Transylmania
By Wakefield Mahon
Copyright 2012 Wakefield G Mahon III
“It’ll be fun, Leah. People backpack across Eastern Europe all of the time. Don’t be such an old stick in the mud.”
Leah rolled her green eyes. “Old? Dana, I’m nineteen. You’re the one who buys the alcohol, remember?” She glanced at her in the mirror then returned to brushing her shoulder-length blonde hair.
“That is exactly my point. If an ancient crone like me calls you old, that’s saying something. Come on, I’m a senior this fall, is it wrong for me to want to do one fun thing before I have to grow up and face the scary mean world?”
“Fine whatever grandma. But this better not be like the Colorado fiasco.” Leah turned from the mirror to look at Dana. “Do you at least have a hostel booked?”
“You are never going to let me live that down are you? Tommy said he would drive us. How was I supposed to know he only meant one way? Anyway, you wouldn’t believe how cheap this one is.”
Leah sighed. “You do realize you get what you pay for right?”
“Hey, we are supposed to be roughing it. Lighten up roomie!” Dana flashed her elfish grin, her brown eyes glowing with glee, and Leah relented. There was no fighting with the girl when she had her mind made up.
***
A heavy mist blanketed the graveyard. A wolf howling in the distance yelped before falling silent. Leah watched her steps as she made her way through the overgrown brush surrounding the graves. Her thin white nightgown did little to protect her from hungry thorns eager for flesh and feasting on her calves and thighs. She sensed the presence as a chill crawling up her spine.
“Who’s there?” Leah’s voice trembled.
“Know you not, child? On the morrow, it is All Hallows Eve and a blue moon at that. Wilt thou truly venture in the devil’s land?”
Leah turned around and saw a beautiful young woman. Her hair was like strands of gold and even by night, Leah could tell her eyes were green. Fear crept over her as recognition set in. The woman’s face was nearly the same as her own.
“Fear me not, child. I am your grandmother seven times over. I am not here to harm you, only to warn you. Do not go on this trip or you will likely be joining me soon.”
***
Whether or not it was a dream, the memory of the woman who claimed to be her ancestor rattled Leah. Her hands shook when she tried to do her make-up in the mirror, she half expected her reflection to look back at her disapprovingly. It was too late now. Dana had already purchased the tickets and the flight left in a few hours.
“You are as beautiful as you are going to get. You are already better looking than me anyway. Would you mind letting us lesser mortals get ready too?” Dana’s playful mood was lost on Leah. Leah apologized and moved out of the bathroom so Dana could get in.
Leah packed as much as possible in her carryon backpack while Dana showered. She checked around the room to make sure that she had not forgotten anything that she might regret later on. She saw the old oversized silver cross her mother gave her as a high school graduation present and decided to wear it for luck.
Once she was ready, Leah actually relaxed, that is until the plane began to taxi. She never enjoyed flying to begin with and her nerves rebelled against her.
Dana took her hand. “It’s alright, girlie. We are going to have a blast! As soon as we get airborne, we will get a couple drinks in you and you’ll be good to go.”
As it turned out, Dana was right. After a few drinks, Leah relaxed again. The flight from Boston to Heathrow was the longest plane ride either had ever been on, but they made the most of it. The airline showed a Bella Lugosi marathon and the girls laughed at the cheesy special effects even though they still found themselves a little scared.
The flight from London to the continent was easier. They boarded a bus at the airport.
“You never did tell me exactly where we are starting,” Leah said.
“Oh you’ll see. It’s a surprise and the best part of the trip.” Dana winked and flashed her famous grin.
Leah got off the bus and looked around. “You’re kidding me right?”
“What, you don’t like it?” Dana pouted.
Stepping off the bus was like stepping into the past. But that wasn’t what was bothering her. “Transylvania is a real place?”
“Duh, it’s like half of Romania, didn’t you take geography in high school?”
“It’s just so…”
“Quaint, rural, picturesque,” Dana offered.
“I was going to say creepy.”
“Well yeah, that’s why we are going to the haunted castle tonight for Halloween, if the tour isn’t over-booked already that is. Maybe we will meet Dracula”
“Now you are just being silly.”
“Of course I am. Relax we are going to have a great time. Stroll through the castle. Check out the graveyard. Who knows what adventure we will find?”
“Hooray for adventure.” Leah swirled her finger in the air.
Dana swung her arm around Leah and laughed, “Obviously we still haven’t got enough alcohol in you.”
They checked into the hostel and an elderly woman in a tattered old dress greeted them. A strangely colored bandana covered her head.
“Where is our room, ma’am?” Leah asked.
“Baba Yaga.”
“Excuse me?”
