BLOOD EAGLES

A new perfect home, a dream come true.
These were the thoughts that lingered warmly within the head of Jim
Steele as he rested on his unmade bed, lying within a wash of sunlight
that flooded goldenly through his bedroom window.
He liked to just relax there, all on his own, on his bed, and just
absorb the Gorgeousness of his room. But this day unfortunately
something had appeared on Jim's bedroom ceiling that temporarily, only
temporarily Jim hoped, upset his admiration.
It was a small scarlet stain, only at this time probably around the
size of a ten pence piece, but most distinctly a scarlet stain. Many
people probably would have ignored such a small mark but Jim was a
perfectionist and nothing would take the shine off his brand new home,
he would have to remove it, and now. After a short time Jim returned
with his cleaning gear, and began scrubbing with all his might, and to
his delight the mark gradually came away leaving not even a blemish for
Jim to behold.
Satisfied with his work Jim slouched back onto his bed and drifted off
into a deep sleep, he must have slept for a fare time because when he
was awoken abruptly by a strange clanging of what sounded like church
bells, it was pitch black, in, and outside of his room. Church bells at
this time of the night, Jim thought, am I still dreaming?
He rubbed the gritty sleep out of his eyes, and as they slowly adjusted
to the darkness, to his horror he focussed on a much larger red stain
which had now developed right across the ceiling of his room.
"Oh shit", Jim said,"what the hell is going on now".
Jim left his bed with a groggy thud and wandered sleepily into the
adjoining room, which had access via a trap door in the ceiling to the
loft which was located above his bedroom. Jim entered the loft swiftly
with the aid of a small step ladder, pulling himself up easily into the
loft space, for he was an athletic strong man a point of which he was
proud.
A musty smell enveloped him as he switched on his Maglite to check out
where that weird red stuff was coming from.
He searched for hour after hour, rummaging around in the heat, he had,
had enough, he found absolutely nothing, no leaking pipes, no upturned
cans of paint nothing.now this was getting weirder, weirder.
He left the loft a frustrated, confused man, and more so due to those
church bells clanging away in the bloody church of the night he thought
to himself, and as these thoughts slowly drifted out of his mind, fresh
hideous sharp thoughts came instantaneously crashing in, these new
black, frightening thoughts were due to what his eyes now beheld within
his room.
Scarlet thick, and glowing luminously, his walls and his ceiling were
now completely covered with a mass of red pulp, which dripped now
swiftly into a growing lake that was now forming in his room.
He was frozen by this site, his body and his mind seemed to just ice
up, he just stared and stared at the weird mess that lay before his
wide eyes.
Eventually he managed to shake himself free of the terror that had held
him in a vice, and on instinct he swivelled around reaching for the
door knob, wanting more than anything to get out of this mess.
But on reaching for the door his hand thumped against what seemed like
an invisible wall, which upon a panic stricken investigation,
surrounded the entire length and width of his bedroom door, in utter
dismay, he then hurried over to his one single window and was greeted
by the same strange wall, at this new horror Jim went completely cold,
and his bowels sickeningly loosened within him. He was trapped, trapped
within a room of red gunge, which now was literally pouring through his
walls, and already in depth it was lapping up to his knees.
There was no way out, and resigned to this hideous fact, he waded over
to his bed climbing onto it, gently whimpering incoherently to himself,
he nonchalantly curled himself up into a foetus shape, and tears began
to flood from his eyes, dripping into the sticky red goo which was now
beginning to coat his entire body from head to toe, leaking into his
ears and his mouth.
He was in so much shock at this stage that even when he realised that
the red substance was blood, it really did not have any further impact
on his mind, for his mind had slipped into a stunned state of oblivion,
it was totally numb.
So when from out of the red ceiling, almost as if like being given
birth too, bloodily covered corpses, with gaping mouths, and bulging
eyes came cascading down upon him, he didn't flinch, or move one inch,
he just let it happen.
They came one after another, carried on lung wings, which had been
formed from the cracking open of their bones, and by the ripping out of
their still inflated lungs, which now like wings carried them hovering
around the room. Several of them then lifted Jim up from within the
sticky pools of blood, and they began to head from whence they had
come. Up toward the blood covered ceiling they commenced and straight
through it without any burden they carried his limp stunned body,
lifting him up and up into a scarlet oblivion, into a new world where
everything that surrounded them was totally scarlet. They passed over
blood coloured lakes which from above glimmered as if coated with
precious rubies, blood coloured trees with red withered leaves, and
over spiralling crimson towers which twisted ever upwards piercing the
belly over the bloody coloured skies, and even the rain that gently
drizzled from the rouge skies onto Jim's shocked face was of
crimson.
Eventually after what seemed like an eternity to Jim, he was laid down
gently in a field of red corn which swayed slowly in a warm breeze. The
corpses to whom Jim now noticed possessed the lolling tongues of
serpents, sat around him in a tight circle, where they began to chant
at him in hissing syllables."This be not heaven, this be not hell, this
be the place of the new birth, the new birth, the new birth."And with
these words still resonating around Jim, the corpses grabbed at him
with maggot white hands and began to strip him naked of his scarlet,
bloody clothes. While Jim was stripped the other corpses dug feverishly
at the red earth with their hands, a hole now deep enough to fit Jim
easily into was made.
Jim revived slightly at this stage, realising in an instant what was to
be his fate, he began to kick and scream at his assailants as they
swiftly lowered him into the stinking red pit that lay before him, but
it was truly a fruitless task, for these beings were far superior to
Jim in strength. Jim was then virtually hurled into the pit with one of
the bulkier looking corpses clinging to him so that he could not
escape, and in an instant the red soil was poured upon them, burying
them rapidly.
When totally submerged within the grave, Jim expected that at last
death would lead him away to peace, but amazingly covered by piles of
the red soil, which he was now even swallowing in gulps, he could
breath rather easily.
He also noticed at this stage that somehow his companion had slipped
away from him leaving him alone within the scarlet gloom of this
solitary grave. For a short time Jim fought with the soil that covered
him, but with little success he reluctantly gave in, and he just let
himself drift within the warm red soil that surrounded him, finding a
deep sleep that comforted him for a short time, until he was suddenly
awakened by a sharp cracking sound which did emanate from his back, he
reached around and to his amazement he could feel the throbbing of his
soft lungs which had released themselves from his split open back, but
he seemed now to be completely drained of all his blood, and even more
amazing still he felt no pain .He felt his body transforming in many
weird ways,his tongue transforming into something more reptilian, and
his entire body growing icily cold, and his heart within him did beat
no more, but he was still filled with a strange new energy source, some
sort of relation to his former life, but in no respect the same .No
worries now,a dark void seemed to be the new occupier of his mind,and
he moved with a fresh assured strength, ploughing his way up through
the soil,of which he rapidly emerged into the scarlet world that lay
waiting above him,where he was greeted by the open arms of his dead
brothers.
They then set off in full flight for the scarlet skies, Jim now with no
memory of his previous life, the only memory he possessed now was the
memory of his new birth, and of his first glorious meeting with his new
brothers.
M.J.Hewitt