Short Horror Stories

Oh wind, before I go

The one thing for sure in this small town was that nobody in their right mind ever went inside the woods. It wasn't a superstition or the assumption that us folks were tin foil hat crazy. Rather though, it was a belief and one we strongly believed. Occasionally, people from out of state would come to the local diner to eat and tell us about their plans for the weekend considering we had quite the atmospheric trails here.

"My husband and I were fixing to walk through the trail out there by the woods!" The blonde hair girl explained excitedly with a pearly white smile.

"Are you sure you wanna go through the woods? There's black bears in there." One local would tell the newcomer. Any other local to overhear this wouldn't say anything in hopes that the newcomer would back out of their plans to go into the woods.

"Oh, my... I think I'll pass, matter of fact." The newcomer laughs and everyone looked back down at their food or newspaper out of relief knowing they don't need to worry about another missing person. No criminal was behind the missing persons, just the beings that lurked within the woods. Everyone in town knew better than to go in and intrude so we all kept to ourselves. There was a few times where someone ended up in the woods, but if you made it out quick enough without a disturbance, you were safe. Until one day, it came to me. I'd been working my usual shifts at the diner until my cousin walked in with his son.

"Hey Jerry, Kai. What can I get you today?" I asked them with a warm grin. Though, it faded when my cousin Jerry looked up to me with a weary face.

"We're not here to eat." My nephew spoke quietly, hanging on tightly to his worn out teddy bear.
"I just got offered a new job a week ago but I've been having trouble taking care of Kai here. I know it's a lot to ask for, but could you take him in? Just for awhile." Jerry asks me of the favor. Glancing between the two, it was hard for me to say no. Kai looked up at me with his puppy dog eyes and Jerry, well Jerry looked to me with an expression that you could tell from a mile away that he was desperate for any kind of help. Besides I had nothing else going on, but, I'd never even taken care of a kid. I couldn't find it in me to decline though, especially for family.

"Yeah, of course." I smiled.

Jerry breathed a heavy breath of relief, "Thank you so much, Miko. You're a life saver." The two of them sit down at the counter. I brew some coffee and sit down an apple juice for Kai.

"So, the new job really been tough?" I inquired him.

He nodded, sipping his hot coffee. "Sure is." My eyes stared through him a few moments longer, unsure about his honesty. He never picked up an actual job but always did favors for people in return for money.

"Jerry, what kind of favors are you doing now?"

"It's basically a real job, Miko. I'm helping on a farm, seven days a week. The hours though, it's different everyday. That's why I needed help with Kai here." He finally admits to me.

"You work today?" I asked.

"I have to be there in an hour and I come back home at three in the morning." He replied.

"Oof." I sighed out. No wonder he appeared the way he had, he was only in his early thirties but today, he looked like he'd aged twenty years.

"Just remember Miko, no woods. Kai here, he likes to explore so please," Jerry leans over the counter to whisper, "Please watch him carefully."

"Of course I will." I reassure him, patting Kai's head.

Once nearly everyone in the diner had left, I went from table to table cleaning the messes up. Luckily for me, there were hardly ever any messes. My coworker cleaned the kitchen while I bussed tables. Suddenly, the bell above the door rang to notify us of a customer. Quickly I stood up from the table I'd been cleaning and realized it was a woman.