Akron was an ancient amalgam of cursed souls, born from a war and sealed by the gods into shackles after a bloody rampage. Those who wear the metal pieces are overcome by berserk impulses and have their bodies twisted into similes of ferocious beasts.

And nowadays it laid in a temple on consecrated ground, surrounded by holy scriptures and sacred icons. Nobody was allowed to step foot in the building, lest Akron tempted them to free it.

[How long has it been...?]

(Long... Way too long...)

{Winter after winter we wait...}

It yearned for freedom, the legion of souls overflowed with unfulfilled desires, but only knew the nothingness of oblivion..

Then they heard the creak of rusted hinges, steps on dusty marble, a heaving sickly body approached them.

(Child! Can it free us?)

{Liberty, soon shall we roam the land!}

[Silence! She has things to say.]

Carrie looked at the hunks of metal, untarnished despite its age, the inlaid stones resembled eyes watching her every move. Akron was waiting for her, thirsting for a body to possess.

She came from merchant money, the firstborn of a wealthy man. As a premature birth, she was weaker than her peers, and despite his best efforts, she couldn't thrive.

His search for a cure revealed she was the result of his darker dealings, that her condition couldn't be reversed. That earned her his scorn, and paranoia led him to believe she could bring his ruin.

Thus, she was abandoned by a church, one more orphan to fill the nunnery. It was then she learned of Akron, and a desperate idea was planted. She was cursed, so she sought an even stronger curse.

She stepped closer, not minding how the shackles began rattling in anticipation. The ruby was like a monstrous eye gauging her for the moment to pounce. "Are you like me? Do you want to be free?"

[You dare taunt Akron?!] A deep voice pierced her mind, but she soldiered on and touched the inner edge of the braces, her arms were thin enough to slip in effortlessly. "It's not a taunt. I came here to be your vessel. And I intend to fulfill it."

(What now? Strange, so strange.) A horse whinny had her head pounding. {Are you here to bargain? Ask then.} This voice reminded of her father, before his change. "I only ask you... Let me walk without getting tired... I want to feel the snow without fear of death..."

(Leader...) {May we make her one of us?} (Such a pitiful soul...) Akron knew well the desire to survive, it's first and foremost craving. [... It can be done.] Carrie donned the shackles, bracing uselessly for the backlash.

The frail body shuddered as the souls spilled into it. Miasma forced muscles to grow, bones to extend, skin to split. She coughed blood and pain filled her mind. The lesser curse was consumed and turned into more miasma.

The girl had turned into a monster, but the souls had business before venturing out. She examined her claws, her body ceased to hurt, and breathing wasn't tiresome anymore. She laughed, her father's curse was gone, she was free!

Carrie closed her eyes and saw the ghouls by her sides. A demon, the main source of the miasma and heart of the entity, held her shoulder. [Welcome, child. Now we are Akron.]

A few horror stories and movies are based around a monster that thinks it's invisible and the characters have to act like they don't see it while hiding how terrified they are, so I thought I would work that concept into this.

Dale shivers as the coyote approaches to show he somewhat can sense it, maybe as a feeling of being watched. So the coyote is what causes that hurry up and close the door feeling we get sometimes when it's dark and quiet.

There's not really much 'to get' that you're missing. I just thought it was an interesting concept.

> I'm keeping the prompt as it is

Oh Absolutely! This was never meant to correct you (writing prompts aren't supposed to be reality or what's the point?), just as an explanation for people who were curious.

By the end, I could tell something was not right. No wonder Mary was considered a villain.

Good work.

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> The coyote is the thing that hangs always out of sight.

Is this a pop culture reference I'm missing? (I live on pop culture references, that embarasses me.)

Good job.

The coyote is the thing that hangs always out of sight. Not a reference to real science. The message is from some benevolent entity warning him to not let the coyote know he can see it or it will recognize him as an observer.

No, I understand quantum physics and the coin being in a superstate until the wave function collapsed by his friend turning around. (queue Feynman's "Anybody who thinks they understand Quantum Mechanics does not understand Quantum Mechanics.") What I don't get is what the protagonist sees at the end.

