The Pit in the Woods: A Mercy Falls Mythos

by Nathaniel Reed

  Johnny shouted, “NO!!” but he made no sound. He only saw his lips mouth the word. He stood at the opening, looking down, into the maw of the earth, into the blackness. Just as he was about to turn away, he saw a spot of light in the distance down below. At first it was just a tiny speck. It gradually got closer, growing larger, until he could make out a person.

  Soon he was face to face with the boy, Ramsey Tysor, the one he’d tormented. He was floating above the pit. His skin was milky white, tiny green capillaries visible through the skin on his face. His eyes had no pupils, only whites, but he was still looking directly at Johnny. The tiny points of fangs protruded from underneath his upper lip.

  “Look what you’ve done to me,” the boy said, “Look!”

  Johnny shook his head.

  “You killed me!” Ramsey Tysor said, “Now I’m going to return the favor!” He glided toward Johnny as if he were on a skateboard, his arms outstretched. His jaw opened wider, wider than humanly possible, his fangs grew four inches long, stark white nails protruding from his gum line. His face was near Johnny’s neck about to bite in. “I’m hungry,” the boy growled.

  Johnny screamed, this time sitting up in his bed, waking himself. He shook off the nightmare like he did his blanket, his body stippled with sweat. He got up, walked over to the mini-fridge and gulped down half a bottle of water, splashing some on his face for good measure. Using the open fridge as lighting, he flicked on the switch over the tiny kitchenette counter before closing the door. Shirtless and in his sleep pants he walked over to the bathroom and peed.

  Already the nightmare was fading, and he was unsure why he had gotten up. He looked at his groggy face in the mirror, and wondered if they were really going to go through with it. He’d just as soon go back to LA. John Winter was in no hurry to go back into the pit. If the rest of them were willing, he wasn’t sure he’d have a choice. He was gung-ho about it at the outset, but being here again was beginning to really give him the creeps. No matter what he’d fight and die with his friends if it came to that. He wasn’t a coward, and he wasn’t a quitter. He just wished there were another option.

  3

  Although not sound asleep, Myron Powers managed to doze. A book, Gulliver’s Travels, lay open on his chest, the bedside lamp still on. During one of his waking stages, he realized this, and in an almost swanlike motion he held the book up, marked where he’d left off, closed it, and placed it on the nightstand, falling right back to sleep. He dreamed there was a beautiful woman standing over him, looking down on him in bed. Something was familiar about her. The long dark hair, the pale face, the sensuous lips and curves…

  “Where do I know you from?” he asked.

  She pressed a finger to his lips. “Sssshhh.” Myron was no longer sure he was dreaming. She seemed real enough to him, but he was in and out of sleep.

  “Whaaa…” he heard himself say.

  She kissed him on the forehead, and he wasn’t quite sure why, but he shrank away. Her breath smelled like mint, but underneath that there was something else. Like dust and decay.

  “Sleep, my sweet,” Arianna whispered, “Your time will come.”

  She fell away, gliding backwards out of his vision. He was sure her feet must be inches off the ground, floating.

  As a dream she’d come, and like a dream she faded. Myron heard the soft click of the door. Myron was sure he hadn’t imagined that, but he had neither the strength, nor the will to get up and investigate. He fell deep into the shadow of sleep.

  4

  Staci had trouble sleeping for entirely different reasons. It was that time of the month and she had to keep getting up to go to the restroom. It was during one of these trips she heard a knock at the door. She’d gotten a snack this last run and was brushing her teeth. Staci left the bathroom light on, but kept the rest of the lights in her room off. It was just enough light for her to sleep when she could, and enough to give her time to run and stop the flow without fumbling for the light switch.

  She spat out the last of the toothpaste, rinsing her mouth, and rushed to the door. She couldn’t imagine who it could be at this late hour. Maybe one of the others was having trouble sleeping as

  well.

  “Who is it?” she half-whispered.

  “Room service,” a female voice announced.

  “I didn’t order any room service,” Staci said.

