Four Corners Dark: Horror Stories

by William McNally

  “Damn,” he said. “Hand me that oil lamp behind you.”

  Abby turned to find a lamp with an ornate base engraved with a ring of crows.

  “Here,” she said.

  He lit the lamp and walked behind the mirror door. Abby followed a few feet behind. The room was lined with bows, rifles, and an old musket.

  “Looks like a museum in here,” Terry said.

  In the far corner, the stone floor had an opening with a ladder sticking out of it. Terry reached for one of the guns but thought better of it. A missed shot with stone walls could cause a ricochet. And worse, he hadn’t shot a gun in years.

  “Abby can you wait here?” Terry asked.

  She looked scared but nodded in agreement. He descended into the opening and reached the floor of a cavern, then walked to an elongated pool of water. He fell hard on the wet stone floor and smashed the lamp. In the dark a faint blue light emanated from the pool. Abby heard him fall then ran to the ladder where a cold hand slid up the back of her neck and grabbed her hair.

  “No,” she yelled then sprayed the Mace into the empty room.

  “Terry,” she yelled. “Where are you?”

  “I’m coming up.”

  As Terry groped his way to the base of the ladder, a mist descended on him and his eyes began to burn.

  “Oh shit,” Terry said as he rubbed his burning eyes.

  He stumbled in the dark towards the pool of water.

  Abby called down to Terry. “Are you okay?” Her voice quivered with fright. “Answer me, please.”

  “I’m fine,” he croaked from below, coughing from the suffocating spray. “Stay up there!”

  He crawled towards the sound of the rushing water with his face burning and eyes sealed shut then felt the cool spray of the water and began splashing his face. The effects of the Mace vanished immediately. He stood, walked to the base of the ladder and climbed back up.

  “What happened down there?” she asked.

  “I found a cave and stream that glows.”

  “Someone grabbed the back of my hair,” Abby said.

  “What?”

  “Yes. Someone grabbed me and when I turned around, they were gone.”

  Terry picked up an old rotary phone hanging on the wall.

  “The line’s dead,” he said. “We better get over to the sheriff’s office in the morning.”

  They walked back through the lodge carrying candles for light, when they entered the great room it was dark. Terry examined the fireplace and found it cold with a fresh set of unburned logs in the grate.

  “How is this possible?” he said. “We weren’t gone for long.”

  “My watched stopped,” Abby said.

  Terry checked his watch and both had stopped at 3:00 a.m. The grandfather clock in the great room was also silent.

  “Terry, something’s not right about this place,” Abby said. “Didn’t your uncle say anything?”

  “No, he never mentioned anything out of the ordinary,” Terry answered.

  “We need to talk to Joseph and find out what is going on around here,” Terry said. “But for now, we’d better get some sleep.” He grabbed another poker from the fireplace.

  CHAPTER SIX

  Terry was startled awake when someone pounded on the front door. He looked out the side window of the bedroom and saw the sun shining off the hood of his Jeep. He walked down the log staircase and left Abby asleep upstairs. The great room was awash in the amber glow of the sun. Opening the front door, he found Joseph.

  “Joseph, I’m glad to see you.”

  “Likewise,” Joseph said. “May I come in?”

  “Please,” Terry said.

  He followed Terry to the kitchen table and sat holding his hat on his lap.

  “Terry, is Abby around?” Joseph asked. “I need to explain a few things to you both.”

  “Sure Joseph. Let me go check to see if she is up yet,” Terry answered.

  Terry walked into the great room and found Abby walking towards the kitchen.

  “Good morning,” Abby said.

  “Good morning Abby. Do you both have a few minutes? I need to explain a few things to you both,” Joseph said.

  “Sure, we have questions for you,” Abby answered.

  Joseph and Abby sat at the kitchen table while Terry made coffee.

