The Silver Hammer

Book 1

The Silver Hammer

By Abraham Justice Balint-Wohl

To: ~~~~~~

Maple Leaf Writing Project

Brattleboro Vermont

©2019

Matt

November 11, 2018:

Matt loved to draw eyes. He drew everybody's eyes, his teacher’s, his brother’s his mother’s and Jamaal’s. He hated Jamaal but only because Jamaal hated him. From as long ago as Kindergarten Jamaal had hated him. He had bullied, teased and taunted him.

But in 4th grade it got worse. He began to hit Matt and kick him. Whenever Matt had won a game (Jamaal had a gigantic ego and was especially bratty about sports) he

would hit Matt and threatened him that if he told on him Jamaal would kill him. Jamaal was tall with dark skin, curly black hair and usually wore sports jerseys. And his eyes, they were like two giant holes of darkness and evil.

Matt was a medium sized kid, 11 years old, with plain brown hair that he usually kept cut pretty short. Lately he had been growing it out. His eyes were a rich beautiful hazel like the green of the summer leaves mixed with the delicious brown of hot chocolate in winter.

He lived in a big rambling house it was probably 117 years old. if you were to walk down the main hallway you would see golden windows towering far above you, and an enormous crystal chandelier over your head made out of solid gold. It had carvings of prancing horses and Greek gods. His family had bought the house for an astonishingly low price due to the fact that when they bought it it was in horrible shape. The windows had been cracked, the chandelier had been broken on the floor and mice and termites infested the walls and other deep dark hiding places. Repairs had not been cheap but once it was fixed up it looked like a palace of ancient architecture.

Matt thought that if the house were to have eyes they would be old, sad but full of life and stories.

The day of the Demon started not unlike any other. Matt woke up in his four poster canopy bed, went downstairs, ate breakfast, got on the bus and arrived at Maple Ridge Elementary. It was a big three story building building made from deep red brick. Matt’s room was on the top floor. His teacher was Miss Tory. She was a tall woman with straight brown hair and always wore grey clothes without a wrinkle in them. She looked more like somebody who worked in a bank than a teacher. Except for her eyes. they were grey and strict. “Welcome Jamaal”, she said.“Welcome Archy, Welcome Matt.” We took our seats. “Welcome Class” she said. “Our subject today is…”

“Now I could bore you to death with the details of her many lectures but I want you alive reading this book rather than slumped on your couch unbreathing. When she was done with her math lecure and her literacy lecture which she spent 99.9% of telling the class to answer the questions with complete sentences, it was finally time for lunch.”

Matt walked down the stairs to the lunch line with his tray. Unlike most schools the food at Maple Ridge Elementary was delicious, cheeseburgers fresh with grease and juicy meat, crispy perfectly cooked french fries, yummy soft drinks and an ice cream dispenser. He took a cheeseburger, a Coke and some sides he reached for the ice cream dispenser when he saw it a tall menacing figure.

It sent a chill up his back so cold he froze and was not able to move. “Matt..Matt...Matt!” Matt snapped out of his trance to see Crystal. Matt blushed. “Are you getting ice cream or what?” Matt pressed Chocolate & Vanilla Swirl. And took a seat. He watched Crystal sit down at the girl table. She’s really pretty Matt thought to himself. She was, she has long blond, nearly white hair and pale skin. Her eyes were a beautiful shade of green.

It happened again too when the bell rang to go home. Matt opened his locker to find the figure but he could see it alot better, sickeningly, creepily, terrifyingly better this time. It was tall, so tall it could not stand up in the locker so its feet were beneath it floating out of sight. Matt could see under its hood. The bits of rotting flesh it had left were clinging to his yellow molding bones. In its eye sockets there was just two glowing yellow lights that seem to glow from nowhere. The creature moved toward him silently. it stuck out its rotting skeletal hand.

And then it made a sound it was not talking or whispering. It growled, a deep terrible growl, that reached down to the depths of despair and created this sound. The growl turned into a load roar

“ROOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAR!!!!!!” It ran at Matt who began sprinting down the hallway. Nobody seemed to notice the creature but they sure noticed Matt.

“Look,” said Jamaal. “Looks like Matt’s training for the next baseball game. maybe he won't fall on his face this time.”

Only Crystal seemed to notice. As Matt sprinted past her she looked up from her phone, gasped and said to Becca, “DO YOU SEE THAT IT LOOKS LIKE….”

“What” said Becca, looking at Crystal’s phone. “I don't see anything, Crystal I don’t….” “But Crystal was already running after Matt and the creature. “But Crystal” said Becca still looking at the phone “I still don't see anything……”

Matt felt the cold rotting breathing of the creature on his back, he heard the loud clanking skeletal footprints on the floor. A bony rotting hand yanked Matt’s shirt causing him to fall onto the floor, the creature advanced on him, rotting teeth bared. All of a sudden there was a large smoky mass trailing behind it. Which soon it engulfed it. When the smoking mass cleared it was gone and standing behind it was…

“Crystal?” said Matt confused “But?!” “How!?” “You?!” Matt gazed at Crystal then his eyes fell to where the thing had been, in its place was a large hammer.

