Nightfall

by E.L. Middleton

  The thing that bothered her most was that, in an effort to see what living on the other side of the fence was like, she had listened to Susan and skipped the revival meeting. She knew she shouldn’t have done that and was absolutely positive that they were both going to be getting demerits for their actions. What would her parents think? What would they say? They would be so disappointed in her, she just knew it.

  “You’re acting ridiculous! Just relax,” Susan said, laughing at Tracy as she paced the floor.

  “How can I? We’re skipping the revival service, Susan. That spells big trouble if we get caught,” Tracy said, stopping to look at Susan with her hands on her hips.

  “Oh, is that what it spells, Trace?” Susan said, sarcastically and then burst into another fit of laughter.

  “It’s not funny,” Tracy protested.

  Susan stopped laughing and looked at Tracy, seriously.

  “You’re right. It’s not funny,” Susan said and then suddenly burst out laughing again. “I’m sorry, I can’t help it.”

  Suddenly, Tracy heard a loud bang from down at the other end of the hallway. Susan continued to laugh, unaware until she saw Tracy’s face. She was frozen in terror, her eyes wide.

  “What?” Susan asked, her laughter dying down.

  “Someone’s coming,” Tracy said, barely moving an inch.

  Susan began to listen too and soon they heard the sound of footsteps, soft and slow, coming toward their room.

  “Hide!” Susan whispered.

  They both scrambled, turning off the radio and sliding under their beds. As the footsteps got closer Tracy realized they left the lights on. She slid out from under her bed and ran to the switch, the footsteps sounding closer now. She hit the light switch, flooding the room in darkness and managed to find her way back under her bed.

  The footsteps stopped and the two of them could only hear the sound of crickets outside their bedroom window for what seemed like forever. Then, suddenly, the footsteps started up again. They moved away from the door, just as slow and soft as before and a second later they heard the double doors beside their room being thrown open and the sound of the footsteps walking away. The double doors slammed hard, jolting Tracy, and then they were left with the sounds of the crickets once more.

  They waited for several minutes, wanting to be sure that whoever that had been was truly gone, and then slowly emerged from under their beds. They stood in the darkness, whispering to each other.

  “You okay?” Tracy asked.

  “Yeah. But I think I should really clean the stuff out from under my bed. There’s something hard and sharp down there and I was laying on it the whole time,” Susan replied, as she rubbed her lower back and winced.

  “What do we do now?” Tracy asked.

  “One of us should probably go outside and make sure that the coast is clear,” Susan said, starting to shake her head. “Listen to me. I sound like Fred from Scooby-Doo.”

  Tracy managed to stifle a laugh, amazing Susan. Some part of her hadn’t really thought she would get much of a response to a pop culture reference from Tracy. She was surprised and impressed. Happy that she had made a breakthrough with Tracy, Susan headed for the door. Tracy stopped laughing, catching her attention.

  “Do you want me to go?” Tracy asked.

  “Nah. Stay here and keep a look out.”

  “Sure thing, Fred,” Tracy quipped.

  Susan smiled and then walked carefully out of the room.

  The hallway was lit on both ends by moonlight, beams of white cascading and stretching. As Susan walked out of her dorm room, shutting the door behind her, she was immediately bathed in moonlight. She looked left and down toward the far side of the hall, straining her eyes to check shadows and listening for the footsteps. After a minute she looked the other direction, the double doors nearly in front of her. She crept up to them, trying to keep her footsteps completely silent. When she reached the door she peered out of one of the windows. The window was too close to the outside wall to really get a good perspective so she hunched down and put her ear to the door. The crickets chirped outside and it reverberated through the door. Susan could also hear the wind blowing gently through the trees. She strained her ears, trying to hear beyond the aesthetic sounds, and searched for something else.

  Back in the room Tracy stood in the darkness. It felt like Susan had been gone for too long, but she knew better than that. There was something about this fear she was feeling that made time slowly creep by. She wanted to think the whole idea behind what they were doing was silly. After all, what was the worst they would do? Give them demerits? Sure, her parents wouldn’t be happy about having to pay a fine and might even make her pay for it somehow, but it wasn’t a life or death situation. Maybe they could even talk their way out of it. She had never been in trouble with the R.A.’s before and maybe she could spring for both of them to get out of this situation cleanly.

  As she thought about these things, trying to lay out some sort of a script that she could say to the R.A. if they got caught tonight, she felt herself being drawn to the bedroom window. She walked, almost trance-like, to the moonlight sifting through their blinds. As she reached the window she raised her hands, parting the blinds. She leaned in, trying to see what was outside. As she did a dark shadow blocked the moonlight and her view was filled with the most hideous pair of eyes she had ever seen. They seemed to glow in the night. She screamed as loud as she could as she stumbled backward, releasing the blinds and falling to the floor.

