The Scarecrow

(Present time)...

What I saw was evil.

I froze.

His body was rested on the stone like a ghoulish scarecrow that had been attacked by angry birds wanting to feed off a farm.

My body temperature decreased within seconds.

His intestines had been plugged out like he was some old cow on a slaughter table.

My eyes went wide with shock and I started trembling.

His eyeballs lay by his side, staring at me like they had been clawed out of their sockets.

My breaths started coming in shorter than normal.

This wasn't possible.

My mouth went dry like I hadn't taken any water in days. Standing became the hardest task yet I remained on my feet because I couldn't bring myself to move. I couldn't even comprehend what I was seeing.

What scared me the most, was the fact that I recognized him.

Even my lips trembled as I tried to form words.

"D— Da— Dad?" I stuttered breaking the thick silence that had risen in my head.

My heart shattered into tiny pieces as I said his name out loud. It was as if I had acknowledged that it was true; as if I had acknowledged that my dad was really laying dead before me.

No!

I had to keep reminding myself to blink as I kept staring.

My father couldn't die! This had to be a dream! This wasn't real! It couldn't be!

My intake of breaths became shaky, like a storm of tears was threatening to break out.

No! I wouldn't let this sight deceive me! It wasn't real!

My dad was the one man I trusted with my life. He was the only person that could protect me from anything in the world. He was the one person that could stand up for me. He was the only one that could fight the world for me.

This dead man before me couldn't be him.

It couldn't be him.

I was shaking my head nonstop as I stared at him. I wanted to erase this image of him before my eyes but I couldn't bring myself to move an inch or even move my eyes away from his mistreated body.

My dad was a great man. He was a good man. Good people could never die like this.

Yes! Good people don't die bad deaths.

I was sweating and trembling at the same time as I kept staring at him. I wanted to move my eyes away from him so badly but I couldn't.

Who could have done this?

Why would anyone do this to the coolest person in the whole world?

No! No!

My dad wasn't dead.

I shouldn't believe what I'm seeing. This isn't true. It's an illusion or a holograph.

Holograph made a lot of sense.

I was battling between staying sane and going crazy. I didn't know how to believe any of it.

Why was I still thinking a lot? This wasn't my dad! No! It couldn't be him!

My teeth were clattering now but I still stood there unable to move or think straight.

It had to be a prank. Maybe it was one of Kelvin's pranks!

Even Kelvin wouldn't stoop this low.

What kind of a sick prank was this?

"Th— this is a si— sick p-prank! Yo— you hear m-me? It's a si— sick pra— prank!" I stuttered out loud to anyone who I thought could be nearby to hear.

Or maybe no one was hearing, I couldn't know.

The tears from my eyes had already long escaped their prison without my realizing it.

"I —I won't fall for this! My dad —my dad can't just die!" I stuttered again.

It sounded more like I was trying to convince myself, rather than convince any person who I thought could possibly be hearing me.

Even after saying it, my dad still lay dead before me. It didn't change. No one came out laughing miserably at me.

I just watched him in my sorry state. I was breathing hard; I was sweating hard and I was trembling from the emotional shock. With all that, I still remained on my feet.

"It's a prank! I know it!" I screamed again but my voice was beginning to break.

I was only stuttering before but now it was breaking. More tears flowed down my cheeks.

"It has to be a prank," I said quietly.

"Please." I pleaded.

My voice was broken. I was beginning to lose my hope. It was just too heartbreaking. It brought more tears to my eyes.

"Please... I just need to know this isn't real."

"Someone, anyone tell me it's fake. Any—"

My words broke off as I saw my dad's head jerk violently up at me.

I flinched.

Then he grabbed my left leg!

"Ah!" I screamed and fell on my rump.

I froze.

I watched in horror as my dad slowly leaned over me.

I couldn't move. I couldn't speak. I couldn't breathe. I just stared in horror at him as his face came inches away from mine.

How did he just come alive?

Dead people don't move.

"Xena..." he broke the silence with a very hoarse voice.

I let out a choked scream.

Dead people don't speak.

How is this happening?

"Help! Xeennaa... help me! help me!" he added slowly in a broken hoarse voice.

My eyes went wide in shock and I wet myself.

"HELP!!" He screamed.

I covered my ears with my hands and squeezed my eyes shut at the intensity of the scream.

Then I slowly opened my eyes in time to catch another inhumane thing happening.

I watched in a mixture of horror and confusion as he slowly dissipated into dark dust and floated away like he never existed.

"H —how?" That was all I managed to say once he was gone.

What was going on with me?

"I'm going crazy..." I trailed in confusion.

How else do I explain what just happened?