Out There: A Rural Horror Story

by Cademon Bishop

  “Nah, I can’t say I… wait ain’t that him.” Lara noticed the unmistakable shape of his ACM Gremlin silhouetted against the dark, lavender sky.

  As soon as Michael pulled in, he hopped out of his seat and flipped his trunk open. His feeble arms heaved an assortment of tools out of the trunk. “I came prepared.” He dropped the bundle of tools in a clanking heap. Lara could see the head of two pickaxes, a shovel, and an axe.

  Lara tossed the axe in her hand. “Are you planin’ on breaking out of prison?”

  “Somethin’ like that.” Michael produced a flashlight from the trunk. “Found these babies in the factory’s shed. My dad was ordered to cover that spot up with concrete. So, whatever is hidden within it has gotta be some clue. Could be our key to uncoverin’ what’s happenin’ to this town.”

  Denver hoisted a pickaxe over his shoulder, “Let’s get on then!”

  The four of them faded into the forest’s shade, each carrying a different tool. In about two hours, only three would find their way out.

  Side C Track 8

  To Hell With That

  9/6/77

  Me and Leonard left around eight to go out with the rest of the gang. I want to shake them off as soon as I can, but they are my best shot at getting any strong leads.

  Leonard sat in the car when we got to the gang’s stout brick entrance. Nobody answered the door, so I knocked again, and that’s when I found out that the door was unlocked. I slipped in. I watched for that last step and walked into their living room. It was empty.

  One of them left the TV on the news. I thought about turning it off, but I didn’t want to leave any sign that I was there. I was stuck at a crossroads: wait in my car with Leo or to just wander off a little.

  Of course, I wasn't waiting for anyone. So I did a bit of investigating. I returned to that central hall, with lighter in hand. I looked down, expecting for the path to fall right out from under me. To my surprise, the path branched out into other halls. Lucy lied. I thought about heading down one, but then I continued towards the glowing red door at the end of the hall. The place smelled like a rust and rot.

  I listened for a rush of water, yet all I heard was the hum of the pipes above and a drone beyond that door. That door, that door, that door. I shook the nob and found it locked. Shit.

  On the walk back, I noticed something glinting on the ground. It was darker than water. I lowered my lighter and saw blood and water. There were droplets leading down a path. The short path led into a pantry sized room.

  I should have known what this room was the second I walked in. Lucy said this underground structure used to be a burial place, and the room had about nine body sized slots each filled. A large zip-up bag sagged along with one edge.

  A gut-seizing wet smell wafted out of a bag as I opened one of them. A dead woman glared right at me. Her eyes were cold, glassy, and motionless. Her skin had the texture and color of cottage cheese. Some liquid coated the tips of my fingers as I zipped the bag back up. What are they keeping nine bodies for? What thing were they feeding?

  I nearly shouted at the opening door upstairs and the clank of boots.

  I rushed back and stood by a coffee table and acted as if I were skimming one of the Mad comics. I gave Collin a bit of a scare as he came downstairs. I told him I got a bit distracted, and he just waved me on up, not realizing the strange circumstance.

  It was about a five-minute drive to the place. Turns out, it was only a street down from the barn. We walked past a massive factory as the moon rose in the twilight sky. Darkness flooded in as we walked through a vast tangle of woods behind the factory.

  I swore we heard maybe three to four things that sounded like an animal scurrying off in the dark. Leonard kept nudging me. I tried to play it off as an accident, but he did it twice more.

  “Yes?” I whispered harshly.

  “You like Lucy?”

  It was such a sporadic question that I wasn’t sure how to respond. “Sure,” I said, picking up my pace as we lingered behind the group.

  “I kinda got the hots for her but, man, is she a religious nut.”

  I gave him an empty ‘mhh hmm’ and continued through the brush.

  “You ever got the hots for a religious nut?”

  Jesus, he was a shit whisperer, I swore I saw Lucy turn her head a good 15 feet in front of us.

  “I like my freedom too much to try that.”

  “Freedoms ain't shit,” Leonard said as if he were talking to himself. “Why settle on free? No matter where you go you’re still gonna be trapped up.”

