iseeskiesofblueandcloudsofwhite

[iseeskiesofblueandcloudsofwhite]

Pumpkin Man

Andrew thought he got rid of the man he suspected had an affair with his wife. Little did he know that he problems only started to take root in his backyard. 

Chapter One

 Andrew

May 16, 2021. It will be the day I forever regret. The day I killed my Robert Norstrum. He was a co-worker of Stacy, my wife. They worked at a local home depot at a town over, she worked in the garden section while he worked in electrical.  He was a  short man with piercing blue eyes and dark black hair who always had something clever to say and chose the most annoying way to say it. I know that I could be rough around the edges, not as easy going as some but that didn’t mean that he needed to bother my wife. I am a good father to our child and got a degree in software engineering so I could pay for our beautiful house with a garden that Stacy loved. Our home that we made was the perfect slice of heaven

There was nothing extraordinary about Robert that I could see, but I could see that my wife thought of him differently. Initially, when she spoke about him, her eyes would light up. Eventually she caught on to my disgust for him and just mentioned him on occasion, but at that point only the slightest mention would send me in a bad mood. And then there were the lapses of time I didn’t know where she was. She said she was going out to the store or out for a walk, but all I could imagine was her talking and giggling with that man with the blue eyes. When I mentioned it to her, she said that I was paranoid. The feeling was similar to that of right before one gets a head cold. You can sense something is off, but can’t quite put your finger on it.   I remember my growing anxiety that I might lose my house, my wife and my kid along with everything I worked so hard to accomplish.  

 That day Robert Nostrum showed up at my door looking for her. It was in the middle of the day and I was working from home at that time taking my lunch. Stacy took Talyor, our daughter, on a playdate, and would not be back for hours. He said that he was dropping off a mums, and a giant pumpkin plant that she had been eyeing. I remember looking at the plant and thinking that I was the only man that should be giving Stacy gifts. I led him down into the basement where I said I had electrical problems and needed another man’s eyes on it. From there it was quite simple, while he was looking at the electrical work I hit him on the back of the head with a crowbar. There was no struggle as he seemed to be in shock. He fell to the floor and as I bludgeoned his face until it was unrecognizable.  From there wrapped his body in an old carpet and put it in a wheelbarrow. It was in the middle of the day and I knew that most of the neighbors were at work in upper class suburbia. I emailed work quickly citing a family emergency so I could deal with the remains. My backyard also had a thin veil of trees from one property to the other making it difficult to see adjoining properties unless one was intent on looking. I dug a deep grave in the freshly tilled soil of the garden rather fast. Where the tiller did not reach I used a pick ax to loosen the dirt, the wet spring soil easily breaking under my shovel . I dug it much deeper than anyone would ever uncover. I knew I would tell Stacy next year that the garden would have to be moved next year and make some excuse that there was better light in other places of the lawn, but changing the location of the garden now would be too much work without a better cause. After digging the grave, I simply dumped the body in with the pumpkin plant that he came with. It was almost chilling to see that after I put back the earth around the grave, that it looked no different than the garden surrounding it. I cleaned the mess in the basement. Taking his car and I drove it to a local deserted park wearing plastic gloves to make sure I left no fingerprints. By the time Stacy was home with Taylor, so I told her that I had taken a short walk around town and I would be back in a few hours. That was the last I thought Robert Northstom would bother me, my wife or my daughter but I was horribly wrong.  

Chapter Two

 Stacy 

Stacy looked outside the french windows as the crisp fall air touched her face. It wasn’t really cold, but the air was definitely getting drier and she could feel a sense of autumn wrapping its arms around her. Stacy could hardly believe it was autumn. It seemed like just yesterday that it was the start of the season at the store and she was laying out new plants that had just sprouted. That was when Robert kept her company at the store. He was nothing more than a friend but a real close one and his absence along with the socialization that Stacy got from working made Stacy feel uneasy transitioning back home. Stacy always found the adjustment back to full time stay at home mom overwhelming, but this year it seemed to hit even more. Taylor and her family were her life but Andrew had a tendency to be distant and Taylor could be a handful. Work sometimes seemed a lot less complicated than her home life. 

  Stacy savored the few moments before Taylor, her five year old, woke up and started creating havoc in the house with her toys. She could hear that her husband Andrew had already started working upstairs on his computer. He didn’t say a word to her this morning, but that was the way things usually were. He wasn’t distant when they first started dating, Stacy couldn’t really put her finger on it when they stopped saying good morning to each other, but now that was just the way it was. Stacy walked into the kitchen and started making breakfast with Edgar, the cat closely at her heels. Stacy was barely done with the eggs when she heard Taylor clomping down the stairs. 

“Mommy!’ Taylor cheered as she entered the kitchen. She squatted down near Edgar and gently pulled his tail. Immediately Edgar scrambled out of the kitchen. 

“Taylor, don’t pull his tail. That hurts him.” Stacy said. 

“I’m sorry Mommy.”  Taylor muttered, sitting in her chair. 

“What do you want to do today? We could go to the farm and go for a tractor ride. Does that sound fun?” Stacy asked. 

