Dead Village

by Holly Copella

  “Anyone else getting a bad feeling?” Harris muttered while attempting to keep the rain from running down his jacket, although he was already soaked.

  Devon wanted to respond but thought better of it. Her bad feeling started before they even left the bus, but she couldn’t tell them that. No one responded to Harris’ comment, but they were obviously all thinking the same thing.

  “The registration stickers on the cars are current,” Vander casually replied while eying the license plates on several cars parked near them.

  “Where do you suppose they went?” Trent asked while studying several boarded buildings.

  The others felt compelled to look at the current stickers on the cars as well. It was unsettling seeing so many cars seemingly abandoned, but if they weren’t abandoned, what happened to the residents? Devon felt chilled from more than just her soaked clothing against her skin. If the others shared her concern, they were able to hide it better than she did. She looked toward the woods and froze with fear. Tiny, dancing lights flickered deep within the woods. Their likeness to fireflies made them seem almost harmless, but Devon knew it wasn’t fireflies. The flickering lights were an ominous pale blue and their appearance concerned Devon. Monica eyed Devon, noted her strange look, and then glanced in the direction she stared. Beyond the woods, the lights from the hotel on the hillside were visible.

  “There are lights coming from that big building,” Monica informed them while pointing beyond the woods.

  The others instinctively looked and immediately appeared surprised by what they saw. For a luxury resort, from their perspective, it looked more like a castle from a horror movie beckoning them closer.

  “There are lights on,” Trent remarked, “so someone’s home.”

  “Big building nothing,” Harris gasped then suddenly grinned. “That’s a hotel.”

  Novak groaned then relaxed. “That explains it,” he remarked and snorted a soft laugh. “This is a summer town. No one lives here during off-season. We’ll find help at the hotel. There are lights on. Someone’s obviously there.”

  “That’s another mile through the woods,” Monica bluntly informed them. “The injured need medical attention now--not tomorrow.”

  “There’s no one here,” Harris remarked. “How are we supposed--?”

  Monica casually pointed to a small building with a sign that read, ‘veterinarian’. “I’m getting some medical supplies and heading back to the bus,” she informed them.

  “There’s no one in that office,” Trent replied. “Looks like it’s been abandoned for some time.”

  She glared at him, lacking patience. “I wasn’t looking for an invitation,” Monica replied and flipped her flashlight, clutching it like a baton. “I have a key.”

  There was an odd silence among them as everyone except Devon stared at Monica and her weapon of a flashlight.

  “Okay,” Vander gently replied with a sigh.

  Novak looked at Vander and appeared surprised. “Okay?” he suddenly announced. “You’re okay with her breaking into someone’s business?”

  “Those people on the bus need medical attention, and she’s their best hope at the moment,” Vander replied then looked at Monica. “You take the medical supplies back to the bus. We’ll hike to the hotel and see if we can get help.”

  Trent assessed their situation then turned to Monica. “I’ll help you with the supplies.”

  “Fine, just keep up,” she remarked and briskly crossed the street toward the vet’s office.

  Trent hurried after Monica through the pouring rain. Vander, Novak, and Harris headed toward a path that seemingly led to the hotel beyond the forest. Devon stood in the middle of the street with the rain drenching her and continued to stare at the flickering lights within the woods. Panic filled her as she searched for an explanation to what she saw. Something nagged her to continue onward, but another part of her screamed for her to return to the bus. Her conflicted emotions were eating away at her. The three men realized she didn’t follow. They stopped and looked back at her.

  “Hey, are you coming with us or heading back to the bus?” Novak called back to her.

  Devon didn’t respond. Actually, she hadn’t heard him. Novak took two quick steps back to her.

  “Hey,” he announced more firmly.

  Devon snapped out of her trance-like state and looked at Novak through the pouring rain.

  “Are you coming with us or going back to the bus?” he again asked.

  Her instincts told her to go to the hotel. Despite her wanting to return to the bus, she hurried to join Novak and the other men. She wasn’t sure if she’d made the right decision, but something compelled her to press onward. Her instincts weren’t always right, but she needed to see what the lights meant. For some strange reason, it was important.

  Chapter Nine

  It had taken nearly an hour for Monica and Trent to gather supplies from the vet’s office and hike back to the scene of the crash. Both were completely soaked and trudged with exhaustion the last few feet to the unusually quiet bus. Monica pulled open the door and entered the bus carrying the soaking wet backpack filled with supplies. Trent followed just behind her looking worn and exhausted. Monica stopped abruptly, allowing Trent to collide with her from behind. He was about to protest her sudden stop when he saw what startled her. The fourteen men and women remaining on the bus were slumped in their seats or lying on the floor. Blood soaked their clothing, surrounded their bodies, and spattered the seats and walls. Both were horrified and momentarily rendered speechless at the gruesome sight.

  “What the fuck!” Monica finally cried out.

  Trent clutched her arm firmly and pulled on her while nervously looking around. “We need to get the hell out of here!”