  I let our talk end there and the three minutes left of the walk remained a pleasant silence.

  We all froze as we entered a large clearing where the concrete patch was. Or rather, where it should have been. A sinkhole opened up in the dead center of the field. My photo of the little concrete pond looked like the before photo to a catastrophic war. Steaming orange cracks spread across the dirt like some drunken spider web. Collin tried to step forward to look inside the hole, but the ground cracked in front of him. Lucy pitched a stone into the hole, and it fell for infinity. Leonard tried to get everyone’s attention, but the gang was glued to the crater.

  I saw it and shouted at all of them to look up. The wall of forest that surrounded the field was filled with stars, a blinking galaxy. We simultaneously took a step back. The stars drifted and swirled towards us as we ran back. If fear of just one of those shadow beings was a little nerve-racking, imagine what a herd could do.

  I noticed Leonard lagged behind. I slowed my pace down and tried to encourage him on. He cracked a sweat-showered smile at me and picked himself up.

  The eyes of those beings danced like the foam frills of an oncoming wave through the forest. None of us saw one go further than the forest edge as we rushed through the field and towards our cars.

  I branched away from the bikers and stopped by the barn.

  I crammed everything I could into the BMW. Sal reluctantly got in. I dropped off Leonard and I bought a night at this stout, greasy motel called Sun-Inn. I have everything tossed across the second bed and made a makeshift office near the air conditioning.

  The entire time I’ve been logging this, something is burning away in my mind—those dead bodies in their base.

  I know what I was getting into when I asked for their help, there was nine of them, and they are using them to feed something. What are they, cannibals?

  I deserve an answer after they fumbled on the deal with Debbie. That suitcase phone stays on my mind as well. I haven’t updated Donald at all. I have dug myself in too big of a hole with him. Is it worth the humiliation? Just to say; “hey, sorry I took so long, turns out I messed everything up.” To hell with it.

  Update: someone other than Donald picked up the call.

  Side D Track 8 “I Fell In”

  “Michael, what the hell were you thinking when you grabbed an axe?” Lara looking at the one inch deep crack she made into the concrete.

  “I dunno… trees?” Michael said as he dug small holes around the pavement. Denver and Dian were cracking apart foot-wide squares of concrete with their pickaxes. They scattered across Stone Bowl, the sunset’s purple hues rippled in its shallow pool.

  Dian lifted a sidewalk-sized chunk out of her way, “Shit!” Her voice echoed across the field. “Y’all come quick and check this out!” The glare of the flashlight swung back and forth as Michael jogged towards the group.

  “The hell is that?” Lara asked. A glowing orange crack scrawled across the dirt.

  Michael dug a section with his shovel, the ember glow stretched like taffy as he pulled a chunk of earth up. Michael slung it into the water and listened to it hiss as it splashed. “Yup, that’s hot,” he said blankly.

  They stopped 15 minutes later. In the near-gone sunlight, they unearthed a glowing amber line towards the pond’s base.

  “Well, great, we ain’t getting anywhere with that,” Lara said while trying to catch her breath. “Michael… Michael? Wher
e you headed?”

  “Don’t worry! I think I got something for us!” Michael’s flashlight bobbed towards the forest edge. “Hang tight,” he bellowed as he entered a dirt path in the middle of the trees.

  “Great, now where’s he goin’?” Dian asked.

  A hum rumbled through the forest four minutes later. A pair of headlights passed flickering glares between the trees. A rusting mustard yellow forklift zoomed through the clearing. Michael slowed the forklift and slid the pair of metal prongs between the concrete and the ground. He gave the control panel a sharp tug. The forklift contested with whirrs screeches. By a sheer miracle, a patch of concrete snapped, sending cracks down into the pond.

  “Get em Michael!” Dian Shouted. Michael reared the forklift back and rammed into another chunk. The mechanical elephant of a machine unearthed another mass, revealing more of the glowing root-like ground.

  Denver dropped his pickax, he tried to speak but the words came out in a hushed tangle. He caught his breath and found his words, “Dear God… Michael! Get outta there! Get the hell out!” The forklift screamed as Michael tore the rocky ground. The concrete land shattered like a shot windowpane.

