The day was warm and sunny, perfect for a day trip. My friend, Chloe, and I decided to take advantage of it with a ride out in the country. After packing a picnic basket and loading it into the trunk, we started out toward the beach. My old Chevy had a lot of miles on it but she was still dependable. We had taken a few, long trips recently and had no problems at all getting there and back. We relaxed when we left the interstate traffic behind and took the less traveled back-roads toward the East. The land was flat and the road rolled out in front of us for as far as we could see. We were the only travelers on it.
“We need to turn on the GPS, Dana, we don't wanna get too lost on these godforsaken roads.” Chloe said.
She plugged it into the cigarette lighter and pushed the on switch. Nothing happened. She tried plugging it in once more but when she pushed the switch it was dead.
“Oh Great, Dana. Now we will probably get lost.”
“Well, the sun sets in the West and we know we were already going East, so if we just continue with the sun to our backs we should be OK. We should get to the beach long before dark.”
“Sure hope so. Wouldn't want to be stuck out here with no light and no gas.”
“Chloe, you just worry too damn much. There has to be some kind of civilization at the end of this road. All we have to do is just stay on it until we get there. I'm hungry, how about you.”
“Not yet, too nervous to eat. I'll get you a sandwich if you want one.”
“Nah, I'll just wait until you want to eat too. We should be less than an hour from the coast. We can have a picnic on the beach when we get there.”
“OK, I just hope we get there and before dark.”
It seemed like we drove forever with no road signs and no sign of people or even another vehicle on the road. At least it would be some time before sunset but streaks of pink and gold were already dominating the sky. We drove through the lush, flat farmlands and entered a thick, dark forest. It wasn't one of those forests that had been harvested for its timber. It was a full and ancient forest. The road had narrowed and tall oaks bent over it with branches touching in the middle. We hadn't noticed it before but there were no overhead electric wires. We had not passed even one house or country store beside the road. It was becoming more godforsaken by the minute.
I didn't let Chloe know it but I was beginning to feel anxious. In addition to my fear of being lost, there was the eerie sensation that we were being watched. It felt like there was someone, or something, hiding behind the trees, just out of sight. I turned the radio up, just to ease the tension. We drove on and on and eventually lost the radio signal and the service for our cell phones. We were truly alone here in the ever darkening forest. I turned the headlights on and we both strained our eyes trying to spot a house, a store, anything beside the road. Twilight was falling and soon there would be no light except the headlights and little to no chance of finding anyone to help us find our way to the beach or back home. We were lost. A light fog was beginning to appear above the treetops and I had almost given up hope of finding our way out of the forest, when Chloe almost screamed out at me,
“Look, look. There to our right. There's a house. Maybe they can give us directions.”
Through the mist we could see the full moon lighting the landscape in a clearing among the tall trees. An old Victorian home stood there and didn't look very welcoming. I'd always had a fear of the paranormal and especially of haunted houses. I could feel my heart pound as my pulse quickened and the hair on my neck and arms stood at attention. don't see any lights, Chloe. Some of the windows are broken. It looks kinda creepy to me. There's even an old cemetery beside it. I don't think we should stop.”
“We don't have much gas left, Dana. Let's just go to the door and see if maybe somebody is there. Please I really don't want to drive this road until we are out of gas in a forest.”
“OK, if it makes you feel better but I'm not going to that front door unless you come with me.”
I left the car running so we could have the headlights. I opened the car door. Chloe reluctantly got out of the passenger seat and followed me toward the dilapidated house. We fought our way through weeds, briers and overgrown bushes until we finally reached the front porch. To our right, about sixty feet away, we saw the old graveyard. The headstones were weathered and many of them had toppled. It was probably an old family cemetery, the kind where people of that era often buried their dead. It was spookier than any I'd ever seen. A feathery mist floated between the graves. The house must have been a grand, old place in its day but now it had obviously been neglected for many decades. A soft sea wind began to blow, rattle the loose shutters and slam the rotting porch swing into the side of the house.
I couldn't help but wonder about the people who long ago had enjoyed summer nights in that porch swing and about those who occupied the graves that had long been uncared-for.
Who were they and what sort of life did they live?
I lifted the tarnished brass knocker and let it fall back against its plate. It seemed like an exercise in futility because there was obviously no one home. The door opened from the slight pressure of the knocker. We had limited vision in the semi-darkness but we did notice that heavy drapes still hung at the windows and there was still furniture in the foyer and beyond in the parlor.
“I tried, just for you. Are you satisfied now, Chloe? Let's get out of here. This is the creepiest place I've ever seen, talk about godforsaken. I'd rather take my chances on the road.”
As we turned to go back to our car we realized the headlights were off. It was even more difficult making our way back through the overgrowth with no headlights to light our way. Finally we made it. We got into the car and I turned the ignition. Nothing. The motor was as dead as the old house and graveyard. It was then that I noticed I had dropped my wallet in the yard or on the front porch. I insisted that Chloe accompany me to go find it.
“We'll check the porch first, maybe we won't have to scramble though the weeds if we find it there. We can just sleep in the car if we have to. Maybe tomorrow someone will be driving by and we can get some help.”
I had always called Chloe a little, fraidy cat and I was trying hard not to let her know how truly frightened I was. We pushed our way through the weeds, there was no time to lose. We were anxious to get back to the car. I had cold chills as we reached the front porch. There at the front door I found my wallet. As I bent down to retrieve it, I heard the door open with a creaking sound. When I stood up I was startled by someone was standing inside a short distance from the door. There was only moonlight to illuminate her but even in the dim light I could see she was a beautiful woman. She was wearing a black dress of Victorian style and a black, silk veil over her head. She spoke to us in a whispery voice reminiscent of Jackie Kennedy.
