9 Tales Told in the Dark 12 Read online

  “I mean it!” Taylor said. “Turn away from her!”

  “I can’t!”

  Jan shot the Professor a worried look.

  Clutched proudly in one of the harpy’s claws, like some prized trophy, was a bloody shirt, one which made Matthew get up.

  “That’s Harvey’s shirt!” he said.

  “Get down!” Jan whispered.

  But it was too late for the beast had already heard them, craning her neck in their direction. The tanned face that was attached to that bestial physique wore a long mane of raven black hair, and possessed a slender hook nose and full lips.

  “Oh, shoot!” Jan said, readying the shotgun.

  Taylor winked at her. “Do your thing, my dear.” And then he stealthily crept away from the harpy’s line of vision, aided by the darkness of the cave.

  When the creature was within yards of the two young students, Jan aimed the shotgun at her and fired, blowing a chunk out of her black feathered chest, but did not immobilize her a bit. She simply angered her, and an angry, wounded beast was the worst kind.

  The students started backing away. Jan pointed the gun at the harpy’s breast, squeezing the trigger, but the creature kept coming towards them. Then she aimed the weapon at her face, but before she could fire, the harpy quickly stormed after them with the jerky movements of a chicken, causing the two to backpedal fast.

  That was Taylor’s cue to swing into action, leaping off a big rock and landing on the harpy’s back, riding her piggyback, causing the beast to go berserk, emitting deafening shrieks that echoed throughout the cave. She tried to throw him off her back but miraculously he managed to stay on, and in one swift stroke, he swung the axe and chopped off the harpy’s head. It landed on the ground with a thud.

  Jan sighed. “Right in the nick of time! Thanks!”

  “You okay, Matthew?” Taylor asked. “You look as white as a ghost.”

  The blonde grad student’s jaw was wide open. “That was fascinating!”

  “You think so?”

  “Yes, sir!”

  “What did I say about that?”

  He looked at him innocently. “Oh, right! Sorry, again!”

  Jan and Taylor both laughed.

  THE END

  EVERY CAMPER DIES by Sara Green

  FRIDAY

  “This is what it’s supposed to be like.”

  Cindy pouted her lips and nodded, “Okay you’re right this is better than a hotel.” Freddy pulled her in with one arm as they watched their friends dive off a wooden dock. It was a perfect scene of orange and blue and green. The sun was on the horizon blazing its final battle. The warmth was still enough to welcome a swim in the clear and placid river, surrounded by banks of lush grass and thick strong trees scattered enough to have been a welcoming oasis of shade earlier in the day.

  “Come on, you ever start a campfire before?” Freddy asked.

  Cindy hadn’t ever been outside unless one counted the transference from temperature controlled dwelling to automobile. Her fair skin and ice blonde hair had sparked her parents to always be careful with her and it had also made her conscious of nature as she grew older. But this was college and she was supposed challenge her fears and upbringing.

  Freddy yanked open a bag of corn chips.

  “Is this the key to starting a fire? Never on an empty stomach?” Cindy asked.

  Freddy smirked and stuffed his face. “Look you can waste your time collecting dry leaves or you can use rocket fuel.” He emptied half the bag on the ground. Then knelt down and began to stack small twigs like a little miniature log cabin around the chips.

  “I don’t get it, are we inviting ants?”

  Freddy didn’t answer, he built up the little log cabin and then surrounded it with the logs they had bought down at the Campsite General Store. “The wood they sell is practically green, so we’ll need to dry it out first.”

  Cindy watched, curious as to the preparations Freddy was taking. He waved for her to follow him towards a tree where they collected broken branches and returned to the fire.

  A rock suddenly slammed into the ground at their feet.

  “Hey!” Cindy screamed. Earl and Ben laughed from the river. One of them was the culprit. “They could’ve hit us and I for one don’t want to end up brain dead because one of those idiots chucks a freaking rock at my head. How they ever got girlfriends is beyond me.”

  Freddy laughed. “Well, you did see the quality they reeled in didn’t you?”