  “He can’t hear ya!” Lara called, “Dear god, he can’t hear ya.” The gray pond sank as if someone had pulled its plug. The smoke gray water whirlpooled into a small pitch-black hole at the center of the bowl. Lara bolted to the side of the forklift, nearly tripping as a chunk of concrete cracked in front of her. She gave a frantic wave to his side—that did it.

  “What!?” Michael bellowed.

  Lara hopped up and clutched the forklift’s operator cage, “Get your ass outta here!”

  “At wh-” the ungodly sight on his side answered his question. A shadowy being squirmed its way through the hole like a rat up a pipe. The moon stretched on its glossy black skin. Michael pulled Lara in the forklift as he reversed. The being’s eyes hued a brash pink.

  It jetted towards the lift. Michael raised the lift’s bars as if it could shield them.

  The being leaped onto the bars.

  “Dang it!” Michael shouted. The being’s eyes lit harsh beams in the smog from the forklift's exhaust. The thing cat-crawled up the lift’s mast and lunged down. It came within a foot of Michael then went into a squelching halt.

  Ink black blood trickled down the axe handle and splotched Lara’s shirt. She had raised the axe above her, striking the being square on the head. Its body slid like jello off the side of the forklift. The orange splits bloomed across the dirt. Bright-red rays shot up from the cracks.

  Two more beings vomited out of the earth.

  Michael waved at Dian and Denver, “Get in!” The two of them ran around the crumbling dip of the Stone Bowl. One of the beings chased them down, encircling around the dried pond’s bend like a horrific game of duck-duck-goose.

  DUCK. The lift screeched into a break. Denver hooked on, Dian grabbed his hand. DUCK. The being was now five feet away from Dian. DUCK. The thing latched onto the back of Dian’s shirt. Metal clanked as Michael drew the rusted shovel. “Dig this!” GOOSE—He burrowed the shovel into the being’s neck.

  The shadow gripped on the shovel’s handle, causing Michael to fall under its weight. Lara grabbed the canvas of his jacket as she hopped in the driver’s seat. The being slipped to the ground, grasping the slice in its neck. Its eyes shuttered like a film reel.

  Michael’s joints felt like they were nails on a chalkboard. With the tail end of his strength, he raised the shovel and harpooned the being into the ground.

  It let out a shrill, unending scream. The wooden pole of the shovel slipped in its glossy hands.

  Lara pushed the lift as much as its poor engine could. Dian and Denver hung outside both sides of the lift. Michael knelt on the back, holding on to the cage.

  “Where’s the third one?” Lara shouted as she drove across the field. The ground quaked. The hole broke into itself. An orange flicker emitted from the opening as if there was a massive fire deep within it.

  “Yeah, three of em ain’t a problem.” Denver said, “Try eleven.” The beings scuttled like cockroaches out of a glowing drainpipe. A piece of ground protruded from under them. The lift cocked half a foot in the air and landed in a heavy thud. Denver and Dian jerked downward. Denver lost footing and dangled for a second off the lift.

  Denver looked upwards and witnessed the chaos. Michael had rolled off the back of the forklift. He lay with the wind knocked out of him and watched the stars. The beings stampeded around him like a herd of bulls. He felt the ground rumble with their footsteps. The concrete patch he rested on felt as if it were sinking.

  Dian and Denver watched as Michael’s stone island cracked off and slipped into the hole. Michael vanished.

  Michael watched walls of black engulf the stars. This is what it’s like… right… this is it, ain’t it. So many things I could have said, I’m sorry Dad… Lara, I think I loved you. I still don’t know about that. This is what I always wanted right, I wanted to die… Don’t you dare cry; this is what you asked for; you wanted this… The stars sure were pretty…

  An orange flickering light grew around him. His jacket fluttered like a furious flag as he fell. He could see the eyes of a few shadowy beings watch him fall. The flickering orange glow became so blinding that he closed his eyes.

  Ah forget it, what’s the point… Even on your deathbed you still gotta be comfortable. It’ll come soon enough. Why put a pillow on it?

