The dark halls twist and bend her vision fogged as she walks the empty passage. At the end of the long hallway there is a pair of double doors she pushes them open and steps into the light. She is now in a sea of people they all have a look of extreme anger on their faces. She slowly walks through the crowd trying to get anyone's attention but no one responses. Eventually she finds herself in the center of the crowd and sees why they are all angry. There within a clearing was her son laughing mockingly at the crowd of people. The instant she steps within the circle every set of eyes turn towards her glowing red with hate. The sky turns red as Jimmy begins to melt into a bloody puddle laughing maniacally at his mother. Voices begin to echo through the air around her. "Your fault, your fault, your fault! He is your son! Your fault, your fault. Pay, pay, pay! Pay with your blood!" Over and over the voices repeat their words as she tries to block them out by covering her ears and screaming, but can't block them out.

She runs through the crowd trying to find her way out as the crowd does not touch her, but stare with their glowing red eyes, and repeating their words. The ground vanishes from under her feet sending her plummeting into the abyss. A sudden chill wraps itself around her forcing her to open her eyes. There she is suspended in the dark abyss unable to breathe a light begins to shine underneath her; she looks down. Beneath her was the planet in orbit; no sooner than she looked down did the earth's gravity started to pull her down. She is falling towards the ground with such speed that she combusts into a ball of flame. With a loud splash she lands into a body of water.

She takes a large inhale as she sits up her skin pale with fright. However she is not in her bed but a palace made of crystal. Taking a step out off of the crystal bed she winces as her bare feet make contact of the cold crystalline surfaced floor. A slow creaking sound comes from the massive door as she opens it and steps into the darkened corridor. The sound of her footsteps echo through the halls as she crosses her arms for warmth. Soon a new sound comes from the shadows.

" Hahaha. Ring around the Rosie,

A pocket full of posies,

Ashes, ashes you'll all fall down. Hahaha.

A ring of fallen blood. For soon your end will come,

Ashes, ashes your soul will soon by mine. Hahaha."

She looks back and a digital snow covered figure is at the edge of her vision. She starts to run through the dark halls as the figure continues to sing.

"Hahaha. Ring around the Rosie,

A pocket full of posies,

Ashes, ashes you'll all fall down. Hahaha.

The church is on fire as people scream in horror,

Ashes, ashes it's all your fault. Hahaha."

Her heart beats faster as the singing is accompanied by more voices joining in and the sound of large wings fills the air around her.

"Hahaha. Ring around the Rosie,

A pocket full of posies,

Ashes, ashes you'll all fall down.

La, la, la, la. La, la, la, la, la.

Your son should not have crossed me,

What do you suppose we,

Do about the darkness,

In which you drown. Hahaha!"

She runs now with all her might through the halls until she reaches the end of the hallway; dead end. She turns around and sees the figure along with it the sea of glowing red eyes.

"Hahaha. Ring around the Rosie,

A pocket full of posies,

Ashes, ashes you'll all fall down.

The darkness comes so say goodbye...as...I...take....your....eyes. Mwahaha."

The static figure smiles as it reaches for her face.

A bright white flash blinds her. When she regains her sight she is in a wasteland surrounded by ravens and was looking at the back of someone's head. She tries to call out for help but can't move her mouth. A raven lands on the person's head staring right at her with it's black eyes. Several ravens begin to land around her they all blink in unison, and when they open their eyes they are no longer black, but filled with static. Staring unblinking the ravens gaze deep into her soul then cry out.

"Nevermore!"

The body on which the first raven does sit begins to stir a ghastly noise does come as flesh and bone do break. The head with ever slow turning like that of things that do creep in the shadows shows it's visage to her. A sight of up most horror for there she stared at the visage and it at her. It was her with eyes torn from their sockets. That is when her body does speak with twisted words.

" It is your fault that he is like this; a plague upon the world. He is a cancer that you allowed to fester and rot on the flesh of others. He is the reason your husband the only man you have ever loved left, and the reason you have to work yourself to the bone just so he can belittle you."

The raven that was sitting in her head jumps off and screams into the air as it opens it's beak. An arm reaches out from it's gaping maw and pulls itself out. Soon enough another arm and a head become visible then the rest of the body falls out of it's mouth. She wants to cry; it was her ex-husband Kevin. He was as dashing as he was the day she first met him. It only makes the harsh words he speaks all the more cruel.

"We were happy before that little wretch came into the picture. You coddled him never letting him face the consequences of his actions turning him into a monster. We could have been happy without him. We could have had a little girl, but no he was your little boy that could do no wrong now look where we are at! I am gone, you are a broken shell of the woman that you once were, and that little demon of a son will continue to choke the life out of you while he makes more and more enemies. It is all your fault!" Kevin explodes into a plume of black feathers. Her eyeless body gets up onto all fours and opens it's mouth to unimaginable lengths and runs towards her screaming. "Your fault!"

