Fear- The Complete Trilogy of Horror Short Stories

by Lee Jones

  ESCAPE

  Jasmine, Nikki and John knew they were running out of time. They could hear a crowd of people cheering. A priest is walking towards the

  cabin. John looks back at everyone. “Someone is walking over here let’s do this,” he says. John breaks his hand ties against a sharp edge. He swings open the door and goes to grab the shotgun from the guard.

  John grabs two hands on the shotgun but the guards still have a grip. He swings the butt of the gun and hits John In the head. John falls to the ground but gets up and tackles the guard by the knees. The guard still on the ground points the gun up and grazes John on the side of his leg. John yells and falls to the ground.

  Jasmine and Nikki have broken their hand ties at

  this point and exited the cabin. The shot rang out and alerted the rest of the congregation. “No!” yells Nikki. The priest and members of the cult have reached the cabin and take both Jasmine and Nikki hostage. John is dragged to the other side of the camp site. They are all brought to the same area where the man was just killed.

  “Just let us go please just let us go!” says Jasmine. Jasmine, Nikki and John are on their knees. The

  congregation stands behinds and watches. The high priest comes from behind the bushes. He is an older man with grey hair and a wrinkled worn face. He is dressed in all white. He faces the congregation and with his hands tells everyone to kneel. The congregation kneels before him.

  “We stand here today with a sacrifice of blood, says the high priest.”

  “Please let us go!” shouts Nikki. “Hush, hush my children. You all have been chosen to take this journey into the next life,” Says the high priest. The guards walk from behind and grab Nikki. The drag her up to the high priest while she kicks and punches. Nikki bites the hand of one guard and he lets go. Nikki makes a run for it but one of the men in black has a rifle. He let’s her run for a good distance just enough to get a good aim in his scope. He holds his breath and pulls the trigger. Nikki falls to the ground. She is instantly dead. The bullet has entered the back of her head.

  THIRST FOR BLOOD

  The men in black go and grab her body and drag it to from where she ran from. Jasmine starts weeping. John is shaking his head in despair. The

  high priest has a dagger. He says a prayer. The congregation lowers their head in prayer. The high priest walks forward and grabs Jasmine by the back of the head. He pauses then suddenly slashes her throat. Blood spills out and her body falls to the ground.

  They carry and put both bodies on a steel table designed to collect blood. “Drink my people,” says the high priest. The congregation is thirsty. They all surround the tables and drink with their mouths, some shoving each other to drink they are so thirsty.

  The high priest turns and looks at John. He stares and has a menacing grin on his face but the men in black drag him back to the cabin. John is thinking to himself.

  Who are these people? What do they want?

  Jasmine and Nikki are now gone. How do can I get out of here?

  What just happened weighs heavy on John. So many questions and so little answers. It is apparent this is some sort of religious cult conducting a ritual of human blood sacrifice. Nikki tried to run but she was shot dead. John was clipped before and a couple pellets of shot was still in his leg. He could not run anyway but he could still move. There was not much time left as indicated by the mad stare of

  the high priest.

  INVESTIGATION

  It was rumored that there was a cult living somewhere in the parish. In the past couple

  of years there had been numerous kidnappings and homicides but no leads.

  It’s bright daylight and New Orleans PD has investigated the break in the French Quarter. The garage door was left open. Furniture was thrown out of Its place it’s apparent there was a struggle here but no bodies.

  FBI Detective Carson was on the scene. He could see the similarities in this crime scene to other crime scenes in the past. A home break in then a kidnapping. Usually tourist that go missing. Bodies had been found out on the bayou with knife gashes or gun wounds. All the blood was drained. Carson had a feeling that it might be too late. He looks over to his partner, “We need to get a lead soon this looks similar and it might be too late.”

  His partner Detective Langdon headed out to the street to interview witnesses. He knocked on the neighbor’s door. An older woman comes to the door. “I’m detective Langdon and I’m investigating a break in and possible kidnapping in the house next door.”

  “ohh yes two weeks ago,” says the neighbor. The owner of the rental house had reported to police the situation when the current guest was supposed to be moving out, but he came and saw what happened. He could not get a hold of any of them by phone or through the app.

  “They rent that house out to tourist, that night I saw a man dressed in all black and a black form Econo van drive into the garage,” says the neighbor. The guest had left their stuff behind suggesting a quick departure. The detectives knew who it was but where had they gone?

  Carson stood in the garage. He closed his eyes and began to visualize the events leading up to the kidnapping.

  THE GIFT

  Carson knew he had a gift since he was five years old. He could sense people. His cousin had died of heroin overdose when he was just three years old. One day he told his mother he could sense his cousin in the room, telling them everything was alright, and he loved them.

  People in the neighborhood would come to him at nine years old asking to speak to their long lost loved ones. Carson wanted to really use his gift, so he became a police officer as soon as he could. His gift really helped him advance through the ranks and he then became a detective.

