by Aiden James
CADES COVE
A NOVEL OF TERROR
Aiden James
Acclaim for Aiden James:
“Aiden James has written a deeply psychological, gripping tale that keeps the readers hooked from page one.”
—Bookfinds review for THE FORGOTTEN EDEN
“Not only is Aiden James a storyteller par excellence, but his material for his story is riveting.”
—Huntress Reviews
“The hook to this excellent suspense thriller is the twists that will keep readers wondering what is going on as nothing is quite what it seems. Adding to the excitement is that the audience will wonder whether the terror is an evil supernatural creature or an amoral human…Aiden James provides a dark thriller that grips fans from the opening.”
—Harriet Klausner, Amazon’s #1 book reviewer for THE FORGOTTEN EDEN
“Aiden James writing style flows very easily and I found that CADES COVE snowballed into a very gripping tale. Clearly the strengths in the piece were as the spirit's interaction became prevalent with the family… The Indian lore and ceremonies and the flashbacks to Allie Mae's (earthly) demise were very powerful. I think those aspects separated the work from what we've seen before in horror and ghost tales.”
—Evelyn Klebert, author of A GHOST OF A CHANCE and DRAGONFLIES
“Aiden James is insanely talented!”
—J.R. Rain, author of MOON DANCE and THE BODY DEPARTED
BOOKS BY AIDEN JAMES
Cades Cove
The Raven Mocker
The Forgotten Eden
The Devil’s Paradise
Solomon
Deadly Night
CADES COVE by Aiden James
Published by Aiden James at Amazon Kindle
Copyright © 2010 by Aiden James
Cover design by: R. C. Rutter - [email protected]
Amazon Kindle Edition, License Notes
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CADES COVE
Chapter One
“Yep…I believe this must be it!” David Hobbs motioned for Miriam, his wife, to join him on a rock ledge overlooking a secluded ravine, roughly a mile’s hike from John Oliver’s famous homestead in the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee. He smiled, impish, like a kid with a dirty secret.
It’s here…right where Ned said it would be!
“Are you sure?” Miriam panted as she caught up to him. Her irritated tone clearly announced her desire to end this unexpected adventure off the beaten path.
“Will you just look at this place!” he enthused, trying to ignore her perturbed glare. “Welcome to the Smokies’ oldest ‘Lovers Lane’, darlin’!”
He tipped the bill of his Rockies ball cap toward the view before them. A lush carpet of grass covered the ravine, and colorful wildflowers nestled in the shade from tall eastern pines and hardwoods.
She glanced down into the ravine and smirked.
“I guess it’s nice,” she said, lacking any enthusiasm. “The horseback ride we planned last night would’ve been better.” She removed her backpack and let it fall to the ground before sitting down on a large rock nearby. Her agitated sky-blue eyes peered at him through long dark hair while she massaged her tired legs and ankles.
“I thought you wanted ‘romantic’,” David retorted, smiling, though finding it harder to hide his own growing irritation. He had carefully maneuvered their venture to this remote destination, hoping for a new way to sweep her off her feet. “How much more romantic can it get than being here, in this beautiful place and on a day like this?”
The weather perfect for October, the temperature hovered in the mid-sixties with a clear sky above. He winked at her and this time she giggled.
“You see? There’s my girl!” Still carrying his backpack, he moved over to hers and picked it up, motioning for her to follow him. His knees suddenly weak, it reminded him of when they first dated back in college. “Let’s have a look around.”
He stepped down from the ledge into heavy brush, wading toward the heart of the ravine. From the looks of things, no one had been here in quite awhile. A feeling of serenity surrounded him. Immersed in waist-high grass and thistles, he tried not to think about what might be slithering along the ground near his feet.
“Aren’t you afraid of being bitten by a snake or something?” Miriam called after him. “The park ranger back at the Cable Mill said water moccasins and copperheads are out here!”
David ignored her and muttered a quiet prayer that the snakes had already gone into hibernation. Meanwhile, Miriam’s hushed curses echoed lightly across the ravine as she scurried along the path he’d created.
“Now isn’t this something?” he asked, once she caught up to him.
Thick wildflowers in abundance, his hunch about the snakes seemed correct so far. Relieved, he thought this out-of-the-way locale mentioned by his boss, Ned Badgett, might be worth the trouble after all.
Majestic oaks, chestnuts, and maples grew along both embankments, and the rutted earth beneath their feet hinted that a stream once coursed through here. The leaves had begun their seasonal change, offering a brilliant sea of red and orange amid towering evergreens. Wild roses, geraniums, and orange jewelweed added even more splendor.
“Yes it is,” she conceded, grinning while she looked around.
David wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her close. His trimmed blond beard brushed against her cheek as she reached up and kissed him.
“Sorry I was a bitch.”
“It’s all right, baby.” His hazel eyes twinkled, mischievous. “I’ll let you make it up to me after lunch!”
“Oh yeah? We’ll see about that!”
