Krampus bounded through the air and landed on the first man, massive jaws unhinging as it chomped down on the man’s head, easily crushing his skull like an overripe pumpkin, blood, hair, and brains spurting onto the snow below.
His companion stumbled backward, whimpering and pleading. He fell into the snow and continued backpedaling toward the trees, but it was too late. Krampus swooped down onto him and raised its long, thick arms high in the air before sinking its claws into the man’s torso. With a low growl, it tore his ribcage in two, sternum destroyed and ribs sharp and broken, pointing wildly in all directions.
The last man, the one who had tried to get Amber out of the car, realized it had been a grave mistake to leave the train and wander into open hunting ground. He had already started running back to the train. Krampus grabbed him mid-step and flung him against a tree more than twenty feet away. There was a sickening sound when he hit the trunk, and then his body collapsed at the base of the pine.
Cam was staring at Krampus, and Krampus was staring back at him, clutching the detached arm of his last victim.
Then the beast tossed the arm aside and stomped toward them, its eyes unblinking as it locked on to its prey.
Chapter X
THE TRACKS IN THE SNOW
A mber stepped in front of her brother, her chest heaving. Cam grasped her arm, his fingers digging into her skin as he watched the creature get closer.
She hastily turned and handed her phone to her brother. “Cam, I want you to run. Run as fast as you can, and get help.”
He shook his head. “I don’t want to leave you!”
She swallowed hard. “I’ll be okay,” she lied. Amber knew she would be anything but okay when the creature was done with her. She shoved him out of the car. “Go, Cam! Run!”
Cam was bawling, shaking his head adamantly as he began stepping back. “I love you, Amber.”
“I love you, too. Always. Now run!”
Cam wiped his nose and started sprinting away from her, away from the train, looking over his shoulder at his sister, watching as the monster closed the distance between them.
He saw Amber, blonde hair flowing behind her, her stance defiant, her fists balled at her sides as she stood her ground before the creature, determined to protect her brother even if it cost her her life.
The beast lifted its arm and hit Amber hard with the back of its hand, sending her reeling into the side of the train. To Cam’s horror, she didn’t get back up.
It marched toward her with purposeful strides, ready to finish her.
Cam’s breathing quickened painfully, and he felt the all-too-familiar feeling of an approaching asthma attack.
He looked at the phone in his hand, and then it dawned on him. His eyes grew wide as he remembered how the monster had recoiled and fled when Amber had inadvertently shone the phone light in its face.
Light! It was scared of light. As the old man had said, that was why it came at night to steal the children.
Cam already knew before he made it into the forest that he would never be able to leave Amber behind.
And even if he survived because of her sacrifice, Cam didn’t want to live in a world without his sister.
He activated the flashlight feature on Amber’s phone and turned around, fiercely tearing through the branches and snow, back to his best friend.
When he got closer, he saw the beast lifting Amber’s motionless body into the air, opening its maw to devour her.
Cam took a deep breath, feeling a sense of calm wash over him.
He screamed as loudly as he could as he drew close to the creature, and just when it whirled around to face him, fangs wide as they prepared to consume Amber, Cam reared his arm back and thrust his hand into its mouth, forcing the lit phone past its gullet.
The monster tossed Amber to the side and spun around wildly, roaring and clawing at its own body, trying to rip out the phone it had just swallowed.
The bright beam of light shone through its pale fur as it slid deeper and deeper into the beast’s core.
Then, what began as a small flame following the trail of the phone, suddenly erupted into giant flames as the fire expanded through its thick fur, instantly engulfing the creature, climbing its flesh like a dried Christmas tree.
Cam crouched by his sister’s side, cradling her in his lap in the snow, as he watched Krampus writhe in agony, limbs ablaze, until its charred corpse finally sank to the forest floor.
“We made it, Amber,” he whispered. “We made it.”
Epilogue
THE TRACKS IN THE SNOW
C urled up on the microfiber sofa in the basement, crackling flames dancing in the fireplace, Amber scrolled through her social media for the first time that weekend. One photo she’d posted had garnered a multitude of likes, but that wasn’t why she loved it, why she’d made it her profile picture.
It was a selfie of Amber, with her brother photobombing her from the side, less than an hour before pandemonium had overtaken the train.
The photo meant a lot to her. It reminded her of how brave they both had been in the face of an impossible evil, how much she loved her little brother, how she would do anything for him. And after saving her life that night, she knew he would do the same for her.
“Hey,” Cam said as he peeked over Amber’s shoulder. “You kept it.” His voice sounded pleasantly surprised.
She ruffled his hair. “Of course, you goofball.” She smiled and set her phone down. “That picture’s my favorite.” Opening the door to a storage closet in the basement, Amber reached for something, blowing off dust from its surface.
“Mom and Dad are working late again tonight. So...” Her voice trailed off, and she grinned mischievously. “I’m thinking pizza, Sour Patch Kids, a very competitive game of Jenga, and an all-night movie marathon. I mean, if you’re okay with that, of course. If not, it’s totally cool.”
Cam couldn’t help but run up to her and hug her tightly.
