The House At Sunset (part 3) first draft

By Jesse Edwardson

 

For a moment, the world stood perfectly still. No traffic moved, no late flying birds flitted from tree to tree. Reality held it's breath like woman, out on a Saturday night only looking for a good time but finding herself pinned into a dark hallway corner with her skirt pulled up and her panties torn off, suspended in the moment before being raped. Knowing that in a matter of only a second or two she was about to be violated, helpless to stop it and powerless against the brute force of her attacker.

The house thrust it way into our world. The boys stood perfectly still. Later they would swear that they saw the house expand from nothingness, silently plowing the earth into small drifts around it's foundation. The truth of the moment was, one second the house was not there and the next it was. A gust of air blew from across the street as the house filled the empty space of the lot. The boys hair was blown back by its force. It carried with it a foul rotten mildew stench.

“Holy shit!” Max whispered. Eddie was silent.

“Holy shit!” Max repeated. “It's there! It's really fucking there!” Max began to hop in place and laugh in disbelief.

A real estate agent would describe the house as a Bungalow in need of a little TLC. And that would be the understatement of the century. The exterior paint was peeling and flaking off everywhere. It was a darkish non-color. Some of the windows were without their glass. The main front window was caked with something that looked like dried snot. It may have been the remains of an egg thrown on a dare or a Halloween prank. It stood a story and a half tall with a small windowed dormer jutting out of the roof in front. All of this was visible through the bare trees and shrubs that were, seconds ago, scattered throughout the lot but are now bunched up tightly against the house.

Eddie, still motionless, slowly raised the camera to his eyes to snap another photo, the after shot. He centered the house within the viewfinder and paused. Through the camera Eddie could see a face in the upper window. He gasped and dropped the camera from his eyes.

“What the hell...” Eddie cried out.

“What is it? What do you see?” Max asked. He was still hopping in excitement.

“Someone's in there! I saw a face in the upstairs window!”

“No fucking way!” Max said.

“Yes fucking way!” Eddie replied. “Look.”

Eddie pointed toward the upstairs window. Through the dingy pane of glass, Max could see a face. The eyes were wide and dark and the mouth was moving as if the person were shouting. He couldn't tell whether it was a man or woman, boy or girl. The only thing that he could tell was that this person was terrified.

“Oh, my God!” Max said. He had finally stopped hopping around. “What should we do? They obviously need help.”

“I don't know. Maybe we should call the cops.”

“Oh right, tell the police that we see someone screaming for help from inside a house that DOESN'T exist. That'll work out.” Max said.

“What else can we do? Go inside? I don't think so.” Eddie said as he stared at the person in the window.

“Yeah, you're right. Let's go back to my house and have my mom call the cops. Did you get a picture of the house?”

“No,” Eddie said. He raised the camera to his eyes again to take the picture. Though the viewfinder he could see the house and the face in the window. He began to put pressure on the shutter button to take the shot when the face in the window came into clear focus.

“Kyle...” Eddie said. He felt his heart leap into his throat and his breath torn from his lungs.

“What?” Max asked.

“It's Kyle up in that window,” Eddie said when he could gather enough breath. The picture now forgotten.

“No fucking way,” Max said as he turned his gaze from his friend. To Max the face was still indistinct but may be the face of teenaged boy.

“It is him!” Eddie cried. “We have to get in there and get him out! Forget the cops! We have to go now!” He ran across the empty street.

“Eddie, hold up!” Max yelled after his friend as he followed him.

As Max chased Eddie across the street, the face in the window grinned. The grimy window hid the grin well but behind the glass, the thing grinning had no lips. They had been chewed off long ago and all that remained were dried bits of dangling flesh. The teeth in that grin stood long and crooked. They were as sharp as nails and crowded together like a fistful of pencils.

The House At Sunset (part 2)

By Jesse Edwardson

 

The boys ate a quick early dinner, Spaghetti-Os, then they went to the mall. The arcade was crowded, so much so that they had to wait in a line to play Dragon's Lair even though it has been out since last summer. They took turns playing the Star Wars arcade game. The vector graphics of this game reminded Eddie of the tank game Battlezone. Max thought it was pretty awesome. There was a new game with a big line that they didn't bother trying to play, it was called Paperboy. Max thought it's name sounded too much like a job. Eddie laughed at that.

