TAG Part 4

Later, I awoke more calmly.  I was very groggy, moving as though there was lead in my veins instead of blood.  My head was pounding, and I had a thirst such as I had never felt.  Opening my eyes hurt.  I was clearly medicated, which slowed me down greatly, and took the edge off whatever pain I had been feeling.  However, it did very little for the anxiety that crept over me as I began to become more and more aware of my surroundings. 

I was in a small hospital room, and I was alone.  No nurse, doctor or other patient was in sight.  I was attached to a monitor and an IV.  And I ached from head to toe.  Weird, that cat attack couldn’t have caused this much pain.  I replayed the events of the day in my bleary brain:  Woke up to a weird little boy tagging me and disappearing.  I had a huge and ugly spider under my car door handle.  I had been savagely attacked by a stray cat.   OK, the spider thing, that was unusual – I had seen that before… but it was still weird. Yet, not nearly as bizarre as the other two.  And now I was here, bringing my super-weird count to 4.  What a day.  And yet, I know that it was not over.  The weirdness was just beginning, I knew this.  I had no idea how I knew that, but I did.  It was like a cloud had been blocking the sunlight, and was now slowly moving out of the way.  The bright sunlight of awareness was gradually coming to me at what felt like a glacial pace.  There was something in that sunlight that I did not want to see, and still I was going to see it.   I sensed it danger.  Something in the depth of my stomach turned at this awareness.  Soon, the light would be fully ablaze, and I would be forced to stare into until my retinas burned at the sight of it.   And this awareness was something the medication dripping into my body from the IV could not dull. 

At that moment, a young man walked into the room.   He seemed nervous, hesitant.  And oddly, he wore a surgical mask.  Was I contagious?  Was that it?  Am I just feverish and hallucinating from eating some bad mushroom or something?  That would explain so much.  None of the weird happenings would have actually happened; it would have all be figments of my twisted imagination. 

“Miss Walker?  How are you feeling?” he asked, his voice muffled through the mask. 

“Thirsty.” I replied, my voice croakish.  “And achy”, I added.

He took some notes on his clipboard.  He kept a safe distance.

“Umm, why are you wearing a mask?” I asked.

“Miss Walker, I am Dr. Howell.  I’m sorry for the confusion, and for the mask.  We need to take all precautions.  Now that you are awake, is there someone you would like us to call?” he asked, again from a safe distance.

“No.”  There was no one.  I was alone in this city.  Except for Thomas of course.  Thomas!  Oh crap, I have to call Thomas!  He will be freaking out, I missed my important meeting! 

“Where is my cell phone?” I asked.  “I have to call my business partner”.

“Not yet, Miss Walker.  You need your rest.  But give me his name and number, and I will call him directly.” 

So formal.  So very cold.  What was happening here?

“Doctor, what’s going on?  What is happening?” I asked.

“Miss Walker...”

“Ally.” I interrupted.

“Ally.  OK.  Ally, we suspect that you may have a virus of some sort.  We are keeping you under quarantine until we can confirm if you have something, and if you are contagious.  It is a necessary precaution.  I am sorry”.

“What?  I am not sick, that’s crazy!  I am here because I was attacked by a stray cat.  If anything, that damn cat might have had rabies, but even so, I had all my vaccinations for a trip out of the country last year.  And –“

“Ally,” he interrupted, “yes.  You were attacked by a cat.  We understand that.  But that can’t explain the symptoms that people are getting when they are around you.” 

He paused, seemingly searching for the right words.

“Ally, you were brought in here 2 days ago.  Since that time, 4 people who came in direct contact with you got very sick within minutes.  VERY sick.  High fever, flu-like symptoms.  This includes the 2 EMT drivers and 2 members of the ER team.”  He stopped, and he looked past me.  He did not want to make eye contact. 

He continued, “Ally, 2 of them are in critical condition.  And 2 of them… 2 of them died”.