“Scarecrow!" Taylor exclaimed, pointing out the windows towards the garden. 

This year the garden was a bust. Every plant Stacy planted died almost immediately as if the land was intentionally salted. The death had also creeped a little in the yard right up to the house resulting in a horrible looking yard. Stacy was sure it was just a bad grub problem this year, but then, in the middle of July, a pumpkin plant started to flourish in the garden. It soon consumed the barren garden with cascading leaves and pulsating veiny stems. 

Since it was the only plant growing in the garden the pumpkin plant demanded the attention of the garden. In the middle of the vegetation lay a single pumpkin. It was not a huge pumpkin, slightly bigger than one’s head.

“Ok, we can do that.” Stacy knew Andrew should probably be included in the family activity, but he never seemed interested with any of the plants this year.

He even mentioned killing the plant and starting afresh making a new garden, but Stacy and Taylor would not allow it.

Stacy and Taylor walked out into the garden. The strong early autumn sun warmed the air but the dryness was still there. Taylor pranced out in the lawn already distracted by the sunshine and the earth. Stacy went into the garage grabbing paper, a pencil, cutting utensils, an old flannel shirt, jeans and gloves. Walking back to the house Stacy grabbed paints and a paintbrush. Painting was much more safe than carving knives. 

“Andrew, we are going to make a scarecrow. I was wondering if you were free to help me cut off the stalk?”

“Umm.. sure. I will be there soon” Andrew mumbled.

Stacy walked out in the yard and helped Taylor gather leaves for the scarecrow’s body. Andrew came out to the yard a few minutes later with a knife.

“Daddy!” Taylor ran to Andrew. Andrew threw the knife a safe distance away and grabbed Taylor spinning her in the air.

Stacy looked at both Andrew and Taylor with the backdrop of their house. Everything about their life was picture perfect at this moment as she joined her family in an embrace.

 “We are going to make a scarecrow today?’ Andrew asked, dropping Taylor and picking up the knife again.

“Yes, Scarecrow!”  Stacy cheered.

Stacy noticed Andrew's face became firmer when he looked at the garden. He picked up the knife in his hand and walked towards the pumpkin. Sitting down, Andrew sliced the stem.

Errikkk

A distant scream cried out that sounded like it came a few houses over.  The knife barely made an abrasion on the stalk.

“Mommy, I’m scared.” Taylor cooed.

“It’s ok baby.” Stacy said.

Andrew readjusted the pumpkin and tried again.

Ahhhh 

Another distant scream seemed to vibrate out of the ground. This time the knife made a cut an inch deep.

“Stop!” Taylor shrieked, running towards the house. Stacy looked toward Andrew.”

“Is that noise coming from the pumpkin?” Stacy questioned. 

“Don’t be silly, those sounds aren’t coming from the plant. I will get it.” Andrew grumbled.

Stacy turned to get Taylor back in the house listening to the continued screaming coming from outside until she entered the house. In the house, Taylor was in the living room watching Andrew cut the pumpkin.

“It’s ok. The pumpkin plant can’t feel anything.” Stacy reassured Taylor.

They watched Andrew cut the pumpkin off it’s stalk and cut a hole for the pole. The way here was something rough about him when carving the object, the way that he even held the pumpkin like a severed head caused Stacy shivers. After doing his diligence, Andrew walked back to the house and went back to work in his upstairs study, without saying a word

“So, paint time?” Stacy suggested.

“Yes!” Taylor squealed.

Stacy and Taylor went back to the yard with the paint supplies.

“He could be a friendly pumpkin. He could be a friend to the trees and birds.” Stacy suggested.

“Yes, he will be friendly! Here Mommy I did it.” Taylor said

Stacy gazed upon her child’s artwork. Perhaps it was friendly to a five year old, but to Stacy it had a creepy edge to it. The pumpkin had a bright red grin that reached half the span of the pumpkin like a clown mouth. His nose was a lopsided yellow triangle and above that were huge blue eyes with black pupils.

“Looks great sweetie.” Stacy said, trying to hide her aversion to her daughter’s artwork. Taylor seemed oblivious to Stacy's thoughts.

“Hello, Mr. Scarecrow.” Taylor chirped as Stacy hammered a post on the edge of the garden and assembled the body. When she was finished it was 3:30 in the afternoon.

“Ok Taylor, time to clean up and go in. I’m going to start dinner for Daddy now.” Stacy said.

“But I want to play with Mr. Scarecrow now. He has to have friends”.  Taylor protested.

“You can be his friend tomorrow.” Stacy said handing Taylor paint supplies. Taylor sighed and started helping Stacy clean up.

That evening after dinner the family set down to watch TV. The sun was setting earlier and already at 7 o clock the inky blackness of night had set in. Having little attention for TV this week, Stacy wandered into the kitchen. Passing by her French windows, she noticed Edger the cat transfixed with the outside world.

“What is it Edger? Do you see a mouse?” Stacy said. Edger looked back at her, now seeing that he got her attention, Edger began crying to the outside.

“Stop it, there's nothing out there.” Stacy said as she put the dishes in the dishwasher.

Nevertheless, the cat began crying more and more, like Stacy had not heard before.