  Cindy glanced at the two girls laying on a large rock that went out into the river. Their breasts were so big that they were starting to slide off the sides of their chests, and their skin couldn’t have been much more the opposite of Cindy’s.

  Orange and brown were Marla and Tina. They wore rivaling yellow and pink bikini’s that only required imagination to keep from feeling like one was staring at two nudists sunbathing.

  “I think they’re drunk already,” Cindy muttered.

  “Well, then maybe you should start catching up,” Freddy said.

  “I’m not having sex with you in a tent next to your buddies. That’s gross.”

  “They’ll be having sex tonight. I’m sure. Right next to our tent.”

  “Classy boy you are, Freddy, dragging me to a weekend orgy.” Cindy began to shake her head, but the fire suddenly shot up. Cindy jumped back.

  Freddy laughed a little and stoked the fire as the branches began to catch.

  “Told you. Corn chips are like rocket fuel.”

  “I’m sure Ranger Rick is a big fan.”

  Freddy turned to Cindy and reached out for her hand. “Look, you don’t have to try and have a good time, but if you’re set on having a bad time that’s what you’ll get. This is going to be nice, I mean look at that sunset! Wait until you see the sunrise. I’m telling you Cindy, you’re in for a spiritual awakening.”

  Cindy was slow to melt, but Freddy’s boyish smile had dragged her out here in the first place and she hadn’t learned how to say no to it yet. Cindy sat down next to Freddy and laid her head against his shoulder. She wanted to have a good time, and in her mind she tried to imagine it was just her and Freddy. For a moment, the fantasy worked. The birds sung in the sky and the sound of moving water sounded like one of her relaxation CDs.

  Burp.

  Earl ruined everything. Cindy’s jerked around to see him picking up his crotch as he pulled his wet bathing suit away from his skin.

  “Time for s’mores!” Earl said, “and beer, lots more beer.” Earl shook river water on Cindy as he skipped past them to get to the cooler. He dug in and tossed Freddy a beer. The next one soared just above Cindy’s head and behind her Ben caught it and quickly opened the can. The head of beer was flowing down his neck as he circled round and found a seat around the fire.

  “Look at those boobies,” Ben said, he stared back towards the river at Marla and Tina. Ben took another big gulp of beer. More head flowed out of the can and his mouth, covering his black goatee and running down his scrawny chest where it would pool on top of the first trimester of a beer belly.

  Earl plopped down and grabbed a stick to stir up the fire.

  “So, Cindy, Are you gonna serenade us with campfire songs or do you have a ghost story?” Earl asked.

  “Uh, no.”

  Freddy smirked. “We’ll leave the entertainment up to you two numbskulls.”

  Marla and Tina could be heard making their way up from the river. They wrapped their shoulders with their towels as if that would solve the slight chill that a breeze had brought to their near naked bodies.

  “Oh, I hope that fire is warm enough. It got like so super chilly all of a sudden,” Marla said.

  Earl and Ben were both smiles. Their eyes had not missed the work of chill poking through the girls’ pink and yellow tops.

  “Oh my god, I think I’m going to have to shave my legs again.” Marla whined.

  Ben issued a general announcement, “Fire’s warm, my tent is warmer.”

&nb
sp; All three girls scoffed and Marla said, “I’m on my period you perv.”

  “Never stopped Benny-Ben-Ben.”

  “Gross.” Cindy shuddered at the thought.

  “Do you think Vampires see periods as like an ‘all you can eat buffet’ or something?” Ben asked.

  “Enough. Come on, man,” Freddy said. “What do you guys want for dinner tonight? We can do the bratwurst or hot dogs, and there’s a chicken I can cook but it’ll take a while over the fire.”

  “I’m so craving Wendy’s right now.” Tina said.

  “Oh you bitch,” Marla said. “Now I am, too.”

  “Let’s just do hot dogs and brats. I’m starving. The drive up here was crucial.”

  “Yeah,” Ben agreed with Earl. “Crucial.”

  “How many you want?” Freddy asked Cindy. She shrugged. She didn’t really like either very much, but she was hungry and it would be an hour’s drive to somewhere that served something she would want.

  “I’ll have one I guess.”