“You can call me Baba Yaga,” the woman said.
“Oh of course,” Dana said. “You know, Leah, from the old fables? It’s all part of the ambiance.”
“Oh, um okay, so do these fables have any food in them, preferably not little children in gingerbread houses?”
The woman chuckled and hobbled over to a giant black cauldron. “Stone soup, don’t worry, the stone is only decoration, it’s perfectly sanitary.” She started to sing and hum “Stir, stir the witches brew…”
“Yes, yes of course, double, double toil and trouble…” Leah said.
“STOP!” the old woman hissed.
“What is wrong with you lady? First you people want me to get into the spirit then you yell at me?”
The old crone leaned in conspiratorially, “It only takes three of us for a big spell and you never know when a body is lurking about.”
“Dana, this lady is crazy. Let’s go somewhere else.”
“Suit yourself. The restaurant is half a mile east of here,” the woman said.
Leah and Dana dropped their bags in their room and headed down the street.
“I can’t believe I let you talk me into this, Dana.”
“I’m sorry. Look, I know the woman was a little weird but I promise we’ll have fun tonight. Besides, look at this place, it is like stepping into the past.”
As they walked around the corner and saw the golden arches in front of the ultra-modern building, they both laughed.
“Now that is my favorite kind of architecture, Dana”
“A burger, fries and a beer, you can’t top that.”
With some food in her stomach, Leah felt better. As they walked out of the restaurant, they ran into an elderly man who identified himself as Sasha.
“You girls must be here for the Haunted Castle. That should be delightful. Are you staying at the Grand Hotel?”
“No, we are staying in the hamlet at the hostel.”
“Oh you are the adventurous types, I see. I will tell you what, then, have a brochure map. This should help you find your way around our little village. You might even find some treasure that the regular tourists miss.”
The girls thanked him and he headed off.
“My grandfather wears that cologne,” Dana whispered.
“So does mine!” Leah giggled.
They returned to the hostel
to prepare for the evening.
A line snaking around the corner greeted them at the castle.
“This is more crowded than I thought it would be,” Dana said. “Don’t worry though, it will be fun.”
Leah held up the area map. “Why don’t we try this one?”
“That’s just a ruin. It’s not even listed on the regular map.”
“You said you wanted adventure. This line is not adventure. We are going to be here all night just waiting.”
Dana smiled. “That’s the spirit Leah, let’s go!”
It was nearly time for sunset. The air cooled rapidly and a heavy fog rolled in. They followed the street lanterns to the place on the map that indicated the path to the ruins. A wolf howled in the distance.
Dana took Leah’s hand when she hesitated. “Come on. This was your idea remember?”
“Give me a second, Dana. I just have a bad feeling.”
“Oh no you don’t, you are not chickening out now. We already lost our place in line at the haunted castle.”
“I know I’m sorry, just hang on.”
They had come to the end of the cobblestone street. Torches lit the path from the cobblestone street down to the ruins. Silence hung in the air as heavily as the fog.
“Come on let’s go,” Dana said and started down the path alone.
“Wait for me, I’m coming.”
The full moon shone brightly above illuminating the mist. Ivy vines swallowed up much of the walls of the ruined castle. A musky smell pervaded the chilly night air.
Leah was the first to hear the growl.
“Dana, listen!”
“What is it?”
“Probably the wolf we heard howling. I can’t tell which direction it is coming from.”
“Behind you!”
“Are you sure?” Leah turned around just before the massive wolf pounced on her.
Dana screamed and grabbed a stick to hit the wolf.
The wolf snapped at Leah’s neck but missed, having difficulty managing both of the women at the same time. Leah scrambled to get from under the beast but no matter which way she moved, the wolf shifted with her. She screamed and beat on the monster with her fist.
The wolf snapped again. This time the teeth grazed her clavicle but the wolf got a bite of the large silver cross that she was wearing. His head jerked back and Leah smelled the disgusting smell of burning flesh mixed together with her grandfather’s favorite cologne. She took advantage of the moment, rolled away from the wolf, and got on her feet.
The beast was blocking the path back to town, so she grabbed Dana’s hand and ran down the other path deeper into the wilderness. Thorns and bramble covered the path, but they did not dare slow down. The thorns ripped at her skirt and her bare legs. Leah was grateful that they had at least worn sensible shoes.
The howl of the wolf let them know he was closing in. He could not be that far behind them. Then they heard the yelp. A thrill of hope coursed through Leah’s veins. When they saw the graveyard ahead of them, her heart sank. Hope devolved to fear. She had seen this place before. This story was not going to end well.
“Hey Leah?”
“What’s up, Dana?” Leah’s eyes darted around the graveyard. Death was nearby. She just didn't know what shape it would take.