She playfully jabbed him in the side and he feigned an injury before moving across the ravine to a large oak, where he set the backpacks down.
“Did you notice the markings on all of the trees?” He asked, when he returned to where she stood in the middle of the ravine.
A multitude of scrawled names covered the tree trunks. Carved hearts enclosed most of them. It sort of reminded him of a guestbook, like a giant version of the one they signed when they picked up the keys for their rented chalet in Gatlinburg last night. Ned told him this ravine was the spot most frequented by the area’s young lovers during the late 1800s and on into the early1900s.
“This is really something,” marveled Miriam. She scanned the list of names surrounding her. “Didn’t you say there’s supposed to be like a thousand names here?”
...Mary Ellen + Joshua, Milton + Anna, Shannon + Edmond...
“That’s what Ned told me,” he said, while studying those cut into the tree nearest him. “He called it the home of Cades Cove’s star-crossed lovers…apparently his ancestors once lived around here, before everyone moved out in the 1930s.”
...Johnny Lee + Pauline, Samuel + Bertha, Thelma Lyn + Adam...
“Well, that’s interesting…. Here’s one with a date,” she said, pointing to one of the more faint inscriptions. Walter Smith + Marylee Oliver, June 13, 1908. “I wonder if there are any more like it.”
David glanced around the ravine until a yellow poplar caught his attention. Harold Potts + Samantha Pope, September 14, 1932.
“I’ll bet we could find some older names b
ack in there,” he said, motioning past the former streambed to a heavily wooded area.
“Maybe later,” she replied. “My stomach’s growling, and I’m starting to feel a little weak.”
“I guess it can wait,” he said. He noticed now that her smile had faded. It continued to die, morphing into a worried frown. It was like the place suddenly creeped her out. He gently grasped her hand to lead her back across the ravine. “In the meantime, I’ve got something special planned for lunch.”
Determined to see his amorous plan through to its completion, David offered an assuring smile once they reached the shade of the large oak. So far, Ned was right about this place, thank God. This secluded ravine from years past seemed like the perfect spot to rekindle their passion. Their marriage of fifteen years stood on solid ground, but over the past few years intimacy had waned. For him, the shortage of steady sex finally opened his eyes to what she really needed: Truer affection, where daily emotional and physical contact didn’t always mean intercourse lingered on the horizon.
He began removing the contents of his backpack, laying out a large picnic blanket next to the oak tree’s base. He noticed her surprise when he produced two elegant place settings. Cold fried chicken from a local deli was the main entrée for their lunch, since it seemed easy for him to pack and serve. But to ensure she appreciated his romantic intent, he brought a bowled candle to light along with two crystal wineglasses and a bottle of expensive Chardonnay, her preference for special occasions. With everything arranged to his pleasure, he asked her to join him on the blanket.
“Well, this is really nice!” she enthused, smiling as she sat down, obviously touched by his effort.
“To our fifteenth fantastic year together, my love!” he said, pouring the wine and handing one of the glasses to her. They tapped their glasses together, and the pitch resounded throughout the ravine. A gentle breeze suddenly moved among the trees.
“Well, how about that?” Her smile widened as she watched the wind’s spreading caress enfold the ravine. “Maybe it’s a good sign, like the next fifteen years will be even better.”
“Maybe so. I’d love that,” he agreed, liking her mood. He lifted his glass towards hers again and they clinked softer this time.
Afterward, they snuggled close, lying on the blanket. As they discussed how to spend the rest of their afternoon, David noticed something faint carved upon the oak’s trunk and got up to investigate. Unlike the other carved names they’d seen, this solitary inscription was cruder—like whoever made it did so in haste.
“What does it say?” she asked, coming up next to him for a closer look.
The bark had curled around the edges of the wound inflicted long ago, forming an imperfect heart shape. Carved inside, the name ‘Allie’, and below it either a ‘+’ or a ‘T’—difficult to say which. They both mouthed the name, glancing at one another before looking at it again.
“‘Looks like someone got stood up,” he observed, dryly.
“Or, maybe she changed her mind before it was too late…and so she didn’t let the boy carve his name inside the heart,” said Miriam, her tone sad. David snickered. “Oh, I’m sure it’s just wishful thinking that she wasn’t spurned by whoever her beau was,” she added, chuckling for a moment.
As David looked past the oak to the ravine’s streambed, an idea occurred to him, and he moved over to his backpack.
“What are you looking for, hon?”
“This is such a great spot…the perfect location for my new zoom lens,” he told her. He pulled his Nikon camera out from its case. “I need you to move back down to where we were earlier so I can take your picture.”
At first she protested, but she agreed to pose where the wildflowers grew most abundant. He stepped under the ledge at the mouth of the ravine and kneeled down, positioning the camera to also catch the treetops. He prepared to snap the picture, and then hesitated.
“What’s wrong?” Miriam asked.
“It’s not the right angle—hang on a moment.” He climbed onto the ledge and aimed the camera, but wavered again. This time he frowned.
“I guess I’m too ugly, huh?” she deadpanned. “I’d hate to break your precious lens.”