“Please do come in and make yourselves at home. There are guest rooms upstairs or if you prefer, you may sleep in the front parlor.”
Before I could make a reply she was gone, just gone, as if she had never been there. My whole body trembled in the coldness of the night. Clouds covered the moon and it began to pour down rain. I still preferred to sleep in the car than in this house of mystery and fear. I took Chloe's hand and we moved out into the storm toward the car. Lightning flashed and lit up the nearby graveyard. I was sure I had seem a figure moving among the graves. Thunder boomed, encouraging us to hurry to the car. When we reached it I took hold of the door to open it.
“Oh, my God, Chloe, the doors are locked and the keys are inside. Should I break out a window so we can get in. Maybe we should drive some distance away from this house.”
“Yes break it, break it now. I'm terrified. I'll pay for the broken glass. Just get us out of here.”
I picked up a large rock and began to beat it against the glass. It wouldn't break, no matter how hard I hit it and cursed at it the damn glass refused to break. This was incredibly strange. We would have no choice but to return to the house for the night. We trudged back through the soggy, rain soaked underbrush to the front porch where the open door greeted us.
“We won't go upstairs to the bedroom, Chloe. We'll just rest on the two love seats in the parlor.”
“Fine with me, puts us closer to the door if we have to run during the night.”
We entered the parlor and stretched out on the two love seats. They were hard and uncomfortable and had a musty smell but they were better than sleeping out in the rain. I don't know how we managed to do it but we both fell asleep. Sometime deep into the night we woke up. The rain had stopped and we decided to try the car door again. The full moon was visible and moonlight lit up the premises. We quietly moved to the front porch and out into the overgrown yard. I glanced toward the graveyard and noticed there was a very distinct figure standing next to one of the ornate gravestones. I thought it must be our hostess. She was tall and thin. The skirt of her long, black dress rustled in the wind and she had exchanged her veil for a black bonnet. She saw us and motioned for us to join her. I didn't want to go but for some reason Chloe insisted on responding to her invitation. I trailed along behind her, Chloe, the fraidy cat who was suddenly bold as a lion. We stepped around as many graves at possible, so as not to disturb those who rested there.
I noticed that this must not be just a family plot. There were many different last names engraved on the headstones. Unless all the in-laws and distant cousins were buried there it was a resting place for many people and from many eras. The birth and death years were as varied as the names. I thought it was strange but there must have been a reason for it. This was still the creepiest place I'd ever been.
She motioned for us to come near. Soon I could see her face. Her skin was a blue hued pallor but her lips were deep red. Her hazel eyes had a luminescent quality and her dark hair hung in ringlets beneath her bonnet. Her thin body appeared almost skeletal in her heavy, black dress. She was beautiful in a frail, other worldly sort of way.
“You simply must stay for dinner tonight. I would be so pleased to take care of you. I know how to take the best care of guests. I'm also the caretaker for the cemetery. It pleases me to care for others. I haven't had visitors in a very long time. You can pass the day resting and walking through the gardens. Please say you will stay.”
“I'm sorry but we have to get back home, right Chloe?”
“You go home, Dana. I wanna stay. I like it here and our hostess is so gracious. You go home and come back for me tomorrow. I'll be just fine. I'm sure I'll be well taken care of."
“I don't wanna leave you, Chloe. Come on, let's go.”
Chloe's eyes lit up with anger and her mouth twisted into a frown.
“I told you, I'm staying. You can either stay with me or come back for me tomorrow.”
I decided not to argue with her and when I got back to the car the doors were unlocked and the key was in the ignition. It started effortlessly and I headed back west on the foreboding road. After an hour I found the interstate and made my way home. I was anxious to take a nap.
I tossed and turned all night, worrying about my friend. I started out early in the morning to go back for her. I had no problem at all finding the right road and it seemed like a short drive to the old house. When I arrived no one was around. I finally spied the caretaker kneeling at a grave planting flowers. I hurriedly walked to her. She looked up at me and a wicked smile captured the corners of her full, red lips.
“See what good care I've taken of your friend?”
I looked down at the gravestone and read the engraving,
Chloe Radston, 1975-2018, Rest In Peace.
I ran back to my car and have never returned there again. Take a warning from one who knows, beware of pale caretakers with overgrown cemeteries in godforsaken places.
This story didn’t try to scare us too early even though the two women, Cloe and Danah had to turn off the main highway and wander down an unfamiliar one, which soon had the two women a bit unease. When they tried to get into an old the house, but was unable, the tension showed up and stayed with the reader (me). Oh, but the reader m reader read faster as she made it back to her home alone because her friend, Dana waited for her. My heart rhymes really was pumping as Cloe wanted to return home. I was reading much faster by now, and when she came back to the eerie old house for her friend the climax of the story grabbed me and held me until the end of the story. Excellent read!
It's a good one. The right kind of scary. If it really happened, it would be all over social media and there would be thousands out there searching for Chloe or her remains. And, in the spirit of Halloween, fills the bill.
I was reminded of the time with the trailer behind my car sucking 5 miles per gallon when I had to leave the interstate on the way to Mobile on an easterly road to nowhere. Five miles later and nearly completely out of gas, I came upon a bait shop on a river with a gas pump. Hallelujah! I was saved.
Tasked by his Goddess to find, relocate, and then quicken, the last three Heart Tree gem-seeds, Vanx the bard, and his motley crew of adventurers, set out to do just that.