Before they knew it, they were fresh out of quarters. With twenty minutes or so before Max's mom would show up to bring them home, the boys left the arcade and wandered around the mall.

“So, what should we bring with us tonight?” Max asked Eddie.

“I don't know, a camera maybe,” Eddie said.

“Are we gonna try to get inside of it? I mean if it really shows up that is,” Max said.

“Do you want to?” Eddie asked.

“Not really, I'm just wondering what you're planning to do.”

“Well, let's just see if it even shows up tonight. Take a picture of it and that should be good enough,” Eddie said.

“Ok. Who knows what would happen if we went inside that house. If it disappeared with us inside? That would be weird as hell,” Maxed said with a chill running up his spine.

“Yeah, that would be messed up,” Eddie answered. He had a far off look in his eye.

“Eddie, you don't think that house has anything to do with your brother being gone do you?”

“No. At least I hope not,” Eddie answered.

“Ok, well my mom should almost be here now. Let's go out to the front entrance.”

The boys stepped out into the early spring day just as Max's mom pulled up to the doors in her yellow Ford Maverick. The air still held some of winter's chill but carried the promising scent of the approaching summer. The two boys took a deep breath of the fresh and chilly air at the same time. They each relished the quality of the air, as if they were grown men with families and responsibilities. The boys they are were rapidly becoming the men they would become and these adult notions were becoming more and more frequent. They glanced at each other across the roof of the car before they got in. They saw the man within each other for the first time in their lives. It was only a moment, forgotten almost immediately. They dropped into their seats, shut the doors and Max's mom drove them away toward home.

The boys had about an hour before sunset. They decided to kill the time by playing Max's ColecoVision in the family room.

“So, is there film in your camera?” Eddie asked Max as he directed Mario the plumber up the ladders toward top of the building to save his girlfriend from Donkey Kong on the TV.

“Yeah, there's a few pictures left on it,” Max said.

“We should take a before and an after shot of the place,” Eddie said without taking his eyes off of the TV.

“Yeah, sounds like a plan. Can I have a turn already? You're taking forever,” Max said.

“I'm sorry that I'm awesome at Donkey Kong,” Eddie said grinning a little.

Later, when they were equipped with a Kodak Instamatic camera with nine exposures left and two flashlights, Max called to his mom from the back door. “Mom, Eddie and me are gonna go walking around for a while. Ok?”

“That's fine, just don't be out too late. The sun's going down,” she answered from the living room.

“Ok, we'll be back shortly after dark,” he called back.

“Alright,” she replied.

“See, no problem. We'll go, get our pictures, and be back in plenty of time to see Carson's monologue and after that I'll show you how a real man plays Donkey Kong,” Max whispered to Eddie.

“Yeah, right,” Eddie said

The boys stepped out into the back yard and cut across the neighbors yard to get to Yale Drive. From there it was only four blocks to Delavan Street.

They walked down the street, ignoring the sidewalk, with their hands shoved deep into their pants pockets. Traffic was virtually non-existent. The sun was still up, but just barely. The day had only fifteen minutes remaining and then night would return like a vampire to drain it's life away.

“Man, it's cold out,” Eddie said through chattering teeth.

“Yeah, it is,” Max answered. He didn't really think it was so cold. He knew that Eddie was just getting nervous. He wanted to allow his friend an excuse for his chattering teeth.

The walk to where Delavan comes to a T-intersection with Yale was quick and, other than Eddie's comment on how cold it was, quiet. Max knew that Eddie was doing something important to him so he didn't goof around with him or pick on him. He just walked with his friend.

They reached the end of Yale Drive at 7:35 p.m. The boys turned and walked north along Delavan Street for half a block. As they walked the could see the vacant lot approaching them across the street and to their left.

The lot grabbed all of their attention. It stared back at them, like a lioness crouched in the tall grass tracking prey. It had known they would come.

They stopped when they reached a spot directly across the street from the empty lot. On either side of the lot stood empty derelict houses. They were long since abandoned and cast the appearance of rotting teeth standing as sentinels for the missing tooth that had once filled the gap between them.

