Dark Elements: Catch and Release

Catch and Release

Written by Matthew Ryan Fischer
Illustrated by Michelle Joy Montrose
© 2015

Away from the city, away from the crowds, and the overgrowth of human population that drove everything else into submission. Away from the modern world, with modern conveniences and modern ways of doing things. Hidden away, deep in the woods, there was something older, something distant, something ancient. Inside the woods there was a cabin. And inside the cabin there was a study. And on the study wall hung a catcher. Rustic, dirty and ragged. Made from scratch.

From the city they came. Away from their lives. Away from the hustle and bustle. They were looking for a break, a respite from modern life. They were unknowing, ignorant of the value of their modern life and the protective shield it provided.

They had no idea what door they were opening.

Some things were better left buried in the past.

A handmade willow hoop with a cross section of twigs instead of a web. There were several smaller interwoven sinew webs attached to the twig cross. It was unclear who made it. It was unclear who put it in this cabin or why. There was no indication that this was a place of any great importance. It was the middle of nowhere. Unlikely to be a great epicenter of some magical energy pattern. There was no reason for a lone catcher to act as a beacon or magnet. But there are times, during that great long and lonely night, that nature needs a lighthouse of some kind. Not manufactured by man’s hands. But something more arcane and natural. Something necessary. There were too many great and evil things in the world. Nature needed a way of protecting some sort of balance.

The campers came. The weekend warriors. Those on their little getaways with no knowledge of what really made the world turn.

But the world watched. The world judged. Hidden in the mask of night, the world saw all.

And then one of the twigs snapped.

No one noticed. Why would they? They were tourists. Vacationers. They didn’t pay attention to things like that.

Did something break free? Or break through? The catcher was old and was far from perfect. There were dark and dangerous spirits, powerful and destructive. Nothing stayed bound forever.

What had the catcher protected against? What had been loosed upon the world?

The campers didn’t live long enough to ask.

Additional stories are available at: Dark Elements.
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