Let’s write a ghost story together...
Part Five - There are 6 days left until Halloween...What will happen next you ask? read & vote to find out!
From the top…
It was a day like any other day for Alice. She woke up, ate a piece of buttered toast, brushed her teeth, shoved her school books into her backpack, and headed for the front door in less than 20 minutes.
“Be careful on your way to school today, honey,” her mother yelled from the kitchen.
“It’s very foggy out this morning, so don’t take that shortcut you and Jesse always take.”
“O.K., mom,” Alice shouts back and rolls her eyes, wishing her mom would worry less. Now that she is thirteen, she knows how the world works.
A thick fog enters the house as Alice opens the door, surprising her. She freezes as it envelopes her and slithers into the house and along the floor until it fades away up the stairs.
Creepy, she thinks.
Taking a deep breath, she turns on her cellphones flashlight and makes her way through the thick mist. The streets are eerily quiet, and she wonders if perhaps school is canceled today and her mom forgot to tell her.
“Jesse?” She calls as she makes her way slowly down the block, heading to the corner where they always meet in the morning. As she gets closer to their meeting spot, she sees a bright light coming toward her.
“Hey, Ally…is that you?
It is Jesse. He is waving his cell phone light in the air so she can locate him. He sounds freaked out. It is good to know that he is just as weirded out as she is.
“This is crazy; I can hardly see my hands in front of me, “Alice says and laughs nervously, reaching out until they meet, hand in hand. She pulls away and apologizes as a hot blush fills her cheeks. Good thing he can’t see my face, she thinks.
Then suddenly, out of nowhere, there is a FEROCIOUS GROWL!!!
“What was that?” Jesse squeaks.
They grab each other’s hands again; this is no time to be shy, not when something is about to eat us, Alice thinks.
“Let’s stand back to back and flash our lights in front of us; that way, nothing can sneak up on us,” Alice says.
“Good plan,” Jesse says, and fumbles and drops his phone. Alice shines her light on the ground, and they spot it, “There it is, “ she says; Jesse goes to grab it, and a large black paw with razor-sharp claws lands on top of the phone, crushing it under its weight, and then it lets out another blood-curdling growl.
“Run!!!” Alice screams, grabbing Jesse by the arm of his jacket. They can hear the heavy panting and low growl behind them; then the beast grabs Jesse dragging him backward, screaming, and disappearing into the fog.
“Jesse!! Alice screams. But there is nothing. No noise. Just dead silence. She turns in a circle, looking for anyone or anything, but the fog is thicker, and her phone is dying. Finally, shaking like a leaf and on the verge of panic, Alice runs blindly toward her house. If I get my mom and maybe a knife, I can hunt down whatever took Jesse.
A moment later, she hears Jesse screaming her name to her right.
“Alice…HELP!”
She quickly turns towards the sound, walking toward Jesse’s voice, and even though she cannot see a thing, she knows she is stepping into the woods across from her house. The path they often take to school as a shortcut. The one, her mom warned her against taking.
“Jesse?? Keep talking. I’m coming to get you. I will follow your voice.”
“O.K.,” Jesse yells back. “Be careful that thing is in here with me. I don’t know where it went! hurry!”
Alice makes her way through the woods, one hand holding the light, the other straight in front of her as she maneuvers through the thick trees. The leaves and twigs below her feet crackle and snap, a sound she usually loves in the fall, but now she feels is making her a target for the beast in the fog.
Alice finally reaches Jesse, and they hug each other tightly.
“I thought I would never see you again,” Alice cries. “How did you get away? What happened?”
“It dragged me into the woods, I tried to scream, but I couldn’t…I was so scared. Jesse replies. “I thought I was a goner, but then something must have scared it because it dropped me on the ground and started whining and backing away.”
“What could have possibly scared it?” Alice asks, terrified of the idea that something more frightening than the enormous beast that stole her friend could exist.
“I don’t know, but we shouldn’t wait around to find out,” Jesse says
Suddenly they hear the rapid crunching of leaves, and a sharp voice pierces through the silent woods. “ What do you two think you are doing out here?”
The fog makes a small clearing,
bringing them face to face with …THE TOWN WITCH…Hettie Nox.
Only five feet tall and as round as a jack-o-lantern, Hettie is dressed in her usual custom attire: black on black…on black. Her hair is twirled up on her head in a big gray bun, and her bright green eyes shining brightly, mislead you into thinking she is kind and caring. But don’t be fooled…
Alice and Jesse begin to back away from the old witch…
She looks them up and down and snarls.
“I am trying to save our town against the dark forces that have crept in during the night,” Hettie says as if this news is obvious.
“There is a curse on this town that goes back centuries. Once every thirteen years, on the night of the first harvest moon in October, an evil spirit unleashes his hell hounds on our town to chase the children into the middle of these woods. Then at midnight, the evil spirit appears amongst them and chooses three children whose souls he consumes, and the rest are left to the hounds like scraps of meat.”
Alice and Jesse look at each other, eyes wide with the realization that something evil has genuinely arrived in Shallow Lake, and Hettie Nox may be their only hope.
“How do we stop this evil spirit?” Jesse asks, stuttering his words as his teeth chatter from the adrenaline pulsing through him. “One of the hounds carried me here, but something scared it off.”