The empty lot stood overgrown and weedy. Through it's emptiness, and across the barren land beyond, the sun was visible as a sliver just above the horizon. The sky above was filled with a scattering of wispy clouds that during the day promised of warm summer days ahead. Now, they looked like black polluted puffs of smoke floating through a blackish purple sky. Closer to the ground, the sky turned blood red and faded to a pinkish color. Nearest to the sun it had a deep golden hue. The view was breathtaking and horrible all at once.

Eddie and Max stared across the street into the empty lot and the sunset beyond. Their faces were bathed in fading golden light. Their eyes fixed and unblinking, Eddie swallowed hard in his throat making a loud clicking sound. Max jumped a little. Eddie's nervousness had begun to spread.

“Man, are all of these houses empty,” Max asked, finally looking around at the houses on both sides of the street.

“Probably,” Eddie answered without taking his eyes away from the lot. “The sun's almost gone, we should take a couple of pictures.”

“Oh, yeah. Here ya go,” Max handed Eddie the little camera.

Eddie looked toward his friend and took the camera from him. He slid the lens cover sideways and raised it to his eyes. Through the viewfinder, Eddie could see the empty lot with just the smallest bit of sun peaking out over the horizon behind it. He snapped the shutter button, capturing an image of the weedy lot and the sunset. He dropped the camera from his eyes to wind the film to the next exposure. It was then that the last rays of sunlight dropped below the horizon.

The House At Sunset (part 1)

By Jesse Edwardson

 

“Bullshit!” Max blurted.

“No, it ain't bullshit. I saw it with my own eyes,” Eddie said.

Max rolled his eyes, shook his head and said, “There is no fucking way that some old house can only be seen after sunset and can't be seen after sunrise.”

“It's not that it can't be seen. It's not there at all during the day. I walked around the lot and through the space that the house stands in at night.

“You've seen the house too?” Max asked.

“Kinda. One time my parents and I drove by it coming home from somewhere and I looked out the car window as we passed it. All I could see was a dark house shape behind a bunch of thick, over grown bushes and trees. We went by pretty fast but I'm sure I saw something there.”

Max crossed his arms over his narrow boy's chest. He looked into his best friend's face, waiting for the crack of a smile that would give away the joke. Eddie makes up fantastic lies all the time and can't be believed about anything. No smile came. Eddie was telling the truth.

“How can a house, a house, be there sometimes and not be there other times?”

“I don't know, but it is,” Eddie said. He sat on the edge of Max's bed with an Iron Man comic dangling from his left hand. Max sat at his desk, across the room and in front of the window. Their backpacks lay on the floor near the door, forgotten. Max and Eddie had gotten out of school half an hour before and were just hanging out together. It's Friday afternoon and they plan to go to the mall and the arcade after dinner.

Max stared at his best friend doubtfully.

“Ok, so how did you even find this place?” Max asked.

“My brother told me about it. Kyle said he actually watched it as it appeared. It was the weirdest thing he'd ever seen.”

“Kyle's been dead for a couple years now though.”

“It was before he died, dumb ass!” Eddie said.

“Oh, duh. Sorry man,” Max said. Eddie's brother Kyle had disappeared three years ago. The family had only recently given up hope that he was still alive and would return to them. Kyle would have been sixteen years old by now and was two years older than Eddie. They were as close as brothers could be although they tended to drive each other nuts most of the time. Mostly it was little brother wanting to do everything that big brother did and big brother not wanting little brother constantly in his shadow.

“No problem, I've just been thinking about him a lot lately and I remembered what he told me about that weedy lot down on Delavan Street. He had heard about it from a friend at school and thought it was cool story. I think he told me about it just to be mean and give me nightmares,” Eddie said as he looked down at the floor.

Max was silent for a moment and then said, “Did it work?”

“What, the nightmares? Yeah. I was only eleven. I still slept with a night light then.”

This busted the tension. Max laughed so hard that tears came to his eyes.

Eddie looked up surprised by the laughter. He was slow to figure out what was so funny. But when he realized what a big baby he must seem to Max, he started laughing too.

“What a pussy! A fucking night light! Really?” Max cried through his tears and laughter.

“Yeah, I guess I was,” Eddie said amidst his own laughter.

“Was?! ARE! You're still a big pussy!”

“Hey now, I'll kick your ass any day of the week!” Eddie threatened, still laughing.