As he and Amber lay sprawled on the blanket in front of the fireplace watching their second movie, Cam realized he had gotten his Christmas wish after all.
And no matter how grown-up they became, or how swift the passage of time, the deep undercurrent of love for each other would always be there beneath the surface.
Always.
Chapter 4
D amon sat there quietly, staring at the floor, until finally the silence became so unbearable that Cora had no choice but to clear her throat.
He looked up as though the noise interrupted his contemplation. “Hmmmm.”
Cora pressed her lips together in a tight line. “So is that a good ‘hmmmm’ or a bad ‘hmmmm?’”
“Why did you make it about a brother and a sister?”
She tensed up for a second, almost wishing for silence again.
Well, this is awkward.
“I think it’s a good story. It has the elements of horror, but the kids in it make it less terrifying.”
Actually, that’s not it at all.
“I don’t like that you killed the creature off. Why did you do it?”
Cora shrugged. “Seemed like the kind of ending people usually want.”
“People?”
“Well,” she began carefully, “what did you like?”
He cracked his knuckles. “I like that you’re good with details. I could picture everything as you told the story.”
She breathed a sigh of relief. “I am a writer.”
Holding up her book, he smiled. “I know.”
She tugged a little at her restraints. “So are you going to let me go?”
“And where would you go exactly? What will you say when you reach town?”
“I won’t say anything. I’ll just keep driving.”
He gave her a skeptical glance. “Until where, the Pacific?”
She nodded ardently. “If you want me to. I told you, I never saw you or your sister. Take whatever you want.”
He looked over his shoulder. “What about that mon
ey you mentioned?” But that wasn’t what he really wanted. “And the safe?”
Cora’s palms begin to perspire, until drops of sweat started dripping onto the floor below.
Offer him the gold. It’ll distract him from the safe.
“It’s in gold bars. You can have it. But will you let me go if I do?”
“What gold?” Marisa asked, interrupting them. She had a bag thrown over a shoulder that looked a little on the thin side. When she moved, Cora could hear metal jostling about inside the duffel. Probably the limited jewelry she had left here, her grandmother’s. She’d always assumed it would be safer in the cabin than in her home in Virginia. And while Cora never really wore jewelry, she was still upset that this thief would be taking the only tangible remnants of her grandmother she had left. “Because from what I’ve seen, this bitch doesn’t have shit for being such a famous writer.”
With annoyance, Marisa snatched the laptop from Cora’s desk and added it to her meager stash. Cringing, Cora dug her nails into the wood of the chair.
Not my laptop. Not my stories.
“There’s plenty. We don’t need to touch her. She can live if she keeps her mouth shut,” Damon told his sister.
“She’s collateral damage,” Marisa retorted to Damon before turning to Cora. “You weren’t supposed to be here. You were supposed to be tucked away in your fancy house in the city with your family,” she finished.
Family.
Marisa’s words were like a hard slap in the face.
Cora felt Damon’s eyes on her, almost sympathetically gauging her reaction.
“I don’t have a family,” Cora stammered, her cheeks flushing in shame. “I came here to finish my book.”
“I. Don’t. Care,” Marisa spat at her. “Where is the gold, Damon? And why the hell didn’t you tell me earlier?”
“She just now told me,” he said quietly, setting the book down.
Marisa was visibly enraged. “So what have you been doing this entire time? Chatting? Why don’t you just make her a cup of tea while you’re at it, Damon?” She growled in frustration, rubbing her temples roughly. “You are so useless! I thought we could do this together, get some money and start fresh. Get out of this hell hole. But instead, you’re literally sitting on your ass while I do all the work.” She glared at Cora. “And what, do you like her or something?” Her eyes scanned Cora from head to toe with blatant disdain, taking in her greasy, tangled hair, sloppy clothes, and bare feet that hadn’t had a pedicure in a very long time. “My, your taste has really gone to the shitter, brother dear.”
Cora shifted uncomfortably, feeling like an unwelcome witness whenever Marisa went for Damon’s jugular with her insults. A part of her felt bad for the man when his sister berated him.
Maybe telling him a story about a loving brother and sister was a bad idea.
Marisa set the bag on the floor. She reached into her back pocket and pulled out a knife, flipping it open so that Cora could see the jagged blade.
“We don’t have time for this shit. Damon is a lot more patient than I am. Nicer, too. He’s always been a pussy. So here’s how it’ll go. You tell me where the gold is, or I’ll start taking things off your face.” She straddled Cora in the chair and grabbed her chin, forcing it up and squeezing it between her fingers painfully. “Am I making myself clear?”
Cora’s eyes went wide as the blade drew closer to her face.
Just tell them. It’s not like it’s your life savings. It was just a spur-of-the-moment investment, and you have others in stocks and retirement. You want them gone, don’t you?
“Where is it?” She held the knife above Cora’s ear, pulling it away from her head and resting the blade in the crevice.
Tell them! It’s just money!
When the knife dug into her ear, Cora yelped and jolted in the chair. She could feel warm liquid running down the side of her face.
Her inner monologue went quiet.