“What’s up with Edger?” Andrew asked.

“I don’t know.” Stacy said, grabbing a mask and shooing away the cat from the windows.

Quickly frisking the darkness with a flashlight Stacy didn’t see anything new in the lawn, but as her flashlight hit the pumpkin,  for a split-second, Stacy could have sworn that the pumpkin had narrowed its eyes.

 Chapter Three 

Stacy

The next day, Stacy was rushing to clean the house. Taylor’s friend, Amanda, was coming over.

“Is Amanda here yet? I want to show her Mr. Scarecrow today!” Taylor announced, holding a few stuffed animals in her hand.

“Ok, but you need to get dressed in the clothes I laid out for you and brush your teeth.” Stacy said, feeling overwhelmed. Andrew went to get coffee for himself a half an hour ago and hadn't come back yet. She can’t really blame him; Amanda’s parents were not their favorite people. There was no one reason why she disliked Amanda’s parents, but they could be rude at times. Stacy just would rather prefer dealing with them and her daughter together rather than alone.  Hearing a door slam, Stacy turned her attention to the street to see Amanda being dropped off by her parents at the curb. Stacy breathed a sigh of relief. At least the feelings she had toward Amanda’s parents were mutual. Amanda clamored out of the car and rang the doorbell.

“Amanda!” Taylor squealed. She still was in her pajamas.

The two jumped around the living room with a loud greeting.

“Ok Taylor, get your clothes on and you two can play outside.” Stacy said.

“Yes Mom.” Giving Stacy an exaggerated salute Taylor raced up the stairs to her bedroom.

Waiting for Taylor, Amanda went to the kitchen overlooking the backyard.

“What’s that?” Amanda asked

“That’s a scarecrow we made.” Stacy explained.

“Wow!” Amanda exclaimed, transfixed by the garden ornament.

“You can go out there and I’ll let Taylor know.” Stacy offered.

Amanda ran out to see the scarecrow, soon followed by Taylor after she got dressed. At first, Stacy watched the pair talk next to the scarecrow, but eventually they were prancing around him and playing with stuffed animals with him.  Stacy noticed that the children never touched the scarecrow, and that he  remained perfectly still like a statue.  Stacy found it rather amusing. Of all the toys she had purchased for Taylor, a scarecrow made out of old clothes provided hours of entertainment. Andrew came back from his coffee run and helped clean the house. It was nearing the time that Amanda had to go, but Stacy still wanted to play with the kids before she left.

“Let's go play with the girls.” Stacy offered hugging Andrew.

“Sounds like fun, let’s do it.” Andrew replied, kissing her on the forehead. They walked out of the house to the lawn across the lawn where Stacy could only see the profile of the scarecrow still facing the house.

“Hey kids, do you want to jump in the leaves?” Stacy announced. More had fallen than yesterday and there was enough for a small child to jump in.

“Yeah!" Taylor and Amanda raced toward Stacy leaving their playthings near the scarecrow. They ran towards Stacy’s pile of leaves screaming with delight. Stacy looked at her watch Amanda’s mother would be here any minute.

“Girls, go get your stuffed animals, Amanda your Mom should be here any minute.” Stacy said.

“Ugg! Already? I want to stay.” Amanda protested.

“I am sure you guys can pick up where you left off next time.” Stacy said as she noticed Amanda’s mother come in the backyard, her eyes not moving off the phone that she had in her hand.

“Mommy, Mommy! I had so much fun!” Amanda cried to her mother.

“Mhmm that’s great honey. Come on, we have to go.” Amanda’s mother started giving a quick wave to Stacy’s family and then turned around.

“Mommy, I want to go inside. I don’t think that Mr. Scarecrow likes it that we are playing without him. We should probably stop”. Taylor announced.

“Nonsense, it's just a scarecrow. If you are tired, we will play more tomorrow,” Andrew said.

“Ok” Taylor said, running back to the house, very unlike a child that was tired.

“She left her animals out here." Andrew pointed out.

Stacy followed his gaze across the yard, to notice that the scarecrow’s head was turned, and his blue eyes were staring at them. She also noticed that the wide grin on his face started to run downwards,  creating the appearance of cheeks making him more human-like.

“Was it turned in this direction the whole time?” Stacy asked.

“I don’t know. I wasn't paying attention. Amanda’s mother could have moved it.’ Andrew replied.

Stacy walked into the garden to get Taylor’s stuffed animals, but she could not shake the feeling of another being’s presence. She thought about it, then straightened the pumpkin’s head back facing the house. Leaving the pumpkin man in the yard, Stacy ran back into the house without making a second glance.

Back in the house, Stacy washed her hands and started making dinner as Taylor played with her Legos.

“So Taylor, how was playing with Amanda?" Stacy asked.

“We mostly talked and played with Mr. Scarecrow.” Taylor said uninterested in the conversation.

“What did he say to you?” Stacy questioned.

“Well, he said that he likes the eyes that I gave him but he still can’t see well. He said that Daddy is a bad man and he wants to take things from Daddy the way he took things from him. I didn’t understand it. I told him that Daddy was nice and that Daddy can share because sharing is good. Then we played but I think he got mad when we started playing with Daddy. That’s ok, I will play with him tomorrow.” Taylor said still focused on her Legos.