“Yeah, yeah. Whatever...” Max said while wiping his eyes with the sleeve of his Quiet Riot tee-shirt.

“So, do you want to go check out this magic house?” Max asked.

“Yeah, the thought of the house has been nagging at me, it's like I'm supposed to look for it,” Eddie said.

“Whoo Ooo Oo! How mysterious,” Max said smiling.

“I know, it sounds stupid, but I want to find it. I've been dreaming about it,” Eddie said this last part a little shyly.

The truth is Eddie has been dreaming about the house, a house that doesn't exist, almost every night since Kyle disappeared.

“I don't know why, but I feel like I need to see it. But, I'm too chicken to go alone.”

“That's awesome,” Max said with a hint of laugh still in his voice. “Call your mom and ask if you can spend the night. We'll go check it out.”

“Shouldn't you ask your mom too?”

Max raised his chin and shouted at the top of his lungs. “HEY MOM, CAN EDDIE SPEND THE NIGHT?”

“WHAT?” his mom yelled from somewhere in the house.

“CAN EDDIE SPEND THE NIGHT?!”

“I DON'T CARE!”

“THANK YOU!”

No reply came back. Max looked at Eddie with one eyebrow raised. Eddie shook his head and smiled.

“I'll go call my Mom,” Eddie said.

Home

By Jesse Edwardson




I know they say you can't go home again
I just had to come back one last time
Ma'am I know you don't know me from Adam
But these handprints on the front steps are mine

The House That Built Me - Miranda Lambert

She was told by the insurance man to meet her at the house at three o'clock but she arrived at two. She needed time alone with all that she had lost.

The days first tear slid silently down her cheek as she walked up the driveway.

The house had been a dream come true for Tina. It was fairly old, built in 1940, but she had fallen in love with it at first sight. The previous owner had performed a lot of updates including a new heating and air conditioning system, a water softener and a deck on the back of the house that was great for entertaining friends. The interior had been extensively remodeled with new flooring, light fixtures and paint. It was “move-in” ready.

Moving day was amazing, extremely busy but still amazing. She had never owned anything before. She had rented plenty of apartments in her life up until now. But this time she owned it. It was all hers. She remembered unlocking the door and stepping into the front room carrying the first box into an empty house, empty and waiting for the new life it would hold. She knew she was Home.

Now, standing in the littered driveway, Home felt dead. The house was half destroyed by fire. The fire investigator had determined that an electrical short in the house’s old wiring had caused the fire. “Just one of those things as they say. It was no ones fault, these things just happen.” He had told her. She was probably supposed to take some kind of comfort in his words but she couldn't find any. It might be easier to handle if she could blame someone or something. If she could point her anger and sadness in some direction she could get rid of it faster. Instead, all she can do is wade around in all that emotion until it finally drains away. If it ever drains away.

The driveway runs up the right side of the house to the garage that is set back from the rear of the house. Between the two buildings was a breeze-way that offered a great shady spot in the summer and protection from snow in the winter. It now lays scattered in charred pieces on the concrete. A pathway was made through this debris by the fire-fighters. Tina walked through this trail to the back door and pushed it open.

The inside walls were impossibly black from all the smoke. She didn't step in all the way, the firemen warned her that the floors may not be stable and could collapse at any time so she only leaned in to take a look. Her tears were flowing freely now. She felt as if someone had died. Her heart hurt, her head throbbed and her knees felt weak.

Everywhere she looked was a memory. She could see the spot where her son's highchair stood when he sunk his face into his first birthday cake. She could hear all the laughter of that day ringing in her head. She could see the notes and pictures, now charred and black, still hanging on her refrigerator. The small table and chairs in the breakfast nook were there looking like something from a horror movie. The paint was hanging off the walls in giant sheets. It looked like peeled black blisters.

“Thank God we got out in time.” she said to herself in a low whisper. The night of the fire her son was spending the night at a friends house and she was sleeping when her boyfriend shook her awake. The fire traveled through the walls and burned from the inside out. The smoke detector never had a chance to go off. It had melted from the heat behind the wall. Brad had gotten up to use the bathroom and saw the flames flickering on the outside of the house through the window. He woke Tina up and they hurried out before the house was completely engulfed in flames.

