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Where The Lamplight Ends

 
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Kalanna Rai
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Joined: 21 Jan 2006
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PostPosted: Mon Feb 11, 2013 12:09 am    Post subject: Where The Lamplight Ends Reply with quote

I rarely foray into true horror pieces, but this time I'll attempt it. Enjoy!
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Chapter One: Voices In The Fog

The blood on the side of his face was tacky, having dried long ago, running from a gash higher in his hairline. Like a fall of red warpaint over his cheek and down his neck. In one hand he held a machete that was caked in blood from tip to hilt, the blade notched where it had struck bone. In the other he held a lantern, upraised so that the light might be shed around him and before him. His steps were as deliberate as the pounding of the surf on the rocks below.

The sea mist had rolled in hours ago and he could see figures in it now. Dressed in the garb of a bygone age, they skipped and danced around him. Singing a childish tune in high voices as they continued their motions heedless of any action he took, vanishing only when he gestured the lantern at him. With the noise of the sea did their voices rise and fall and with the motions of the fog did their bodies solidify and dissipate.

"Bag of bones, bag of bones,
Bloody bag of bones.
Your heart can beat,
Your feet can run,
But wherever you go,
You'll know he'll come,
With his bloody bag of bones."

"Shut up!" He roared at them, brandishing machete and lantern. The machete clove through the mist as though it were parting flesh, screams erupting as the fog whirled. The laughter rose to a hellish pitch and went silent again as his lantern light illuminated the crumpled form of the woman on the ground before him. She was making a gurgling noise now, her windpipe cut by his blow. Her white gown stained red as her blood poured over the fingers that clenched at the severed ends of her flesh.

Horrified, he stepped over her. Away from her grasps and her clutches. He began to run now, stumbling over the tumbled sod and upthrust rocks here at the cliff edge. The children were back now, dancing and singing as before, louder than ever. The stench of blood on the wind grew thicker, fouler, tainted with a hint of decay. In his lantern the candle began to flicker and he fumbled in his pocket for a new taper before the old one guttered away.

There was a moment where the light dimmed and something loomed around him, some terrible presence hidden in mist and darkness. He jammed the new candle into the socket, putting out the old one, and raised the brightly lit lantern high. "No! Stay away from me!" And it did, passing by him back along the trail he'd just traveled.

As he began moving again he could hear the sound of flesh tearing behind him. It had found the dying woman he had left on the cliffs. The sucking sounds, the snapping sounds, carried oddly in the fog that should have been muffling them. Even the children had grown quiet, allowing him to hear the gruesome harvest.

Up ahead in the fog, the lights of town were a warm and beautiful glow and he sprinted for them. Tripping at the last instant, his lantern flying free of his hand, he scrambled into the light not an instant too soon. He sat there for a moment, chest heaving, staring back at the wall of fog that could not travel into the light of so many candles. The children had faded, their voices going faint, but he could clearly see the dark shape standing just feet away.

The fog rolled as something passed through it, clattering to the ground a few inches from his toes. A femur. Still red with blood from it's recent removal from the woman's body. This elicited a cry of horror from him and he scrambled to his feet, collecting his now unlit lantern and bolting down the street. Tonight he was safe.
Behind him, the voices of the children faintly chanted.

"Bag of bones, bag of bones
Bloody bag of bones...."
-------------------------------------------

Max Grey looked over at his two children all three of them perched uncomfortably on the hard and slick plastic chairs that were bolted to the floor of the ferry. "Oh cheer up guys, I thought we could all use a vacation."

"No Dad, you thought you needed a vacation. We were enjoying ours." The hard blue eyes of his eldest stared back at him for a moment before Lily turned away from him again.

"Aww, don't be like that. You used to love it when you were little. What about you Darcie, you're looking forward to it aren't you?"

His younger daughter heaved a sigh. "You said I could go to trail camp this year Dad..."

He dropped the subject, looking back out his own window as the island drew ever closer. This summer they were going to stay in Settant, a little town that was a polished gem out of time. Quaint buildings, streets still lit by gaslamp, it was a popular destination for day trippers. He'd been lucky enough to get a summer rental, a whole week on the island.

He'd thought the girls would enjoy just a little getaway. They could return to their busy lives at the end of the week. Maybe it was just for him. A place without internet and with notoriously poor cell service. Escape from his job and time to just focus on them. But apparently they were both too old to want Dad's attention anymore. They wanted to go sailing with richer friends or to trail camp...

The loud shrilling of the ferry's horn alerted the passengers on board that they were almost there. Giving his children a bright smile he picked up his bag. This week was going to be great. "So girls...what do you want to do first?"
----------------------------------

Poor Max just wants to spend some time with his daughters. Will the humor dear old Dad and try to have fun...or are they going to insist on being gloomy the whole trip? Only you know.
------------------------------------

Welcome to the unlit corner of my mind folks. Here are your flashlights and mind where you step.
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Seraphi
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PostPosted: Mon Feb 11, 2013 4:00 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

*makes bunny ears in flashlight*

Bwah! This was great Kalanna! Amazing description of the fog and the ghostly figures there in, the shadowy beast and the woman being eaten (it was very...squelchy XD). Very good rhyme as well. All in all, it gave me chills and I loved it!

Hm...I think Max's daughters will be reluctant to enjoy themselves at first. Teenagers, you know. But I think the town will grow on them, maybe the oldest will meet a cute boy (kind of cliche, I know) and there might be some hiking/riding trails for the youngest (that could turn into a very creepy adventure indeed).

Can't wait for more! Very Happy
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sagittaeri
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PostPosted: Mon Feb 11, 2013 4:47 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Great work, Rai!!

They're teenagers. I assume the girls aren't going to give any serious responses and check on their mobile phones every two seconds. Wink
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