9TALES TOLD IN THE DARK #15
© Copyright 2016 Bride of Chaos/ All Rights Reserved to the Authors.
First electronic edition 2016
Edited by A.R. Jesse
Cover by Turtle&Noise
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9TALES TOLD IN THE DARK #15
Table of Contents
NIGHT TRAIN by Joel Stewart
SHOULD HAVE SEEN THAT COMING by Todd French
THE FOOD CHAIN by Edward Ahern
NORCAHAZTUTA by P.L. Bogen
SACRIFICES by Robert Khan Rosenberger
THE DEMON KIDS by Derek Muk
FRIES WITH THAT? by David J. Gibbs
TRAWLING by Sara Green
IN THE CITY THERE’S A THOUSAND THINGS by Paul Lubaczewski
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TALES
TOLD
IN THE
DARK
#15
NIGHT TRAIN by Joel Stewart
5 pm
Aaron Grishom sat alone in his room waiting for the birthday party from hell to begin. He watched out the window as the guests arrived: Tommy, the Bickershoff twins, and Everett, the new kid. Aaron didn’t know any of them. His mom had invited the kids of everyone in her office and apparently these four had nothing better to do.
"Aaron, they're here," his mother yelled from downstairs. "Why don't you go to the door and greet your friends."
"Because they're not my friends," Aaron muttered under his breath. He shuffled down the stairs and stood in the hallway. Tommy had already come inside. He had then locked the door behind him and was now laughing at the other boys stuck outside.
"Tommy. Glad you could make it," Aaron said, walking past him and unlocking the door.
"Yeah, whatever. I heard there was cake." He trailed off as he headed down the hall. Aaron opened the door for the other three who said little more than hello as they walked in. Aaron pointed the way to the living room.
“Two hours,” he mumbled to himself. “Then they’re gone. Just watch a movie and get it over with.”
Aaron started down the hall, but when he glanced into the kitchen, he almost threw up. There, under the window, were five sleeping bags stacked together with a box of movies and popcorn. Aaron was horrified. This birthday was going to go down as the worst ever.
7:30pm
The five boys sat cross-legged in the center of Aaron's room. They were taking turns trying to scare each other with creepy stories after having given up on the movie. Daniel had gone first, but had retold the plot of a horror movie where a clown doll terrorizes a little boy. Tommy, though, had already seen the movie and called him out. Then, Grant had come up with a story about a giant spider that takes up residence in the school. It wasn't scary.
Tommy followed that with a strange tale about a boy lost in the woods who ends up eating parts of himself to stay alive. Now, it was Aaron's turn and he was stuck.
"Aaron," said Grant. "You're up."
"Come on, Aaron," said Tommy. "No free passes just 'cause you're the birthday girl.” He laughed and slapped Grant on the back.
Aaron had to come up with something or he would wake up tomorrow with his underwear in the freezer or a Sharpie mustache.
"Yeah, fine," he said. His mind was completely blank. "Let me think."
He took a drink to buy some time and then it hit him, the dream. For the past three weeks he had dreamt of a circus train that stopped on the tracks across the field behind his house. He would go check it out and find a train filled with candy, toys, and games. He would go in, gorge himself on candy, and play with every videogame imaginable, but there was always a presence in the train, something was watching him, studying him. Although nothing ever happened, it scared the hell out of him. One night it had been so real he looked out the window to see if the train was there.
"Okay. I got a story for you. Do you like trains?"
When Aaron finished telling the story he looked around at the others. They were completely silent, even Tommy. Everyone was staring back at Aaron, their mouths slightly open. Everett looked like he was holding back tears.
"What?" asked Aaron. "You guys okay?"
Nobody responded. Then, Grant and Daniel looked at each other. They nodded in unison.
"We had the same dream," said Daniel.
"Whatever!" said Tommy. He got up and stomped off to the back of the room. "You did not."
"Yeah, we did," answered Grant, looking at Tommy. "The train, the toys, everything."
"Liar!" shouted Tommy and charged Grant. Daniel jumped up and pushed Tommy out of the way, almost knocking him down. Tommy recovered and started after Daniel, but Grant tripped him from behind. Tommy crashed to the floor. Grant, Daniel, and Aaron all gathered around him.
"What’s the matter with you?" asked Aaron. He reached his hand down to help him back up and Tommy knocked it away. Grant stared down at him.
"You saw it too, didn't you?" he asked. Tommy shook his head, but refused to look up at them.
"He did," said Daniel. The three of them looked at each other. How was it possible that they had all had the same dream?
They started discussing the dreams. Everyone had a slightly different version, but there were similarities, the most frightening being the sensation of being watched.
"What is it then?" asked Aaron. "Nobody saw anything?” He looked at Daniel and Grant. They shook their heads. Aaron looked down at Tommy who was now sitting, but still refusing to join in the conversation.
"Nothing?" he asked. Tommy glared back, mouth shut.
"I saw something.”