Stacy furrowed her brow.

“Well, I want you to play with Daddy as much as you can.”  Stacy said. After she was done in the kitchen, Stacy balanced though the Legos to talk to Andrew.

“That was very strange stuff.” Stacy said.

“Children have a very active imagination, but if you want to take it down you can.” Andrew suggested. He was reading a book upstairs by himself, just as interested in talking to Stacy as Taylor was.

“But she's attached to it, I can’t just destroy it.” Stacy said.

“I don’t know, destroy it, leave it up. Doesn’t matter to me.” Andrew said not looking away from his book.

Feeling frustrated, Stacy left the room. It had always been like this- Andrew was reliable when it came to having fun with Taylor, but uninterested when it came to actual parenting.

Back downstairs, Taylor was still playing with her Legos, and Edger started his odd behavior of crying at the French doors. Stacy scooped up the cat and put him in the basement, too emotionally drained to deal with him. She told herself she would give the scarecrow three more days and then tell Andrew to get rid of it.

 Chapter Four 

Andrew 

I have had nightmares of Robert Nordstrom ever since I killed him. Sometimes he is there in the corner of my mind, just staring at me with glittering blue eyes like his scarecrow stands in our yard. In my dreams when I try to destroy him he seems to take something of mine, like an eye or a limb. After killing him the dream would continue but I would live out my life suffering as an amputee or blind. These dreams led me to roam the house at night. I wanted to destroy that scarecrow, but I knew that it would take it’s revenge, if not on me than on my family. So I will just watch it for now. My hope is that he will rot into the soft earth he came out of, and I would never have to deal with Robert Nordstrom or his ghost again.  

Chapter Five 

Stacy

The next day the ground was encrusted in a light frost. Unable to sleep well, Stacy slept in the living room downstairs. The morning sun woke her up and Stacy looked out at the lawn. The first thing that drew her eye was Mr. Scarecrow, although there was nothing more different with him this morning that she could see from this distance other than the fact that one of his gloves came off. Suddenly she heard movement from upstairs and the sound of little feet.

“Baby, what are you doing this early?” Stacy asked.

“I had nightmares. You were not in your room.” Taylor replied, clutching one of her stuffed animals near her face.

Stacy scooped up Taylor and put her on her hip.

“It’s ok. I could not sleep either. What do you want to do today?”

“I want to talk to Mr. Scarecrow.” Taylor said pointing at the backyard. 

“Let's do something else today. How about a hayride?” Stacy suggested. 

“No, I want to talk to him”. Taylor protested. 

“Err, ok, but only for a few minutes and then we are going to go to the hayride.” Stacy said, walking out the back yard as Taylor skipped next to her. 

When they reached Mr. Scarecrow, it was obvious things had changed. His round pumpkin face had rotted away to reveal a more human-like skull making his eyes more sunken in. When Stacy put Mr. Scarecrow’s glove back on the stake she noticed that the wood on the stake decayed in the shape of a wrist. Taylor started to whimper and hide behind Stacy. 

“Mr. Scarecrow is more angry today. He wants to hurt Daddy.” Taylor whispered to Stacy. 

Stacy didn’t want to bother Andrew anymore during the day with the scarecrow.

“Let's go to the farm and take a hayride, then when we get back I will have Daddy talk to Mr. Scarecrow, Ok?” Stacy said. 

She grabbed Taylor’s hand and guided her towards the driveway, frequently checking her back. 

When they got home, it was almost sunset. Stacy quickly busied herself with dinner. As soon as the sun went down, Edgar started crying at the French windows. 

“Edger, stop it.” Stacy muttered, grabbing the flashlight and pulling back the curtain. The night was bright and she could see the gleam of the scarecrow's head against the moon. 

“Mommy, what's going on?” Taylor whined. 

“Nothing babe. It’s just Edger. It’s time to go to bed.” Stacy scooped up Taylor and led her towards her room. Up on the second story, Stacy got Taylor ready for bed, opening the windows to let in the perfect autumn sleeping weather. 

Thump Thump Thump 

“Mommy, what's that? Is that Mr. Scarecrow outside?” Stacy looked out the window. It was hard to make anything out, but in the place of the pumpkin man there was only a stick left where he once stood. 

‘Yes he is out there somewhere. Here go to bed now.” Stacy tucked Taylor in. 

“Mommie”. Taylor whined. 

“Taylor, nothing is going to get you here. Now go to bed,” Stacy ordered, giving her daughter a kiss on the cheek. 

“Everything will be alright.” Stacy said, closing the door behind her. The house was well lit as Stacy walked down stairs. Grabbing a flashlight Stacy walked outside on the back porch and showed it to the dark lawn. Frisking the flashlight over the lawn Stacy now saw clearly the face of Robert Norstrum in the garden.

“Bob?” Stacy screeched, dropping the flashlight in the house. The light scattered and fell onto the floor breaking the bulb. Stacy raced back in the house and fumbled for a new flashlight in her cabinet, frequently keeping her eye on the yard behind her. Grabbing the flashlight in her hand Stacy undid the lock on the french windows and stepping out into the night, not noticing her husband watching her from the kitchen. 

