by Adam Dark
“You’re out of your mind,” I whispered as quietly as I could from five feet away.
I held up my wimpy stick in front of me with both hands. My eyes were locked on Nico’s back as he climbed through. He disappeared on the other side. I could hear his footfalls in the leaves and underbrush, but I couldn’t see him through the thick shield of overgrown forest growth.
“Nico…” I whispered as loudly as I dared.
I couldn’t hear him anymore. I couldn’t hear the other noise either. Dread swept over me. My friend was dead. And I was next. Whatever was out there, the same person who had killed these other kids whose bones were seared and decaying in a pile of ash, was now after us.
It would be our bones in the fire next. A hawk screeched suddenly overhead. I was about to sprint but slipped on a rock. My head somersaulted through the air and smacked the ground, hard. White and black spots flickered through my vision.
The side of my head was throbbing as if someone had slammed it with a sledge hammer. I rolled to my side. There was still no sign of Nico. I rubbed my head and withdrew my hand. No blood. Good. If we somehow survived this, my mother would kill me if we came back covered in blood.
She’d never let me go trekking through the woods again. As the spinning dots subsided and the throbbing and buzzing in my ears ebbed away, I became acutely aware of the silence in the woods. I no longer could hear the rustling of the tree branches overhead. No crunching of sticks and leaves and bushes.
I spun around in the clearing looking for any sign of Nico. I thought I heard something over by the old Oldsmobile, but it was just a tree branch scratching along the roof. My heart was racing in my chest. My skin felt moist despite the cool breeze wafting through the treetops.
An aching sensation of dread crept its way into the pit of my stomach. I didn’t dare utter Nico’s name again. Whatever or whoever was in the woods with us had gotten my friend. It was only a matter of time before they came for me now. I laid on the ground motionless. Every part of me said to get up and run but I couldn’t move. I was locked in indecision about whether I should flee and save myself or go searching for my friend.
The decision was made for me. There came a low groan from the other side of the fence. I couldn’t make out what it was at first, but then it began to rise in pitch. It would go from a low sound like someone grunting to a high-pitched squeal as if an animal was being torn apart. Both made me shudder.
The grunting and groaning drew closer. The bushes to my left began to move and shake as something brushed up against it. I followed the sound and the moving leaves along the fence toward the whole. Right when it was about to reveal itself, it stopped. All of creation and sound seemed to stop with it. It hovered as if in a void for the next five seconds.
I held my breath as if holding my breath would somehow make me invisible to the danger standing just on the other side of the fence. Five seconds went by, then 10, then 30. I don’t know how much time had passed when there came a scream from off in the distance.
I leapt off the ground and bolted toward the hole in the fence. I poked my head through and was clamoring onto the other side before he even knew what I was doing. I instinctively knew whose cry that was. Nico. My body tumbled through the crack from our dimension to the other. My skin boiled with cool sweat as I flopped to the other side. It was as if I was stepping through a veil of liquid.
I crawled to my feet and searched my surroundings. There was nothing there. The scream echoed through the trees a second time.
“Nico!”
My voice reverberated through the trees but only another scream was the response. It was coming from my left. I glanced back at the fence behind me then sprinted through the trees in the direction of the scream. The air and the floors grew denser and warmer as I ran. Sweat cascaded down my face and my shirt stuck to the rim of my neck. My legs throbbed and ached from the strain of going uphill, but I kept going.
Why I was running toward danger was beyond me. Every instinct in my body told me to turn around and flee. To leave Nico to his own fate. He had gotten himself into this mess. There was no point in both of us dying.
But something within me refused to allow me to turn around. And so I ran. Uphill, downhill, and through thick bushes and leaves and fallen debris. My arms were all cut up. My knees were raw from the underbrush that I ran through. The forest was thicker in this part. My running became labored and I had to force my way through the thicket. I could only see a few feet in front of me.
I could no longer hear the screams. There was no way of knowing if I was still going in the correct direction. I was tiring. I wanted to stop. I forced my way through twenty more feet of sticks and stones and branches until thicket cleared. I could see what looked like a shed in the opening through the trees.
I paused to catch my breath, leaning against a tree. My head spun, and my body felt wobbly. I heard the scream again and this time it was coming from directly in front of me. So loud and so piercing was the yell that I jumped and fell backward. Now the shouts and screams increased in number and velocity.
They were directly ahead of me as if I could reach out and touch them, as if strolling past the next set of trees would reveal my friend’s carcass on the ground in a heap of blood. I inched my way closer, ensuring that I used the trees for cover. I was near the edge of the tree line when I paused again. This pause was not out of fear or hesitance. But for what lay before me.
It was the mansion on 101 Wry Road. Somehow, I had trekked through the woods right up to its backyard. The screams of my dying friend were coming from the shed in the backyard.
I couldn’t move. Though the sun was shining bright overhead and there was not a single cloud in the sky, the atmosphere felt even colder and more sinister than it did the night before. My eyes followed a line from the yard to the porch. The back door was flung wide. The shingles alongside the windows flapped in the wind and slammed against the side of the house.