  “Yes, yes, a gentleman asked us to send this to your room. A…”

  Staci heard the rustling of paper.

  “…Jeremy Daniels,” the woman finished.

  Staci smiled. How sweet. But why would he be sending her something this late? She stood on tiptoe to look through the peephole and saw an attractive young lady.

  “Okay,” she said, opening the door.

  “Hello,” the woman said.

  “Hello,” Staci replied. The woman in front of her looked exotic and familiar. She had piercing eyes that held her. Staci took a moment to notice that the cart the woman held in front of her was empty.

  “You know what I like best about public accommodations?” Arianna said.

  Staci shook her head, entranced by the eyes looking directly into hers.

  “I don’t need to be invited in.” She stepped around Staci. Instantly, as she passed Arianna’s keen sense of smell was aroused by the scent of blood. She could smell it on Staci.

  The woman sat on Staci’s bed. Staci’s eyes followed her.

  “Come,” Arianna said, “Shut the door behind you.”

  Staci Summers (formerly Donavan) did as she was told, and sat on the side of the bed facing the alluring lady. The woman with the long dark hair and smooth skin looked Italian. She had a slight accent, but only when she enunciated.

  “Who are you?” Staci asked, “Do I know you?” Her voice felt distant, not her own.

  “No,” Arianna said, “But I want to know you. You’re a killer, aren’t you?” She said it as if talking to a child, softly.

  “I’m, I’m no killer,” Staci said.

  “No,” Arianna agreed, “Not tonight, not ever again.”

  Arianna breathed in the intoxicating aroma of her lifeblood.

  “No,” Staci said quietly, from somewhere far removed from where her body was. She wanted to run, but couldn’t. She was being held here by this woman, entranced, in thrall.

  “Oh yes!” Arianna exclaimed, inhaling the fragrance of her menstruation, the fresh blood pouring out. She tugged down Staci’s sleep pants, burying her face between Staci’s legs. The blood flowed into her mouth, caressed her tongue. Arianna lapped at her, spreading her open, letting the warmth of it flood into her mouth, over her teeth and tongue. She submerged herself in Staci’s sex, relishing the musky taste of her vagina, the wetness of her arousal mixed with her blood. Staci craned her head back, her back arching, hair cascading to her pillow, grinding her hips toward Arianna’s darting tongue. The blood slowed to a trickle, and Arianna suckered her mouth to Staci, allowing her tongue to dance pirouettes through Staci’s lips, until the blood stopped, and then there was only the arousal, the moment when Staci cried out, pushing toward Arianna’s hungry mouth and caressing tongue, and she shuddered with her ejaculation.

  The vampire was overwhelmed with sensory overload, the intensity of the moment profound. She’d had no intention of killing the girl yet, not while mesmerized, but she certainly couldn’t kill her now, not when they’d shared something so special just now. Arianna fell back on the bed laughing. Staci lay propped up by her pillow, still in a trance. She’d remain that way for several minutes, long after Arianna had gone.

  “Oh,” Arianna said, “That was spectacular! Thank you for that,” she giggled contentedly.

  Staci said nothing in reply, only stared up at the ceiling. Arianna shifted onto her side, leaned over and kissed Staci passionately, probing her mouth with her tongue. Staci was powerless to resist, kissing back. She could taste her own coppery blood in her mouth, and reflexively gagged.

  “Come now,” Arianna sa
id, “It’s not that bad. I almost want to turn you right now, but they want you dead. Just thought I’d have a little fun first; hope that’s okay. Pity, you’d have made such a nice playmate.”

  Staci stared.

  “You look really good all grown up,” Arianna said. “I suppose my charms will wear off soon, so I best be leaving you dear. It’s been fun.”

  Arianna Genovese exited the room, leaving Staci laying there in bed, gazing up at the ceiling. Four minutes later she came to slowly, as if waking from a dream. At first she was confused about where she was. She groggily surveyed the darkened room, lit only by the light flooding in from the bathroom, looking from side to side. Okay, the motel room, she remembered that much. Then Staci felt the wetness between her legs and the pleasant euphoria of aftersex. And then she tasted her own blood in her mouth and remembered everything. She ran into the bathroom and vomited.