Chapter Six

Andrew  

I heard her yell his name and run out into the dark. At this point there was no doubt that the pumpkin contorted to the shape of a man’s face though decay and now resembled a man with blue eyes, whether that man was Robert I had my doubts. Nevertheless, the scarecrow was bothering everyone in this house, so I had to do something.  I did not intend on hurting Stacy as I walked slowly behind her, crowbar in my hand to destroy the creation that was on my property. It was only when I stopped a few yards away when I saw her reach out the thing and touch the pumpkin man’s rotten flesh. My mind raced as I realized that by removing Robert from the picture, it did not replace me in her heart. My wife was the precious thing that Robert took. As this occurred to me a numbness came upon me as I ran toward the scarecrow to destroy it. I must have tripped on a massive root in the yard  while I was running toward her because the crowbar landed squalry on top of her head. She yelped in pain or surprise as she fell toward the scarecrow. The light was low,  but I could see that she lay motionless around a thick spray of dark red liquid. There was no running from what I had done. Even if she were to be still alive, I would have to try to explain to people what happened - the police or the hospital or something. She was too far away from the house to claim that she fell from our bedrooms.  Suddenly I saw vines emerging from the pumpkin wrapping around her body. I hurled the crowbar again and again at the pumpkin destroying it’s rotten grotesque face. I missed a few times creating a soggy pile of brains and pumpkin at my feet. When the task was complete I buried her in the garden and tilled in the pumpkin plant as much as I could. The next day I tilled the garden and called 911 to report a missing person.  It wasn’t until Taylor woke up to discover that her mother had disappeared in the night that the thought of raising her alone came to me. 

After a few years had gone by it was clear that Robert took more than my wife that day. Like my dreams, I now walk around mentally suffering and disfigured. My lawn is filled with pumpkin sprouts that I constantly hack with a fear that a pumpkin will appear again. On May 16, 2021 I thought Robert Northstorm was out of my life, but now he haunts me every day. 

[iseeskiesofblueandcloudsofwhite]

Inspiration for “Within the Fog” short story Magnolia Plantation. Such a lovely place 

[iseeskiesofblueandcloudsofwhite]

My inspiration for my short story “Within the Fog” Congaree National park 

[iseeskiesofblueandcloudsofwhite]

Within the Fog

Summary:

Maddie was looking forward to getting away after a long quarantine avoiding coronavirus. She booked a rental that boasted luxury and relaxation, but she didn’t get what she paid for. Instead of escaping Maddie becomes tangled in local folklore and becomes trapped by the very thing she wanted to escape. 

 Within the Fog:

It was one in the morning and Maddie felt like she was suffocating. She slipped out of bed and down the stairs past an old baby crib left haphazardly broken in a cardboard box. Not knowing what to do with herself Maddie paced the ground level of her and her husband's colonial turning on all the lights. It had been over a year since coronavirus started and she desperately needed to get away. She needed a fresh start, if only for a little while to get away from the life that she was living. And now with vaccines around the corner Maddie was looking to leave asap, although the fear of coronavirus usually convinced her to turn her searches on vacation plans off. Maddie flicked on her computer. She couldn’t live like this anymore, she needed to break free. 

Her husband must have been looking at vacation stays as well because the screen flicked on to a cabin in the woods that was a few hours away from Maddie’s house in the cypress wetlands of Georgia. Maddie kept on scrolling. It looked modern and chic complete with a large porch, a claw foot tub, king sized bed and picture windows that gazed upon an “emerald forest”. The cabin was located in a town called Fairbanks which was described as out of the way and cozy with a general store and friendly locals. Maddie looked at the cabin with delight. She could see herself with her husband making love or even just holding each other like they did when they first met, before life had dealt them a cruel hand and they were locked with the reminders of their past for years. 

Before consulting with Dave, Maddie emailed the owners to book the cabin for the long weekend. She sensed that Dave was also stressed out, and this was their opportunity to get out of this rut in their marriage. A few seconds after Maddie sent the email she got a message back. 

“We have no bookings from April 9-11th. We would be glad to have you stay.” The email stated. Maddie smiled, the first smile she felt in a long time.This might just be the very break that she needed. With something to look forward to Maddie felt her eyelids getting heavier. She went back upstairs and slipped into bed next to her husband, with calm thoughts. 

The dirt road to Fairbanks tested their truck’s suspension with potholes and thick mud. Out of the way was an understatement when describing the location of this cabin. Maddie had lost cell phone service hours ago and the GPS was on the fritz. Not to mention that the hour road trip was stretched into two hours due to the fact that the roads were in terrible disrepair. Maybe that detail would not be so important if Dave had insisted that he work a full day before they drove down and now it was almost dusk. 

“I still can’t believe that you booked this cabin without consulting me.” Dave scoffed. 

Maddie furrowed her brow and tried to concentrate on the passing palmetto leaves. 

“I was a surprise Dave, you were supposed to be happy about it. Plus look, we are getting away and enjoying one another. I think that is what we really need.” Maddie replied. She was semi hurt that Dave wasn’t as enthusiastic about spending time with her anymore. 