I stood at the edge of the trees watching as my friend screamed. I searched for movement in the windows but there was none. Somewhere during this span of time, the screams had stopped. My ears were numb from the sudden loss of sound. My eyes darted toward the shed.
Without a second thought, I heaved through the invisible barrier that loomed before me and into the realm of the dead. Fear enveloped me like a blanket, but a fire burned deep within. I would not be the one who allowed my friend to perish alone.
My feet pedaled through the leaves and overgrown grass that stretched up to my knees. I was to the shed and had my hands on the handle quicker than I could take two breaths. I was pulling, heaving open the trap to a world of destruction and death, fully expecting to find my friend swimming in a puddle of his own blood and guts, the evil menace that haunted the mansion hovering over him.
But to my surprise, the shed was empty. I flung the doors wide and let them smack against the side. The light from outside filtered in and illuminated the interior. The air was heavy and musky. I could see particles of dust, dirt, and God knew what floating in the rays of light.
“Nico…” I said.
My courage was quickly fading away. I hovered by the entrance of the shed before wandering inside. It was like stepping into a bag of dust. My skin felt itchy and my throat clogged. I cupped my hand over my mouth to keep from gagging.
The shed was bigger than it looked from the outside. It had five rows of shelving on either side, as well as yard tools. Rakes, shovels, pole diggers, hammers, screwdrivers, weeding tongs, and even a lawn mower that looked ancient. It was one of those push ones people used to use back before we developed gas-powered one.
The blades were all rusted and cobwebs had overpowered its face and handle. There were tires, car parts, old windows, and a pile of wood stacked waist-high in the back corner.
Whoever owned the shed must have been a carpenter or mechanic. But from the looks of it, they never finished the job. I completed my search of the lower level. Still no sign of Nico or any dead body.
I was beginning to wonder if I had made it all up. Maybe the fall had done more damage to my head than I thought. Was this all even real? Had it all just been in my head?
The upper level was some kind of loft or storage area. I found the wooden ladder buried under several inches of dirt and leaves. I braced it against the ledge and tested it with my foot. It felt sturdy enough. I had no idea of knowing how old it was and whether the wood had lost its strength.
I took the risk and began ascending. The ladder whined against my weight but held. The upper level was definitely a loft. There were hay stacks positioned against the adjacent wall. I crawled up. I had to crouch to keep from hitting my head on the ceiling.
There was a blanket in the center with some miscellaneous household items. An old lantern sat on the banister, covered in spider string. I swatted away the webs latching onto my face as I crawled into the nook.
Someone had been living here at one time. Besides the blanket and lantern, there were books and a torn bear that was missing an arm. It looked like the stuffing had been ripped from it.
This lifeless bear lay near the blanket and the burlap sack that must have been used as a pillow. It was stuffed with straw. Everything smelled mildewy and old. The floorboards creaked, and dust whipped into the air.
I crawled to the far wall and plopped down. There were no windows in the loft, but there was a small gap in the wall where it looked as though someone had chiseled it away with a sharp object.
There was also writing on the rafters, but I couldn’t make out what they said in the dim lighting. I braced my head against the wall and peered through the hole. It opened up to the larger house about fifty feet away.
I looked around at the loft wondering if someone had lived here or if it were merely a kid’s hangout place like our tree fort was at the river.
It had been a child’s area, there was no mistaking that. I sat for a while before I crawled back to the ladder and descended. I had concluded that my mind was playing tricks on me and there was no real screaming. I had followed the imaginary voices in my head.
I left the ladder against the loft and walked to the door. I had one foot over the threshold and was turning to close the first door when hands grabbed me.
10
“What’s wrong with you!” I screamed after I clamored to my feet. “Are you trying to give me a heart attack?”
Nico laughed.
“You should have seen the look on your face. Just wait until I tell the others,” Nico said.
I brushed the dirt off of my pants.
“You’re an asshole,” I said.
“Ooh! Did you learn that from your sister?” he asked.
I shoved past him.
“Where are you going?” he asked, running to catch up to me.
“I’m going back to the beach. It’s been way longer than fifteen minutes,” I said.
“It’s only been a few minutes. We still have time,” Nico said. “Let’s go investigate. We might as well. We’re already here.”
We both looked to the haunted mansion where the fabled ghost of the man who lived there before resided. With Nico alive and well by my side and the sun shining bright overhead, the mansion looked like any other old house in the area. I found myself gazing at it as though it were just another empty shell.
“Let’s go,” I said. “After last night, I’m lucky to still be alive. If I show up late again, my mother will ground me for the rest of the summer.”
Nico groaned.
“You’re right, but we need to come back later. I found something I want to show you,” he said.
I waved my hand as if to agree and headed for the trees. Going back proved easier than coming here. Why that was didn’t make any sense to me. Maybe it was because my body wasn’t running on adrenaline and my head wasn’t throbbing from landing on a rock.
