Kill or be Killed (Horror Series): Three in One Box Set (The Collection of Horror Series Book 1)

by Mark E. Green

  Kill or be Killed

  Collection of short horror stories 1 - 3

  by

  Mark E. Green

  Copyright © 2015 by Mark E. Green

  All rights reserved worldwide. No part of this publication may be replicated, redistributed, or given away in any form without the prior written consent of the author or the terms relayed to you herein.

  Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author's rights.

  Only purchase authentic works.

  Published by I2I Publishing

  Layout and design by I2I Publishing

  eBook Edition - February 2015

  The Collection of Horrors Series is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Books in the series:

  The Skulls of Amarillo

  Aboard the SS Victoria

  Murder on the Tracks

  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  THE SKULLS OF AMARILLO

  ABOARD THE SS VICTORIA

  MURDER ON THE TRACKS

  THE SKULLS OF AMARILLO

  CHAPTER ONE

  Charles West was what he considered to be a connoisseur of haunted areas. He was the first kid in his grade to step into the local abandoned house. Even the jocks were scared to go in there. But at fourteen he just didn’t care.

  Now ten years later, he was traveling the world, running his own blog on haunted areas. He freelanced occasionally, doing pieces on the local culture and the folklore that surrounded their haunted areas. He didn’t limit himself to houses. It could be forests, castles, inns, the list went on and on.

  Today he was headed to the Kentucky Roast Inn which was situated on the famous route 66 close to the town of Amarillo. Ironically enough, it wasn’t actually in Kentucky. So the first question he’d probably wind up asking the owners was why they gave it that name.

  The flight there was easy enough, only a few hours. And since he’d be staying at the Inn, he figured why not immediately rent a car and head out there? He only hoped that the process of getting his rental wouldn’t be as painstaking as it usually was.

  Well, as his friends and family stated to him as soon as he announced he’d actually be staying at the Inn, the place was haunted. That’s why you wouldn’t head out there. They all thought him crazy. Charles was just upping his game. He was going to turn this into two separate pieces. One on the Inn itself, the other on actually staying in a haunted area. It was the perfect plan! He loved killing two birds with one stone.

  Charles discovered very quickly that the airport had no such rental service. In fact, it was one of the smallest airports he’d ever been in before. He began to wonder how a normal sized plane even made a trip there. He was only one of two passengers, though… Maybe it was supposed to be a full flight before?

  Even so, he was able to get himself a cab pretty quickly. There was only one cab outside and no one else was waiting, so Charles hopped right in.

  “Where you headed?” asked the man up front. He was older looking and had a soft lilt to his voice.

  “To the Kentucky Roast Inn please.” Charles said as he absently scrolled through his phone.

  “Really now? You heard the stories about that place?” The man asked.

  Charles nodded. “Definitely have.”

  “You’re one of those horror nuts then?” He asked Charles as they began to drive.

  Charles looked up from his phone. “Not exactly. I write for a magazine.”

  “They still have those?” the driver asked, laughing to himself.

  “Very funny.” Charles said, going back to his phone. Douche.

  “I’m only making a bit of light fun. My wife still gets her catalogs in the mail. Reads them all the way through.” He gave a small sigh. “Never orders anything though.”

  Charles nodded, but didn’t say anything. A few minutes of silence passed between them. Charles wasn’t even paying attention to the scenery around him.

  “You have heard the rumors right?” The old man asked.

  Charles gave off a disgruntled sigh. “Yes, I’ve definitely heard them. I assumed if they were true, then the place wouldn’t be open anymore.”

  The guy shrugged and occasionally flicked his eyes over to Charles. “But just to make sure, what are the rumors?” If nothing else he could use whatever the old guy said as a quote to open the article with.

  The driver raised an eyebrow. “Well rumors say that a couple has always owned the inn. We haven’t had a single, divorced, or widowed owner since the creation of the place. Not sure if that has anything to do with what goes on there though.”

  Charles jotted down some notes on his phone. He waited silently for the driver to continue. As he did, he noticed the country side like landscape. Lots of green, rolling hills. He swore he even saw a sheep too.

  “So tell me about what happens at the Inn.” Charles said after a few minutes of complete silence.

  “They eat people there.” The driver announced as if it was a plain fact.

  “Excuse me?” Charles asked. He knew there was something going on there, but cannibalism? That was something different entirely.

  “People have reported strange tasting meat there. Not exactly bad tasting. In fact it’s the food that usually brings people to the Inn in the first place. The current owners are excellent cooks. But strange tastes nonetheless. One doctor stole some meat and tested it. Said the results came back positive for human flesh.”

  Charles had seen rumors like this during his search, but he thought they were the ramblings of crazy people or vegetarians. He’d never hit a cannibal case before.

  “What happened to the doctor?” He asked, now rather interested in their conversation.