“In five hunderd feet take a right, then your destination is on your right,” the robotic voice of the GPS demanded. 

Dave slowed down near a patch of woods where the GPS told them to turn. There was nothing but swamp and cypress in the distance. 

“There must have been an old road here that is now overgrown,” Elizabeth murmured.  

“Well now what?” Dave said slapping his driving wheel. 

“We go straight and have the GPS reroute us, or find a town and ask for directions,” Elizabeth suggested. 

Dave drove the truck a few feet forward. 

“GPS signal lost,” the GPS chirped. 

“Just keep on going down this road, we will get it back or find something I am sure”  Maddie said. 

Turning a corner Maddie could see a gas station on the right side of the road, hidden by a few trees. 

“Here pull in here and ask for directions.” Maddie insisted. 

As they pulled in Maddie started to feel like she regretted her decision. Where the two gas pumps were not rotted though they were tattooed with graffiti. Past the gas pumps was a shack of a building that looked like it was distinctly made out of haphazard parts of other buildings. 

“Maybe we should just stick to our original plan, I’m sure that the GPS would pick up soon enough.” Maddie suggested.  

“If we don’t get there soon we will be lost in the dark. We will just go in, ask for directions and come out. I’ll just go if you want me to.” David said, turning off the truck. Maddie nodded as David jumped out of the vehicle into the gas station. He was only a couple of moments before he was back in the truck. 

“He says the turn off is a few miles down the road. We will come to a fork and then we will take a left, the cabin will be a few yards to the right.” David stated, as he started up the truck. 

It was getting darker and Maddie could only see the silhouettes of trees against the sky. Finally after a good 15 minutes they arrived at the cabin. Maddie pulled out a flashlight she packed and inspected her rental. Even though the small vein of light that the flashlight provided, Maddie could tell that the cabin was not what was advertised. For starters the whole cabin was smaller and clearly neglected. The large wrap around porch that the website boosted was rotten in places and moaned with pain when Maddie tried to move across it to the front door. Once getting into the cabin Maddie found a single bare lightbulb. Turning on the switch next to it Maddie could see the king sized bed with a mattress that was badly stained. Next to that was the claw leg tub that still had strains of pubic hair in it. The large picture windows were curtainless and reflecting the darkness of the night like black holes in the walls. 

“No we can’t stay here tonight. That mattress is disgusting and the floors are filthy.” Maddie insisted making her way back to the front door. 

“Your kidding right? It’s fine. Plus it’s  another two hours back in the pitch dark. We will put our bankets down on the mattress and sleep there and reassess tomorrow.”

“Ok but I am totally going to take pictures and give horrible reviews when I get back.” Maddie murmured unpacking their sleeping blankets. That night Maddie couldn’t sleep. She knew what sounds to expect from swamps. The humming of bugs or occasional thrashing of an alligator. But this swamp and cabin was silent. Dead silent. 

“Dave? Dave?” Maddie called from the bed. 

She couldn’t tell what time it was because there was no clock. Maddie looked out the window. A thick soupy fog lingered engulfing the cabin. Maddie got up and walked around the cabin. She opened up the cabinet finding a lone can of coffee grounds that looked like it came from the stone age. Ignoring the coffee Maddie made her way to the front porch. On the front porch Maddie found a note. Went out to get groceries-Dave. Maddie balled up the piece of paper with her fist. Maddie gazed at the foggy woods. The Cypress trees looked like shadows of people and the water on the soggy ground they stood on was an inky black. Getting anxious Maddie wrapped her arms around herself and started slowly pacing the porch until something caught her eye. It was a bright red rattle. Maddie grasped the rattle, cleaned it as best she could with her clothes and brought it back into the cabin. She placed the rattle under her pillow and swallowed hard. She needed something to take her mind off of it. Maybe a stiff drink or two. She had to tell Dave about what she found, she knew that she had to tell him asap but her stupid phone didn’t work. Maddie eyed an overfilled bookcase in the corner of the cabin. Maybe that could take her mind off of things for a bit. Maddie shuffled through the bookcase until one book caught her eye. It was stuffed with old newspapers of missing persons, but the contents of the book focused on the history of Fairbanks. 

Fairbanks Georgia was a bustling town from 1790-1863 composed of a  small congregational community. On April 12th 1863 General Kelly sent 150 men to scout north of Atlanta to find union troops. Upon arrival Kelly’s men plundered Fairbanks using force to take the locals food supply forcing most of them into starvation. According to local folklore a woman convinced the soldiers that there was a much larger town just on the other side of the swamp. Most of Kelly’s men set out to find this other village, never to be seen again. Local folklore states that the spirits of those soldiers lure those close to the swamp into where they get lost, leading them to their death. 

Maddie looked out at the swamp. She wondered what happened to other vacationers that came to the cabin. Were they somewhere out there looking in the fog? Suddenly Maddie heard the front door open. 

“Hey I got the groceries if you want to help me.” Dave announced. Maddie rushed over to her pillow. 

“Dave guess what?I found this here. Recognize it, but I don’t know why it’s here.” Maddie held up the rattle. 