Horror Fiction Fun: Dawn's Horror Blog: TAG Part 3

Horror Fiction Fun: Dawn's Horror Blog: TAG Part 3: Later that day, I finally had a moment to breath.  I stopped at Starbucks for a skim iced Mocha Latte, and sat in my car sipping it.  Enjoy...

Dawn's Horror Blog: TAG Part 3

Later that day, I finally had a moment to breath.  I stopped at Starbucks for a skim iced Mocha Latte, and sat in my car sipping it.  Enjoying the cold rush of chocolaty caffeine, with 90’s grunge music banging its way through the speakers and to my ears, I was happy.  Everyone needs a break, and this is the way I enjoy my down time.  You would probably not know it to look at me, with my conservative skirt and low heels, my current corporate drag, but back in the day, I was quite the grunge headbanger chick.  Not the heavy metal 80’s headbanger, no.  The far cooler 90’s headbanger, with the Seattle sound and the mosh pits.  That was me, jamming out in clubs to the sounds of Soundgarden, Nirvana, Pearl Jam and the like.  I spent 3 years in Seattle for work, and that is where I picked up both addictions:  Grunge music and coffee.  And so now, I find the best way to calm my mind is to sit in my car with the radio blaring “Smells Like Teen Spirit” or similar anthem, with the windows rolled up and a cold Starbucks in my hand.  I close my eyes, and am taken away.  Sometimes, I only need 2 or 3 songs to clear my head.  Other times, it takes 6 or 7.   Depends on the stress of the day. 

Today, I felt better after just 2 songs actually, and could finally begin to think clearly. 

I then had a moment to think about that strange little boy at my house today.  And whenever I had thought about him, I felt as if I had seen a ghost.  Literally every time he crossed my mind, the little hairs pricked up on the back of my neck and my arms.  It is like I was suddenly cold, but I was really not.  A chilling sensation, which just so happened to also be alarming.  I ignored the feeling each time it came, telling myself it was all just in my mind.

Who was he?  What should I do about it?  My brain started to go into overdrive.  What if he was kidnapped and I was his only hope of escape, and I blew it? Wait, what if he was missing and somehow the police find out he came to my house?  What if I become a suspect?  Oh no, this is getting out of hand.  I should call someone.  But who? 

That question had to go on hold as I see my long time business partner, Thomas, was calling me.  I lowered “Black Hole Sun”, and took his call.   

“Hey, are you heading over to Morgan and White”, he asked dispensing with any formalities such as saying hello or asking how I am.  That’s Thomas, and that is why I love working with him.  He is all business, all the time.  He is drive personified, he is pure focus.  And me, I am the creative mind, so he keeps me balanced.  He is the Yin to my Yang. 

“On my way now”, I lied.  It’s a little white lie, because I am more than halfway there already. 

“Don’t be late.  And call me after”, he said in his typical rushed tone, and hung up.  Anyone else might have been offended or thought him rude.  But I knew Thomas, who was simply very pragmatic with his time and information.  I dropped my phone in my lap, and shifted into gear to pull out of the parking spot.  Before I could pull out, I had to slam on my breaks.  I saw a small cat had walked in front of my car and plopped herself down in front of me, effectively blocking my escape.  I looked behind me and saw a car had just pulled into the parking spot that was open just a minute ago. 

I honked.  The cat did not move.  I honked again.  The cat expertly ignored me.  I rolled my window down and shouted to the cat to move, and again was ceremoniously ignored. 

“C’mon, cat, I can’t be late”, I shouted out the window.  Nothing. 

“Dammit”, I mumbled under my breath.  I got out of the car with the goal of chasing it away.  As I moved closer, I was shocked when the cat launched itself at me!  It attacked my face, catching me so off guard that I had no time to put my arms up to block it.  I tried to push it off of me, but it seemed latched on, biting me, scratching me.  I pulled at it, and must have been screaming wildly because people started running towards me.  No one actually helped me, and I had the fleeting thought that they might stop recording me for youtube, and give me a hand.   I fell to my knees, still not believing what was happening.  Finally, the cat gave up and dropped to the ground.   My face was burning, and I was shaking.  Now, a woman came up to me and asked if I was ok.  I told her I was, but I knew I was not.  I was in a state of shock.  A man came up to me too, and told me to sit down in my car while he got someone to help.  Everything was in slow motion, and I could hear fragments of what they were saying: “who should I call?”…”rabies”…”EMT?”…”try to catch it”….