  “Yo, Marla, how many you want?” Earl asked his girlfriend.

  “Uh, like three, I’m so starving.”

  “Whore, of course you want all three!” Tina teased her.

  Earl feigned a laugh. “Yeah what about you, Tina?”

  “I want that big bratwurst you brought.”

  Ben jumped to his feet and acted like he was going to undo his bathing suit, “There may have been some shrinkage. The river is a tad chilly.” His voice went into a falsetto.

  The scene erupted until Ben sat back down and the food was passed out. Freddy showed Cindy how to cook her hot dog over the fire and little conversations formed and died as the fire began to burn away at the larger logs. The sun bowed out and let the fire claim all the orange hue.

  “It gets dark quick,” Cindy said.

  “It’ll brighten up when your eyes adjust. Just wait until the stars come out,” Freddy said.

  “It’s so noisy.”

  “She’s talking about the choir of frogs and crickets. It ain’t as bad as sirens in the city.” Earl said with Marla now entrenched in his arms.

  “In case you can’t sleep tonight, I brought my radio.” Freddy whispered, “For all the noises tonight.”

  “Eh, the worst part about that is you can’t hear when a bear sneaks up on you.” Ben leaned over towards Tina and growled in her ear.

  “Very funny,” she said.

  “Hey!” Earl yelled. “Don’t worry about bears. There aren’t any bears out here, trust me. Bears would be the least of your worries if they were.”

  “Oh shut up,” Marla said.

  “He’s right. You’re talking about that serial killer aren’t you?” Ben did his best to play along, but it was obvious he was just trying to scare the girls, and as dim as they were, they still knew his intentions.

  “So anyway,” Marla started. “What’s your deal?”

  Cindy was surprised, “Me?”

  “Yeah, what’s you deal? Are you like sick or something? I mean you’re pale as a ghost.”

  “She’s straight up albino, ain’t she?” Ben laughed.

  “No, I just… I guess I don’t get outside much.”

  “Much? Looks like never. You’re so pale you’re like reflecting the fire. From where I’m sitting you’re blinding.”

  “Come on,” Freddy interjected.

  “Just playing, not saying you’re not pretty. I’d love to have your skin. You’ll probably never get a wrinkle.” Tina said.

  “You’re beautiful,” Freddy whispered and kissed Cindy’s forehead. But it was hard for Cindy to pretend she hadn’t been offended. She racked her mind with something to say, but she figured all her insults would go over their heads and the one’s they would understand would just make everyone meaner towards her. So she sat and just before the conversation turned she spoke up:

  “There are worst things than bears out here.”

  The conversations aborted and the crackling fire took the space between. All eyes turned back to Cindy.

  “My parents reminded me when I told them I was coming up here this weekend. You know, I guess like parents do.” Cindy said. “I mean it’s not like anything bad is actually going to happen. People camp all the time, when they make a horror movie or scary story they try and find that one thing that everyone does and they try and twist it to where it would be scary. We were more likely to get in a car wreck on our way here.”

  “Yeah, the way Freddy drives….” Ben muttered, “…like a woman.”

  “Shut it, Ben, really. I’ll beat your ass if you don’t shut your mouth man. You’re really starting to piss me off.”

  “Oh you’re gonna beat me?” Ben stood up and stared down at Freddy. “I bet I’ll beat you. I’ll beat you so bad, I’ll beat you like…like.”

  “Like what?” Freddy stayed his ground, his voice projecting his toughness.

  “Like a woman,” Ben said.

  “You’re going to beat me like a woman? Nice, Ben, domestic violence is hilarious. You’re gonna hit me or something for talking back?”

  Ben shook his head and waved his finger. “I’m going to hit you once, and I’m going to feel bad about it. So I’m going to keep hitting you so you don’t tell anyone.”

  Earl laughed for a split second, and then Marla split his gut with her elbow.

  “Classy.”

  Ben laughed grabbed another beer and sat back down. “I apologize. After three beers I become an asshole.”

  “Then stop drinking, you asshole!” Tina said trying to snatch the beer can out of his hands.