  Carson was assigned to homicides. He also worked on cold cases. He solved a thirty-year cold case of a naked woman found face down in the bayou. She was sexually assaulted and murdered brutally. The autopsy could not pin point a cause of death. Leads ran short because no one witnessed the crime that took place out in the wooded area of the bayou.

  Carson’s gift at the time let him connect the dots, visualize the events leading up to the crime and locate the suspect who was still living. The suspect was eventually brought to justice and was now serving life in prison for the rape and murder of this young woman.

  It’s been ten years and now Carson a veteran on the

  force had solved lots of hard cases of which anyone without his gift would just go cold. No case was too hard. He solved all of them and helped bring closure to those loved ones who went missing.

  FLAW

  Carson had a secret he had been hiding from his superiors for a few months now. He had a slight drinking problem. He would carry a flask of

  whiskey in his suit jacket and stash additional flask in his glove box. When no one was looking he would take a few sips. In his late thirty’s he had no wife or children, but he wasn’t the settle type anyways. He lived in a small apartment with two cats. Everything was meticulously organized and labeled.

  He had been drinking because the last case he worked on went cold. He had solved every case he had worked on and now that this came up he couldn’t solve it. A couple went missing. Justice could not be served. He felt depressed and drinking filled the void. He was a functioning alcoholic at this point, but the drinking made him a bit unfocused and visions became blurry.

  His partner Det. Langdon knew Carson had this problem but said nothing to their superiors about it. It was a crutch, but he believed Carson would get over it soon.

  CONNECTING THE DOTS

  Carson stood there in the garage. He had closed his eyes and visualized the scene.

  A man in dressed in all black drove in a black van dark tinted windows pulled up to the driveway. He gets out and pulls up the garage door and pulls the van inside. He closes the garage door, turns off the engine and waits. Three tourists, three young people with the future ahead of them walk inside the house. Then it happens. The mysterious man in black kidnaps everyone and puts th
em in the van and drives away. He drives to a remote location on the bayou puts the people in an old warehouse. He then returns with another man dressed in all black and takes the people to another location. There is a sign that reads;

  Airboat Tours.

  Then an air boat speeding across the swamp. Carson’s vision goes blurry and then the premonition ends.

  Carson opens his eyes. There was the clue. The suspects had used an airboat to transport the victims but to where? Langdon walks in, “what is it Carson?”

  “The victims were taken into an airboat,” says Carson. The two head back to the station. Langdon begins a database search searching for airboat companies. The problem was that there was lots of airboat companies in the state.

  Carson is at his desk. The phone rings. Carson picks it up, “FBI, homicide.” The caller on the line, “I have some information on the Smith case.” “Can you come down to the station to discuss it with us?” says Carson. The caller agrees to come by. The Smith case was the last case that Carson had worked on but could not solve. If they had the right information this would be an amazing break for him. “We have someone coming by saying they have information on the Smith case,” says Carson to Langdon. Carson gets up and walks into the bathroom. He goes into the stall and takes the flask out of his suit jacket. He drinks the rest of the liquor and finishes it drinking every drop.

  He returns to his desk. There is a pin board behind his desk with photos of the missing victims. He pins the three recent additional photos to it and takes a sigh of relief.

  INTERVIEW

  The witness is here. Ms. Geane was a friend of the Smith’s. She was a tall woman with

  dark hair and a slender body. She walks into the interview room and sits down. A small table is in front of her and two additional chairs. A false mirror is in the room and on the other side is another room with a camera pointing outwards. Carson and Langdon walk in and sit on the two other chairs.

  “So lets get to it, tell me what you got,” says Langdon. “I was a close friend of the Smith’s,” says Ms. Geane. “That night they had been downtown and returned home, that was last time I saw them.” “They had no enemies or anyone I knew would want them dead.” “I heard some things,” says Ms. Geane. She gulps her throat and pauses. “What? What did you hear,” says Langdon? “I heard there is a group of people living somewhere far out on the bayou doing bizarre things. “Rituals, sacrifice for some twisted beliefs,” says Ms. Geane.

  Carson and Langdon both look at each other and then back at her. “Would you be willing to take a polygraph test?” says Langdon. “Yes, I believe I would pass,” says Ms. Geane.

  She gets up and walks into the polygraph room. She sits down and gets hooked up to the sensors.

  The administrator sits down and looks at the computer screen. “Just relax and answer every question yes or no,” he says. “Did you know the Smiths?” says the administrator. “Yes,” says Ms.

  Geane. “Did you kill them?” says the administrator. “No,” says Ms. Geane. They continue the test for another additional twenty minutes. The administrator allows Ms. Geane to return to the interview room. Langdon and Carson enter the polygraph room while the administrator is reading the data.

  “So was she telling the truth? Says Langdon. “Yes, she is defiantly telling the truth says the administrator. He holds up a print out graph of the test with waves across a chart. Langdon nods his head after reviewing the data. Langdon and Carson return to the interview and close the door where Ms. Geane is waiting.

  “You passed the test so your telling the truth,” says Langdon. “If you need me just give me a call,” say Ms;. Geane. She gets up, put a handwritten note of her phone number on the table and walks out.