  “Sometimes a place is much more than it appears on the surface,” Joseph began. “Picture a lake, serene on the surface, with miles of caves underneath. The lake is beautiful, but also deadly. That is the way it is here. This lodge was built on a border between the living and the dead. Terry, your uncle understood this place and respected it, however something had changed in him recently and he lost site of the danger.”

  “Joseph,” Terry said. “What exactly are you getting at?”

  “I had hoped to have more time with you both, but changes are happening faster than I anticipated,” Joseph answered. “This place is a fulcrum, a balancing point. Your uncle became compelled to test the power and limits of this balance. You will see wondrous things here but be careful to treat them like you would a venomous snake and avoid them whenever possible.”

  Joseph stood and walked around the great room and studied the multitude of artifacts hanging on the walls.

  “Your uncle had a great deal of faith in you Terry,” Joseph said. “He entrusted all of this to you.” He gestured around the lodge. “He spent his life putting this place together and it meant a great deal to him. Well, I must be going. I have taken enough of your time.”

  “Please Joseph,” Abby said, “join us for an early supper this evening. So we can talk some more.”

  “As you wish,” Joseph said. “Thank you for the invitation.” He stood and left.

  “What in the world was that about? Can you believe that guy?” Terry asked exasperated.

  “Be nice. Local legends can be very ingrained. They were the way people explained the unexplainable,” Abby answered.

  “Yeah, a hundred years ago,” Terry replied.

  “I suspect there’s a natural phenomenon here that people label as supernatural,” Abby said. “I find it interesting.”

  “Well, I am going into town to file a police report. Let’s see if the sheriff finds it interesting.”

  “Good, let me give you a shopping list so you can stop at the store on the way back.” Abby said. “We need supplies for tonight.” She smiled and went to find a pad of paper.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  Terry climbed into the Jeep, turned the key and the engine started right away. He drove cautiously on the twisty road into town and slowed as he caught a glimpse of a boy emerging from the woods. The boy wore ripped overalls and looked to be seventeen or eighteen. Terry was shocked when he saw his face. The kid looked like Daniel Carver, a former student. He pulled the truck over and fought to catch his breath, he had suffered from asthma since he was a kid. He found his inhaler in the glove box and sucked in a deep breath.

  Two years ago, Terry had resigned his position as a math teacher and football coach for Springside High School. Daniel Carver had been one of his student players. On a hot spring day, Daniel succumbed to the heat and collapsed into a coma. Three days later, he was dead and Terry was in the middle of a firestorm of accusations. After three months of hell, Terry was cleared of any negligence and allowed to return to normal life. Only life was no longer normal for Terry at Springside. It was anything but normal. He muddled on for a while trying to put the tragedy behind him, when he received the call about his uncle’s death. The news was sad, but it did offer an opportunity, he and Abby could start over again in a new place far from Springside.

  After regaining his composure, Terry drove on to Silverton and arrived at the sheriff’s station. He opened the glass door of the station and walked in.

  Rita Haeckel, a plump redhead, sat behind a steel desk. “Can I help you?” She barely looked up from the fingernail painting that occupied her attention.

  “Yes, I need to see the sheriff,�
�� Terry answered.

  “Sorry, Sheriff Turner went out for coffee at Wyatt’s. Round the corner past Dobbins Hardware. Better step on it mister,” Rita said. “Sheriff goes straight out on his rounds after Wyatt’s. Could be gone for a while after that.”

  “Thanks,” Terry said leaving the station.

  Terry walked to Wyatt’s, then entered the old building and found a heavy-set policeman at the lunch counter eating pie and drinking a cup of coffee.

  “Sheriff Turner?” Terry inquired.

  “Yes sir, what can I do for you?”

  “My name is Terry James. I recently moved into my uncle’s lodge.”

  “I know who you are Mister James. I saw you at the funeral, sorry about your uncle,” Turner said. “Mabel Lee can you grab this young fella a cup of coffee on me?”

  “Morning,” she said smiling at Terry.

