Four Corners Dark: Horror Stories (9 page)

“No,” he said weakly. “That is not the way.”

It was the Raven Mocker and he sensed its hunger.

He shuddered and said, “We need to go now.”

Pulling the swamped canoe slowed them considerably and the best they could manage was a slow crawl. Joseph feared they would be trapped on the water after dark, but Terry needed to stabilized and brought into their vehicle.

An island came into view, and on the shore was a burning building with people jumping from its windows.

“We are not going there are we?” Abby asked.

“We must,” Joseph answered. “I will land as far away as I can.”

Joseph landed in a thicket fifty yards from the building and then drove onto the shore scraping the canoe over the rocky beach. He climbed out and arranged a circle of stones around them.

“This will provide protection, but we must be fast. There is too much pain in this place and we cannot remain for long,” Joseph said.

He opened a trunk in the rear of the ATV and retrieved a first aid kit and a blanket. He placed the items on the front seat and said, “Help me lift him.”

“Please be careful,” Abby said through tear-filled eyes. “His leg…”

When they lifted him into the backseat, he came to and thrashed wildly, his injured leg a twisted mess of blood and bone.

“Abby, please hold him still,” Joseph said.

Abby pressed down on Terry’s shoulders. Joseph found a sedative in the first aid kit and injected him. He quieted which allowed Joseph to fashion a splint on Terry’s damaged leg.

CHAPTER TWENTY

I
ma arrived at the lodge shortly before sunset. She walked to the front door and rang the doorbell, but no one answered. A Jeep sat parked in the driveway, she felt the hood of the truck but it was as cold as the air around it. She walked around the back of the lodge to an outbuilding. Both doors were open and tire tracks led out of the building. She followed the tracks across a stone bridge and reached the edge of the forest. There, the tracks abruptly disappeared.

“Sheriff?” Ima called into the trucks radio.

“Hey Ima,” Sheriff Turner answered.

“I’m up at the James Lodge. There’s something strange going on here,” she said.

“What’s up, Ima?”

“We received a call that the folks up here couldn’t be contacted. I’ve searched the grounds and there’s something you should see.”

“Any signs of foul play?” Sheriff Turner asked.

“No,” Ima answered.

“Okay, then we need to pick it up in the a.m.,” he said.

“But Sheriff,” Ima started to say.

“In the a.m. You hear me deputy?”

“Yes sir,” Ima answered. “Over and out.”

She knew him well enough to predict his response. The sheriff’s office patrol area ended way short of these parts after hours.

Ima opened the door of her truck and prepared to leave when she heard the sound of a car approaching. Moments later a silver Honda turned up the drive, the car’s radio shattered the quiet. The car pulled to a stop and a slim, dark-haired woman emerged.

“Any sign of them?” Brenda called out.

“And you are? “ Ima replied.

“My name is Brenda Collins. My friend Donald called your office.”

“Sorry Miss Collins, we have not located them yet. Did you just arrive in Silverton?”

“Yes, I drove up from Louisiana.”

“A loud radio helps keep me awake on a long trip as well,” Ima said.

“Oh, yes. Yes it does,” Brenda said.

Falling asleep was not the problem. The radio helped her mute the distractions, the sounds had been deafening since she drove into the mountains.

“I know you’re probably tired from your drive, but if you have a few minutes, I would like to ask you some questions,” Ima said.

“Certainly,” said Brenda.

The two women walked to the front of the lodge. Ima grabbed the carved wooden handle of the door and pushed it open. She braced herself when she stepped inside. The claustrophobic feeling was there again, but she was able to keep it under control this time. When Brenda walked in, all of the distractions that filled her mind were stripped away.

CHAPTER TWENTY ONE

A
bby and Joseph climbed into the ATV, the shoreline was a dim strip obscured by shadows. Bright orange flames engulfed the spectral building and burning people continued to jump. One of them jumped, hit the ground, and disappeared into the flames. The circle of fire surrounding the building opened and shot towards them. The jumper emerged from the flames and crawled towards the ATV. Joseph started the engine and backed the vehicle into the water. The creature was upon them, stopped only by the line of stones. Joseph piloted them away from the shore and into the safety of the lake. Steam rose from the creature’s blackened flesh when it tried to follow them into the water.

The beam of the headlights disappeared into the fog hovering over the surface of the lake. Travelling in silence, the rumble of the engine was their only connection to the outside world.

Joseph finally spoke. “We needed those stones. I have nothing left to protect us.”

“Can we make it back without them?” Abby asked. “Terry needs a doctor now.”

“No. We would never make it back through those woods after dark.”

He turned off the vehicle’s engine and lights.

“I am afraid we will need to drift out here tonight,” he said. “We cannot take our chances on land.”

Joseph looked back at Terry.

“He is in shock, so we will need to keep him warm and calm. You should climb in the back with him and get some sleep.”

Abby stepped over the seat and crawled under a blanket with Terry. He was cold and shivering, she wrapped her arms around his neck to warm him.

Joseph stared into the lake. It was quiet, yet he sensed a low hum like the sound of an electrical generator. When he was a boy, his people had used the lake and were not afraid. But things had changed, and the boundaries between the living and the dead had shifted. It began with a series of drownings. People swimming in calm waters were sucked under the surface and never seen again. The tribes in the area quickly abandoned these lands for safer places.

Joseph was one of the few who decided to stay and learned to co-exist here. Modern technology was unwelcome, clocks stopped, power went out, and batteries drained. Joseph became accustomed to these strange occurrences and, anyway, did not have much use for such conveniences. He passed his hand through the cold water and stirred away the mist. Dim lights appeared to glow below the surface. Legend had it that these waters connected to others areas, other worlds, but only the ones lost could really know.