That's what is frustrating to me here -- I love your story. I love how you wrote it, and the scientific accuracy of the explanation and the coin. I have no idea what happens at the end. (or perhaps more accurately, what probabilities the protagonist saw before the end.)

#Ska’s Letter

WC 416

Dear Mr. World,

You brought me here, and for that I’m grateful. I learned from the best how to speak and how to act. You taught me that life could be so easy if I just follow the rules.

But, you know, fuck your rules.

I was told by you to get an education, a job, a life. But it wasn’t what I wanted, it was just some carbon copy of what everyone else was doing. I let myself get dragged along through the drudgery of mundane things.

The other day, I left work at seven o’clock at night. The streetlights were on and I stood under one of them, letting the rain hit me like the ever-present annoyances that make up my whole life. Then some guy walked by and took a trumpet out of its case and started playing, just like that, in the rain.

The sounds that came out of that horn, and the energy he had for life; it was the first time I saw real freedom. The expression of a life lived for oneself and not the patterns and programs dictated to them.

There, in that island under the streetlight, I realized that I’m all I’ve got. No one is gonna make changes in my life but me. I took my hat off and just soaked in the rain. I even shouted at it, and the guy just played along as if I had been singing lyrics to the song he was playing.

I liked it.

I liked challenging the authority of the status quo.

The systems in place, designed to take on the human condition and force it into a mold, they’re symptoms of your greed and desire for control.

Well, if you want to take on me, World, you know where to find me. I’ll be sitting on my desk, learning how to play the bass. Come by and check on me. I’ve decided to choose a path that never hurt anyone else, so I’m ditching the corporate ladder and jumping with my own parachute.

You probably don’t care. You’re probably indifferent to the whole thing. But I know for a fact that if you lose me, you lose a good thing. You lose the ability to look in a mirror and see your ugliness. You lose the edge and the drive that forces you to reflect on your pitiful constraints and the broken system you’ve built. Look at me, and see yourself.

Sincerely,

Ska Richards

Former Account Executive.

The universe doesn't flag the protagonist as an observer, so the things that always hang just out of sight don't hide from him.

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10/10 would protect the teacher with my life. Amazing read.

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Poem (also first time posting so hello!)

Quantum Physics

I am filled with a sense of unnerving dread

That at every turn the world is

A bridge forming in front of me

And collapsing behind

Quantum Physics suggests that

All matter exists in its current state

While being observed by the universe

I fear every moment that I wake

That one day the universe will turn its back from me

And I will descend into madness

As the particles of my body begin to misalign

And I will find that I do not have a soul

That I live exclusively within the observable

That I will never see a life incorporeal

Ohh you mean your hot enem- I mean, Captain Collins?

I knew what it was the second I picked it up. I know that sounds bonkers, but I did. I didn't know anything about archery, but I don't think there was any way to mistake an arrow with red and pink fletching and with a heart shaped glass arrowhead for anything other than what it could be: one of Cupid's arrows.

Furthermore, it pulsed in my hand. It was active, alive even! This was an authentic dose of true love in projectile form.

I felt it from toes to nose. It made sense; Valentine's Day was over less than 48 hours ago. It couldn't be anything else.

I knew what I had to do. I bought a bow.

Like I said, I didn't know anything about archery. I got a target, set it up in my back yard, and started practicing. I wanted to make sure I wouldn't miss. I weighed the arrow, got regular arrows that matched that and went to it. I trained for sometimes three hours a day. My first intentional bullseye came after a month. The next a week later. I could put three out of four in the red by six months.

Every time, I thought of her eyes. I thought about how they used to sparkle and how now they just... didn't. I thought about all the quiet breakfasts and how the things that used to make her laugh or smile fell flat.

This had to work. It just had to.

Still, I waited. I took my time. I practiced through the fall and through the winter. I knew that it had to be Valentine's Day or not at all.

I sent a delivery to the house. I made sure the gate was unlocked and I specified that the package be dropped off on the back porch. I got there at six in the morning. The package was delivered at 3:15. She came out right after.

I had one moment of doubt. Just the one. What if I was really bonkers? What if this wasn't full of love? What if I hurt her?