“Marisa, cut that shit out,” Damon demanded, standing to his feet and grabbing his sister’s wrist. “The deal was to rob her, not torture her.”
“Screw you, Damon,” Marisa hissed, and she got off Cora’s lap, spinning around to slap Damon across the face. “Don’t touch me again.”
Damon gritted his teeth so tightly Cora was almost certain she could hear the sound of the enamel grinding together from where she sat.
“Okay! Okay,” Cora acquiesced. She exhaled loudly, trying to calm herself and slow her racing heart. “It’s…” She closed her eyes defeatedly. “It’s in a hidden compartment in the bedroom, under the floorboards.” Cora had made the space herself a long time ago when she first bought the cabin, thinking the small precautionary measure was more reasonable than purchasing an alarm system for a remote house no one would ever try to burglarize.
She never thought such a crime would happen to her of course, but here she was, tied to a chair while a deranged woman attempted to saw off her ears.
“Where in the bedroom?” Marisa pressed with impatience. “I’m not going to dig up the entire floor.”
“In the closet,” Cora answered unwillingly.
Marisa folded her knife and turned to her brother. “You coming?”
Damon pushed the book under one of the couch pillows. “Someone has to watch her.”
She threw her hands in the air. “Fine, I’ll do it myself. Thanks for nothing, bro.”
Cora watched Marisa disappear into the bedroom, then looked back at Damon.
He shouldn’t want to simply get out of town. He should want to get as far away as he could from his psycho sister.
Damon seemed different than Marisa. Trapped. Eager for something better, but too afraid to leave what was familiar to get it. And certainly too good to be in the company of someone like Marisa, who would only bring him down.
Pretty much the opposite of Amber and Cam then. Strike one, Cora. Well done.
“I thought you were going to let me go. Your crazy sister almost cut off my ear,” Cora said, trying to hide her anger. “And you guys were casing me.”
He ran his hands over his face. “Like she said, you weren’t supposed to be here. I’m sorry. I don’t agree with her methods.”
Cora wanted to believe him. But could she? “So how did you know this cabin was up here?”
“It’s a small town. People talk. You’re pretty much the only one in this area who isn’t poor so word gets around.”
Cora chastised herself for living near such a place, but she couldn’t have known. It wasn’t like she moved there to make friends. No one except her agent had even been to the cabin.
She’d made the purchase years ago after completing a book signing and speaking engagement in a city a couple hours away. Cora had left the event feeling drained and overstimulated, so she took her rental car and drove aimlessly, rolling the windows down to get fresh air and relishing her newfound alone time. The further she drove deeper into the mountains, the more she fell in love with the panoramic views and the uninterrupted peace and tranquility. She visited a realtor on a second trip back and purchased the cabin on the same day she viewed the property.
Cora chided herself even more for ever telling anyone in the town that she was a writer. She didn’t have any friends there, but all it took was a simple mention, a conversation in passing with a friendly cashier in the checkout line at the grocery store, a gas station attendant… Word spread fast, especially in a town where everyone was living at or below the poverty line.
But she couldn’t remember a time when she’d told anyone where she actually lived.
“If it means anything,” he offered, “we were planning to break in, take what we could, and then leave. Hurting you was never part of the plan.”
“Well,” she said bitterly, tilting her head at the blood making its way down her ear, “it’s a little late for that!” After sitting in silence for a minute, Cora prodded, “Your sister said you were trying to get out?”
“That was the plan. Leave, and don’t
look back.”
“Where would you go?”
He gave her a knowing smile. “You really think I’d tell you that?”
She nodded. “Fair.” Then she motioned to the bedroom. “Aren’t you curious to see how much all that gold in there is worth? There’s cash, too.”
“Sure,” he replied, but his tone implied otherwise. He had reached for the book again, passing it from one hand to the other thoughtfully.
“It’s going to take her a while to loosen up the boards and dig everything out. Every time I need cash, I grab enough to last me because it’s such a pain to get it out to begin with. You might want to help her,” Cora tried.
“Yeah, not going to happen. And I figure if you could do it, then my sister is more than capable.”
“Thanks.” She leaned back into the chair. “Well, my closet is a mess. So get comfortable. It’ll be a while.”
“Good,” Damon told her. “Because I want to hear another story.” He rested his boots on the coffee table, waiting for her to begin. “And this time, add that creature character back in there.”
Cora wanted to protest, to tell him the deal had been for one story. But she also knew she wasn’t in a position to negotiate. She was tied to a chair, no help was on the way, and his sister was ready to chop her up into little pieces.
Damon was her only hope of getting out alive.
THE TOWN IN THE MOUNTAIN
Chapter I
THE TOWN IN THE MOUNTAIN
San Bordelo Mountain Pass
I t was their first Christmas away from the kids.
Evangeline shook her head and stared out the window at the winter wonderland, the thin glass the only barrier protecting them from the dangerous conditions outside.
They had just begun their ascent into the San Bordelo Mountain Pass. Freshly fallen snow dappled the vast expanse of evergreens, casting everything in a deceptively inviting white halo.
And Soon Comes the Darkness Page 6