  5

  The scream was loud, but silent. Only when Tony’s face didn’t change in the course of the conversation did Jeremy realize that Staci was shouting in his head, and not aloud.

  “Jeremy, please help!” Those words arrived from a great distance, not just because he was picking them up telepathically. It was almost as if she were speaking outside herself, in a dream state. The distress in the words was obvious. What he didn’t understand was the element of ecstasy. No, that didn’t sound quite right. If it was pleasurable it was also filled with a modicum of outrage and disgust, a kind of internal revolt that she was somehow being forced to temper.

  Tony Vincent saw the change in Jeremy’s face, and opened his mouth to speak.

  “Staci’s in trouble!” Jeremy cried out. Tony ran after him, as he bolted out the door.

  6

  The elevator was interminably slow. Too late, Jeremy was sorry they hadn’t taken the stairs. The moment the elevator doors swished open they rushed toward Staci’s room.

  Tony pounded on the door only to find that when he turned the knob it was unlocked.

  “Staci?” he called into the darkened room. The only light that was available came from underneath the bathroom door, which stood ajar.

  “Stace?” Jeremy said. They moved toward the bathroom door. They could hear her, or someone in there. It sounded as if someone were crying. Jeremy knocked softly. When there was no answer he opened the door to find Staci, sitting on the tile floor, her head between her knees, curled up in the fetal position. She was rocking back and forth, whimpering. When she looked up at them her face was wet with tears.

  “Staci, what happened?” Jeremy said, alarmed, crouching down by her side.

  “S-sh-she was in here,” Staci whispered.

  “Who was in here?”

  “A woman, a vampire,” Staci said, shaking.

  “A vampire?!” Tony said.

  “What did she do to you?” Jeremy assumed angrily.

  Staci shook her head. It was apparent she didn’t want to share details. “I feel so… violated.”

  “What did she DO?!” Jeremy demanded.

  “It’s not important!” Staci yelled back. “What’s important is that she got in here!”

  Tony nodded. “They know we’re here. Somehow the bastards know we’re here.”

  “We have to wake the others,” Jeremy declared.

  “I’ll do it,” Tony said, “Stay here with Staci.”

  7

  “I thought it was a dream,” Myron said. “She was real! I must not have locked my door. Stupid, so stupid!”

  Staci now sat on the bed, and they sat around her. They all turned to Myron now.

  “I thought I dreamed her,” he said, “But she was really in my room; the same woman you described. And she looked familiar to me too.”

  “Probably one of the vamps in the pit that night. Guess she was one of the survivors,” Johnny said.

  “What did she do to you?” Staci asked Myron, her eyes wide, haunted.

  “Nothing… I think,” Myron said. “She was looking at me in my bed. She said something, and then she was gone.”

  Johnny looked at Staci. “What did she do to you?”

  “I can’t talk about it,” Staci said immediately.

  “We have to talk to Eve, and Blake,” Jeremy said. “We can’t go through with this yet.”

  “Do you know where Eve is staying?” Tony asked.

  “Yes,” Jeremy replied, “I do. I know her room number. I’ll go get…”

  “No,” Staci said.

  Johnny raised an eyebrow, looking in Jeremy’s direction. As if sensing what the group was thinking she said, “It has nothing to do with any of you. I want to talk with her. Girl talk,” she emphasized.

  “Alone?” Myron said.

  “I’ll bring a stake and a cross with me for protection.”

  The group looked at her doubtfully.

  “Everything’s fine,” she reassured them.

  “All right,” Jeremy said, “But be quick.” He paused. “Reasonably quick.”

  8

  Eve was surprised by the late night knock at her door, but being the nocturnal creature she was, she was not awoken from sleep. She’d been on the couch in her hotel room watching TV. Eve was even more surprised to see who it was at the other side of the door when she opened it.

