t bear the thought of unleashing the creature’s darkness on the world. The thought of countless innocent people suffering because of their decision made her feel sick.

The wind howled around them, the cold biting at their skin as the shadows seemed to pulse with dark energy. Megan’s heart raced as she looked from the bells in her hands to Tom’s face. He was right—they couldn’t keep running. But the cost of destroying the bells felt too high.

"What if..." Megan’s voice cracked as she struggled to find the words. "What if we destroy one bell?"

Tom’s eyes widened. "One bell?"

Megan swallowed hard, her pulse racing. "Maybe... if we destroy one bell, it’ll weaken the curse. It won’t free the creature completely, but it might give us a chance to fight it, to stop it before it breaks free entirely."

Tom stared at her, his brow furrowed. "Do you think that’ll work?"

Megan shook her head, her voice trembling. "I don’t know. But it’s a better option than destroying both and letting it loose on the world."

Tom hesitated for a moment, his gaze flickering between the two bells in her hands. The wind howled around them, and Megan could feel the darkness closing in, the oppressive weight of the curse pressing down on them.

"Okay," Tom said finally, his voice shaky. "Let’s try it."

Megan nodded, her hands trembling as she held the second bell in her hand. The thought of destroying it sent a wave of fear through her body. She had no idea what would happen—no idea if it would weaken the curse or make things worse. But they had to try something. They couldn’t keep living like this, hunted by the creature, trapped in its deadly game.

Megan knelt down in the snow, placing the second bell on the ground in front of her. Her breath fogged in the cold air as she looked up at Tom, her heart pounding in her chest.

"Are you ready?" she asked, her voice barely a whisper.

Tom nodded, his face pale. "Yeah."

Megan took a deep breath, her hands shaking as she raised a large stone she had found earlier. The weight of the decision pressed down on her, the fear of the unknown gnawing at her insides. She knew there was no going back after this. Once the bell was destroyed, the curse would be changed—one way or another.

With a sharp, determined breath, Megan brought the stone down on the bell.

The bell shattered with a deafening crack, the sound echoing through the forest like a gunshot. Megan flinched as the pieces of the bell scattered across the snow, the dark, ancient symbols etched into its surface glowing faintly before fading into nothingness.

For a moment, the world seemed to hold its breath. The wind stopped, the shadows around them flickered, and the cold seemed to recede. Megan’s heart pounded in her chest as she stared at the broken bell, her mind racing.

And then, the ground trembled.

Megan’s breath caught in her throat as the earth beneath them shook violently, the trees swaying dangerously in the windless night. The air around them grew thick with energy, the oppressive weight of the curse pressing down on them with a force that made Megan’s knees buckle.

"What’s happening?" Tom shouted, his voice filled with panic.

Megan’s pulse raced as she scrambled to her feet, her mind spinning. "I don’t know!"

The wind returned with a vengeance, howling through the trees like a thousand voices screaming in unison. The ground continued to tremble, and Megan could feel the darkness in the air growing stronger, thicker, as if something was rising from the depths of the earth.

And then, from the shadows, came a sound that made Megan’s blood run cold.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

The creature was coming.


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