“It isn’t Amber’s, Maddie, Amber has been dead for three years. You just found someone’s trash.” 

It was hard for Maddie to hear those words, even after all this time. Amber was her little puggy playful baby that died in her crib. Maddie felt a wave of familiar powerlessness that came with the memory of picking up Amber from her crib as she lay cold and still. She suddenly felt stupid holding the rattle in her hand not knowing what to do with it. Dave sighed. 

“I told you to see a psychologist, this isn’t normal. We talked about this so many times, the episodes you have and your unrelenting depression.”

Dave sat down and put his hands in his head. 

“I just can’t do it anymore, living with you that is. The marriage we have is no longer the marriage we used to enjoy.”

Maddie fell silent and walked to the other side of the cabin. She knew how Dave felt, he expressed it to her multiple times before. But she also felt like she didn’t have a chance. With Amber dying and the pandemic going on, Maddie never felt like she had time to fully heal. She felt tears well up in her eyes as she laid down on the bed and covered herself with the sheets they brought. She hid in the covers and tried to force herself to go to sleep. 

Maddie woke up the sound of a cry.It was nighttime now but Maddie was wide awake, she could identify that cry instantly. It was Amber. Maddie got out of bed and started pacing the cabin.  The cabin was empty and Dave’s van was gone. 

“Aggg gigi”. The cooing sound was faintly drifting in the depths of the swamp. 

“Amber baby is that you?” Maddie was losing her mind. Of Course it wasn’t her, she was dead. You held her lifeless body. You know that she was dead.  Maddie’s mind was spinning. What if it was some other person’s baby, in the dark lost and alone. She had to go out just to see if it was ok. Maddie looked at her phone, still no reception and no way to call 911. The giggling increased in frequency outside in the fog, making Maddie’s footsteps faster and faster.

“Amber”? Maddie knew she was losing her sanity at this point. Yet Maddie knew that she couldn’t stand here all night listening to the sound of her child. What if it was all in her head? As she looked for the flashlight, Maddie knew that if she told Dave about this he would go straight to locking her up in the funny farm rather than insisting to see a therapist, but Maddie felt like she needed to get there and to put her mind at ease. Maddie fished out an old flashlight, changed into sneakers, an old tshirt and a basketball top and walked out of the cabin into the night. It wasn’t until she walked out the door that the story about the fog came back into her head. It’s just a legend. Maddie chanted to herself as she walked out into the fog.

“Amber!” Maddie called. The flashlight didn’t offer much visibility just to the curtain of condensation that was in the air as she took a step into the inky blackness. A few feet off the trail she felt her sneakers sink and fill with water. It was uncomfortable but Maddie hardly noticed. The darkness descended on her as Maddie tripped her way through the cypress knees towards the cooing. The mud was slick and suddenly Maddie lost her balance and tripped rolling her ankle. 

“Aggg'' Maddie cries. Frantically trying to get out of the mud Maddie noticed that the cooing had stopped. Maddie went into shock. What if the baby was in trouble. 

“Amber baby, I’m coming.” Maddie screamed. Her footing was no longer straight and her flash light was gosling so hard that it was barely of any use as Maddie scrambled deeper into the swamp. For a minute Maddie could only hear heart beating, soon she was out of breath. Taking a rest near a tree Maddie thought she heard another pair of footsteps running through the swamp. 

“Hey stop I need help.” Maddie hollered but the footsteps kept going making almost a supernatural speed away from her. 

“Stop.’ Maddie gathered up enough energy to hurl herself toward the footsteps only to fall face forward into the mud dropping her flashlight. She grabbed it from the mud and held it, but it did not work.

Maddie slowly got up. She was tired, cold, wet and completely lost and now breaking down into tears. She wasn’t able to find the baby. The cypress encroached around her as she pulled herself up. She got up and peered into the darkness. Taking a few steps Maddie saw something glowing, like a cell phone screen. Approaching it closer Maddie saw that the phone was smashed on a boardwalk deep in the middle of the swamp. 

Maddie recognized the case and had no trouble opening up the locked cell phone. On the phone were videos of Amber when she was alive playing with her toys and baby mobile. 

Maddie followed the boardwalk to a dirt path that had fresh tire tracks on it that lead back to the cabin. Maddie could see that the lights were on as she walked in holding her flashlight behind her back. Inside Dave was sitting on a chair with a knife . 

“I heard of this place from the internet. An abandoned town with a lot of missing persons with people getting lost in the swamp for days. I told you I can’t live with you any more. I thought it might take longer for you to travel out to the sounds of Amber and I didn’t believe that you would actually make it all the way out to me, but here we are. This way is not ideal, I'm a little more messy but it’s all the same in the end.”

Maddie felt the door slam behind her. It was now or never. 

The end!

[iseeskiesofblueandcloudsofwhite]

[iseeskiesofblueandcloudsofwhite]

Car connection : #sciencefiction #romancewriting #shortstory

  “I’m going to kill you!” Amy’s patient screamed as he pulled at his restraints and clenched his hands. 