  Susan, still hunched down with her ear to the double doors, heard the scream fill the hallway. She stood up to run toward the room but as she did the window in the door broke open, sending shards of glass scattering across the hallway floor. A pair of rotten and muddy hands reached out and grabbed her by the shoulders. They pulled her toward the double doors and her back slammed against the release bar. One of the doors flew wide open and as it did Susan felt the grip of the hands loosen. She struggled and managed to pull herself away. She ran back inside and into her dorm room where the screaming had now stopped. Susan slammed the door shut, immediately twisting the lock, and looked around the room for Tracy. Her eyes had adjusted to the light—or lack thereof—by now and there was no sign of her.

  “Tracy?” she whispered.

  Suddenly she heard a sniffle, followed by heavy breathing. Susan followed it to Tracy’s bed and peered underneath it. Tracy was huddled up as far back as she could, flush with the wall.

  “Are you alright?” Susan asked.

  Tracy just nodded, tears streaming down her face. Susan was about to say something else when loud pounding began on their dorm room door. They both jumped and Tracy started to scream again. Susan put her forefinger to her lips, quieting Tracy.

  “Don’t make another sound,” Susan said.

  She quickly crawled over to her side of the room and hid back underneath her own bed. Whatever it was that had been sharp and lodged in her back the last time poked at her again. This time she barely took notice as she watched the door pulse with each hit it was taking from the other side.

  The pounding went on for several minutes, the door threatening to crack, and then it suddenly stopped. The entire room went silent. Susan could feel her heart racing and was almost sure that it was loud enough to give her position away. Her muscles began to ache from being tensed up for such a long period of time. As she slowly began to relax them another pulse hit the door this time sending it flying open and almost off of the hinges.

  A figure stood in the doorway, looking into the room. Susan could hear Its raspy breathing and something wet and thick dripping on the carpet. It walked inside, dragging Its feet and practically stumbling. It came to a stop right in between the two twin beds and as It did Susan was hit by an incredible stench. The smell of mildew, mud and decay filled the room making her nauseous. She covered her mouth, trying not to make a sound as the figure turned, Its torn and dilapidated shoes pointing toward Tracy’s bed. Susan could see Tracy’s eyes
widen in horror. They both looked at each other, helplessly.

  Suddenly, the figure reached down and lifted up the mattress and box spring, throwing them off to the side of the room and revealing Tracy curled up underneath. It snarled at her as she began to scream. She tried to slide out from under the bed but the figure grabbed her, digging Its long and filthy fingernails into her shoulders. Her screams quickly died as Susan watched her body fall, lifelessly to the floor.

  Outside of dorm thirteen, the window that once held light and warmth in a building completely blanketed in darkness, now held only screams and the sounds of destruction. In the moonlight more of the creatures were making their way toward the building, their shadows long and stretched across the hillside.

  CHAPTER 12

  In a town as small as Mountain Valley you were lucky to get something like a mall. Most of the time you had to walk the old city streets to get any recreational shopping done, unless there was a corner market or a hardware store near where you lived. So when the Willowbrook Mall opened just six miles away from Mountain Valley University it was a big deal. There were mixed feelings around town. Those who had lived in Mountain Valley all of their lives didn’t see a need for a mall and were concerned about the small shops in the city that had been there forever. Where would they go? Could they survive?

  In the end it boiled down to the fact that the university brought in quite a lot of money into the town—more than enough for both a mall and the smaller shops to survive—and if they intended to keep the university chock full of students then the town was going to have to modernize in a few ways. The older folks called it compromise and the kids called it cool. Either way you looked at it, Mountain Valley got a mall.

  Three years later the Willowbrook Mall opened up and the most peculiar thing happened. Mixed feelings once again arose but this time they were turned around completely. The older folks thought it was fantastic and couldn’t believe they had doubted their need for it. They praised it for bringing life to the small town and started small groups that would hang out early in the morning before the shops opened up, sometimes walking the length of the mall for exercise. The young people, mostly the college students, discovered that there were relatively few stores that actually appealed to them. Sure, there was a music store with overpriced CD’s and several clothing shops to buy the latest fashion, but it wasn’t the type of mall that most of the students were used to back at their respective homes.

  Since there wasn’t too much to do in the small town, most of them hung out at the mall anyway. The local police weren’t too happy about that, but since the inception of the indoor mall law enforcement had been dealing with that however they saw fit. It was nothing new to the Mountain Valley Police Department. At any given point during the day the mall would look packed. With the students having classes at various times they would filter in and out of the mall. Some of them even obtained jobs, which their parents were immensely happy about. From nine in the morning to eight o’clock at night the mall was the ultimate—and only—hangout.

  In recent years though, the mall found itself with unexpected competition. Coffee shops became popular as well as the reinvention of the fifties diner. A movie theater, with pricing perfect for a financially challenged college student, was built within walking distance of the dorms. A used music store was put in downtown allowing students to buy and trade used CD’s. The competition, while cutting into the sheer volume of students at the mall, still didn’t dampen the crowds. Students still continue to hang out there in large numbers if for no other reason than to get away for awhile.

