And so it was that a week later, after the first graduation practice, James had begged off going to Zaxby’s with Maad, Katie, and Alex. Instead he had Mom drive him to the red brick headquarters of the Edington Police Department. The officer who’d forced the “deal” on him took him to the lot behind the building where two new—to James, at least—cars awaited.
“If I were you, I’d pick that one,” the officer said. He pointed a long finger at the silver 2010 Acura sitting closest to the big building’s back door. “Paint got a bit scuffed up when we detained the drug dealer it used to belong to.” His finger shifted to the cherry-red BMW. “That one’s got a better paint job, but its gas mileage isn’t as good. Gas won’t be a buck fifty a gallon forever.”
James nodded. He wanted to get the car and get the hell out of there. And what the officer said about the price of gas made sense.
He pointed to the Acura. “I’ll go with that one.”
“Good man.” The officer stepped over to the car he’d brought James in. While the officer rooted around the glove box, James looked at his prize. It was a damn nice-looking car, and selling the crappy Saab would help cover the insurance on it for a while. He smiled. He’d be rid of that piece of shit car forever now.
Then the sun emerged from behind a cloud. Sunlight glinted on the dark windshield. Just like it had glinted on the waters in the woods where the thing had lurked. His heart began pounding. He swallowed. He was at the Edington police station. He’d survived the monster. He’d killed the monster. He closed his eyes, summoning an image of Amber laughing at one of his jokes. But instead, all that came was the sight of Sam hanging from the monster’s tentacles. Hanging just like Bill had. Nausea wrapped around his stomach like one of those tentacles—
“Hey,” the officer said, suddenly yanking James back to reality. “You okay?”
James quickly nodded. The officer laid a hand on his shoulder. “Don’t worry,” he said softly. “This too shall pass.” He handed James the clipboard with the ownership papers. Glad to focus on something else, James quickly signed off on everything.
The officer smiled. “The Edington Police Department thanks you for your help. The town is a better place thanks to folks like you.” He handed James the rectangular black and silver key fob and set off for the building. James waited for him to disappear inside before he clicked open the car. The Acura still had the new-car smell. He sank down into the driver’s seat, enjoying the luxuriant interior. That brought a small smile to his face. He’d barely started sending Mom a text message letting her know he’d be going driving for a while when his phone buzzed. It was Amber.
“Hey there,” she said, the smile in her voice lifting his spirits. “What’s up?”
James buckled himself in. “Not much.” An idea occurred to him. He smiled. “I’ve got a surprise I’d like to show you.”
“What sort of surprise?” There was mischief in her voice now. James smiled.
“If I tell you, then it’s not a surprise.” He paused. “You want me to come to your place and show you?”
“Sure. You need my address?” That she supplied, one of the better neighborhoods on the east side of town. “How long do you think you’ll be?”
“I’m at the…” His voice trailed away. They’d probably offered Amber a similar deal, but no need to remind either of them. “I’m on the west side of town. It won’t be more than fifteen.”
“Got it. See you then.”
James hung up, quickly rewrote his text message, and put the phone away. He habitually pushed the key-fob toward the dashboard before stopping himself. Keyless ignition. Instead, he pressed the button by the steering wheel and was rewarded with the engine rumbling to life. He put the car in drive and rolled out of the police headquarters onto the residential street beyond.
As he pulled onto Fairmont Street and headed east to where Amber lived, the dark thought occurred to him.
There were plenty of places where strange things were reputed to lurk. He’d long written those off as stories, but this one had turned out to be true.
What if there were more?
Join Us
Thank you for reading our Digital Horror Fiction anthology and for supporting speculative fiction in the written form. Please consider leaving a reader review so that other people can make an informed reading decision.