We made it back to the fence not long after. It turned out that the mansion was only about a hundred meters from the fence. Somehow, I had been going in circles in the woods before I stumbled onto the yard.
I crawled through the hole first. Nico followed.
“You had me worried,” I said as he poked his head through.
“What do you mean?”
“I heard you screaming. I thought something was wrong,” I said.
He tumbled through. He jumped to his feet.
“What are you talking about?” he asked.
“When you went through the fence earlier, I thought something had happened to you. I heard you screaming. That’s how I found you at the mansion,” I said.
Nico’s eyebrows crunched.
“I never screamed,” he said. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
He looked at the side of my head.
“You’re bleeding,” he said.
I touched the side of my head and drew my hand away. There was blood. I wiped my hand on my pants.
“Nico, I’m not in the mood for more of your tricks. I heard you screaming. Just admit it,” I said.
“I’m telling you, I didn’t. I thought you were following me. When I turned around, I was somewhere in the woods. I couldn’t find the fence again. I tried calling out for you,” he said.
We were standing in the clearing, the burn pit with human remains ten feet away.
“I thought you were screaming,” Nico said.
“Me? I was looking for you!” I said.
“I was looking for you,” Nico said.
“If it wasn’t you, then who was it?” I asked.
“Maybe you were just hearing things,” Nico offered.
I rubbed my head. None of this was making any sense. I knew I had heard screaming. I had followed it to the mansion. It had to be Nico. I knew he was playing another prank on me. He probably knew I was still on edge from the night before. But this time, I wouldn’t let him get a rise out of me.
“Let’s go,” I said and turned to head back to the beach.
The sick and twisted feeling in my gut returned the moment I turned around. I heard Nico gasp from behind me. My heart clung to my throat for a split second before relaxing.
“Where did you come from little fella?” Nico asked.
He squatted to pet the black cat.
“Don’t touch it! You don’t know if it has rabies,” I said.
Nico looked up at me with a look of bewilderment.
“Really? Does it look like it has rabies? See any foaming at the mouth or strange tendencies?” Nico asked.
“No, but…”
“Then it doesn’t have rabies, you idiot! Really, Ben, you need to lighten up.”
Nico stroked the black cat’s neck. It purred and curled its body as his hand slid across its back.
“I think he likes me,” Nico said.
“I bet he does. He probably thinks you have food,” I said. “Come on. I’m heading back before my mom freaks out.”
“We should bring him with us,” Nico said.
“Have you lost your mind? My mom will never let me bring home a stray cat. Look at it! It looks like it’s been living out here for a long time. It’s probably been gnawing on those human bones for all we know,” I said.
“I’ll take him then,” Nico said.
“You’re not serious. You can barely take care of yourself. How do you think you’ll be able to take care of a cat?” I asked.
“I’ll feed him,” Nico said.
“What about shots? That thing is probably infested with worms,” I said.
“He just needs a bath and he’ll be as good as new,” Nico said. “Isn’t that right, boy?”
He stroked the cat’s chin. It rubbed its head against Nico’s knee. Its golden eyes stared up at me. I shivered despite the warmth. It was as though it was looking into my soul. Something about the cat unnerved me.
“Would you like to come with us?” Nico asked.
The cat purred louder.
“See! I think he likes me,” Nico said.
I rolled my eyes.
“It’s j
ust a cat. It’ll rub up on anything if it means it’ll get food,” I said.
I pushed by and headed for the beach.
“I’m going. You can stay with your new furry friend if you want, but he’s not coming with us,” I said.
Nico went to scoop up the cat, but it bolted off. It skirted through the clearing like a dart and disappeared through the hole in the fence.
“I guess he’s not as thrilled as you thought,” I said.
Nico frowned.
He stood to walk in my direction but stopped. I heard it too.
“What was that?” Nico asked.
I already knew what it was. It was the same screaming I had heard before. So Nico hadn’t been lying. If it wasn’t him who had screamed, then who was it?
We both stood with our ears cocked to the wind. There was only that one scream then silence. Why we waited to hear it again I do not know. Even to this day I can’t believe the stupidity that we did.
Nico turned.
“I think it came from back there,” he said.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
“Someone may need our help,” he said.
I grabbed him by the arm and spun him around.
“Are you crazy! That’s the same scream I heard earlier and thought it was you,” I said.
His eyebrows raised.
“All the more reason for us to go look,” he said.
I spun him around a second time.
“You’re not hearing me. What if it’s a trap?” I asked.
He grinned.
“Wow, you really are that paranoid. Are you still freaked out about last night?” he asked.
I shook my head and threw up my hands.
“You don’t get it, do you? Why do you think it is that I heard the screaming the first time and you didn’t?” I asked.
His face went expressionless. It did that when he tried to think.
“Don’t you find it a bit strange that I could hear it and you couldn’t? And that it led me to the house?” I asked.
“The woods are dense. Maybe it was closer to you,” Nico said.
“You really think that’s what it was?”
“Maybe,” he said.