  The light flushed away. Michael felt his body become tense for a second, and then he let go. He opened his eyes and watched the hole shrink into an ember ring. It grew smaller and smaller, till it became an orange dot in the darkness.

  There it is…

  The concrete patch dipped at an angle and slid out from under him. He fell freely. The air streaming around every inch of his body. A white light cradled Michael. The voice of Cassiel echoed through the dark.

  ‘Oh Michael… oh dear, dear, Michael… your tale has only just begun.’

  Chapter 9

  Side A Track 9

  To Roam

  “Hop out and run!” Lara commanded as she slowed down the forklift to a squeaky halt. Dian and Denver swung off both sides and bolted for the exit.

  Lara grabbed the axe and stumbled out of the moving lift. She heard soft squishing footfalls trailing behind them. Dian grabbed the flashlight and ran, the light bobbing back and forth as her arms swayed.

  One of the beings outstretched a wobbling arm and caught hold of Lara. She whirled back and sliced off the limb. As the shadow grew closer, she swung the axe like a crazed lumberjack at its neck. The shadow fell from the force of the strike and quivered like a fish out of water. As the other one grew close, Lara threw the axe. Its blade jabbed the being’s stomach and sent it backward in a blood-spraying roll.

  The group bulleted out of the chamber of forest. The dirt road led them back to Heartland Interior. Without looking back, they bounded towards the mill. Logs stretched past their left and several scattered machines blurred past to their right. Their footfalls echoed on the mills concrete floor as they stumbled through the massive open entrance.

  Denver glanced back, “Guys, I think we outran them.” The group huddled to a heaving walk.

  “L… Look, the forest!” Lara gasped. Dozens of shadows blinked within the pitch-black forest like a scatter of gems. Something gigantic rustled within the trees, sending birds scattering in its path. In the group’s panting silence, a mammoth gargling groan rumbled through the woods.

  They picked up speed again and ran towards their cars.

  They collected themselves back at Denver's house. Dian stayed in the living room. Lara and Denver stared out the kitchen window. Parked in front of the neighbor's house was a white truck.

  No one lived in the house next door.

  Denver leaned on a counter, “Do you have any idea about what we can do now?”

  Lara's eyes were fixed on the window. “It’s not what we can we do,” She felt a pai
n in her chest. “It’s can we even do anything at all?” She sunk into his arms. His hand grazed the back of her head, her hair poured between his fingers.

  “We’ll do whatever we can.” Lara's teeth chattered as she sobbed, “hey, hey, hey, we are all together. Lara, it's okay we're gonna figure this out together.” Saying that only made things worse. “I…” Denver stopped talking and swayed her in his arms. He could feel tears slither along his forearm. Her hand shook and dug into his shirt. Her fingers almost scratched his back as she tugged. “Shh… shh… shh.” She collapsed in his arms a tangled tear-soaked mess. Her breaths grew short as she tried to contain herself.

  “I'm, I'm, I'm sorry, I'm so, so sorry. I dragged you into this shit,” Her breath overtook her voice for a second. “And Michael’s gone, and J… Johnathan…” She pressed her tighter into his shirt.

  “It ain't your fault… Lara, none of it is your fault. Don't you dare go round saying' otherwise… there’s, I don't know, some reason behind all of it.”

  “What reason.”

  “To grow? You grow from pain.”

  “I shoulda grown up a long time ago.” Lara sniffed.

  “No, you ain't.”

  Lara jerked out of his hold. “The hell I am, I can't do shit. I'm just good-for-nothin’ trash.” She sighed, “You know what? I’ll probably be dead when this is all over.”

  Denver gripped onto Lara's shoulders and watched her with tear stung. “Don't say that.”

  “We are all gonna be dead by what Michael said. Whatever fucked up god put us here had that reason for us. You said there's a reason to all this, that's it. Maybe whatever’s out there ain't as jolly as we see.” She turned away. “I don't believe- I don't want to believe that there’s somethin’ out there. There ain't a reason.” She smiled at him while wiping her eyes, “and you know what? That's okay.”

  “That ain't a reason to want to die; you saw what we saw out there. That’s some form of hell, and with every hell, there's a heaven with it… right?”