A loud thud comes from her room as she falls out of bed. She panics throwing punches and kicks into the dark as she tries to free her entangled body from the bed sheets. After several passing seconds of silence she regains her composure, and heads down stairs for a drink of water to calm her nerves. As she walks down the hall she stumbles with every other step; she must be more disoriented than she had thought. As she heads towards the kitchen she decides she needs something a little stronger than water and heads over to the cabinet and grabs a half empty bottle of Jack Daniels and starts to chug what was left in the bottle. She drops the bottle onto the floor when she looks into the mirror. No wonder she could walk straight her eyes were no longer centered. Her right eye was looking straight up while her left was looking towards the bottom left. She screams before blacking out.

Jimmy opens his eyes there he is up on a hill looking out over a sea of flame. The city is a glow as embers dance in the night air screams of pain and horror come down from below. He looks down towards the city were people were running trying to put out their flaming bodies. A women cries as she holds her crumbling baby in her arms. A tear burns his cheek as he watches the mayhem unravel in front of him. A wind blows through the town wafting the scent of burning flesh into Jimmy's nostrils. He grabs his throat choking from the stench; that is when he sees it an empty gasoline canteen and a lighter in his hands; he throws them to the wayside. A voice begins to resonate in the air around him.

"Your city is burning down, burning down,

burning down, Your city is burning down thanks to you.

Do you hear their dying breath, dying breath,

Dying breath, do you hear their dying breath as they curse your name." People start to march towards Jimmy no longer caring that they are on fire as they chime into the song.

" There is a price that you must pay, you must pay,

You must pay, there is a price you must pay with your blood.

Watch in horror as you're torn apart, torn apart,

Torn apart, watch in horror as you're torn apart for your crimes." Jimmy turns around and begins to run trying to escape the burning mob that was after him.

He falls down the hill cursing the second he hits the bottom. A bright orange glow soon follows him as the burning mob reaches the top of the hill. He dares not look back at the crowd as he runs through the now burning forest. The sound of burning wood and laughter is all that could be heard; before the laughing stops it begins to sing again.

"Don't you ever laugh as the hearse goes by,

For you may be the next one to die.

They wrap you up in big white sheets and cover you from head to feet.

They put you in a big black box,

And cover you with dirt and rocks.

All goes well for about a week,

Until your coffin begins to leak.

The worms crawl in, the worms crawl out,

The worms play pinochle on your snout

They eat your eyes, they eat your nose,

They eat the jelly between your toes.

A big green worm with rolling eyes

Crawls in your stomach and out your sides.

Your stomach turns a slimy green

And pus pours out like whipping cream.

You'll spread it on a slice of bread,

And that's what you eat when you are dead."

A burning tree falls in front of Jimmy blocking his escape forcing him to turn around to see the mob of burning people creep ever closer to him. A static covered figure descends from the black smoke from above falling with grace as it unfurls it's massive wings and stares at Jimmy with a blank face. A wicked grin spreads from ear to ear on the creature's formless face.

"I am watching you Jimmy!" The monster charges at Jimmy.

Jimmy opens his eyes he is now alone in the burned forest; several burnt corpses lay in front of him the expressions of pain and horror forever embedded on their faces. Jimmy turns around and walks through the forest back to the city; hoping to find survivors. He enters the now blackened city; ash falling from the sky like fresh powdered snow. The only thing he can hear is the sound of his feet crunching whatever it was that laid underneath him; he dares not look. When he gets to the center of town the sound of a woman crying could be heard so Jimmy went towards the sound.

A woman lays hunched over a tiny corpse; her form shrouded by a pitch black cloak. Jimmy hesitantly walks up behind her and grabs her shoulder. He peers over her shoulder and sees the corpse that she holds. A small child clutching what once was a teddy bear; a look of pain runs across it's peeled lips and oozing eye sockets. The sound of crying soon ends as who Jimmy can only assume is the child's mother begins to laugh manically. Jimmy backs away from the mother as her laughter begins to turn into a deep gurgling growl. A fountain of blood spews from her back as her spine protrudes through her skin. The cloak falls away showing her naked form turning black as her hands twist and bend turning into vicious claws. She lets out a dreadful howl as her jaw elongates and her teeth sharpen to wicked tips. When she finally stops her demonic transformation she looks at Jimmy and lets loose a deep dreadful howl.