  “No!” Ben said, “After four, I become really attractive.” He took a big sip and turned to Earl. “At least that’s what your momma said.”

  “Somebody cut him off,” Freddy said.

  “Hey, somebody, anybody? What’s the best part about beating your girlfriend to death?”

  Earl swung at Ben, who dodged, but was pulled to the ground by Tina.

  “You’re being a bad boy,” she said.

  “I like where this is headed.”

  The commotion stopped. There was a sound none of them would be able to describe again. It was more than just a sound. It was a movement—an arrival.

  The silence carried until only the frogs and fire dared to make a sound. If something was out there, it knew not to move.

  Ben gagged on a sip of beer. “Raptors,” he said upon catching his breath.

  Earl laughed. “So uh, Cindy, what about raptors? Did your parents say there were worse things out here than raptors?”

  Cindy was glaring at him. She wished they would all just go away. Why couldn’t it just be her and Freddy?

  “Yes,” she said. “In the river swims a little itty bitty fish. And you better think twice about peeing while you swim, because it likes urine and it’ll swim right up your—yep—and it’ll lay eggs inside it, and there’s no way to get them back out, they just grow and grow, eating their way out. Happens all the time. Doctors just have to amputate.”

  “Now that’s a scary campfire story.” Earl said and applauded. “I don’t think I’ll pee until I get home.”

  “Don’t clap,” Ben said, then jokingly whispered to Earl. “I’ve been peeing in the river all day. Take a look for me…”

  “Dude, I think that’s only in the Amazon. I definitely saw that in a movie once. She’s messing with us.”

  The movement occurred again. This time it was closer than before. Again the sound was too many different things. It was like a breath behind your neck, the stepping on broken glass, the stirring of macaroni.

  “Alright we all just heard that again, right?” Ben raised his drunken hand.

  “It’s the penis fish. They’re amphibious now.” Earl said.

  Freddy stood up and reached into his tent. He pulled a big flashlight. Its light keyed in on only a small circumference, so he moved it quickly, hoping to catch the beady eyes of a wild animal or prove that there was nothing out there at all.

  “Well
my parents always told me,” Earl said. “That most animals are spooked by loud noises, so I say crank up that radio of yours; and Marla, you and me are going to make some noises!”

  “I told you, I’m on my period.”

  “I thought you were just messing with Ben.”

  “No, I’d do Ben.”

  “Hear that ladies and gentlemen? Marla’s seal of approval.” Ben rolled over and started kissing up on Tina until she pushed him away.

  Earl was shaking his head at his girlfriend.

  “What?” She said, “Not now, he’s got the penis fish in him.”

  Earl didn’t look pleased.

  “Oh it’s funny when you guys joke about banging other girls. That’s like sexist.” Marla stood up and crossed her arms. “You know what, I think I will go to bed.”

  Tina pushed Earl the rest of the way off her and stood up as well. “Me, too.”

  “Did they just both go in my tent?” Earl said as the zipper cut through the night.

  “Your girl just stole my girl.”

  “Guess that means you two are sharing a tent,” Freddy laughed and nudged Cindy to head into their tent. She didn’t hesitate, as they both slid into their tent they could hear Earl and Ben laughing and smashing beer cans.

  “Yay! Sleepover!” They yelled. “Back-to-back or fronsties-frontsies?”

  Freddy turned up the radio, it wasn’t even a song either of them liked, but it did drown out Earl and Ben for a moment, then they started to sing along, quite out of key.

  “Okay, so right now, maybe a hotel would’ve been nice.”

  “A nice hot shower, a comfy bed.” Cindy fantasized as she felt like they had set her sleeping bag over a gravel road. “Nothing hiding in the dark to get us.”

  “You saw, there was nothing out there. It was probably a field mouse or something.” Freddy inched in closer to Cindy who had zipped herself up in her sleeping bag. His fingers worked the zipper. She watched him, the glee filling his eyes as he slowly dragged it down.

  “Not until they go to sleep,” she whispered.

  Outside Earl and Ben didn’t know the lyrics so they shouted indiscernibly.

  Suddenly they stopped.