  “He disappeared from the town shortly after. Something about a malpractice charge. I didn’t follow that particularly closely.” The old man told him. “The fact that there was a death during most major holidays didn’t help the rumors.”

  Charles continued typing away on his phone, making sure he got everything down. “Is there anything else?”

  “Well there are disappearances here and there you know. Small town stuff usually. Nine out of ten times it’s just kids running away, hoping there’s something bigger and better waiting out there for them.”

  “And that one time?” Charles asked.

  A shadow fell over the man’s face. “Well, that’s the time the kid doesn’t come back.”

  They were pulling up to the Inn now as the conversation began to come to a close. The words of the driver echoed in his mind. He made a mental note to try and stay meat free while eating room service.

  He tipped the old man better than he thought he would have at the beginning of their talk. He also thanked him for what he told him. Then he grabbed his luggage and hauled it onto the steps of the Inn. Taking a deep breath, he knocked on the door.

  There was a brief moment where Charles considered calling the cab back and finding somewhere else to stay during the trip. But before he could think much further than that the door swung open and a beautiful young woman beamed at him.

  “Hi there!” She said. She had blonde curly hair and a bright smile with perfect white teeth.

  Charles blinked for a moment and forgot everything he was worried about. When he caught his breath and began t
o speak, he could feel himself blushing. “Hello.” He finally managed to say.

  CHAPTER TWO

  “Please, come inside.” She said, opening the door all the way for him.

  Charles grabbed his luggage and hauled it into the lobby. The place was furnished to the brim. The place was covered in wood flooring that shined like the sun. It was so clean he was worried about scuffing it with the wheels on his suitcase.

  “You’re checking in, I assume?” She asked, flashing him that bright smile once again. Charles literally felt himself brightening inside. He also felt like a fool for barely being able to speak. He just nodded in response.

  She returned the nod and went behind the desk. She grabbed a guest book off the shelf and opened it. It heaved open and looked like it weighed a ton. A plume of dust rose when the cover hit the desk. There looked to be a thick layer of dust on each page as she flipped through them.

  “Name please.” She asked kindly.

  Charles blinked for a second, trying to remember his own name. He was such a cliché it was scary at the moment.

  He finally cleared his throat and spoke. “Charles West.”

  She smiled and ran her finger down the page. It looked so old that he wondered if it would crumble under the weight of her finger. “Ah-hah!” she said with a cutesy little dance. “I’ve got you now.”

  “Great. So I’m good to go?” Charles asked.

  “Yup! I’m Dottie by the way, but feel free to call me Dot.” She said, turning her back to him to grab the key. Charles couldn’t help himself but sneak a look at her. She was just as pleasing to look at in the back as she was in front.

  “Here you are.” Dottie said, drawing his eyes back to hers. She handed him the key and he took it with a smile.

  “Thank you.”

  “Is there anything else I can do for you?” Dottie asked.

  Charles shook his head. He needed to get upstairs and set up home base before doing anything else. Even so, he wished that he could stay and talk to her. “I’ve gotta get started on some work. Thank you though.”

  “Of course. I’ll be down here if you need anything. My husband’s name is Thomas. You might be seeing him around on your way up.” Dottie flashed him another smile.

  Charles felt his heart sink a little. He knew that the owners were a couple, but after meeting Dottie he couldn’t help but be disappointed that she was taken.

  “Also you should take this.” Dottie said. She gave him a little pamphlet. “This has all the information on the place, a map, and a schedule of meals. Enjoy your stay.” Another smile came his way and Charles felt himself blush.

  He took her key and pamphlet from her before gathering his things. He then sauntered upstairs. His room was on the second floor. From what he saw on the outside, the Inn had about four floors.

  Charles reached the second floor and went about trying to find his room. He checked his key. His room was 258. He looked down the hallway. For some reason it seemed to stretch on forever. The lighting was weird and faded. There weren’t the clichéd flickering lights or anything like that, but something wasn’t quite right with the electricity.

  He ignored it and made his way to his room. The walls echoed as the wheels rolled over the floor. Everything seemed to echo as he walked, even his breathing caused echoing. Each step and breath made things louder.

  The sound pounded against his ears. He wanted to stop walking but he couldn’t. His legs were carrying him without his consent. He couldn’t even move his hands to cover his ears. Charles just walked as fast as he could to his room.

  He finally appeared in front of the number 258. Charles finally began to feel some relief as he opened the door with his key and threw himself into the room.

  The inside was rather plain looking, all things considered. Especially when he thought back to the expensive design of the first floor. His ears had finally stopped ringing from the echo and he was able to catch his breath. Maybe there was something to these rumors after all? Though they never mentioned anything about insane headaches and the worst echo in the world.

  Charles tried to brush it aside and get to work. He’d been in places with much worse happening. He told himself it was just because it came so soon after entering the place that he was thrown off guard.