I watched the cat that had so viscously attacked me.  She just sat there for a minute staring at me.  Watching me.  She got up and walked towards me and for a moment, I thought she might attack me again.  But she didn’t.  She circled back to where she was, and from there, moved back into the wooded area behind the parking lot.  And just like that, she was gone.

Then things got very far away, and I passed out.  I dreamed of the boy at my front door.  I woke up screaming.  

TAG Part 2

Welcome back!  Thank you for the support and the kind feedback.  I want to become a stronger writer, and love this particular style and genre.  So thank you so very much!

Here is part 2 of TAG.  I hope you enjoy it!  More to come, dear readers!  Just remember, I have a whole book full of crazy, scary, creepy and even troubling stories... Just wait! 

TAG Part 2

I slowly stood back up, and then just stood there for a minute.  I watched as he got smaller and smaller, and then disappeared into the horizon.  I could not move.  What the hell was that?   Finally, I snapped out of my trance.  He was gone, and here I was outside in my robe, freezing in the oddly cold November air.  I instinctively hugged myself and rubbed my upper arms to get a little warmth in them, and exhaled as my breath made swirly tendrils of fog in the air.  I ran back inside, shut the door and locked it behind me.   I leaned against the door, taking another deep breath in. 

What was that?  Was I still dreaming?  I was all alone in the house, so it was definitely a possibility.  But no, this feels awake.  And now, after that weirdness shot chills of shock-waves through my body, I was absolutely awake.  Wide freaking awake.

I glanced at the time, and saw that it was now 6:17 and I had less than 45 minutes to get up and ready for my first meeting of the day.  So, I decided to put that bizarre incident out of my head and get on with my day.  Hopped in the shower, had coffee, got dressed.  I often felt like I was living in that old Beatles song “A Day in The Life”:

“Woke up, got out of bed, dragged the comb across my head.  Found my way downstairs

and drank a cup.  Looking up, I noticed I was late”.

Story of my life, and probably millions just like me.  But I did look up, and I was running late.  So I threw on my best business casual look and added nice shoes and accessories so that I didn’t project a look of being as late as I really was, and headed out of the front door.  Since moving to this new apartment with no assigned parking, I was often confused when my car wasn’t right outside of my door.  But today, thank God, my car was in the spot right in front of my door.  As I rushed to it, I thought of that young, ghostly boy and a shudder ran through my body.  I looked around once more to see if he was in sight, but no.  He was gone.  I reached for the door to my car, and jumped in shock as I saw a leg of what looked like a giant spider under my door handle!  I couldn’t help myself, and let out a short scream of horror.  I took a deep breath, and leaned in to see what it really was.  And I was right, a big, hairy, brown spider.  It was November after all, and those spiders tend to pop up in the strangest places.   I had seen them before, and while I do not love spiders, I do not fear them.  So I placed my car keys strategically under my handle and tapped a little, hoping the vibrations would make the creepy crawly move.  And boy did it work!  That little guy was wiggling as though I set him on fire.  He scurried out from underneath the door handle, but did not move beyond that. 

“Come on, little guy, I have a meeting”, I pleaded.  But he just sat there, and if I didn’t know any better, I would say he was looking right at me.  I hate to kill things, so I didn’t want to squish him.  I thought I would give him a fighting chance and just get him to the ground.  Since I could see most of him, I moved closer and finally gave him a flick with my pinky knuckle.  He flew in the air, and landed on the ground.  I thought I would see him scamper away to safety, but he didn’t move.  I looked more closely and saw that he was dead.  He was alive a second ago, I had seen him move… But now, he was dead as a door-nail.  Huh.  Sorry little guy, I didn’t mean to.  And off I went, zipping towards my first appointment of the day.