"It is your fault! Your fault that my baby is now dead! I will tear you limb from limb and feast upon the remains of your tainted soul!"

Jimmy doesn't hesitate he turns tail and runs through the blackened ruins of the city with the monster right on his heels. He zigs and he zags trying to elude the vicious monster that is trying to tear him to pieces. Ah he turns a corner he hears a loud crash behind him giving him a brief window of opportunity to hide. Looking around there were a few places he could hide, but decides to leap through an opened window and duck underneath the wall. His hearts pounds fervently trying to calm itself down. The sound of crushing bones and loud sniffing can be heard on the other side of the window. A drooling snout peers over Jimmy's head making him cover his mouth with his hand. He doesn't dare make a noise so long as the monster is hovering over him like it is. After a few passing seconds the beast retracts it's head and lets loose a mournful howl as it runs through the decrepit city streets. Jimmy sighs with relief when he feels that he is finally safe at least for the time being.

Jimmy tip toes through the crumbling building making sure that he doesn't alert any more monsters to his intrusion. He finds himself back out of the city. The sky grows dark as a cold wind stirs the air. Looking up he sees the sky growing darker and darker as several ravens come flying from the southern skies. They descend upon the burning carcasses to gorge themselves on the burnt flesh. One of the ravens lands on a corpse near Jimmy and plucks an eyeball out of socket. Jimmy throws up as he sees the black flesh peeled away revealing the slimy red and pink flesh that laid underneath. A raven lands on top of Jimmy's head and rears it's head to peer into Jimmy's eyes. It blinks it's eyes and when it opens them the are replaced by static. Jimmy freaks out and swats the raven off of his head; it lands on a nearby corpse and caws. Soon another raven lands next to the first then another and another again and again a raven would congregate near the first. All their eyes were filled with static as they all stared right into Jimmy's soul.

"Awe what's the matter Jimmy don't like this story? Maybe if you say something mean about it, it will make you feel better. Maybe it'll make you feel like a man?" Jimmy freezes in place as a familiar voice comes from behind him. He turns and sees the little wall eyed Pegasus standing on top of a burned flag pole. A sadistic smile on her face as she focuses her eyes at Jimmy.

"You! Why don't you just leave me alone!?"

"Awe is poor little Jimmy not feeling like playing with me? Here I thought you liked me after all what was it you told me to do? Take lessons from a brain dead monkey wasn't it?"

Jimmy bites his lips remembering exactly what his mother warned him about. " Look I'm sorry ok lets just settle down and talk like reasonable. People? I'm sure we can come to some sort of understanding."

"People? Do I look like a person to you? Besides maybe I don't want to be reasonable! After all hell hath no fury like a mare scorned. You have a lesson that needs to be taught and you will learn it the hard way. I am going to take everything away from you poor little Jimmy Knoles! Hahaha!" with that the ravens take flight and begin to peck at Jimmy. He runs about the field of death swatting at the birds screaming for them to go away; all the while the wall eyed Pegasus laughs at him.

Jimmy runs face first into a tree making him fall over rubbing his face. When he opens his eyes he is in a moonlit clearing; a shadowy figure stands in the center. Jimmy steps into the clearing he knew who it was. Once he gets close to the figure he sighs deeply with regret. It is the one person he has wronged the most.

"Hey there dad."

"Jimmy." Kevin answers is son with cold words.

"So are you here to torture me too?"

"Now that would be a switch! Wouldn't it? No I'm not here to berate you for being an asshole that wouldn't achieve anything. I'm here actually for the opposite. As you know that I'm actually not your father but your sub-conscience rendition of what a real man is supposed to be. Before you went to sleep tonight something changed within you something important. You felt empathy for your mother. Hehe. Thought I'd never see the day when you decided not to be a major asshole."

"So are you here to help me then? I could really use the help to deal with this crazy horse or whatever it is."

"Again no. I wish I could help you, but even I don't know what she is exactly. What I am here for though is something important."

"What is..." Jimmy is embraced by his father in a loving hug the first one he has ever had within his memory. Jimmy gives a tight hug back as he starts to cry.

"Now, now none of that there will be time to cry later. First you have to make me a promise ok."

"Sure thing dad. What is it?"

"Take care of your mother for me."

"Yeah I think I can manage that."

Kevin smiles at his son. "That's my boy. I am so proud of you. Become a real man."

Jimmy wakes up to the sound of his mother screaming. He launches himself out of bed and down stairs to see his mother on the ground. He immediately grabs the phone and calls 911.

Author's Note

Songs are:
Ring around the Rosie (edited)
London Bridge is Falling Down ( edited)
The Hearse Song ( not edited)

Also a reference to The Raven by Edgar Allen Poe