  Monica pulled her arm free from his hand, dropped the backpack, and approached one of the dead women, who lie face down on the aisle in a pool of blood. She slowly rolled her over. It was Leslie. Her throat had been slashed so deeply, she was nearly decapitated. Trent paced the front of the bus and appeared ready to jump out of his skin. It was possible whoever killed them wasn’t far away. Trent could barely look at the gruesome sight and obviously felt concerned by Monica’s need to have a closer look.

  “We have to get out of here,” Trent gasped while running his fingers through his wet hair more than a dozen times. For as nervous as he was, Monica was twice as collected.

  “Hold up--”

  Trent spun toward her with concern in his terrified eyes. “Whoever did this might come back,” he announced with panic in his voice then looked around. “Maybe they never even left. We don’t want to be here if they return.”

  Monica scanned the rest of the dead men and women from her crouched position near Leslie. Shane sat slouched on the bench seat not far from her in the same condition. Each man and woman had deep gashes along their throats but no other marks. None had any blood on their hands, indicating they hadn’t even clutched their throats as they bled to death. Monica was obviously disturbed while studying the scene.

  “There aren’t any signs of a struggle,” she gasped softly and became further alarmed by her findings, “or that they even tried to escape their attacker. It’s almost as if they just sat there and allowed someone to kill them one by one.”

  Trent was about ready to explode and her fairly creepy remarks weren’t easing his stressful condition. “Monica, we need to go--now!”

  Monica straightened, grabbed the backpack, and quickly followed Trent from the bus. As they stepped off the bus, Monica stopped and scanned the crash site as it lightly rained on them. Trent looked back at her and was concerned by her curiosity. He was ready to bolt, quickly losing patients.

  “Let’s go,” he cried out softly.

  Monica ignored him and continued to scan the area while clinging to her flashlight. The expression on her face was disturbing. Trent was about to yell at her, but she held her hand up to silence him before he could speak. Trent’s eyes widened with horror as he quickly
scanned the area, attempting to see what had caught her attention. He took two quick steps toward her.

  “What is it?” he whispered.

  “We’re being watched,” she softly replied without tearing her eyes away from the area behind the bus. “There’s someone or something out there.” Monica indicated the area beyond the party bus with a slight movement of her head, alarming Trent. “Over there--by the rear exit of the bus.”

  Trent stared at the back of the party bus and trembled. “Do we run?” he asked softly.

  “No,” she replied.

  “No?”

  “We’re going to walk toward the ravine and head for that town,” she informed him while keeping her eyes fixed on the back of the bus. We don’t know what’s out there. If it’s a wild animal, it’ll chase us. If we walk away, it might leave us alone.”

  “And if it’s the crazed psycho killer who killed all my friends?” he softly demanded.

  “We’ll see him coming and lock ourselves in the car stuck in the ditch,” she replied without taking her eyes off the rear of the bus. “Start walking.”

  Trent nervously started walking toward the ravine. Monica clung to her baton-style flashlight and backed up behind him, keeping watch behind the bus and the surrounding area. Trent attempted to climb down the partially muddy ravine. He suddenly tumbled to the bottom with a startled scream. Monica rolled her eyes. There was loud movement within the woods.

  She groaned softly. “Oh, fuck--”

  Monica quickly turned, jumped down into the ravine, and landed gracefully near Trent. As she pulled him to his feet, something moved within the woods. Trent took off across the ravine and scrambled up the other side. Monica watched him run like a frightened rabbit, cursed under her breath, and ran after him.

  †

  Vander, Novak, Harris, and Devon walked along the darkened path within the woods in the direction of the hotel. Judging by the worn path, it was traveled frequently by those living in town who worked at the hotel. The rain had tapered to a lingering shower, but the cool, night air chilled the weary, wet travelers. The lights from the hotel were obscured by the woods, but they were certain the path led to the hotel. Devon lagged behind while staring at the dancing lights, which were now just up ahead. As they approached, it became obvious that the dancing lights were ghostly spirits. The others were unaware of what Devon was witnessing. She lived alone in her own private hell. She slowed and watched the spirits as they aimlessly floated around the woods. Several spirits looked at her with the same look of confusion. Devon stopped and stared at the spirits. Seeing them collected was odd in itself, but their confused state and location seemingly in the middle of nowhere troubled her. Vander returned to her and stared at the blank look on her face with concern.

  “Are you okay?” Vander asked.

  Devon couldn’t tear her eyes away from the spirits just ahead. She uncertainly shook her head and attempted to warm her soaked body by rubbing her shoulders through the leather jacket. “Something’s wrong,” she said softly.

  “You probably have a concussion,” Vander gently informed her. “You should have waited in the bus. It’s not a good idea for you to be out here in your condition.”

  Vander was well-meaning, most people usually were, but they didn’t understand. Most didn’t even want to know the things she knew. Normal people couldn’t handle the reality of it.

  “I’m fine,” she gently informed him rather than explain.

  He stared at her a moment then groaned softly. “Why are women always so stubborn?” he asked while shaking his head. “Come on; let’s get you to the hotel.”

