by Scare Street
Near the end of summer, Sherrell went to check on her grandmother and found her missing. She searched the house, but her grandma was not there.
Sherrell ran toward the cemetery, arms pinwheeling to keep her balance.
Grandmother Kitsch sat in a chair at the rickety table, holding the green vase. Her thumb played at the latch.
“Grandmother Kitsch, no, you can’t do this!” Sherrell pleaded as she reached for the vase.
Her grandmother pulled it to her chest. “It was easy to tell which one it was. It’s cleaner than the others.” She smiled sweetly at Sherrell. “Dry your eyes. I’ll be dead in a few days anyway. We all know it’s really the end. You always get better just before you kick off this world.” She flipped the latch and tipped the vase.
Sherrell watched in horror as her father’s ashes filtered into the air. The roar that signaled the approach of the Reaper chilled her blood. Suddenly, he was there, filling the small space with his magnificent and terrifying presence.
As his cloak spread, Grandmother Kitsch smiled serenely and closed her eyes. Sherrell could not watch. She turned and ran back home.
Her mother stood in the yard, hands on hips, eyes flaring. “Sherrell, I cannot believe you’ve done this again. If I could shirk the natural laws of motherhood, I would kill you in your sleep, as I should’ve done after you killed Joe.”
Screaming, Sherrell ran straight at the hateful woman she knew as Mama. They went sprawling into the yellowing grass, punching, biting, and kicking each other. After exhaustion separated them, they stood, facing each other.
“I did not do this. Grandmother Kitsch did this to free her drunk of a son.” Sherrell trembled with anger as much as with exhaustion.
Her mother said nothing, only stood glaring at her as she walked inside and went to her room. Sherrell slammed her door and slid her bed in front of it. She was not going to risk her mother murdering her while she slept.
Avoiding her mother became more difficult as summer died and fall took its place. There was less work to do outside and more to do inside. Her mother no longer screamed hatred at her. She no longer spoke to Sherrell at all. She acted as if the girl was non-existent.
In mid-fall, with all the vegetables from the harvest safely in the cellar and preserved in jars, Sherrell decided it was time to free her grandmother. The Reaper was non-discriminant about the ashes that filled his vase. Sherrell thought she could free her grandmother and stay out of his grasp. He had passed her up on three other occasions to collect the person nearest the vase. If she freed her grandma and threw the vase into the woods, she thought she would be safe.
Maybe he would end up taking some hunter who passed by too close.
***
Sherrell hurried along the steep mountain path as the blackening clouds pressed on the horizon. No birds chittered, no crickets sang, the only sound was the rushing, roaring wind coming up the ravine behind her.
Quickening the pace, Sherrell hid the emerald-green vase inside her jacket. The wind took the form of the Reaper. He was dressed in a cloak of dead leaves and twigs. The dirt and debris swirled underneath him as he screamed up the path. Sherrell hid face-first in a rut by the path, covered the back of her head with her hands, and waited.
The hateful wind stormed over her, leaving her covered in a madman’s blanket of muck dredged up from the forest floor. The Reaper ascended the path in front of her, swinging his scythe, searching for her. For the vase.
The last time, the Reaper had replaced the emptied vase with her grandma’s ashes. The time before that, the emptied vase was refilled with her father’s ashes. That wasn’t so bad for anyone. She had freed her brother’s soul. The Reaper was not discriminating and took whoever was closest to refill his vases.
Pa had been the person closest to the vase when the Reaper came to collect it. In Sherrell’s mind, the trade-off was fair—free a child, and trap a drunk. Even though it secretly pleased her mama to be rid of Pa, she never trusted Sherrell again. And she never told the girl that she was glad to be rid of her father, but Sherrell watched and noted that the pull at the corners of her eyes and mouth had eased up a bit, the bruises on her arms and face had healed.
Patting the lump under her jacket, Sherrell smiled. He had not seen her this time. The cabin loomed into view as dusk crawled up the mountain. Inside, Sherrell discarded her jacket and kicked off her shoes. The dim light reflected from the smooth surface of the vase and sparked color prisms just above its shimmering surface.
“Sherrell.” Her mama was in the doorway, hands on hips, scowling. She tramped over and eyed the vase. “You fool. He’ll come for this one, too. When does it end? Everyone dies; he just takes his pound of flesh like everything and everyone else. You can’t stop him, you foolish girl. I should have killed you. You bring nothing but grief!”
“But Mama, he went right over me. Didn’t even see me,” Sherrell defended. Mama paused in mid-stride, only a step away.
Sherrell hoped that a smile might replace the scowl when her mama turned, but a hard slap dashed her hope. Her mama stalked up the stairs and out of view, leaving Sherrell with a heart full of pain and a cheek full of fire.
“Don’t you worry Grandma, I’ll see to it you don’t go back there. I ain’t gonna let him have you back. He doesn’t own you.” Sherrell hugged the vase to her chest and walked outside.
The wind ripped at her clothes and hair as she climbed off the top of the ladder and stood on the roof. “Be quick and be free,” she whispered to the vase as she undid the latch.