  “Good morning,” Terry replied. “Thanks Sheriff,” Terry said sitting next to him.

  Mabel Lee was a fixture in the place. Pink flour-covered apron and bottle-blonde hair. She handed Terry a steaming cup of coffee and went back to work.

  “Sheriff Turner, we had a break-in last night,” Terry said. “I need to file a police report.”

  Terry described the events of the prior evening, leaving out some of the stranger details.

  “Okay,” Turner said. “I’ll get one of my deputies out to your place this afternoon. Let them look around and see if we can get to the bottom of this situation. Mr. James, what made you all want to move out to that old place? Young couple like you might be more at home in South Ridge.”

  “Well,” Terry answered, “my uncle left me the place, my wife and I thought we might try to turn the place into a B&B.”

  “Mr. James, there is a lot you need to learn about this area and you are going to find it mighty hard to get any folks to spend a night in the James lodge,” Sheriff Turner said.

  The sheriff excused himself and left the restaurant.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  During the drive home Terry couldn’t help but replay the conversation with the sheriff in his mind. Converting the lodge into a B&B seemed to be a solid idea. There were no homes or businesses of any kind outside of downtown Silverton. In fact, they had not seen an inn or hotel anywhere. Maybe the sheriff was being protective of the town? It would make for some good conversation when his cousin Brenda and friend Donald arrived for the weekend. Brenda and Terry spent a great deal of time together as children. She had been a sickly child, frequently hospitalized, and forced to endure a heart transplant at three months old. Most of her childhood was spent inside playing board games and watching TV. Later, when she was older, she claimed to see horrible things and was treated for psychosis. Brenda eventually overcame the troubles of her childhood and moved on with her life.

  Donald had offered to help them get the place ready and was flying in on Saturday. He and Terry had worked together at Springside. Donald still taught American history at the school but Springside was rarely a topic of conversation between them. Terry glanced down at Abby’s shopping list on the passenger seat.

  “Dammit,” he said as he swung the Jeep into a U-turn on the empty country road.

  Abby finished unpacking and setting up their bedroom. Not knowing what type of furnishings they would find, they had left most of their belongings in a storage facility in Denver. Abby found the decorations in the lodge quite nice including the hand-carved log bed that dominated their bedroom.

  Thankfully, the house was devoid of the dusty animal heads found in many country places. Abby noticed a thin strap made from a tree branch dangling behind the headboard. She reached and pulled out the strap which had a triangular carved medallion attached. The medallion was thin, but surprisingly heavy with iron inlays depicting two black birds.

  She held the medallion up to the rear window and the light danced off the metal as it spun in the sunlight. From the window she saw the trail that led into the western woods and in the distance a modulating light. She placed the medallion into her pocket and the light in the woods disappeared. She retrieved the medallion and held it up to the window and the light was visible again.

  CHAPTER NINE

  Terry arrived home from the market and unloaded the groceries. Abby was setting the table when they heard a knock on the door.

  “Joseph already?” she said.

  Terry left the kitchen and walked through the great room to the front door. Opening the door he found Deputy Ima Rogers. She looked nervous and greeted Terry with a quick smile.

  “Mr. James, I understand you had an incident last night?” Ima said as she flipped open a leather-bound notepad.

  “Yes Deputy,” Terry answered. “Please come in.”

  Ima stepped across the threshold as though stepping onto a ledge.

  “Please have a seat,” Terry said.

  Ima sat in a chair close to the front door and began. “Mr. James, why don’t you tell me what you saw last night?”

  Terry sat down and recounted the evening’s events for the deputy. Ima had her notebook in her lap but didn’t write anything. Within a few minutes she glanced at her watch and said, “Thank you for your time. I will get my report submitted in the morning.” She stood and walked to the front door.

  “Good bye,” she said.

  “Deputy?” Terry called behind here. “Don’t you want to look around?”

  “No,” she said quickly. “I’ve seen enough.”