Tina stepped back out of the door way and pulled the door shut. She turned around and saw a man and a woman standing in the driveway. The man was a little overweight with graying hair, the woman was a beautiful red head. She recognized them at once.

“Oh, Hi. I didn't see you there.” Tina said as she tried to wipe the tears off of her face.

“That's ok, I'm sure you've got a lot on your mind right now.” the man said as he gestured toward the burned shell of a house. “We shouldn't have snuck up on you like this.”

“Yeah, sorry. We just happened to be driving by and thought we'd stop and take a look at the house.” The woman said. She seemed a little shy and embarrassed for Tina. The couple were James and Lisa, the people Tina had bought the house from. The truth is, they felt drawn to the house as if some force had pulled them here. “We heard about the fire on the radio. We feel so bad for you. We know how special the house was to you, as special as it was to us while we lived here I guess.” In the days after hearing the news of the fire, James and Lisa could not stop thinking about the house that they use to call home. The couple had shed some tears themselves. James once told his wife that he feels as if a close family member had died.

“It's so sad, we feel as though we lost something right along with you. Just like you, this was our first home. Lots of memories lived within those walls,” James said with a slight crack in his voice.

“Thanks, yeah lots of memories,” Tina said while wiping a new tear off of her cheek.

Lisa stepped forward and put her arms around Tina and gave her a hug. Even though the two women hardly knew each other the hug felt natural and was something both of them needed. James stood by and tried not to let his own tears fall.

Just then, James heard footsteps behind him. He turned and couldn't believe what he saw. It was an elderly couple, a woman with gray hair done up in a tight bun and a narrow bird-like face walked carefully through the debris strewn driveway with an old hunched over man walking with a cane. James knew them although he hadn't seen them in over twenty years.

“Mr. and Mrs. Clark? Is it really you?” James said clearly surprised.

The two women turned their heads at the sound of James' voice and released each other from their embrace. Lisa recognized the name but had never met this couple in person. The couple were the people that James and Lisa had purchased the house from so many years ago.

“Yes, and you are John?” Mrs. Clark replied.

“James.”

“Oh yes, James. I'm sorry. My old noodle isn't as quick as it used to be.” Mrs. Clark said.

“That's ok, How are you two?” James asked.

“We're fine, just fine,” Mr. Clark answered.

James was dumbstruck. He thought, what are the odds that we and the Clarks show up here at almost the same time. He stared at them in amazement.

“Tina, this is the couple we bought the house from. Mr. and Mrs. Clark.” James introduced them.

“I'm sorry if we are intruding but we felt compelled to come here today. Are you the owner young lady?” Mrs. Clark asked Tina.

“Yes ma'am. My name is Tina, I'm glad to meet you.” Tina said as she put out her hand to shake with Mrs. Clark.

“I'm very glad to meet you too,” she answered. “We are so sorry for your loss. Losing your home is something very heartbreaking.”

“Yes, it has been very hard to deal with.” Tina said.

“I'm sure. Your family is all safe I pray?”

“Yes, thank God. My son was at a friends house and my boy-friend woke up in time to get us out safely.” Tina said.

“That is good.” Mrs. Clark said with a smile.

“Young lady, you have lost a great deal here but I hope you know that you are very fortunate that a house and some things are all that you've lost.” Mr. Clark said with a kind smile.

“Yes, I know.” Tina said. She was touched by these people's kindness. She felt as though they were all a kind of family. They did all share a home together after all.

The small group stood in the driveway for a while. Talking, telling stories about their lives spent in the house. They laughed and shed a few tears together.

In a short time more visitors showed up. The people that the Clarks had bought the house from were there. A man who had rented the place before that came by. The couple who had rented the house to that man showed up shortly after him. Then, a man who was the son of the people that the owned the house before them came by. He had grown up in this house and told the ever growing group that he had felt something pulling him home. They all felt that pull.

Something was bringing them all home.

More stories were exchanged: baby's first steps, birthday parties, Superbowl parties, all the things that make a house a home. Someone’s Aunt had fallen down the steps to the basement. Apparently she had dropped a dollar on the landing and bent over to pick it up when she rolled down the stairs. She didn't get hurt, only embarrassed. Someone else told a tale about their kids making a huge mess with baby powder all over the floor of the nursery. Everyone laughed. The kids had played dumb, as if they had no idea how the powder had gotten all over everything. Tina felt her heart lighten with each story. She no longer felt alone with her loss.