A familiar roar neared from the woods behind her. Ashes filtered out into the violent air, spiraling toward the tree line. She drew back her arm to throw the vase toward the woods. A stiff gust of wind ripped it from her hand, and it toppled off the roof.
On the ground again, Sherrell felt triumphant, despite dropping the vase. The roar was gone, her grandma was free, and all was well. She picked up the vase and turned to look in the direction of the path to the cemetery.
The Reaper stood by the front door.
He was a looming, black shape against the turquoise of the evening-dark trees. Sherrell stopped, locked up with fear, she could not even blink.
A long, thin, grey hand beckoned. “Give me that.” The Reaper’s airy deep voice twined around her head and trailed off.
Sherrell threw the vase and it disappeared into the darkness of the Reaper. A moment later he shrieked, “Empty!”
He held the vase out toward her.
Her mama opened the door and stepped out, a question on her face. The Reaper’s blackness covered her immediately and funneled her ashes into the vase.
Sherrell stood voiceless, stifled by her own guilty relief.
After all, that wasn’t such a bad trade-off, either.
Sherrell watched the Reaper don his dead-leaf cloak and ride the wind back down the ravine toward the graveyard.
* * *
Night Crawler
By Arwa Hezzah
She sat in her car with the windows rolled up and the doors locked. She had turned the engine off completely, a move she wasn’t sure she should’ve done. She sat in the driver’s seat with her legs curled up to her chin, and she shook like a leaf. The air around her was getting heavy, but it still maintained its discomforting chill. Raindrops stained the car from the storm earlier that night. Her breath had started to fog up the windows, making it harder to see what was happening outside.
She was on the verge of crying, but held it in, knowing it would do her no good. She wanted to move, she wanted to start the car and drive off, but she couldn’t bring herself to do it, not after what had just happened.
What if it hears her car?
What if it comes for her again?
It was fast, she knew that much. And it wasn’t human, nor an animal. It was… she didn’t know just what it was. She knew it scared her, more than anything ever had. So much so that she was sitting in her car, in the middle of nowhere, scared out of her senses, and unable to move
, in fear that it would find her again.
Her car had broken down; she’d figured it was because of the rain. It tended to do that. It usually took the engine a few minutes of muttering and sputtering before it started working normally again. She used to say it was her car acting up.
It was still raining when the car had stopped working. She’d gone outside to check on the engine, to make sure it was nothing serious. She’d popped the hood open, and just like she had suspected, everything had looked fine. It was just acting out because of the rain, and she had gotten herself soaked for no good reason. She’d shut the hood again and turned to go back into the car.
That was when she had seen it. Standing in the middle of the road like it had no care in the world. Its long arms had dangled by its sides, and it had eyed her with a viciousness that had almost been tangible.
“H-hello?” she had stuttered, wondering if it was someone trying to help her, or someone who needed help.
From a distance, it had looked like a man. A man with unusually long arms, standing in the middle of the road. Nothing more. She hadn’t been able to see it clearly in the rain and darkness of the night. She’d squinted, trying to make out any features, and that’s when it had started to move. Slow, limping steps in her direction. The closer it had gotten to her, the faster she had begun to realize that it was not human.
Tall, with long limbs, looking like a man wearing no clothes. But it definitely had not been a man. Skin that was pale, lifeless, almost dead. Eyes glistening in the darkness, something no human eyes ever did. She had started taking steps back until she collided with her car. The rain fell in heavy droplets onto her skin, sending shivers down her spine.
With no warning, the being had dropped onto all fours, making a sprint for her. On instinct, she had turned around and run into her car. She had locked the doors as soon as she’d gotten in, expecting a collision to rock the vehicle and force her to scream.
But nothing happened. It was as though the creature had vanished into thin air.
She’d been sitting in her car since then, too scared to do anything. She shivered, finally feeling the cold and wetness that she had been ignoring. The rain had stopped a few minutes ago, and things had gotten quieter. But she still hadn’t managed to calm herself down, not entirely.
She wiped the vapor off the window beside her and peeked outside, trying to make out if, whatever that thing was, was still there. She saw nothing. No cars passing by, no people. The road was completely empty. That alone scared her. She hated that the night was so still; tonight of all nights.
She checked the clock flashing in the dashboard before her. It was exactly midnight. She shook her head. No wonder there was nobody on the road. How long had she been in the car? It couldn’t have been more than an hour, though it felt longer.
She picked her phone up, debating whether or not she should make a call. Her boyfriend was the only one she could rely on in a situation like this. What would she tell him? Her car broke down, like it usually did, and she thought she saw something outside? She was too afraid to start the car again?
Maybe she was stupid. Maybe there was nothing there. But, no. She knew she hadn’t imagined it. She knew she had seen… something. With a sigh, she put her phone down. She needed to handle this herself. She turned so that she was sitting properly in the driver’s seat, ready to drive off if the need arose.
She inhaled deeply as she turned the key in the ignition. The car gave a few sputters, as expected, before the engine whirred, signaling that it was ready to go. She sighed in relief and switched gears, wanting nothing more than to get off the road.
She gave the car a few minutes to warm up, knowing how it got when she didn’t give it its time. She listened to the sound of the engine, a little relieved that she was no longer left in silence.