  Ima climbed into her patrol truck and let out a deep breath. She was shaken and couldn’t leave fast enough.

  CHAPTER TEN

  Joseph arrived for dinner at five-thirty sharp carrying wildflowers.

  “Joseph, please come in,” Abby said greeting him in the doorway. “Terry is out back grilling dinner. Please have a seat.”

  After serving Joseph a glass of tea, Abby sat in a chair across from him. She wore the medallion she’d found behind the bed, Joseph noticed immediately but didn’t comment.

  “Abby,” Joseph began. “I think my comments earlier today may have confused you both, but I thought it was important for me to tell you about this area. The place where you came from is a world of black and white, night and day. The world here is very different and those differences must be understood and respected.”

  “Joseph,” Abby said, “Terry and I are very sensitive to local traditions and customs.”

  Joseph spoke emphatically. “Abby this is not about customs. This is about life and death and the world between them both.”

  Abby sat blank faced trying to understand what he was saying.

  “Picture the shore of a beach,” Joseph said. “The sand is one part of the beach and the water another. In between is a third part that is constantly changing with the tides which is where the danger lies. The western wood is a place of change and during these times it can be deadly.” Joseph looked up at a portrait of Ted hanging on the wall.

  He took a sip of tea and continued. “Abby, I sense something in you, pulling you towards this place of change and it concerns me greatly.”

  “Joseph, how can I be pulled to something I don’t even understand?”

  “You do not need to understand it. You will find unusual things around here but you will find far worse in those woods after dark.”

  “Food’s ready,” Terry said walking into the room.

  “Great.” Joseph smiled. “I am appreciative of a home-cooked meal.”

  They sat enjoying the meal at a wooden table in the kitchen of the lodge. After the meal Terry and Joseph walked out back and sat on a stone veranda that overlooked the forest. It was dark and the only light was the glowing embers from the charcoal. The woods was a dark stain streaked across the green meadow. The river had stopped its southward flow and was perfectly still. Joseph knew what would happen next, he and Ted had watched the river many times before. The water began moving again, this time flowing north.

  “Terry, maybe we should move inside?” Joseph asked.

  “Sure,” T
erry said.

  The two men walked back into the lodge where Abby was finishing up the dinner dishes. Terry led Joseph down a long hallway to the pool room and grabbed a cue.

  “Do you play Joseph?” he asked.

  “No, but feel free,” Joseph answered.

  Terry racked the balls then walked behind the bar and found a bottle of wine.

  “Looks like a Black Muscadine,” Terry said looking at the label. “Would you like a glass, Joseph?”

  “Sure. Thank you.”

  Terry poured two glasses of the bluish wine and handed one to Joseph.

  “Cheers,” Terry said.

  “Cheers.” Joseph raised his glass.

  Terry cracked the cue ball and watched as the other balls settled around the table.

  “Joseph,” he said. “We found the room behind the bar. Someone was in the house and left it open.”

  Terry put down the pool cue and walked behind the bar. He pressed on the mirror door and it clicked open.

  “We found it just like you see it now. Can you tell me what is going on around here?”

  Joseph walked around to the open door and examined the mirror. “See this?” he asked. “The only marks on the glass are yours.”

  Terry examined the mirror and found a small smudge where he had pressed the dusty mirror.

  “I guess you know what is behind this door, then?”

  “Yes,” said Joseph. “Ted showed this door to me many years ago. Sections of this lodge are very old. Your uncle thought this section of the house had been used by bootleggers years ago. He told me he had found other places like it over the years but I do not know them all. I do know that this house has a series of canals running underneath its structure. There was a settlement here over a hundred years ago. Your uncle believed the canals were dredged out by the settlers to protect themselves from evil. It’s believed that water and other elements can provide a defense against the darkness.”

  Joseph gestured to the open mirror door. “In the cave below we found salts, herbs and symbols. People would float these items in baskets to protect themselves.”