SUMMER CHILLER CONTESTANT
James slept much later than intended on his first morning in the cottage. Sleep had not come easily. The lack of the familiar sounds of traffic unnerved him, and the creaks and groans of the old building had him snapping his eyes open, staring wide eyed in the darkness. Eventually, the fatigue of uprooting his entire life and moving to the Wiltshire countryside had caught up with him and he fell into a deep undisturbed sleep.
After firing up the stove in the kitchen, which also heated the water in the cottage, he had made himself a large breakfast and had taken a long hot bath, washing away the sweat and stress of the previous day. His belongings were mostly still in boxes, strewn across the floor in untidy piles, but they could wait. He wanted to explore his new environment before he started the mammoth task of unpacking.
He put a bottle of water into a rucksack and walked to the gate at the bottom of the garden. The forest stood before him, a vast expanse of ivy covered tree trunks leading up to the thick canopy of leaves some thirty feet above him. The greenery of the summer not yet giving way to the yellow and orange hues of the oncoming autumn. The air was filled with the sounds of bird song and thick with the sweet smell of fallen leaves that covered the forest floor. Taking a deep breath, James headed into the woods.
He had lived in the city for his entire life, and was unprepared for the concentration of natural beauty. He moved along the path in silence. This place was just what he needed to put all thoughts of the divorce out of his mind. He could feel his malaise lifting already.
He came to a fork in the path and paused for a moment to consider the best route, before heading left, deeper into the dense woodlands.
He judged that he had been walking for over an hour, perhaps more. The light began to change, taking on a subdued yellow hue and although still warm, a cold edge crept into the breeze that had not been present when he set out. He decided that he should head back before it got dark.
A rustling sound came from the undergrowth ahead of him, and he stood transfixed as a large male deer appeared on the path, pausing to regard the intruder before continuing on its way. “God I love this place” he said, turning around and beginning his journey home.
***
“God I fucking hate this place!” he swore as he stumbled along the trail. The woods were now completely dark, lit only with an occasional silvery light as the moon broke through the cloud cover and he had lost the track a number of times in the darkness, staggering through grasping brambles before finding his way again.
Up ahead, the trees started to thin and he pressed on, hoping to have finally gotten out of the endless woodlands. Instead, he arrived at a small clearing containing a black pool of water and overhung by a single weeping willow.
The moonlight illuminated the clearing and the pool in a flat monochrome, accentuating the shadows cast by the trees, and shimmering across the pools surface. At the edge of the water stood a young woman, crying into her hands. Her dark hair fell around her shoulders and across the back of the light summer dress she wore.
The girl was translucent, only visible at all when bathed directly in moonlight. Her left side, partly caught in shadow, did not appear to exist. She turned and walked along the edge of the water, fading in and out of existence as she passed through the dancing shadows.
It was then that she noticed him. Her eyes met his and he felt disoriented, as if suffering an attack of vertigo, his heart leaping in his chest and his head spinning. Her mouth opened and she appeared to speak, although the only sounds were those of the woods, then, as the moon moved behind a cloud, she vanished.
He scanned the clearing, searching for her, but all he saw were the long shadows cast by the trees, and the light on the surface of the pool. There was no sign of the girl.
Then he saw her, walking from the far side of the clearing, where the shadows were deeper. At first, all he could see were flashes of illumination, where parts of her body were caught in the silver light. As she made her way across the clearing however, she came into full view.
The girl was walking right for him – a sense of purpose in her stride. Then, as the moon moved behind a cloud, she disappeared again.
James took a deep breath and tried to steady his trembling hands. That was a fucking ghost! His legs were rubber and he stumbled as he backed away from the dark pool. The woods seemed much more inviting all of a sudden.
The moon broke free of the clouds once more, and the girl was right beside him. James uttered an involuntary cry. Her mouth moved silently once more – the words “Help me” on her lips. Spectral tears rolled down her face.
James could not move, or even speak for a moment, then, swallowing the hard knot of fear, replied, “How?”
The girl leaned over towards him. Her bright blue eyes were the last things he saw before she kissed him.
James felt as if he were falling, there was a sharp tearing pain, and then he felt nothing at all. James opened his eyes, and to his horror, realised he was looking right back at himself.
“Thank you for the body James. Goodbye”. His body then turned and walked away, back into the woods.
He opened his mouth to scream, but there was only silence. Then the moon passed behind a cloud, and James vanished from sight.
©2009 Graeme Reynolds
Graeme Reynolds is a 38 year old software tester and horror author. You can read his work on his homepage http://www.graemereynolds.com
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September 15th, 2009 at 5:25 am
lovely mood and darkness to this one.
September 15th, 2009 at 7:04 am
Great story, love your voice.
September 15th, 2009 at 8:11 am
The fork in the road we choose makes all the difference. Love the description of the black pool with willow tree. Eerie. I think what was most frightening about the ghost is not knowing what it wanted - until the end of course. Who knew a simple kiss could steal a body? Nice suspense!
September 15th, 2009 at 8:57 am
Great, scary, creepy stuff!
September 15th, 2009 at 3:11 pm
Great work as always, Graeme. Your description is amazing as always. I wanted to go to those woods…until the ghost showed up, of course.
October 15th, 2009 at 2:03 am
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October 15th, 2009 at 6:04 am
Congrats on the Summer Chiller Contest win, Graeme. Great flash!
November 1st, 2009 at 8:32 am
Wonderful story. a reall chiller.