========================================================================

At that very moment, the boy from the door, hidden somewhere unreachable, smiled.  

(End of Part 2)

Welcome to my new blog!  

As many of you know, I am a huge fan of the horror genre.  I love to read, watch, study, analyze, assess and discuss anything horror.  Jaws is my favorite movie, followed closely by The Exorcist - which, btw, is my favorite book (I have read it so many times, that I cannot keep track).  I love reading horror because as a reader, it is thrilling and invigorating.  But also, as a writer, I love studying the way the authors bring terror to life....how it builds slowly, how they use language to convey such deep and powerful emotions.  And I admit, I read to learn how I might be able to do it someday myself.  So folks. today is someday.

Here is my first fiction blog - and the reason it is a blog, is because I honestly have no idea how to publish a book of short stories.   

Plus, one of the best reading experience I ever had was when I read Stephen King's "The Green Mile".  The reason it was the best reading experience for me was not as much about the story -which was indeed amazing - but because, if you do not recall, when it was initially released, it was released as a serial novel.  He released it in 6 short pieces, one month apart.  So I would get the first book, which was delightfully super light and thin, and tear through it in day - and then I had to wait a whole month to learn what happens next!  It was terrible and wonderful!  I loved that antici...pation.

So beyond the fact that I have no clue as to how to publish my works, I am very excited to utilize this method.  I will post parts of my stories once a week, and then you, dear reader, will have to wait to learn what happens.  Ready?  I have no idea what will happen, so thank you for taking this crazy, terrifying (to me!!) plunge with me.  I am really opening up to you, and you will see things that you might think - "how the hell did she come up with that!?!?".... I hope you will still be my friend after peering into the twisted darkness, hahahaha... But I figure, Stephen King still has friends, right?

The first story is called "Tag", and here is the first part of it.  Please enjoy and let me know if you want to read what happens next! 

TAG

It was a normal morning, or so I thought… But don’t all horror stories start out that way?  I was still in bed, groggily waking up slowly.  Trying to rip my body from the soft and comfortable bedding was always a challenge in the morning.  I am not sure what the opposite phrase for a “Morning Person” is, but whatever that phrase is, it’s me.

When the doorbell first rang at this hour, just past 6am, I was so shocked that I thought it was either my imagination or a remnant of a distant floating dream.  But then the dogs started barking, and I knew it was real. 

“Who on earth…?”, I said to no one, as I was all alone in my room. 

I rose, and threw my robe over my PJs, and as I walked out of my bedroom, tossed my hair up into a messy bun.  Coffee would be great right now. 

I tripped over my running shoes at the foot of my bed as I crossed my bedroom to head towards the front door. 

“This better be good,” I mumbled to myself.

I made it to the front door, and looked out at the peep hole.  No one was there. 

“Oh, maybe a package delivery”, I thought, realizing that they often ring the bell and then rush off to deliver their next. 

So, I unlocked the front door, opened it.  I could not believe what I saw.  Standing there, all alone, was a small young boy, looking very somber and serious.  He looked about 6 years old, and despite the fact that it was July, he looked like he was freezing.  I knelt down in front of him, to see if I recognized him at all.  I didn’t know what would be weirder, if I knew him or if I didn’t.   Turns out, I didn’t.  He was not familiar at all.  He had very dark eyes, almost black, and wore no trace of a smile.

“Hello?”, I said, almost as a question.  “Can I help you?  Are you ok?”

He looked at me for a moment, and then in a cold, dead voice said, “Tag”.  He reached out with one hand, and with his pointer finger, gently touched me on the arm for just a second.   Then, he turned and slowly walked away.  I called after him to wait, I was so puzzled and at the same time, concerned for his safety.  Who was he?  What had he meant?  Where was he going?