  He put his suitcase on the bed with the plain blankets and flat pillows and opened it. Charles unloaded his clothes – about a week’s worth – and sorted it into the dresser. The next item on the list was his laptop.

  It was thin and perfect for travel. Charles put it on the table and got to work. The first thing he did was write down the experience he just had. Everything from the journey from the airport, the stuff with the driver, and his talk with Dottie. He made notes about what the echoes in the hallway, though he was uncertain if he could publish anything about them. While his readership loved a good ghost story, there was a fine line between entertaining the geeks, and becoming one of them himself.

  The question of course, was what to do next. He flipped absently through the pamphlet and the map given to him. The map of the Inn was simple, almost like a child’s drawing. That said, it did have all the major areas within the Inn marked. It also had a brief overview of everything offered on the surrounding grounds. He noticed there was a garden of some sort, and a well from which Charles assumed they got water from.

  The pamphlet was nothing more than a tourist brochure that gave a brief history of the town and the Inn itself. There was nothing interested in that, except the year the Inn was founded and a small bit about the current owners. Dottie had been a writer before coming to the Inn, and her husband Tom was a fitness nut. Apparently both wanted to be rid of city life and found this place for sale in the search for something new.

  At the very least this would provide some background for his article. He also noticed that dinner was scheduled for about six in the evening. Charles checked his phone and realized he had a few hours until dinner. Tired and still feeling disoriented, a nap sounded like the greatest thing in the world. He set his phone for a half hour before dinner and pulled his shirt off.

  Despite the bed being so plain, it was the most comfortable thing in the world at the moment. Within seconds he was curled up around the blanket and fast asleep.

  ******

  When Charles woke up, he was feeling a little better about things. He took a shower and changed his shirt before heading down to dinner. He couldn’t help but want to impress Dottie, even if it was just a little. He grabbed his phone and went for the door. He stopped with his hand on the door. Charles wondered for a moment if he’d have the same awful experience he suffered from on his way to the room.

  But he couldn’t do his job without actually leaving the room. Hell, even if he didn’t want to do this anymore he’d still have to leave his room in order to get out the front door.

  Charles took a deep breath and stepped outside his room. He waited, but nothing happened.

  He let out a sigh of relief, realizing that he had been holding his breath. He felt like a fool. Maybe what he felt before was just air sickness hitting him late. He might be jet-lagged. There were all sorts of explanations.

  His stomach grumbled, reminding him that dinner was about to happen. Charles smiled and followed the hallway to the end and took the stairs to the lobby. From there he followed the signs to the dining room. He wished he’d brought his map with him, the place was like a maze. Every few feet there was another turn with new doors. At least there were signs pointing him in the correct direction.

  When he finally made his way there, he saw a long banquet table. It was dressed to the brim with clothes and fancy silverware.

  “Charles!” Said a familiar voice.

  Charles turned and saw the bright face of Dottie. She was carrying a plate full of something that looked like sliced ham.

  “I’m glad you could join us.” She said, passing by him and setting the food down on the table.

  Charles was so busy watching her that he didn’t even notic
e someone coming into the room from behind him.

  “’scuse me! Coming through!” It was a man’s voice. Charles could only assume that it was her husband, Tom. He was carrying a plate as well. It looked like some sort of side dish. He placed it on the table before coming over to greet Charles.

  He held out his hand. “Pleasure to meet you, Charles. Name’s Tom.”

  Charles shook his hand and smiled. Though it was a fake one. “Nice to meet you.”

  They sat down and began to eat dinner. The conversation was casual. They talked about jobs and where Charles was coming from, why he was staying there, and so on. He lied about most of it. He didn’t really feel bad about it either.

  Usually the places he studied for work didn’t have people who opened them or ran them. But since he did he felt it was necessary to protect himself by not revealing what he was really there for.

  The food tasted fine. The meat didn’t appear to be anything other than ham. In fact, it was delicious.

  After the meal ended he kindly thanked them and made his way back up to his room. He wanted to do a little more exploring, but he would wait until night had fallen and the owners had gone to sleep.

  So instead he elected to do a little more writing. Once that was done and he’d checked the time, he’d realized it was rather late. Instead of keeping himself up, he set his alarm for the middle of the night. Then he would head out and do some research.

  CHAPTER THREE

  Charles awoke suddenly to the sound of his alarm. He hated that damn thing. The act of waking up to anything other than the sweet sound of nothing puts him in a cranky mood. But he had work to do.

  He sat up and turned on the lock screen to his phone. It was roughly four in the morning. He sighed and moved to get up.

  “There’s no need Charles.” Said a voice in the dark.

  Charles froze. That was Dottie. Was she in the room? Was he hallucinating?

  “We prefer you stay in the bed. It makes things a lot easier.” She said to him.