“Very funny.”
He scanned the area, his gaze drawn to the oak again, seemingly bigger as it loomed above the picnic blanket. He smiled and ran over to the tree, nearly sliding back down the embankment when he reached it.
“Now where are you going?”
“Up here.” He started climbing the tree. “I’ve found what I’m looking for, but you’ll need to back up just a bit.”
“David, don’t do it.” Her smiled disappeared as she stepped toward him. “I’ve got a bad feeling about this!”
“It’ll be all right.”
Fifteen feet above the embankment he stopped climbing and straddled two large branches. He started to bring the camera up, but still wasn’t satisfied. Tentative, he ventured onto a smaller branch above the ravine’s basin.
“David, you’re really scaring me! Just leave it alone! I’m scared to death you’re going to fall and break your neck!!” Her voice cracked.
“I’ll be okay—honest!” The branch creaked beneath his weight. “I’ve got to get this shot, and I’m almost there.”
He leaned toward her and positioned the camera to his eye. A perfect shot. If only she didn’t look so damned worried.
“Smile, baby!”
A sudden strong gust distracted him, and he placed more weight on the branch. It cracked loudly and then splintered.
“David!”
The branch gave way, taking him with it. Desperate to avoid a free fall to the ground, he threw his arms around the tree’s trunk, surprised when something unseen shoved him up against it. Sliding to the ground, his sweatshirt ripped, and the oak’s sharp bark scraped his arms and hands.
“Oh, baby, are you all right?” Miriam scrambled up the embankment and gently helped him back to his feet. His initial grimace turned to a sheepish grin as he brushed himself off. “You’re hurt!”
“Well, at least I got the picture, huh?”
He retrieved his ball cap and surprisingly unbroken camera. His prized lens received a mere scratch on its black casing. Curious to find out what had pushed him up against the tree, he gazed up at the spot he’d vacated. The broken branch was next to the thickest on the tree, with no evidence anyone else had been up there. He squinted, wishing he’d brought his prescription-tinted eyeglasses with him, instead of the cheap sunglasses he purchased that morning in Gatlinburg. He didn’t see anything, but sensed unseen eyes glaring back at him. He shivered.
Get a grip, man… It’s just an empty old tree.
“I can’t believe you did that!” she scolded, following his gaze before attending to his injuries.
The scrapes on his arms bled, and his hands ached. Miriam guided him back over to the blanket and opened her backpack, pulling out a small first-aid kit. A dozen years as a successful pediatrician came in handy at a time like this. She helped him remove his sweatshirt and then dressed his wounds. The injuries largely superficial, their painful sting said otherwise.
“You stubborn, stupid man,” she said, kissing his hands. “You could’ve been killed just now, do you realize that?” She looked up, her eyes soft and misty.
Another breeze blew through the trees, much cooler this time, raising the gooseflesh on his bare back and chest. His wife’s kisses moved up his arms. Soon, she kissed his neck and then his mouth with fervor. Powerfully aroused, he saw urgent longing in her eyes. He pulled her down onto the blanket, where they made passionate love.
***
Miriam awoke in a panic, and immediately looked at her wristwatch.
“Oh shit!”
“Huh?” In the middle of a dark, fragmented dream, David looked around him. Disoriented. “What in the hell happened?”
Long shadows crept into the ravine. The sun had almost finished its journey across the autumn sky, and a cool crispness fil
led the air.
“It’s almost five o’clock. That’s what happened!” she announced, sharply. She grabbed her clothes to dress. “We must’ve fallen asleep.”
He stood up and moved to his pile of clothes at the end of the blanket, where chilled air embraced his naked body. He turned to face his wife, who scrambled to fix her bra and pull on her panties. The sight of her vulnerability aroused him, and he thought about taking her in his arms once more. But the waning sunlight told him it wouldn’t be prudent, not to mention she looked distressed. His well-toned body and powerful erection would have little influence now. It didn’t help matters that the opportunity to do anything else in the park was now lost on account of their scheduled flight back to Denver from Knoxville tomorrow morning.
“Are you going to just stand there and admire yourself, or do you think you can be dressed by the time I’m finished here?”
She smiled, but he knew better than to test her current mood. He dressed, wincing from his earlier wounds as he pulled on his sweatshirt. He finished before she packed the remaining wine and glasses in his backpack.
Miriam motioned for him to step off the blanket so she could fold it. Something metallic jingled…an object fell onto the ground near where his clothes had been. A golden glint caught David’s eye and he reached down to pick it up, his wristwatch.
“This is really strange.” He shrugged his shoulders and pulled the watch over his wrist, snapping the band shut. “You know I almost never take this off, only in the shower. I can’t recall removing it from my wrist.”
Still puzzled, he looked down again at the spot where it had fallen.
“What the hell’s this?”
A small cloth bag with a leather drawstring lay nestled in the grass. He picked it up. Near the top, “Allie Mae’s Treasures” was cross-stitched on one side in light blue thread.