I took a breath and cleared the doubts from my mind. I inhaled. I let it out. I inhaled again.

Draw, sight, release. Bullseye.

I had no surprise when it struck her chest and sank in, disappearing a shower of pink sparks. She stumbled for a second. Then she brushed her skirt and stood back up straight. There was something there, but I had to wait. I had to make sure it worked before I left my perch.

That was when dad came out.

"Did you open it?" he asked.

My mom turned around and saw him.

I heard her say, "Not yet, handsome."

I smiled.

Dad had been skeptical when I asked that he let me send her the box of candy, but I'm so glad he did. Now, maybe they'd get the second chance I knew they deserved.

The Man: Fuck, this guy's good. Mother Mary, help me

James: I don't know what's going on or why you're so stressed 😃

Tony: No you do not and I love you for it 😏

TIL “being specist”! Thank you.

That was such a crazy read. Totally wasn't expecting the twist at the end. It also expanded my perspective on the prompt. I presumed it to be one sided. Like the universe does it's quantum physics shenanigans as normal and only the MC can see the interesting stuff that scientists would otherwise need equipment for. This however makes the universe sentient. Now what I wanna know, is who is this quantum apparition that the universe itself is communicating a warning?

Can you explain the ending to me? I don't get the fuzzy coyote thing.

I should've taken those archery lessons.

Oddly enough, your first thought after finding Cupid's arrow on the sidewalk was summer cap. Almost 2 decades your parents sent you to summer camp. The counselors told you that all the campers had to sign up to learn one new activity: swimming or archery. You loved the water. You went with swimming. Big mistake. Those archery lessons really could've come in handy right now.

You lean forward on the couch with your chin in your hand, staring at the heart-showed arrow that you laid on your coffee table.

It wasn't pink surprisingly... but it was warm. Not like a stove, or a fire, or even a blanket. It warmed you from the inside out, in a way that you'd nearly forgotten.

Again you think back to summer camp, a face popping up in your head. One with thick glasses but silky black hair and a crooked smile. Janie. She was your best friend in camp. The two of you were as close as any two preteen girls could be. You think of her and you smile.

Leaning closer, you notice an inscription on its side. Philia.

"Philia..." you mumble. You know this word. That's right, you do. It's greek... greek for love. The love of friendship.

You reach out to take the arrow in your hands and suddenly your mind is flooded with thoughts of Janie in summer camp, Lucky your old childhood dog, Ben your favorite cousin. It feels like your heart could burst, remembering all the times you spent with them, how each of them used to make you laugh and smile. How long had it been since you'd had friend who could make you feel that way again?

Your smile dips a bit, trying to remember the last time you'd actually tried to make a friend. You had your excuses, of course. Work was always so busy, going out was expensive and the divorce... well, the divorce made it very easy for you to wrap yourself up in isolation.

Hmm...

Pulling out your cellphone, you search for the nearest sporting goods store.

You don't know if you can shoot a bow and arrow... but you do know it's time that you made a new friend.

I didn't mean for this to happen. Why is this happening? You thought to yourself as you knelt, pushing rubble aside till you found her. You looked at the crumpled body of Love Struck. Her pink skin blemished with cuts and scrapes, and her wings tattered and torn. The occasional grunts and raspy breaths were the only things telling you she was still alive.

Without thinking, you picked up her limp body. Forming a forcefield around the two of you, you made your way through the collapsing buildings. You soon made it to your get-away vehicle, a large cargo plane. As you say one of your henchmen opening the hanger door, you shout, "MEDIC, I NEED A MEDIC!"

When you get to the plane and got Love Struck strapped into a stretcher as one of your henchmen tries to disinfect the bulk of her injuries. As you sat down, you finally let yourself 'look' at her and her condition. You cringe at how 'wrong' she looks, her breathing ragged and uneven, her legs bent at odd angles.

How did this happen?! You thought to yourself. It had been an ordinary day, you had a few hostages and a bomb you were never planning to use, but it went off anyway. The building started to come down around you as you threw up a shield to save yourself from the debris. And now you were here with Love Struck lying unconscious as you flew to your hideout.
When you landed, you rushed Love Struck to the medical wing, the pink-skinned heroine groaning with the motions. You got one of your best scientists to work on her injuries. Her wings would never truly heal, but they did what they could to stabilize her breathing and straighten and cast her legs.

