“It Will Never Stop Screaming”

The frail little shaman greeted Jacob at the door and ushered him
inside. The house looked normal enough, Jacob thought, apart from the
animals in various stages of being taxidermied.

“Sit,” the shaman said. “I will get it for you.”

Jacob was on pins and needles. The quest had almost ruined him, both
financially and mentally, but this time he knew it was for real.

The shaman returned and placed an item in front of him. It was an
animal, a fox, expertly mounted. Its eyes were somehow glowing.

Jacob trembled, but he knew what to do. He met the fox’s intense stare
and focused his mind on a single thought. “I want to live forever.”

After a while came a moment when he felt himself floating, unable to
feel his own body. Then, he found himself staring at his own face. For
a moment there was terror there, then his entire body relaxed and
slumped to the floor.

But Jacob himself was not on the floor, which was an impossible
thought.

The shaman came into view. He smiled, pointed down at Jacob’s body and
said, “Do you mind if I take that?”

Within the fox, Jacob’s soul screamed.

 

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Thanks for reading!

Written for the Sunday Photo Fiction – October 1st 2017

For more stories based on this prompt, go to the linkup.

199 words.

• Flash Fiction