  “Staci? What is it?”

  “Can we talk?”

  “Of course,” Eve said. Her nose crinkled, not in disgust, but as if she was sniffing something interesting in the air. “Come in, but I’m going to have to ask you to sit on the bed, while I sit on the couch.”

  Staci didn’t instantly get the implication, and felt mildly irritated at Eve.

  Eve apologized. “I’m sorry. It’s just that I can smell the blood on you. I know you’re clean now but…”

  They both seemed embarrassed by this revelation.

  “You too?” Staci said.

  “We’re like bloodhounds,” Eve said. “Blood and sexual discharge are among the strongest of the scents the human body can produce, along with waste, sweat, and other human excreta.” She looked down. “I can’t believe I just said excreta. What do you mean me too?’”

  “That’s what I came over to talk to you about.” Staci moved over to the bed. “There was someone here; a woman; a vampire. She came into Myron’s room, then mine.”

  “Oh my God! This is my fault!” Eve said.

  “Your fault, how?”

  “Vampires, especially the ones that create you, can sense each other’s presence. Whatever it is- virus, magic, poison… our blood acts as a homing beacon whenever we are in close proximity. My being so close to you guys in this hotel, they’ve picked up…” She fumbled for words.

  “You mean they can read your mind, see what you’re seeing?”

  Staci asked.

  “No, nothing as acute as that, but they can receive certain… impressions. The more I’m around all of you, talking to you, the more little tidbits of information they can glean.”

  “Not what we’re planning?” Staci said.

  “No, nothing so intricate,” Eve said, “But emotions, intentions… they recognize you for who you are, and why you’re here, simply by picking up on your state of mind, and I’ve become the tracker for them. I don’t know why I couldn’t sense her, sense them. My abilities must not be as well-honed as theirs. I’m so sorry. I didn’t realize how powerful the link was.”

  “You couldn’t have known.”

  “When they first turned me, there were dozens of them, coming after me to claim me. Eventually they gave up, after Blake and I fought them all off. After I moved to New York City they forgot about me altogether. I wasn’t in their range, and I thought I’d severed the connection completely, but being back here… We need to speak with Blake about how to proceed.”

  “Yes,” Staci said, “We’d already agreed on that.”

  “Good, now tell me what happened to you and Myron.”

  “Well…” Staci decided to go the halfway route in her retelling of events, giving no major details, but
still making it clear what had been done to her.

  “Oh dear,” Eve said, “Excuse me.” She walked over to the mini kitchen and opened the fridge, pulling out a jar. Staci could see the red liquid, and although Eve kept her back to her, she could still tell by the tilt of her head that Eve was drinking from it. She walked back, wiping her lips. Staci grimaced.

  “I’m so sorry, all this talk of blood made me thirsty. I don’t normally drink in front of humans, except for Blake.”

  “Was that…?”

  “Pig’s blood.”

  Staci nodded. “You don’t think you’re human?”

  “I know I’m not.”

  “You’re the most human vampire I’ve met.”

  “Well, thank you. I’ll take that as a compliment. So why’d you come to me to talk about this? I’d got the impression you didn’t like me.”

  Staci turned red. “No, it’s not that. I don’t really know you…”

  “But there was something between you and Jeremy?”

  “Long time ago; seems like another life now. I’m married now, with children.” She showed Eve her ring.

  “That’s nice,” Eve smiled.

  “The reason I came to you was because… well, our group is basically a boy’s club. I mean, we can talk about… well, just about anything, but not this. Because you’re a girl, and a vampire, I thought you would understand.”

  “I do understand, plus you wanted to get a feel for me, what I’m about, because you don’t exactly trust me. That about cover it?”

  “Yes.” Staci bowed her head, ashamed.

  “This explains the cross and the stake.”

  “How did you know…?” Staci asked.

  “Well, unless you’re hiding something unwomanly in that bulging waistband I’d say you’re packing weaponry. You’re smart not to trust me, or any vampire. Some days are harder than others.”