It was Everett. The other boys had forgotten about him. He had been sitting on the bed while the rest of them were dealing with the shock of their shared dream.
"I know who's watching you on the train," he continued. His head was down and he just stared at his shoes.
"You saw somebody?" said Daniel. He took a step back, away from Everett. "Who?"
"I don't know exactly. But I saw him," Everett looked up and stared at the other boys, meeting their eyes. "He's like a circus guy. You know the one who stands there and runs the whole show?"
"The Ring Master?" said Aaron.
"Yeah, like that. He's got a red suit, like blood red, and a tall black hat. He's also got a crazy mustache, really long and pointed. And his eyes." Everett stopped. He closed his eyes as if he didn't want to see what he was about to describe. "His eyes are jet black. Like, not just the pupils, the whole eye. There's no white or anything. Just black. And in my dream, he can ... if he sees you and you look in his eyes, he can make you do things."
Everett opened his eyes and looked around at the boys. Tommy was now back on his feet, his hands balled up in fists, staring back at Everett.
"How do you know that?" demanded Tommy.
"I just do. I can feel it. You know how you can know things in a dream without really seeing them. I just know it."
"What did he
make you do?" asked Grant, his voice a little shaky.
"Nothing. I've only seen glimpses of him. A leg coming around the corner or a hand opening a door. I've been able to get away just ahead of him every time. Oh, and there is a picture of him in the engine room. That's how I know about his eyes."
"Whatever," said Tommy. "There's not even a damn train. You guys are all just making this up."
"Oh yeah?" said Grant. "What the hell do you know? You saw it too and won't even admit it."
"Shut up, Grant. You're an idiot."
"You shut up, at least I’m not scared."
Everett got up and stepped between them. Aaron joined him.
"Everybody shut up," they both said. There was a strange music drifting into the room. It sounded like a flute and reminded Aaron of the circus.
"You hear that?" Everett asked. Everyone nodded. Grant pointed to the window.
"It's coming from there."
All five boys ran to the window. There, sitting on the tracks across the field from Aaron's house was a dark, soot-covered train. It looked like something from the 1900's. A great cloud of smoke swirled around it as if it had just arrived. Right in front was a tall thin man in a black hat and red suit. He was twirling around in a strange dance, playing a flute. Even though the train was across the field and the window was closed, they could hear the music very clearly.
The Ring Master stopped and looked straight at them. He reached out his hand a gestured for them to come. He opened his arms toward the train and the whole thing lit up in an eerie off-yellow glow. The doors opened and they could see inside. There were arcade games, pinball machines, toys, candy jars, and trampolines, and that was just what they could see from there. What else did the rest of the train hold?
The Ring Master beckoned to the boys again. Then, he turned and pointed to a large clock on the front of the train. It read 7:46. He swirled his finger around the clock and the hands started spinning. They made it to midnight and stopped. The Ring Master winked at the boys and the train disappeared. The man started to wind his finger the other way and the train reappeared. When the clock reached 7:46 he stopped again. He turned to the boys, tipped his hat, and went inside the engine room. The circus music started up again.
"Are we dreaming?" asked Daniel. Tommy turned and socked him in the arm.
"I don't know. Did you feel that?"
"Ha-ha, jackass."
Grant, who was at the window, turned and looked at the rest of them.
"So, what do we do now?"
"Are you kidding?" said Aaron. "Stay here. You all know that feeling we got in the dream. That's not something to mess around with."
"Yeah, but we all said there was this sense of running out of time," said Daniel, rubbing his arm. "Well, he just showed us why. Because at midnight that train disappears."
"And you're going to trust a flute-playing Ring Master that appears out of nowhere on a dream train?" said Aaron. "That makes sense."
"Look," said Tommy. "We just got to be out by midnight. How hard is that? We can play all the games we want, eat all the candy we want, and get out."
Tommy started walking to the door. As he did the music swelled slightly. Aaron blocked the door.
"We can't go out there.”
"Shut up, loser. I want to go check it out. Can't suck any worse than this place." Tommy pushed him out of the way. Aaron looked to Everett for help, but the other boy just looked away.
"Tommy, don't be an idiot,” said Aaron. Tommy was out the door and halfway down the hallway before Aaron finished his plea.
"Come on, wimps," Tommy called back to the room. Aaron glanced at the window. The music was even louder now. Daniel and Grant moved in unison towards the door as if being pulled.
"What are you doing?" Aaron said. "Don't do it."
"What's the worst that can happen?" asked Grant.
"Yeah," echoed Daniel. They headed down the hall and out the door. Everett and Aaron went to the window and watched as the trio crossed the field. They could hear the circus music get louder as the boys approached the train. "I don't know. Maybe it's not such a bad idea," said Everett, almost shouting to be heard above the music. "We can set our watches and then leave at like 11 or something."
Everett reached down and set his alarm. Aaron hesitated, and then did the same. The music grew louder.