The Hammer

The handle of the hammer was made of oak but wrapped in leather so it was comfortable to the touch. The smashing part was made of shining silver. It looked very heavy but when Matt picked it up felt as light as a plastic chair

“I'd be careful with that if I were you.”said Crystal before running down the hallway back to Becca.

The first time Matt noticed the true power of the hammer was on the bus ride home. Matt was thinking to himself “I wish this bus would take less time to get to my house.” when all of a sudden Matt sorta dropped the hammer. I say he sort of dropped the hammer because matt was still holding on to it when it fell. You see it while he was staring out the window wishing the bus would go faster the hammer was slipping out of his lap. Matt caught

the hammer, but not before the silver part banged onto the floor of the bus. Nobody seemed to hear the sound or notice him. It was right then when the bus driver’s voice rang out through the bus “WE ARE APPROACHING CRASHED PLANE DRIVE!!”

Matt looked up hardly believing it. There was his house, there was the rusted old WW2 bomber in the roundabout with the fountain. Matt walked into his house “Hi Matt” said his mother.

“Mom” said Matt. “When will Dave get home?” “In February” said his Mom. Dave was Matt’s older brother, he was away at college. Matt really liked Dave, Dave was the one who had taught Matt to draw. In fact Matt's first drawing was of Dave’s right eye. Matt’s mom always said Dave reminded her of Matt’s dad who had died when Matt was 2. Matt walked up to his room and plopped down on his bed.

He looked at the Hammer, got off his bed and thought. “What happened on the bus was weird, I seemed to wish that the bus would go faster and then it did?” Thoughtfully Matt picked up the hammer and smashed it against the floor and wished in his head... “I wish for a new phone.” Matt had broken his old phone when Jamaal had pushed him down the stairs 2 months ago and he really needed a

new one. Suddenly out of nowhere a new Iphone XS slid onto his end table.

Matt looked at it with awe. He listened, his mom didn't seem to hear. He picked up the hammer, realizing he had the power to make anything he dreamed of into reality. “My life is about to take a turn for the best” Matt thought.

November 12, 2018

Art Class

The next day Matt sat in art class. Miss Tory, Matt’s homeroom teacher also doubled as the art teacher. “Alright,” Miss Tory said “I’ve got all of your suggestions in this hat right here.” A week ago everybody had written down what they thought the class’ next art project should be on a piece of paper.

Ms. Tory rummaged through in the hat blindly. Matt picked up the hammer (it had been in his bag) And gently bumped it against the floor and thought ‘pick mine.’ Mrs. Tory pulled out a name. “And the next art project is drawing eyes.” Matt smiled. Jamaal cursed. “Language Jamaal” said Mrs. Tory “If you do that again there will be

no recess for the week. You'll stay in and do Math” Jamaal scowled. Matt smiled. “Now” said Ms. Tory gesturing to another hat.

“I’m going to pull names out of this hat two at a time you and the other person will be partners and draw each others’ eyes.” She reached into the hat and pulled out “Matt!” she said. She reached back into the hat. Matt bumped the hammer into the floor……“Crystal!” said Mrs. Tory. Crystal and Matt went to sit sit down at one of the two person tables in the art room. “So,” said Matt “We're partners now” “Yeah” said Crystal “I suppose so” “not very surprising” She said under her breath.“What?” said Matt

“Nothing” said Crystal clutching her necklace. Matt looked at the necklace. It had a pendant made of shining silver (a similar material as the hammer) in the shape of a snowflake. Inside the pendant there was a shiny turquoise crystal.

They had a wonderful time doing art together.

November 13, 2018:

Recess

The ball zoomed towards Matt. he raised the bat swung……… and missed.

“You're crap!” said Jamal. “It’s like your dad never taught you how to play baseball…. Oh wait he’s DEAD,Probably died of disappointment at you.” Matt lunged towards Jamaal and punched him right in the face so hard his nose bled. “Your gonna regret that!” said Jamaal, blood dripping from his nose. Jason (one of Jamaal’s “friends’’) kicked Matt on the back of his knee causing him to trip and fall flat on his face.Jamal advanced on him. Matt pulled out the hammer.

Jamal laughed. “Whatchya gonna do with that plastic hammer!?” he said. “I bet I could snap it in half with two fingers.Matt raised the Hammer and Smashed it onto the ground! “JUST STOP!” he roared at the top of his lungs. Jamal froze, looking at Matt.

“WHAT THE!” he said right before bursting into FLAMES! Matt looked, stunned at the few charred ashes where Jamal used to be. Jason and the rest of Jamal’s friends just stood there, shocked looks on their faces.

