𝗪𝗲𝗹𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗕𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗸𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲𝗻. 𝗢𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝟯𝟭𝘀𝘁.𝟭𝟵𝟴𝟰.
It's the era of drive-ins, arcade-halls,and the video nasty.
Three-hundred years ago the town's founders, desperate to protect their families and their lands from the hardships and horrors of the old world, struck a bargain with something beyond their understanding.
Now, while the residents celebrate All Hallow's Eve with slasher screenings, trick or treating, and fire-lit woodland parties, the dark and terrible power that the town's forefathers once called upon has returned. It's come to claim what's owed.
𝙇𝙤𝙘𝙠 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙙𝙤𝙤𝙧𝙨. 𝘽𝙤𝙡𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙬𝙞𝙣𝙙𝙤𝙬𝙨. 𝘽𝙡𝙤𝙬 𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙅𝙖𝙘𝙠 𝙤’𝙡𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙣𝙨.
𝙏𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙃𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙧𝙤𝙧 𝙞𝙨 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙡, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙚𝙩𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝘽𝙡𝙖𝙘𝙠𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚𝙣 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙧𝙪𝙣 𝙧𝙚𝙙.
Excerpt
“Yeah,
exactly! Like gas or something. Look! The light’s coming from inside it...” He
moved closer to the orange-glowing fissure. Close enough that the light
coloured his skin, flickered in his eyes.
Kelly let him
go, keeping her distance.
Dan saw
adventure here.
Kelly sensed
danger.
She remained
just outside the radiance of the light that poured from the crack, far enough
out that she could run into forest and be swallowed by its shadows in seconds,
should anything happen.
Dan moved
closer.
He took small,
careful steps until he was stood at the precipice of the mysterious crack.
Kelly watched, in awe of his stupidity, as he leaned his upper body forward as
one would when looking over a sheer cliff. He was little more than a silhouette
now – just a big, dumb, fearless silhouette stood by the edge of a danger he
was too boneheaded to anticipate.
Dan suddenly
gasped. It sounded like thunder out there in the silent night. Kelly’s heart
thud so hard she feared it may burst from her chest. Eyes darting instinctually
around the chasm, searching the area its light made visible. Something caught
her eye. “What the fuck is that?”
“Huh?” Dan
muttered, not listening at all.
There was something on the far side of the
glade, a table-like structure of some kind just visible within the glow. It was
just above waist height and made of stone. To Kelly, it looked much like an old
stone tomb of the sort she’d visited while on holiday in Largs, Scotland. One
of those Pre-Christian burial sites that drew in the tourists like flies around
shit. This, though, this felt different. There were markings along its
‘legs’ and curling around all sides of its length. She had no idea what they
were, but something in their twisted, barbed shapes… she’d seen markings like
these before, but where?
An image
glanced across her mind, that of a stern, downcast Anchor-man, an image over
his shoulder, bold, bloody letters screaming ‘Satan in the Suburbs’, a report
about the dangers of that dumb game her kid brother played, Dungeons &
Dragons, and—
It hit her.
That's a
fucking altar!
She had just
enough time to formulate the thought, but before she could speak, she heard a
branch crack behind her.
Her eyes
widening, she looked at Dan.
Dan was still
staring into the pit, lost in his own revery.
She tried to
find her voice and found that stark terror had claimed it, stolen it from her
just as all the strength seemed stolen from her body.
Another sharp
crack, out there in the darkness.
This one right behind her.
I LOVE this extract - thank you so much for sharing it!
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome! :)
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