Morning came and the lake was shrouded with a gray mist. Abby shook a sleeping Joseph. Terry was crying in terrible pain beside her.

“Joseph,” she said. “Terry needs more medication.”

“Of course,” Joseph answered, still groggy.

He reached into his jacket pocket and handed a bottle of pain killers to Abby. She put two of the pills into Terry’s mouth. His eyes were open slightly and his head rolled from side to side. Joseph looked towards the sky and decided on a direction then touched the medallion and started the motor.

“Joseph, do you know the way back?” Abby asked.

Joseph did know the way. They had intersected their original path.

“Yes, I know the way now,” he answered.

CHAPTER TWENTY TWO

B
renda awoke on a leather couch in the great room where she had spent an hour answering Deputy Roger’s questions the night before. The deputy had searched the house and found no evidence of foul play, Terry and Abby had simply vanished. She had promised to return in the morning with additional help, and gave Brenda her cell number in case Terry and Abby showed up during the night.

Brenda walked into the kitchen and noticed movement through the back windows. Abby and a man were driving towards the lodge. She ran into the great room and pulled her cell phone from her purse.

“Hello,” she heard on the other end. “This is Ima Rogers.”

“Deputy Rogers this is Brenda. Abby is back.”

“Is she okay?” Ima asked.

“I don’t know yet. I can see her coming from the woods,” Brenda answered.

“I’ll be there in ten minutes,” Ima said and hung up.

Brenda saw them headed towards the drive at a high rate of speed. She ran out the front door to meet them, and found them parked next to Terry’s truck. Abby and the man lifted something into the back of the Jeep. Brenda called out as she crossed the gravel drive.

“Abby, what happened?” Brenda asked.

Abby turned and looked at Brenda. It took a moment for Abby to comprehend that she was actually there.

Finally Abby choked out, “Terry is hurt.”

Brenda ran up to the back hatch of the truck, Terry was wrapped in a blood soaked blanket and looked pale. Abby and the man appeared dazed and exhausted.

“Where are the keys? I can drive,” Brenda said.

“On the table by the front door,” Abby’s answered in a weak voice.

Brenda dashed into the lodge and came back with the keys. They climbed into the truck and Brenda accelerated down the driveway.

“Which way?” Brenda asked.

“I will show you the way,” Joseph answered, pointing to the south.

When they reached the emergency entrance for the South Ridge Medical Center, Brenda and Joseph rushed in to find help. Within moments, two orderlies and a nurse burst through the door wheeling a gurney. They removed the blanket to assess the extent of Terry’s injuries. The team stabilized his damaged leg and rushed him directly into surgery.

Joseph, Brenda and Abby sat in the waiting room.

“Abby, what happened?” Brenda asked.

All Abby could say was, “It was horrible. It was horrible.”

She started crying and Brenda leaned in to comfort her.

“Maybe we can discuss the details later?” Joseph asked. “The important thing is Terry is safe now.”

“Okay,” Brenda said.

A phone rang and they all jumped, Brenda fumbled in her pocket and answered it.

“Hello,” she said into the phone. “Yes Deputy Rogers I found them. Terry is injured. We took him to South Ridge Medical Center. Okay, we will see you when you get here.”

Twenty minutes later Ima Rogers hurried through the doors of the waiting room. She walked over to greet them and noticed that Joseph Wood was with them. He was known as a hermit and she had never actually spoken to him.

“Mrs. James, could I have a word with you?” Ima asked.

“Deputy Rogers, may I?” Joseph gestured to an examination room.

Ima followed Joseph into the room and he closed the door behind them.

“She is in shock, deputy,” Joseph said glancing through the window at Abby.

Ima gathered her thoughts then pulled out a pad of paper and a pen and said, “Ok, why don’t you tell me what happened?”

Joseph relayed the story in its entirety. Ima, who had been writing the details, closed her pad and threw it on the table.

“You are telling me a witch attacked Mr. James?” Ima said exasperated.

“We cannot be sure until Terry wakes, but yes, I believe that is what happened,” Joseph answered.

Ima left the room without saying a word, and then walked back over to Abby.

“Mrs. James, I am happy you are all safe. I’ll stop back this evening to check on you.” She put on her deputy’s hat and left.

Brenda walked into the hallway. Machines hummed softly in the quiet hospital. The sounds were comforting to her because they masked the whispers in the hallway. She looked at her watch, picked up her cell phone and dialed.

“Hello,” Donald answered.

“Donald it’s me, Brenda.”

“Brenda, have you heard anything?” Donald asked.

“Yes, I found them. We are at the hospital.”

“What happened?”

“We don’t know yet,” Brenda answered. “When will you be here?”

“In a few hours, I just picked up my rental car.”

Dr. Avery Jacobs came in to the waiting room and approached Abby.

“Mrs. James, your husband is doing well,” Dr. Jacobs said. “We operated on his leg. He sustained both a broken fibula and tibia. We inserted a titanium rod in his leg to stabilize the bones. We also treated him for severe hypothermia and dehydration. He has a long recovery ahead of him, but all in all he is doing remarkably well.”

“Thank you, doctor,” Abby said with tears running down her face.

“He is heavily sedated. I recommend you go home and get some rest and come see him this evening,” Dr. Jacobs said.

“That sounds like good advice,” Brenda said. “Come on, Abby.” Brenda gently took her hand.

“Excuse me for a moment,” Joseph said.

He walked into a hallway, located Terry’s room and slipped inside. He arranged a mix of herbs into a protective circle under the bed and placed the medallion from the ATV in the middle. Closing the door behind him, he returned to the waiting room and helped Brenda get Abby to the parking lot and into the truck.