It wasn't long before she awoke. As you looked through the glass in her room/cell you saw a shell of the hero you knew. You saw someone that didn't understand why they were restrained to a hospital bed and didn't care.

You learned her name when she was unconscious. Her name's Alice. When you finally faced her, curiosity was in her gaze as she said, "Hi, I'm Alice. Who are you?" You looked down as your fears were realized. She doesn't remember me. You knew it was a possibility, but you had hoped beyond hope that it wouldn't happen. "I'm Agatha, and I'm here to help you."
She gave you a sad smile as she said, "Ok, Is this for my skin or my wings?"

"What!" You hadn't even realized you had said that out loud until Alice gave you a confused look. "NO! Why would we be trying to 'fix' that?! No, you had an accident. I'm going to help you heal."

Over the next few months, you learned about how as a girl Alice had been sent to multiple doctors to try and 'fix' her. and with each story, you grew more and more sorry for what you did to her she had had a life where her powers were idolized and now she didn't remember any of that.

But you were going to make it right you would give her the life she deserved, one of love and safety. Sure, she whined at first when she could wake again, and you wouldn't let her leave, but she learned it was pointless to resist. She got everything she asked for anyway. What did she need from the outside that Agatha couldn't get for her? You were all she needed.

When I awoke at 02:30, I did not expect to see spectres, ghosts, and all that supernatural roaming the streets of London. I did not expect to see them congregating in the rising moon, staring at the overgrowing scar of light across the night sky. Imagine it like a camping trip, except it's in the middle of the burning streets of London, which I would not call unusual, and all the campers are ghosts from anywhere between the 16th to 21st centuries.
They looked very similar to regular people, with translucent skin, and a storage greenish-blue aura. Like some occultic hologram. Yet, as I adjusted to focus on the strange scene, keeping my head low not to be saw I witnessed something strange. The spirits were pulling away glass shards and other wreckage, piling them in a pile. The reflective glasswork formed an amorphous blob, flowing and ebbing with an otherworldly aura.
Yet, I was more so concerned by the massive meteorite crashing down. I had fallen asleep right before the crash in hopes of sleeping through it, yet I was going to witness it first-hand by the looks of it. But, it was as I looked to the sky that I saw thousands of things flying in the sky, from humanoid moth creatures to what seemed like faceless humans with large bat wings. They too were collecting glass and mirrors, dropping them upon the pile.
Then I saw it, these spectres were entering and exiting it, like some type of portal. It was odd, seeing the streets filled with, well, undeath. Yet, as I looked on, I saw the awe in every spirit's acts, slowly working together to build up whatever this portal was.
Yet, as my head bobbed up, I felt a cold surround me. I turned, to see something in the dark, large black and white wings, with a waxy polish, greyish-red eyes and a reflective tint across its contorted skin. It beckoned me forth, with a stare as caring as that of a corpse.
Considering the fact I did not wish to anger whatever this being was I followed it. It led me down my stares, as I saw most of my windows were broken, the spectres grabbing as much glass and reflective materials as possible. I felt a shaking sound and heard a bang, as the air pushed by the meteorite began pushing buildings away. The once small light in the sky, the burning embers of rocks had now turned into a massive orb with the anger of a sun. Then, the building began to fall, the shockwave of the meteorite sending me falling back.
The spectre turned its wings before dragging me towards the portal of glass. I looked upwards, seeing the meteorite falling towards this portal, pushing me away, yet the spectre dragged me close. Then I opened my eyes, seeing myself in a cold land, mostly flat, covered in snow. It was clearly on earth, yet I honestly couldn't hazard a guess.
Then it covered me, as I saw thousands of spectres flying in the night sky before with a crash, the meteorite itself emerged, blasting me back and breaking my leg. The meteorite rose high, and as it began a descent these spectres dragged it away, into the night sky.
My, well at this point guardian angel, began to drag my staggering frame away, I didn't know where we were going. All I knew, is we were safe...

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