“Was it just me or did that wolf smell like it was wearing cologne?”
“You just had to go to the devil’s land on a blue moon Halloween didn’t you, Dana?”
“What are you talking about? Vampires and werewolves are all fables. I thought it would be fun.”
“Are you having fun now?”
Dana was silent for a moment. “Oh no, maybe that wolf attacked poor Mr. Sasha.”
Leah’s eyes danced in the mad moonlight, “Or maybe that wolf WAS Mr. Sasha.”
“Stop, Leah. You are freaking me out.”
“Transyl-freaking-vania, on a full moon Halloween,” Leah chuckled.
“It’s just superstitions. Your mom has a black cat and you never met your father, that doesn’t make her a witch does it?”
A grin grew across Leah’s face. A maniacal laughter shook her entire frame.
“Note to self, check Leah into the hospital as soon as we get back to the States,” Dana said.
“We’re not going back to the states. She warned me, but I just didn’t listen.”
“Listen,” Dana said.
“Yeah it’s too late for that.”
“No I mean listen to that sound. What is it?”
Leah inclined her head slightly, “It sounds like cat scratching at the door.”
“If that is a cat scratching, that loud, I don’t think I want to see it.”
“Aw come on maybe it’s Mr. Sasha’s playmate. Hey maybe it’s Mrs. Sasha.”
“Look Leah, I can understand why you would have a nervous breakdown because I am kind of freaking out too, but do you think you could maybe wait to go crazy until we get out of here?”
“Hush, there’s movement in the ground. I can feel it.”
“What like an earthquake? I don’t feel anything. You are imagining things. Come on, let’s go.”
“No I mean I sense the hallowed earth being disturbed by evil. I told you that we weren’t leaving here, Dana.”
Then they heard the earth breaking. A few hundred feet in front of them, gnarled, rotted fingers, with meat hanging off the bone broke reached out of the ground. An arm soon followed and brought a whole rotting body along with it.
“This ground is tainted. It was not properly hallowed for burial.” Leah told Dana.
To their left and right and behind them creatures broke out of their graves.
“What does that mean?”
“It means that the presence of a great evil can call zombies from the grave.”
“What great evil?”
“I don’t know. We might find out, if the zombies don’t eat us first that is.”
“Brains!” the first zombie called out.
“Maybe we can run between them, they don’t look like they move that fast.” Dana started running in between two of the zombies but Leah grabbed her shoulder.
“What is wrong with you?” Dana screamed.
Just then, another hand reached out of the ground, just where Dana was heading.
“How did you know?”
“I told you I can feel them, they are surrounding us.”
“So what are we supposed to do?”
“I don’t know. If we had some strong guys with hatchets and swords we could cut their heads off, I guess.”
“Well, it’s just you and I here and I left my battleaxe in my other purse. Do you have any OTHER ideas?”
“Hang on, don’t rush me.”
“I am so sorry, I realize that you are busy but I don’t want one of those things eating my…”
“Brains!” another zombie called out.
“Leah!”
“Stop already! God I just wish I had a torch or something.” Just at that moment, a ball of flame appeared in Leah’s hand. All of the zombies stopped. Leah panicked and threw the fire away which hit one of the zombies instantly burning the corpse to a pile of ash.
For a few moments, there was silence. Leah and Dana stared at the pile of ash where the zombie had been, the night echoing with the panting sounds of their frightened breath while the remaining zombies stood still.
“Brains!” another zombie cried and they all moved forward again.
“Leah, do that torchy thing again, hurry!”
“I don’t even know how I did it.”
“Well figure it out!”
“All I said was I wish I had a torch.” Instantly another flame appeared in her hand. This time she aimed with purpose and another zombie burst into flames.
“Hurry, hurry!”
“I’m trying, it’s not exactly like I know what I’m doing here. I wish I had a torch.” A flame appeared and she chucked it towards a zombie but missed. The remaining zombies were closing in slowly but surely.<
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“I don’t know if this whole one torch at a time thing is working. Can’t you call up more than one?”
“If you think this is so easy then why don’t you try it?”
“Look all I’m saying is they are almost on top of us and at this rate we will run out of time before we run out of zombies.”
“Thank you so much for the play-by-play Howard Cosell.”
“Who?”
“Never mind just shut up a minute so that I can think. Wait a minute that’s it! My father’s other favorite voice.”
“What about your father’s favorite voice?”
“Mr. Johnny Cash, Dana. I wish I had a burning ring of fire!” Leah called out.
There was absolute silence in the cemetery. The mindless creatures surrounding them paused but nothing happened.
“Why isn’t anything happening?”
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