The man who had grown up in the house told a story that his father passed down to him about the man who had built the place. His name was Willard Jenkins and he had built the house for his wife Ellenore. Mrs. Jenkins died before the house was finished and Willard had died shortly after it was finished. He had lived in the house alone for only six months or so. The rumor was that he died of a broken heart. He and his wife had dreamed of filling the house with children but of course that never happened.

Everyone in the group was quiet as he finished the story. They all looked at each other and felt a strong kinship. This place was all home to them. Other houses had come and gone in all of their lives but when they heard the word home it was this place that came to mind first.

Just then, Tina noticed a new arrival walking up the driveway. It was a man in his mid-twenties. He looked as if he had just stepped out of the 1940's. He was dressed in brown pants, a faded blue long sleeved work shirt. A brown fedora rested on his head. He reminded Tina of Harrison Ford in the Indiana Jones movies.
He approached the group, nodded to them and walked on. He went straight to the house. He appeared to be looking for something.

Tina thought, doubtfully, that maybe he was the insurance man finally showing up. “Sir, are you from the insurance company?” she called after him. He didn't answer he just continued looking at the corner of the house near the back door.

He began feeling around the burned and melted siding. His strong fingers found a gap in the corner piece. He pulled on it and it came away from the house with a cracking sound. He dropped the vinyl siding to the ground and peered at the exposed wooden siding beneath. His fingers traced something carved into the wood. He smiled to himself and looked thoughtful as a tear slid out of the corner of his eye. His hand lingered on the carving for a minute or so before he dropped it back to his side and faced the group. He walked directly to Tina.

By now she was sure that this man was not the insurance guy. He looked as though he had stepped out of the past and she felt as though he belonged to this “family” that was assembled in the littered driveway. Her own tears had started flowing again as he touched her chin and raised her eyes to his.

She looked into his kind face as he spoke. “Don't be sad, this home was filled with life and love that we all will carry forever.” Tina smiled and he smiled. He gently wiped away the next tears that escaped her eyes with the back of his hand. The man nodded to her and turned to face the group and nodded to them. He then started back down the driveway.

Everyone watched him as he walked away. They all wondered who he was, but at the same time they all knew who he was. As he reached the sidewalk he began to fade. At first the people standing around Tina could see through him and then they could only see his outline and then he was gone.

Where the man had disappeared a new visitor was marching up the driveway. In his suit and carrying a briefcase he was obviously the insurance man Tina had been waiting for.

Everyone looked at each other in amazed disbelief. Tina turned toward the house and walked to the corner that the man had pulled free. She saw, carved into the wood siding, a heart. It looked as though it had been made with a pocket knife. Carved inside the heart were the initials W.J. + E.J. Tina smiled as fresh tears filled her eyes.

Alone in the well? part three

By: Jesse Edwardson

Richie’s teeth began to chatter, his lips were turning blue, and whatever was in the well with him began to caress his legs.  It felt slimy and every time it touched Richie he would kick and let out a scream.  He knew that it had to be some little fish or something like that, but he couldn’t help being terrified by it.

Through the top of the well, twelve feet above him, he could see a small patch of sky.  It was darkening, he figured it had to be getting close to supper time.  Grandma had probably already called everyone in to eat, and by now they had to know he was gone.  Hopefully someone would be out looking for him soon.  He was near exhaustion.  The chunk of wood he was clinging to was helping him stay afloat, but he wasn’t sure how much longer he would last.

The truth of it was hypothermia was rapidly draining Richie of his strength.  The snow that had covered the farm all winter had only melted away three weeks ago.

Below the surface of the water Richie felt the fish, or whatever it was, bump his left leg again, this time just below the knee.  It seemed to wrap itself around his leg just briefly before he kicked it off.  His kicks were becoming weaker and weaker.  Soon he won’t be able to kick at all because of the icy water.

“HELLLLLLP!” he called out.  “GET ME OUT OF HEEERRE!”

“No one’s coming,” he whispered.  “I’m a goner.”  More tears ran down his cheeks.  Richie rested his head on the chunk of wood and wept silently.