  As Ewen drove his old station wagon into the parking lot of the Willowbrook Mall he and Jennifer immediately noticed how empty it looked. Only a few cars were parked there and none of them were remotely close to the building. He chose a parking space near the entrance to the mall and shut the engine off. He looked over at Jennifer, a little unsure.

  “Is this okay?” he asked her.

  Jennifer laughed a little.

  “Are you kidding? I’m a girl. You couldn’t have brought me to a better place,” she said.

  Ewen laughed a little as they got out of the car. They made their way toward the glass doors that led inside of the mall, the sound of their footsteps echoing through the parking lot. Shadows hung in every corner, cowering from the streetlights. As if both realizing how cold and lonely the place looked they reached for each other’s hand, interlocking their fingers.

  To Jennifer, it felt perfect holding Ewen’s hand. She had never felt so comfortable around a guy before. There was no fear of saying something stupid or, most importantly, of being someone other than herself. After all, she had been a bit hard hearted when Ewen had first walked up to her and introduced himself, so being herself certainly wouldn’t scare him away.

  There was something else about him too. She couldn’t quite pinpoint it, but she knew it had something to do with what they were doing at that very moment. They weren’t just walking to the mall. They were walking to a seemingly deserted mall at night in a town that appeared to be almost empty for some reason. The idea of being in a ghost town, or a ghost mall for that matter, was scary. But being in a ghost town or mall with Ewen made her fear lessen. Her thoughts went back to what he had said in the car, The older we get the more realistic our fears get.

  Maybe her sense of safety around Ewen was premature or even silly so early on but she got the feeling that even though they had just gotten to know one another he would do anything to protect her. Was it love that was making her feel this way? She didn’t know, and her inability to accept the irrational without good reason told her it was too early to know.

  As they approached the walkway that led to the entrance she spoke to him, afraid her thoughts had somehow taken too long.

  “This place looks empty,” she said, looking at him for a moment.

  “I know. You’d think the mall would be packed. It’s the only thing to do in this town,” Ewen said. “The restaurant was more packed than this.”

  Suddenly, something from behind one of the cars in the distance emerged. A twisted, black figure watched them walk toward the glass doors. The shadow from a tree nearby the entrance suddenly grew thicker and took on a more human form, swaying slightly. Neither Ewen or Jennifer noticed, still focused on each other.

  “Why do I feel like the rapture has taken place and we’ve been left behind?” Jennifer said.

  “Well, if there are any sales going on you’ll be the first in line,” Ewen said, grinning.

  They both laughed a little as he opened one of the entrance doors for her. As soon as they disappeared inside, the shadows all around the mall began to move, twisting and churning into odd shapes and forms and stretching for the entrance to the mall.

  CHAPTER 13

  The inside of the mall was just as empty as it appeared to be from the outside. Only a handful of shoppers were walking the town’s single-story shopping mecca. Ewen and Jennifer were able to relax and walk casually past the stores instead of weaving their way in and out of a crowd. The shoppers that were inside didn’t seem the least bit interested in the two of them, or much else for that matter. Ewen noticed a peculiar looking woman with a shopping bag in one hand and her purse hanging off of one shoulder walking the opposite side they were on. At first glance she appeared to be just an average older woman out walking the mall until he noticed her choice of footwear. Pink, house slippers were attached to her feet, scuffing along as she made her way past a camera shop. Deciding it best not to stare at someone, even if their attire practically warranted it, he turned his vision straight ahead.

  Jennifer sighed, sounding like she was emerging from a deep stream of consciousness. Ewen looked at her, concerned.

  “You all right?” he asked.

  “Yeah. I was just thinking about how much fun I used to have back in high school shopping after school with my friends,” she said, half shrugging.

  It felt like it had been years since the days when she had gone sho
pping in high school and by all calculations it was getting pretty close. She had been the only one with a license at the earliest of those times and her friends, Julie and Chris—short for Christine—had always sprung for some gas money so they could scope out the latest fashions and, of course, the guys. Most of their evenings were spent ogling the “hunks” that were seniors to their juniors and laughing while spilling the beans on whatever recent gossip had been passed around school that afternoon. Sure, it wasn’t good to gossip but they would have to learn that another, more difficult way. For them, back then, it was all about who was dating whom and who had a fight with whom. Nothing serious, at least not until they got a little older.

  Since she had graduated the days of careless fun and laughter had pretty much ended, not to mention the whole concept behind friendship. She hadn’t met anyone in her dorm, in her classes or even on campus at all that she had connected well with. She had tried to connect with other girls, but had mostly been approached by guys who were quite obviously looking for something a little different than spending time at the mall and laughing.

  When she was younger she had had a rough time with her best friend that she had known since kindergarten. It had seemed that when they both hit sixth grade her friend, Tamara, had suddenly found another group of girls to hang out with. Tamara had still talked to Jennifer and on rare occasions they would still stay over each other’s houses, but it just wasn’t the same in sixth grade as it had been prior to that. There was something different between them and although they had never had a fight or ever disliked one another it still had made her sad and she didn’t understand why. Her father sat down with her one night while she was doing her homework, having noticed that she looked upset at dinner.