Follow Digital on Twitter
http://twitter.com/DigitalFicPub
Like Digital on Facebook
http://facebook.com/DigitalFictionPub
Visit Digital’s Website
http://DigitalFictionPub.com
Find Us on Pronoun
https://books.pronoun.com/DigitalFiction/
Subscribe to Digital’s Newsletter – Get 2 Free eBooks
http://DigitalFictionPub.com/blog/newsletter/
About the Author
Matthew W. Quinn (b. 1984) grew up in Marietta, Georgia. After graduating from the University of Georgia with a dual degree in magazine journalism and history, he has reported for one newspaper, edited two more, reported for an online news service, a sports magazine, and a trade show, blogged for a cloud-computing firm and two film companies, and collected Twitter feeds for online ad campaigns. His work has brought him into contact with presidential candidates, television celebrities, and notable authors and once earned him a commendation from the Georgia Department of Veterans' Service. After earning his M.A. in World History, he now works as a high-school social studies teacher.
Throughout all of this, he has written science fiction, fantasy, and horror. His first sale, the creature tale “I am the Wendigo” to the horror webzine CHIMAERA SERIALS, was during his last year at college. 2009 saw the sale of "Skirmish at the Vale's Edge" to BattleCorps, the official BattleTech tie-in site. He made his first professional sale, "Coil Gun," to Digital Fiction Publishing’s Kindle anthology PRESSURE SUITE: DIGITAL SCIENCE FICTION #3 in 2011. He also sold the Viking horror tale "Nicor" to HEROIC FANTASY QUARTERLY, which published it in early 2013. In 2015 and 2016, reprints of his independently-published short stories “Picking Up Plans in Palma,” “The Beast of the Bosporus,” “Illegal Alien,” and “Lord Giovanni’s Daughter” have appeared in Digital Fiction Publishing’s collections UNCOMMON SENSES, OPERATIVE SEQUENCE, and COSMIC HOOEY.
THE THING IN THE WOODS is his first novel.
Learn more about the author and his work here:
Blog: http://www.accordingtoquinn.com
Twitter: twitter.com/MatthewWQuinn
Also from Digital Fiction
Digital Horror Fiction Anthologies
Short Stories Series One
Largely Deceased – Book 1
Alluring Dread – Book 2
Themed Anthologies
Killing It Softly: A Digital Horror Fiction Anthology of Short Stories
Memento Mori: A Digital Horror Fiction Anthology of Short Stories
Digital Horror Fiction Author Collections
The Sign in the Moonlight: And Other Stories – David Tallerman
No Light in August: Tales from Carcosa & the Borderland – R.L. Robinson
Digital Horror Fiction Short Stories
Horror Fiction Short Stories – Various Authors
Copyright
The Thing in the Woods – Digital Horror Fiction Novel
Author: Matthew W. Quinn
Executive Editor: Michael A. Wills
Copy Editor: Kay Nash
Version ISBN: 978-1-988863-10-8
This story is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in the story are either the product of the author’s imagination, fictitious, or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons or monsters, living or dead, would be coincidental and quite remarkable.
The Thing in the Woods - Copyright © 2017 by Digital Fiction Publishing Corp. and Matthew W. Quinn. This story and all characters, settings, and other unique features or content are copyright Matthew W. Quinn. Published under license by Digital Fict
ion Publishing Corp. Cover Image Copyright © 2017 the artist. This version first published in print and electronically: May 2017 by Digital Fiction Publishing Corp., LaSalle, Ontario, Canada. Digital Science Fiction and its logo, and Digital Fiction Publishing Corp and its logo, are Trademarks of Digital Fiction Publishing Corp.
All rights reserved, including but not limited to the right to reproduce this book in any form, electronic or otherwise. The scanning, uploading, archiving, or distribution of this book via the Internet or any other means without the express written permission of the Publisher is illegal and punishable by law. This book may not be copied and re-sold or copied and given away to other people. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use, then please purchase your own copy. Purchase only authorized electronic or print editions and do not participate in the piracy of copyrighted materials. Please support and respect the author’s rights.
DigitalFictionPub.com
The Thing in the Woods Page 18