The Dead Knight

David Waters was afraid.

He didn’t think he would ever be selected.

When David and his father found the two knights at the cabin door, he knew what they were here for.

His father had his face in his hands, as the knights spoke with David.

David hugged his father before the knights took him away. There were tears in his father’s eyes, as the knights rode away with David.

He pulled his fur coat tighter around his body, as the cold wind blew against his face. How David wished he would die out in the snow, instead of the fate that awaited him.

The knights and David traveled for miles, until they reached a forest. His king and queen were waiting for David. The two knights took a bow to their rulers before forcefully pushing David toward them.

David also bowed, trying not to cry. You never showed any sort of weakness in front of the king and queen.

The queen lifted up David’s face, making eye contact with him. She placed a kiss on each cheek.

“You are doing a noble sacrifice for us all, Sir David.”

With that said, the queen left to join the knights, leaving him alone with the king.

“Sir David, do you know what is being asked of you?”

David gave a firm nod.

“On this Christmas Day, you will either be killed…or chosen. Let us hope it will finally end today.”

The king raised his arm, pointing toward the woods.

“He is already waiting for you.”

The king placed a hand on David’s shoulder.

“I will be sure to let your father know what will become of you.”

David bowed once again before the king left with his queen. He listened as his rulers rode away with the knights. Then he entered the woods. Nothing stirred. There was no sound. Not even the wind blew here.

David shuddered, realizing that there was not even a shred of cold here. He could feel his heart beginning to beat erratically, as he got closer to his destination.

It was a large open clearing, with a tombstone in the middle. Snow did not cover the ground here. Nor the grave. The trees surrounding this area were all dead, and they have remained that way for many years.

David held his breathe as he got closer to the grave. He raised a hand, and knocked three times on top of the tombstone.

A hand shot out of the ground. It touched the ground, dragging its bony hand along the snow. Another hand rose out of the grave. Both hands stretched out to grab the edges of its grave, slowly raising out of its prison.

A head with gray hair poked out of the ground, and then two broad shoulders covered by a knight’s armor.

A blue cloth was wrapped around its eyes, and a gray tongue waggled out, licking at its decayed teeth. Its nose was missing, and a maggot was currently exploring where his flesh used to be.

David took a step back, covering his mouth and nose from the horrible smell. The corpse stood up in front of David, pulling out its sword from its grave. It released a long sigh, its bones creaking.

“It has been a long…time. Eh boy?”

“My name is David,” he accidentally blurted out.

The knight smiled. Only one tooth was missing from its mouth.

“Are you the one they have brought to me?”

“Yes.”

The knight pulled away its cloth, revealing two empty black holes.

David gulped, taking in the horrific image in front of him.

“Don’t be alarmed, boy.”

The knight lifted up its sword, pointing at David.

“Come closer.”

David didn’t want to. But he had no choice.

It was a curse, one that must always be followed every Christmas Day. A boy must be brought, that will either die or be chosen by the knight.

If he is chosen, the curse will end.

David walked to the knight, and stopped until he was right in front of him. The knight lowered his head, he was quite tall, and made David feel small. The knight picked up a finger, pressing it against David’s chest.

David shut his eyes. He was expecting the knight to pierce him through the stomach with his sword. He wasn’t expecting the knight to laugh. It was a dry sound, as if it hadn’t done this in years.

“You are perfect.”

David opened his eyes, staring into the black holes of the knight’s eyes. The knight was speaking in tongues, and David started to feel strange. His entire body was tingling, as if his body was about to explode.

The knight raised his sword, and sliced off two of his fingers from one of his hands. He shoved the fingers straight into David’s mouth. He gagged, but the knight grabbed him by the face, forcing him to face the white sky.

David swallowed the fingers, his eyes watering from the unbearable smell and taste. David let out a scream, seeing two of his fingers starting to turn gray. The knight smiled, studying his decayed hand that now had two healthy human fingers that had grown onto his hand.

“Perfect.”

David turned around, about to run, but the knight kicked out his feet, knocking him to the snow. David screamed as the knight descended upon him. The knight wasn’t done. David was going to eat every bite.

He would give in, accepting his fate.

He had been chosen.

Now the curse will finally end.

The knight studied his young face, reflecting back at him from his sword. He traced a hand over his face, marveling at the skin. He never thought he would ever feel it again. He looked over his shoulder at the boy’s corpse.

The body now resembled what he used to look like when he was dead.

The knight dug out his grave, revealing multiple bones of other victims. Each of them had been killed by him in a fit of rage, when he found out that they wouldn’t be the ones to bring him back to life.

One had finally come. David would be the only name he would remember.

He picked up David’s body, placing him gently inside the grave. He covered his body up with snow and dirt. He placed a hand on top of the tombstone.

“Thank you, David.”

The knight raised his head when he noticed that the trees around him were beginning to move. The trees now had green leaves on their branches, and several animal sounds could be heard within the forest. The cold blew, and the knight could feel it on his skin, something he hadn’t felt in years.

The knight got up, leaving behind what had been his prison for thousands of years. As he walked away, vines began to grow out of the ground, and the trees in the clearing began to move toward each other, hiding away the tombstone that had been his resting place.

He smiled, rejoicing in his freedom.

I have always wanted to write a medieval horror tale. This idea had been in my mind for a long time. The concept of a kingdom being forced to give up victims to a dead knight was a horror idea that couldn’t get out of my head!

Thank you for reading!

Emy Quinn