Suddenly the look vanished and was replaced by a dazed one. “Come on dudes, let's finish the game.” Matt just stood there looking at the hammer. He ran. He ran as fast as his legs could carry him until he reached a shabby run down ally. He ran down the alley until he came to a large block of cement next to one of the trash cans. He raised the hammer up it and smashed on the cement, but didn't wish for anything. He smashed it over and over again until the part that hammers cracked open. bits of silver flew all over the place and a large shining turquoise crystal. “OW!” said a voice. Matt turned around. “Crystal!? What are you doing here!”

Death

“I followed you,” she said in a small shy voice. Crystal looked at the crystal that had fallen out of the hammer. Up close, Matt could see a piece was missing from the top

right corner. Crystal took off her necklace and pressed her thumb to the crystal in middle. POP! It fell out and rolled down the gravely asphalt before coming to rest at Matt’s feet. Matt picked it up. He looked at it and then looked at the crystal from the hammer. He put the crystal in the chunk missing from the corner. It fit perfectly. He set it on the ground and stared.

“What?!” said Matt. “How?!”

“Let me explain,” said Crystal in her shy voice. “As you know,” she said in a louder, more determined voice, “ I transferred here from another school. On my first day I saw one.”

“One what?”

“One of those,” she said. “The ones that chased you! Anyway it was waiting for me outside at dismissal. It chased me across the front lawn. But it tripped over the root of a tree and this,” she gestured at the top right corner of the big crystal, “fell out of its cloak.”

“What did it look like?” said Matt.

“Well,” said Crystal. “As you already know, it was wearing a cloak but there was no visible body just blackness. Very creepy, real aura of menace.

Anyway I picked up the crystal and pocketed it. Later I put it in this.” she said pointing at her necklace. “I think they grant wishes. I’m pretty sure it will be more powerful if it is

contained in one crystal rather than two. When the demon was chasing you I wished it away before it killed you.

Matt stared at her. “i killed somebody” he said his voice cracking as he said it “he’s dead.

“No, no you didn’t. the hammer did. She patted matt on the back. we need to stop the crystal from doing more things.

“Your right” said Matt “let's go to my house and examine it.

But when they reached Matt’s house they found the last thing they expected. Demons. Demons crawling up the side of his house. Demons sweeping through the air. And on top of Matt’s house was Death. He was a tall figure flanked by two demons. the demon on the right was a tall skinny man with grey hair, so skinny you could see his skeleton showing through his dirty yellowing skin. He leered at Matt from above his house. The one on the left was huge and had lots of muscles. He was so tall you could barely see his head and the only piece of clothing he wore was a bloody white sheet. Death's face was sallow and so pale it was almost white and he wore a cloak of pure blackness and his eyes, his eyes were as red as blood.

Death reached out his hand and Matt zoomed through the air until his neck was in Death’s hand, his body dangling over the front yard. As he looked down he knew if

he fell he would die even if there was snow down below. “GIVE ME THE CRYSTAL!!” said Death in a low cold voice. “Give Me The Crystal Or I LET GO!!”

“I….. Dont….. Have..It’’ Matt choked.

Death roared and let go of Matt. Matt fell. He fell from the tallest turret of his house. Right underneath the roof of the turret he caught glimpses of his bedroom. Down, Down, Down past the 4th floor window past the 3rd past the second OOOF!. He landed on what seemed to be hard steel but he didn't die.

He was lying on thin air. The air let go and he fell lightly to the ground. Crystal was standing next to him. “Thanks” said Matt he held out his hands and gave him the crystal. He held it up and said “I WISH YOU’D JUST DIE! He expected Death to scream “NOOOOOOOOOOO!” like in one of those blockbuster superhero movies. But no, he stood there smoke swirling around him smiling and said “You'll regret this.” the smoke billowed out behind him and within seconds it had engulfed him.

suddenly a demon lunged at matt from the second story window. It had the skeleton of a human with the skull of dog or a horse, Matt couldn't tell, and it had a black cloak tangled and ripped in its bones but in mid air it turned into a tall boy with scraggly brown hair. Matt looked

up the giant demon had turned into a large kid with muscles..

The large kid walked towards Matt and said in a deep voice. “Matthew Jonathan Gray. You have killed Death and by the Ancient Texts of Life page 123,344,334,354 verse 193,654,789,265,467,684 Thou who kills death shall take his place. In other words you are Death.

“I’m What!!!’’

“Death” said the kid. We, the servants of death are now yours. We have taken the form most suitable for your service. Don't worry” said the kid, seeing the look on Matt’s face. “You'll be able to live an almost normal life . Except on the last day of every month you will take The Subway Of Darkness to the underworld and check out the files of everyone who’s died that month to determine where they belong, The Hall of Happiness, The Outlook of Okness or The Turret of Torture. From now that’s you life”

FIN

For Now.