Just as she started to calm down, she heard a shuffling noise coming from outside, something moving. She stiffened, expecting the worst. Without a second thought, she pressed her foot on the gas pedal, sending the car flying down the road. She wanted nothing more than to get back home. She didn’t have time to ponder over what she’d heard. She needed to get out of there.
In her rush, she didn’t realize that the car had started sputtering again.
“Crap,” she muttered under her breath.
It was going to stop again, the car was going to break down, and she was going to be stranded once more. As the car slowed to a halt, she picked up her phone, ready to dial her boyfriend’s number. The vehicle came to a complete stop as she brought her phone up to her ear, hearing it ring once, twice, three times, with no answer.
“Come on, come on, come on,” she sighed, checking her rearview mirror.
Two lights glistened behind her, and for a moment, she thought they were headlights. She was quickly proven wrong as the lights came closer, speeding towards her. Not lights. Eyes, glistening in the darkness like the eyes of an animal.
In a panic, she dropped her phone and reached for the car keys yet again. She turned the key, hearing the car sputter and stop. It was being stubborn now.
“No, no, no, no,” she said through clenched jaws, turning the key again and again, in hopes of hearing the comforting whirr of the engine.
She checked her rearview mirror once more. The eyes had gotten closer now and she could make out the deadman-like features of the creature. It was running towards the car on all fours, its mouth open and teeth bared. She started pressing the gas pedal mechanically. Even knowing that her car wasn’t going to start moving any time soon, a part of her hoped it would somehow take her away, save her from the situation she was in.
The creature came to a stop behind the car, and she stared at it through the rearview mirror. Although she was only looking at its reflection, she felt like it was gazing straight at her, almost through her. She watched it as it rose up on its legs, its eyes never leaving hers.
It moved slowly from the back of the car towards its side, running its hand along the body. She could hear it scratching the paint off, like nails on a chalkboard. She held her breath, not knowing what else to do, cringing from the unwelcoming sound.
It didn’t take it long to make it to the window by her side. She gasped when she laid eyes on it, finally seeing how gruesome it looked up close. It looked like nothing she had ever seen. Its skin was pale and thin, bones poking through it, making it look quite fragile. Its face resembled that of a man; it had a man’s eyes, a man’s nose, but not a man’s mouth. With its mouth open slightly, she could see its teeth, sharp and protruding from its mouth in rows.
Her breath quickened as she exchanged glances with the creature, as she saw the emotionless viciousness in its eyes. Now that it had come closer, she could see its eyes clearly. They weren’t glistening as they had been from a distance. Instead, the eyes were black, an obsidian she felt she could lose herself in, an abyss threatening to engulf her completely. She didn’t move, hoping that it would somehow lose interest and move on.
But it was too late now. It had seen her. It had figured out that there was someone in the car. In a sudden movement, the creature slammed its hand against the window, revealing sharp nails turned black with grime.
She let out a scream, unable to control her fear any longer. With the creature standing beside her window, its nails dragging against the glass, she turned back to the keys, turning them in the ignition once more. For all she knew, it was her last chance to make it out of there alive. She had no idea just what she was dealing with.
As the car sputtered, she could hear the creature let out a soft growl, unfazed by the noise. She closed her eyes, letting all her hope hang on her car starting. It made its usual noises before the engine died again.
It was done. She was a goner.
She couldn’t open her eyes, and she could almost hear the creature smiling at her predicament.
She was trapped and it knew.
A bang against the window forced her to open her eyes. The creature had moved its face closer to the g
lass and was banging against it with a closed fist. It was trying to get through, trying to get to her. Not knowing what else to do, she pushed herself onto the passenger’s seat, getting as far away from it as she possibly could.
It shifted at her movement, taking a moment to understand what she had done. In a second, the monster went back to slamming its fist against the glass, sending small cracks running like spider webs across it. She knew it would get to her before long. Her breath caught in her throat as she watched the monster that hungered for her. She didn’t know what it wanted from her, but it looked angry. It looked like it wanted her more than anything.
It continued slamming its fist against the window, the glass cracking with each assault. She closed her eyes once more, ready for it to get to her. At that, she heard the window crash and felt shards of glass fall onto her legs.
Before she could even open her eyes, she was dragged out the window by the ankle. She could feel little shards of glass diving into her back, sending sparks of pain across her body. She started screaming, louder than she ever had before, hoping that someone would hear her, hoping that anybody would save her from whatever this thing was going to do. Her back slammed against the asphalt and she could feel the being’s nails dig into her skin, pulling her down the road.
She saw trees rising above her before she lost consciousness.
***
News about the attack had spread across town. Sheriff Miller had taken over the case, vowing before the whole town to find whatever it was that had caused the death of Alissa Samuels. It was the first time in a long time that something like this had happened in Norville, and it was causing panic amongst the people of the small town.
Word had spread that she had been found in the forest by a couple of hikers. Her body had been in such a bad condition, they hadn’t been sure if she was a human being or an animal. It was her head that helped them figure out she was a woman, left almost entirely intact and unharmed. The rest of her body had been torn to shreds, as if by a famished wild animal.