  Vander attempted to guide her along the path where Harris and Novak now stood waiting for them. Devon reluctantly walked with Vander but looked back at the spirits. Every restless spirit seemed to stop and now stared at her with the same blank, confused expression. Their direct contact with her was alarming. It was something she rarely experienced. With so many of them now staring at her, she felt unusually insecure. Something was terribly wrong. She quickly took Vander’s hand for added security. He glanced at her with some surprise, offered a reassuring smile, and led her along the path. She wished she could explain it to him, to make him understand, but even those closest to her rarely believed what she told them she saw. If she was lucky, they just laughed at her. Most times, she was looked at like some crazy person, so she learned not to talk about it. It was for the best. She again looked back. The spirits watched her in silence.

  Devon felt her entire body shudder in response. Vander must have felt it and squeezed her hand in response. She felt compelled to look at him as he smiled back at her. For a brief moment, she felt a terrible feeling a dread sweep over her. The last time she’d felt something that chilling was moments before a man accidentally stepped out in front of a city bus. Did she just have some sort of half-assed premonition? Was Vander destined to die? She clung to his arm with her free hand, shut her eyes, and wished the terrible feelings away. When she opened her eyes, she realized Vander stared at her as they walked. He offered an oddly tender smile that chased her fears away.

  †

  Monica and Trent hurried along the dark, backroad toward town in the drizzling rain. Trent looked around nervously, watching what was behind him more than what was in front. Whatever had been lurking around the crash site didn’t seem to be following them, or at least they hadn’t heard or seen anything. Something moved within the woods to the right and caught Trent’s attention. He suddenly stopped and stared at the woods to get a better sense of what was out there. Monica grabbed Trent by the arm, startling him, and roughly pulled him into the woods to the left. The forest was the quicker way to town, and the trees would also provide some shelter in the event of an attack. As she moved faster, so did Trent. She hurried through the woods with Trent on her heels. Whatever it was he’d heard, she’d heard it too, and it was now following them. Both instinctively looked back. Within the darkness, something fairly large darted through the shadows.

  “It’s back there!” Trent cried out while attempting to keep up with the agile woman.

  “Come on!” She didn’t stop or bother looking back at him, but instead remained focused on where she was going.

  “It’s gaining on us,” he yelled to her while paying more attention to the woods than where he was running.

  “Run, you idiot!”

  Monica now ran through the woods with Trent attempting to keep up with her. She skillfully maneuvered around trees, over roots, and past rocks that were barely visible in the dark woods. Trent looked back several times, causing him to trip over roots and rocks. The creature appeared to be closing in on him, and Trent’s fear showed. He stumbled over an exposed tree root and fell to the ground with a yell. Monica slid to a stop, spun around, and looked back at him where he lie on the ground. Trent slipped within some mud by the tree while attempting to scramble to his feet. Monica ran back to help him. The creature was some sort of animal, which was now partially visible within the shadows of the trees as it rapidly closed in on them. Monica tossed the backpack to the ground, raised her flashlight in a deadly fashion, and prepared to fight off the predator. As the creature leaped from the woods, Trent screamed. Monica cried out and swung the flashlight.

  Chapter Ten

  The four explorers from Vander’s group reached the open, resort grounds several acres before the massive hotel a little after midnight. Devon paused a moment, awestruck by the impressiveness of the hotel but was immediately pulled along by Vander’s hand securely clutching hers. She was already having bad feelings about the hotel, but she didn’t know how to tell the three men about it without sounding like a crazy woman. She could almost hear them laughing at her now as others in the past had laughed. She hoped her instincts were wrong this time, as they sometimes were, but the spirits within the woods told a different story. There was something serious and frightening happening, and she knew the small, abandoned village had something to do with it. The chill running down her spine
as they approached the massive resort told her the disturbing occurrence had spilled over to the hotel as well. They approached the covered driveway just before the large, double doors. Novak attempted to open the doors, but they were locked. He knocked using the large knockers. There didn’t seem to be any other means of contacting someone within the hotel, and the question as to if anyone would even hear them knocking was clearly on each of their minds. As Devon stared at the intimidating doors towering above her, she knew something sinister awaited them just inside.

  As Novak assessed the massive, locked doors, he muttered to his companions, “I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’m missing Monica.”

  “I don’t think her flashlight would get us in through this door. There has to be other doors,” Vander said with a defeated sigh. He looked around the exterior of the massive hotel. “We certainly can’t stay out here all night.”

  “Can’t we just break down the door?” Harris demanded with a tone of impatience.

  Vander and Novak slowly turned their heads and glared at Harris with shared disbelief to his ill-conceived comment.

  Novak extended his hand toward the massive, thick doors and grinned. “Be my guest.”

  Devon snorted a soft laugh. “You’d need a tank to get through those doors,” she remarked while rubbing her soaked, cold shoulders through Monica’s drenched leather jacket.

  “We’ll walk the perimeter and find a more vulnerable entrance,” Vander informed them. “If we have to, we’ll break down a smaller door.”

  The main door clicked as it was unlocked. All four looked toward the thick doors as one of them opened, allowing light to spill out onto them and the covered driveway. Ravin stood in the doorway in his expensive suit and stared at them with a strange look of bewilderment. He had a noticeable bruise on his jaw and three fresh scratches along his neck. Novak and Vander eyed him suspiciously after seeing the scratches. Devon was more curious than suspicious.