"Ready?" Everett asked. Aaron nodded and they left. As they left, the music filled the entire room and they couldn’t even hear each other speak.
7:58 pm
All five boys stood outside the train. The doors were still open, but the glow that had surrounded it earlier was gone. The Ring Master was nowhere in sight, which all of them took for a good sign. Aaron had told the others about Everett's plan to go home when their watch alarms sounded and both Daniel and Grant had agreed it was a good idea. Tommy had told them to piss off.
No one wanted to go first, so Tommy shoved Grant toward the door. He grabbed the huge iron handle but couldn't open it on his own. Daniel stepped forward and together they managed to slide open the huge door. Inside there was a wonderland of games and sweets.
Tommy pushed the others out of the way and clambered aboard. He headed straight for the candy bars and gorged himself on five so quickly that Aaron thought he might have swallowed the wrappers along with the candy itself.
Daniel headed over to a pinball machine and Grant found himself in front of a wall of video games. He grabbed a couple of them and started looking around for where to play them. Everett and Aaron stood outside, but soon gave in to temptation and climbed aboard to join the others.
Aaron went over to a skeeball game and hit a button. He rolled the first ball and it went right in the center hole. He looked at Everett and shrugged. He rolled a second ball. Again, it went right down the center. Then a third. And a fourth. The tickets were flying out of the machine. Aaron had never been even remotely athletic so this made him feel pretty good. Everett smiled and patted him on the back.
"Not bad," he said. "You play a lot?"
"Only once or twice," Aaron replied. "I think it's something to do with the train. Like it wants us to win or something.”
He reached down and gathered up the tickets from the machine. He looked around and found an automated redemption machine. There were similar things strewn about the room, but winning a prize made it that much better. He turned to Everett.
"You want anything?"
"No. I'm good.” Everett started toward the far door. "I'm gonna check out the rest of the train."
"Okay," Aaron replied. "See you later."
Aaron turned to the machine and redeemed his tickets. His first choice was a gigantic chocolate bar in the shape of the train they were on. It seemed like the right choice.
9:10 pm
Aaron had to admit that this was the most fun he had had in a long time. He was slumped against the wall of the car, candy wrappers strewn all around him. He looked around but didn't see the others. Tommy had disappeared a while ago and he had seen Daniel and Grant head off to go find a bathroom since Grant was feeling a little sick. He had no idea where Everett was. Aaron checked his watch. He still had almost two hours before his alarm would sound. He pulled himself up off the ground and grabbed another handful of gummy bears. He decided to head towards the front of the train since that was the way Everett had gone.
9:54 pm
The lights went out. There was no warning, no flickering or static hum, the lights were on one moment and then out. The moon was peeking through the train windows so it wasn't complete darkness, but it was still difficult to see. Aaron was in the passageway between two cars and jumped into the next one. He bumped into something and it scooted a few feet across the floor. He didn't stop to see what it was. Something about the train had changed and he could feel it, that feeling from the dream was there – he was being watched. He made his way slowly across the dark car, managing to avoid bumping into anything else, and opened the door to the next car. Keep moving toward the engine, he told
himself. And keep your eyes open.
10:19 pm
Everett staggered in the darkness, pursued. He scrambled past piles of old carousel horses and popcorn machines. He reached the end of the car and turned the knob. It didn't move. He used two hands. Still nothing. Something was getting closer. He put all his weight on the knob, hanging from it. It turned. He ran through to the next car and slammed the door behind him. He kept moving forward towards the engine, that's where he needed to get to if he wanted to be free. That’s where he would be.
10:33 pm
After scrounging around, Daniel found an old rusty sword. The hilt was worn leather, black, with a strange crest on it that resembled the Native-American paintings he had seen in Taos with his family the year before – a dancing musician with his head down, playing some sort of flute.
He slid the sword in between the door and the jam, just below the lock. As he was bracing to push on the hilt, he heard a creaking sound coming from the far end of the car. He dropped the sword as he jumped and it clanged on the ground. The creaking stopped. He peered into the darkness, but couldn't make out much more than boxes.
"Grant? Is that you?" he said quietly. It felt like a stupid thing to say, but somehow being in that situation it was the only thing he could muster. The creaking started again. No, it wasn't creaking, but more of a rhythmic scraping, like a bicycle wheel brushing against its brake pad in the same spot on every rotation.
Reaching both arms back he slammed the metal sword into the door. Behind him, the creaking stopped. Daniel looked over his shoulder and it started again. Leaving the sword wedged in the door, he moved slowly towards the far corner of the room. It was even darker here, but there was moonlight shining through a small crack in the window, allowing him to just make out a few dark shadowy shapes.
The scraping stopped again. Daniel peered into the darkness and then went back to get his sword. As he did, the creaking started again, this time faster. Daniel spun around. He could see the outline of a huge crate and attached to it on the right side was a crank spinning counterclockwise. The crank sped up as he got closer and he thought he heard the faint sound of circus music.
9 Tales Told in the Dark 15 Page 1