Into Many Worlds - A Collection of Short Stories

Fright Night Short - 1

"You brought me to high school?" She asks. "Come on," her friend nudges her, "What could be scarier than high school? You have mean girls, algebra, and large pep rallies where you can be humiliated. And this school sits on an ancient Indian burial ground! High school plus angry Native spirits equals... piss your pants." She looks at her friend and then to the building. It looks eerie when the lights are off and human free. "This is what I get for playing truth and dare with you near Halloween. You've been waiting for this, haven't you?" She asks. "Since the moment we found that Medal of Honor in your attic. Who would have thought that one of your ancestors would have been part of the Wounded Knee massacre?" Her friend smiles widely at the empty building that seems to loom over them. She didn't think that finding that medal was cool. She thought it was disgusting. It left a weird feeling in her stomach. Now, standing in front of the school, her stomach flips over. "I don't think this is a good idea," she says, holding on to her friend's arm. "Don't worry about it. I'll be there every step of the way," her friend says, pulling on her. Reluctantly, she walks into the building. "You'd think they'd lock up the school at night," she chuckles nervously. Moonlight fills the halls. She stands in the doors and looks into the school, heart pounding. The door slams and she jumps, spinning around to watch her friend lock the doors from the inside with chains and a padlock. "Y-y-you locked the doors." Her friend stares at her and slowly, like honey, a smile spreads across her face, but her eyes look dead. "Say hello to my friends," her friend says. Pale blue spirits float up from the ground to float in front of her. She turns and spirits fill the school, blocking her way. "These are my ancestors," her friend pulls out a machete, with dried blood on it "The Lakota People. And all three hundred, who your ancestor helped kill, are here to say hello." 

"Why would a woman ever live this far out?" Red thought to herself, "Especially an old woman, all by herself." Red knew that her grandmother was one of those people who thought the government was out to get her, she got off the "grid", but that didn't mean that Red understood it. Red didn't go anywhere without her phone. She walked through the words, and though the trees were spaced out, she kept tripping over things. Sometimes thick tree roots that broke free of the ground, and sometimes tripwire that turned on flood lights that blinded her. She couldn't drive her car to get there and a cellphone jammer cut her off from the rest of the world, so she was all alone. But when Grandma called, you came running. Red heard the fear of her gram's voice on the phone, and her gram was never easy to scare, so she ran even faster to her. She saw the cabin doors, skipped a little faster to it, and swung open the door to get into the light. Her grandmother was sitting there. "Oh Grandmama, what enormous eyes you have." Her eyes were wide and dead in her face. "What pale skin you have." Grandma was looking a touch gray. "What red blood you have." The blood dripped from the wound in her neck, nice and fresh. "You're finally here Red," came a sweet deep voice behind her. A chill went down her spine, though she knew who it was as he came around her and into view. He was slightly corporeal, and he had blood flowing down from his red-stained teeth. But to her, her boyfriend still looked sexy. "You couldn't have done this in the daytime? We both know Ghouls aren't afraid of the sun." Gabriel just smirked at her. "It's about time, anyway. Do you know how long ago I asked you to take care of her? I don't think I could stand another day bringing supplies out to this old bitty and listening to her crazy talk." Well, it's done now, babe." Gabriel threw his arm around Red's shoulder and they walked out the front door. "Let's go eat, I'm still hungry." #SoGoodItsScary