Just then, the thing in the water wrapped around his leg and pulled him down.  The water filled his ears and mouth again, and just as quickly as it pulled him down, it let go.  He bobbed back up coughing and grabbing for the chunk of wood.  His fingers found it and he pulled it tightly to his chest.

“AHHHHHH! cough, cough, cough.  HELLLLP!”  he yelled again.

“Boy, how in the hell did you wind up down there?” a familiar voice called down from the top of the well.

“Grampa!  Get me out of here!  There’s something in the water and it’s trying to get me!” Richie called with tears of relief streaming down his face.

“Alright Richie, calm down.  I’m gonna have to head back to the house and get some rope.  Can you hold on just a little longer?”

“Yes, I think so.  But hurry, I’m freezing and something just pulled my leg!”

“Alright alright.  I’ll be right back.” Grandpa said as he got back to his feet and started running back to the house.

The old man has never run so fast in his life.  He got back to the house, found a rope in the utility room, and quickly explained to everyone where he found Richie.  Of course everybody wanted to follow grandpa back to the well and help, but he told them all to sit tight and eat their dinner.  Grandma ran to the bedroom, came back with an afghan, and handed it to grandpa.

“That boy has got to be half froze.  Make sure you wrap him up in this and carry him back.  I bet he won’t be able to walk too good after a fall like that,” Grandma said with tears of worry in her eyes.

“I will dear,” Grandpa said as he went back outside.  He paused briefly to grab his flashlight that he keeps by the back door.  The sun was almost below the horizon now.

By the time Grandpa returned to the well, Richie was pulled down three more times.  Each time he was held down just a little longer than the last.  The panic was overwhelming.  Richie was sure he was going to die the third time.  The thing had grabbed both of his legs this time and held onto him tightly for almost a full minute before finally letting go.

In the middle of a coughing fit, a bunch of rope fell down onto Richie’s head.  He looked up to see Grandpa shining a light down at him.

“Richie, grab a hold of that and wrap the loop on the end around you real tight and I’ll pull you up!  Ok?” he called down.

“Ok,” Richie answered.  He found the loop in the rope and put his arms through it.  His arms felt so heavy.

“Have you got it around you boy?”

“Yes!”

“Ok, brace yourself.  I’m gonna start pulling you up.  If you bounce against the wall just try to walk up it like spider-man.  That will help me a lot,”  Grandpa instructed Richie.

“Ok Grampa.  Please hurry I hate it down here!”

“I bet you do,” Grandpa chuckled as he set his feet.

Grandpa started pulling and the rope bit into Richie’s armpits, but he barely felt it.  His small body slowly started to rise out of the cold water.  Grandpa grunted as he pulled the rope hand over hand.  Luckily for Richie, his grandpa is as strong as an ox.

Just before Richie’s feet left the water, the thing grabbed his right ankle.  It’s grip was so powerful this time Richie thought it would pull him back into the water.  Above, Grandpa struggled with the rope.  It felt like Richie had gotten heavier for a moment.  He let out a short grunt, pulled a little harder, and Richie started to rise again.  Below, just as his foot slipped out of the things grasp, Richie thought he heard a small voice say Don’t leave me, I want to play…

Richie did the best he could to keep the panic under control and try to climb the wall as Grandpa had told him to.  As he neared the top, he could smell fresh air.  It was as if he was smelling it for the first time.

When he reached the top, Grandpa let go of the rope with one hand, grabbed Richie by his shirt, and pulled him onto the ground.  His footing slipped and he kicked the flashlight into the well.

The flashlight tumbled in the air as it descended into the well.  It’s light beam swept down one side and up the other.  It hit the water with a splash and slowly began to sink into the murk.

The flashlight passed through the water casting an eerie green glow.  As the flashlight sank, it’s glow illuminated a shape in the water.  A face, clearly female and quite young.  The eyes were closed, but then opened when the flashlight cast it’s glow upon them.  The open lids revealed milky grey eyes.  Startled by the light, she covered her face and darted into the deeper depths of the well.  The last thing the flashlight shone upon before blinking out was her checkered dress and her patent leather shoes.

the end

Alone in the well? part two

by: Jesse Edwardson

While Richie was panicking in the well, Grandma called from the back door toward the barn.  “Supper is ready everyone!  Come and get it!”  The kids charged out of the barn in a stampede.  Grandma smiled and moved aside to let the herd of children rush into the house.