  HOME

  Carson is at home now. He is slouched on his living room chair with the lights

  out. It’s dark and midnight. The clock ticking in the background. He takes a sip of a glass of whiskey. He tries to think and see with his abilities, but the drinking is making tings cloudy. Police lights flash in the window then disappear.

  Armed with this new information and they knew what had to be done. These group of people had something to do with the disappearances and they were somewhere out on the bayou.

  Carson gets up and picks up a photo of his mother in a frame. She was the one that encouraged him to use his gift. He sits down and pours himself another glass. It starts raining outside and Carson drinks the whole glass in one sip.

  He pours another glass drinking the whole glass in one sip. He is thinking he could figure this out he could save a lot of lives.

  He gets up and picks up his laptop and goes to Google. He searches,

  Cult on the bayou

  To his surprise he finds a few search results. On a conspiracy website they speculate a series of murders connected to a cult. Carson keeps reading and sits back in his chair and thinks. He keeps reading into the early mourning and eventually falls asleep in his chair.

  NEW LEAD

  It’s the early mourning and Carson is still asleep in his chair. His cell phone rings and wakes Carson from his slumber. He picks it up it’s Langdon on the other line.

  “Carson look we narrowed our search down to three air boat companies, I need you to come in to the station.” Says Langdon. Carson hasn’t even shaved but he changes into his suit and gets into his car. He drives to the station where Langdon is waiting in the parking lot with the un marked police car.

  “Get in let’s visit the first place,” says Langdon. Carson gets in the police car and they drive to the first location. It’s quite a drive out but they get there, and the sign reads:

  Airboat Tours.

  They get out and there is a gravel road leading up to two air boats on the shore line. A trailer is there where they give people tours. Langdon walks over to the trailer to talk to the owner. Carson walks out scans the area. He looks around for any clues. Langdon has finished talking with the owner and he walks over to Carson.

  “I spoke to the owner here and he gave me the

  information on his employees,” says Langdon. Carson is looking out far on the swamp. “It wasn’t here, this is not the place,” says Carson. The two get into the car. Langdon nods his head they head on the highway to the next location.

  They arrive at the next air boat spot. Again, the sign reads:

  Airboat Tours.

  Langdon gets out and tries to locate the owner. Carson gets out and looks around he gets a feel for the place. Langdon is talking with the owner of the airboat.

  “There have been rumors, that there is a cult of crazies living out there, but I don’t believe any of it,” says the owner. “I’ve been on this swamp for twenty years and haven’t seen anything.”

  “anything?” says Langdon. Carson nods his head no. They two get in and drive to the next location.

  Hopefully they will get something. They drive up a dirt road. They pass an old abandoned building and drive further down to the water. There is no airboat parked on the shore. There is a sign it reads:

  Airboat Tours.

  Langdon parks to car. He gets out and tries to locate someone. Carson gets out and walks around. Something feels different this time. He kneels and touches the soil. He closes his eyes and suddenly a vision. Three victims, loaded into the airboat and the dark of night. Carson stands up and looks behind him towards the old building.

  TRAIL

  Carson then turns and looks out over the swamp. “They were here,” says Carson. “What?” says Langdon. “They were here, they came through the building then left on an airboat at night,” says Carson.

  Carson looks to Langdon, “I think we should stake

  out here and see who comes.” They park the car in a wooded area and cover it with bushes. They sit in the car with binoculars and wait till night falls.

  Crickets are chirping, and the frogs are croaking loudly on the swamp. It’s now about midnight and Langdon is passed out snoring on the wheel. Carson is half awake but he see’s a b
right light. He picks up his head and opens both eyes. It appears to be an airboat loaded on a trailer of a pickup truck. There are two men in black unloading the boat into the water. Carson looks over Langdon and shakes his shoulder.

  Carson whispers, “wake up someone is here.” Langdon picks up his head. “huh?”

  Carson points out towards the shore of the swamp. Langdon yarns and rubs his eyes. He can now see the headlights and the activity taking place by the shore. The men in black unload supplies to the bed of the air boat. They start the fan and ride off into the dark of night. Langdon tries to point out a license plate but it’s too dark to see. The truck takes off and soon the headlight disappears into the night.

  “We need to get a boat out here and see where it

  goes,” says Langdon. “Agreed let’s head back to the station and see what we can get,” replies Carson. Carson pulls his flask out and takes a drink. They start the car and drive up to the spot the mysterious men were at. Carson gets out and touches the water. They get on the highway and drive back to the station.

  BOAT

  “When are you going to quit?” says Langdon. Carson takes a sip of his flask and looks at Langdon, “I don’t have a problem ok.”

  They have now secured an air boat loaded on a trailer and a pickup truck. The drive back to the known location with a new boat in tow. They get to the swamp and backup the airboat into the water. The truck is hidden in the nearby woods and bushes thrown onto it. It’s late afternoon and they are expecting the suspects to show up again at midnight.