Hettie Nox smiles, revealing a yellow-toothed grin, “There is one thing that Hell hounds fear more than their master, and that is a powerful ancient witch like myself. Who do you think summoned this fog to confuse the hounds, and who do you think did this…she swirls her hand in a rapid motion. The fog clears, revealing a hellhound impaled on a significant wooden stake, its tongue hanging sideways out of its mouth, its eyes wide, yellow, and dead.
“That’s the one that grabbed you, Jesse…look,” Alice tiptoes over, afraid the hound might wake from its eternal slumber, and pulls something off one of its sharp fangs…” it’s part of your coat!” she exclaims.
Jesse looks at his sleeves, sees where his coat was ripped, and discovers he is bleeding from a deep gash in his arm, and at the sight of this…Jesse immediately faints and plops onto the ground.
“Jesse?” Alice kneels next to him and takes his hand in hers.
Hettie approaches and swirls her hands above Jesse’s body as if conducting an orchestra while whispering a spell; then, the leaves start to move in unison, covering Jesse entirely in a blanket of gold and red.
“He will be safe here,” Hettie explains to Alice, who is now in a state of absolute panic.
Another scream and more growling can suddenly be heard deeper into the woods. They can hear the sound of children crying. That is why it was so quiet this morning; Alice whispers to herself… all of the kids have been brought here to die.
Alice begins to pace back and forth. “ What about my mom? Should I go get her? is she safe?”
“Alice, I am going to tell you something about your mother, and it isn’t going to be easy.” Hettie takes a step closer to Alice, who backs away suspiciously.
“What do you mean? What is wrong? did something happen to her?' Alice is now on the verge of sobbing.
“I have to tell you for your protection. Your mother is A POWERFUL WITCH IN MY COVEN.”
“Ummm..that is impossible,” Alice replies with poorly hidden revulsion. “My mom is a dental hygienist, and she wears floral patterns,” She motions to Hettie to make her point. “You make candles and teas, read tarot cards, and dress in black all the time.”
Hettie begins to laugh, or rather, she starts to cackle…just like the witch SHE is, and Alice’s mom is not.
“Your mother would be furious with me for telling you this, but she, and therefore you as well, come from a long line of witches who were a bit boring, if I am honest,” Hettie smiles mischievously.
“What?” Alice replies, mouth agape.
“We weren’t boring, Hettie; we were wise.” Alice’s mom suddenly appears through the trees and clears the fog with a swish of her hand.
“Mom?” Alice runs into her arms. “I am so happy you are O.K. Jesse was attacked and….”
Her mom puts her hand on Alice’s shoulder and says,” I know, dear. I have been watching. You and Jesse are going to be just fine.”
“What is going on, mom? I am so confused right now. Is this some kind of nightmare?” Hettie pinches her, and Alice yelps, “Ouch!!”
“Hettie laughs, “Nope, you’re awake.”
Alice’s mom gives Hettie a stern look.
“Sorry, Maggie, I’m just having a little fun.” Hettie shrugs her shoulders.
“Fun, as you call it, is what got us in this situation in the first place Hettie.” Alice’s mom takes a step toward her. “Your ancestors got us in this mess in the first place, and now my thirteen-year-old daughter is at risk.”
Hettie hangs her head down. “I am not responsible for what happened in the past, Maggie,” she says and looks up at Alice.
“Many years ago, a witch, one of my ancestors by the name of Lillith, made a deal with the devil. She had three small children who were very ill, and there wasn’t a thing anyone could do to help them. They were going to die. Lillith had heard of a well hidden in the woods, where men would go to make deals with the devil. They would climb into the darkness and meet him in his dwelling of fire and despair. One by one, these families started to grow beautiful crops on impossible land and in impossible weather. This area was filled with wealthy landowners who did little work for great wealth. Lillith decided one day to go into the woods, these woods, and find the well herself. She climbed into the pit of hell and made a deal. If the devil saved her children's lives, she would bring him three other children in exchange and throw them in the well. It was a horrific plan, but she was so desperate. The devil, manipulative as he is, told her that he would only save one of her children, for that is all her offer was worth. But, knowing her powers, he told her that if she would like to save all of her children, then she must put a curse on the town, and every thirteen years, for the rest of time, he would be freed from his pit and unleashed upon the town for one night, and he would consume the souls of three children. Lillith agreed. She gathered her coven. She promised them that if they helped her, their children would be safe, so they agreed; they used all of their power and cursed Shallow Lake for all eternity. The devil rose, and he brought his hellhounds with him. He kept his word and saved her children, but he took the souls of her covens children and set his beasts on the rest.”
Suddenly, the wind howls, and the sky becomes pitch black. The three of them grab onto the trees to steady themselves.
“He is coming!” Alice’s mom screams above the roaring wind. We must get to the center of the woods and help the children!"
“What about the well?” Alice shouts as a roaring thunder shakes the ground below them, causing Alice to get closer to her mom and into her arms. “Can’t we stop him from rising?”
“No one has ever found it. Hettie yells, “After Lillith made her deal, it disappeared. People have lost their minds looking for it.”
A pile of leaves explodes from the ground, and Jesse climbs to his feet. He stands, pale and terrified, looking around at the chaos around him. Then he looks at Alice and says…
“I know where the well is. I have seen it before. I will take you there.”
This revelation should be good news, but Alice’s mom notices something…
you have three days to cast your vote!!!
xo
Michelle Lee Stuart (your co-author)