“Now, all of you warsh your hands and and we can dig into this wonderful food your Grandma has made for us,”  Grandpa said from his favorite chair in the living room.  Half of the kids went into the bathroom to clean up and the other half crowded the kitchen sink.  Grandpa got up and crossed the kitchen toward his wife and gave her a warm hug and a kiss on the cheek.  She blushed.

“Ok everybody get settled, find a chair.  Amy, can you put Tyler in the highchair for me?” Grandma said as she put a platter of fried chicken on the table.

“Sure Grandma,” Amy answered.  “Where’s Richie?”

Everyone looked around the room.  “Maybe he’s still hiding in the barn,” Bobby offered.

“I’ll go look,” Grandpa said as he put his old worn out cap on his head.

“Well hurry, I don’t want your dinner to be cold for you,” Grandma said.

“I’m sure he’s just hiding in the hay loft, we’ll be right in.”

The screen door slammed shut behind Grandpa as he stepped out onto the porch and trotted out to the Barn.  He called Richie’s name as he entered the dusty and silent barn.  The old owl that lived up in the loft was startled by his voice and flew out through the hay door.  He probably thought he could have the barn to himself again since the kids left.

“Richie!  Are you in here?” he called.  No answer.  The setting sun shone through the barn windows lighting up a million dust motes floating in the air.  “Where is that boy?” Grandpa asked them.  Of course the dust had no idea where he was.

He stepped out into the barnyard and called Richie’s name again.  Still no answer.  “I wonder if that boy wandered out into the woods,” Grandpa said to himself.  He headed for the woods calling out the boy’s name.  He was beginning to get worried.

Alone in the well? part one

By:  Jesse Edwardson

This story is dedicated to my aunt Mary Day, better known as Mickey, because she is AWESOME!!!

The old boards seemed to disappear from beneath Richie’s feet.  What they really did was fall into an old well, leading the way down for the small boy.  The largest piece hit the cold water first, followed by a shower of the smaller bits.  Richie plunged into the water last.  He fell so fast, he hardly had time to gasp.

Completely submerged, the water filled his ears with gurgling silence.  The water was ice cold.  Panic took hold of him.  He began kicking his feet and flailing his arms searching for a handhold or something to stand on.  All he found was slimy stone walls and floating  bits of wood.  Richie managed to pull his way to the surface.  He was a decent swimmer for a ten year old.  He could doggy-paddle with the best of them.  He grabbed hold of a board and coughed out a mouthful of water.  The well water tasted awful.  If green had a flavor, then this water tasted green.

“HELP!!!” cough, cough.  “HELP!!!” he cried.

It was useless to yell.  He was the only one out here in Grandpa’s woods.  The other kids were still playing in the barn.  They were all playing hide and seek.  Ritchie left the barn to hide because he was tired of always being found first.  He wandered out toward the woods and planned to hide behind a tree when he fell through the old boards that covered the old well.

“HEEEEELP MEEEEE!!!!” he screamed at the top of his lungs.  His voice bounced off the stone walls of the well and only succeeded in hurting his ears.  He yelled for help over and over again but the barn was too far away and there was no way the other kids would hear him.

He was winding up for another scream when he felt something in the water bump against his foot.

“AAHHHHH!”  he yelped in surprise.  “What was THAT!?”  He started kicking his feet and looking over his shoulders trying, in vain, to see what was below the dark surface of the water.  It felt as if something reached up from the bottom of the well and tried to untie his shoes.

“HEEEELLLLLP MMEEEEEEE!!!!  GET ME OUT OF HEERRRE!!!”   he cried again over and over.  When he finally stopped screaming, the silence fell heavily into his ears.  The well became as quiet as a well kept secret.

Again he felt a tug on his shoelace.  He pulled his foot back and tried to swim away.  Given the limited space he couldn’t go far.  Whatever was in the water followed him and tugged again at his shoelace, this time on the other foot.  He kicked both of his feet frantically under the water and started to cry.  Hot tears streamed down his cheeks as he shouted again for help.