  Amy leaned back in her chair trying to get as far away as she could from the patient. The medications would not be touching him for at least another 20 minutes, and Amy was hoping by then that her shift at Bay Yard hospital would be well over. She looked at her watch, it was 11:15pm. Her feet hurt but she had promised Tyler that they would still go out to Beachland Tavern tonight. She had met him when she went to nursing school. She always preferred to stay in while he was more outgoing but that made him attractive to her. Down the hall Amy saw the third shift coming in. Thank God Time to enjoy my weekend Amy thought as her relief came and she was able to give a nursing report and head out of the building.  

  She walked the well lit hospital parking lot to her new car. It was a 2031 full electric self driving all wheel drive Subaru. While there are many who are weary of the new self-driving technology, Amy had decided to take the risk and embrace the new technology. Tyler helped her pick it out, but he also insisted that she get an app for it so that the car knows where you want to go so that you don’t have to waste time entering your destination.  Amy wasn’t sure about it at first because she was almost certain that it would never willingly drive to work or to get groceries but for the last six months it worked just fine. She sat in the car, sensing her presence, the car revved up, backed out and drove to Beachland Tavern while Amy did her makeup. 

  The Subaru parked itself in front of the Beachland Tavern’s glass doors. It was an upscale bar which surprised Amy since Talyor preferred more hole in the wall establishments complete with a pool table and a jukebox. Amy walked in and took a seat at the bar. 

  “Can I help you?” The bartender asked. He was an attractive man around  Amy’s age with big brown eyes and light brown hair. 

  “Yeah I will have a long island.” Amy sighed. 

  “I like your ride over there. I heard a lot of people are still scared of self driving cars. They don’t trust them. Do you like it?” He asked as he went to mix her drink.

  “Do these people include you?” Amy said, giving him a sideways glance. 

  “Maybe, my car is still a manual, like hands on the wheel driving type manual. But I’m a car guy so I might be biased. I like the feel of turning a car and how the car handles it. My name is Kyle by the way.” Kyle  handed Amy her drink. Amy tasted it and winced from the taste of alcohol. She wanted to be cool in front of him but she was never a fan of the taste of alcohol.

  “I’m Amy. That's interesting. I thought that with your profession you would love them. People now have the option of getting wasted and getting behind the wheel and they are totally safe.” Amy said. 

  Kyle smiled and looked down embarrassed. 

  “I guess there is a silver lining to everything. Just as long as they don’t invent an electronic bartender that knows what type of drinks to serve you I think that I am good.”   

  From across the bar a customer waved Kyle over. 

  “Got to go. Let me know if you need anything.” Kyle said as he walked to the other customer. 

  Amy looked down at her phone pretending to be busy. Tyler was 10 minutes late, which wasn’t unusual for him. Amy squirreled her drink, the long day and the alcohol was really hitting her. Suddenly she saw his car pull up in the parking lot. He walked into the bar and took a seat next to Amy. 

  “Hey what’s up?” Tyler asked. 

  “It has just been a long day.” Amy said. Something seemed off tonight but she really couldn’t tell what it was. 

  “I was thinking Amy, you're great but I think we need some space. Maybe we take some time off and then reevaluate in a month if this could really work.” 

  “Space? What does that mean?’ Amy hissed. The chatter in the Beach house was not loud enough for her to yell. 

  “It's just that we knew each other since college and that was 7 years ago. I just want to explore a little bit before we settle down. I will be over your place later to get my things” Tyler said casually. 

  “It has been seven years of my life that I just wasted with you.” Amy felt herself raise her voice. She could feel the whole tavern looking at them now. She looked down at her drink wanting to both drink it and throw it in his face. 

  “I’m sorry Ames. You know that I never met to hurt you, this is just how I feel.” Tyler whispered. He patted her on the back as she flinched. Then as casually as he walked in the bar he strolled out. The bar had quieted down and she knew that everyone had eavesdropped onto their conversation. She put a 2o down for the drink and got into her car with the last remaining piece of dignity she had. Turning the key she had fears that the car would follow Tyler and smash into him, but instead the car slowly drove her home. Amy felt a little concerned. It was like the car itself not only knew what she wanted to do but what was best for her.  But at least for now Amy could not argue with that decision. 

  Amy’s apartment felt cold and dark. She knew that Tyler would survive without his things until tomorrow like he normally did when he was not sleeping over, but she felt that maybe by starting to pack up she would be able to move on from this terrible ache in her stomach. It was not only Tyler’s things that Amy had to take care of but also things that fell into a grey area that were for them, like vacation scrapbooks. Although she hated Tyler right now, the items still contained fond memories whether Tyler was a part of them or not. Unwilling to deal with the mess at this hour Amy  After a few hours Amy felt the weight of the day start to bear down on her shoulders and she collapsed in her bed. 

  Amy finished packing Tylers stuff early in the afternoon and headed over to his house to drop it off. After turning on the car Amy looked back at the boxes containing her scrapbooks. Screw Tyler, If he cherished memories of being together he wouldn’t have dumped her. While the car drove Amy rummaged through his belongings once more picking out the things that still meant something to her. When the car stopped Amy looked out the window. The car had parked itself to the Tavern. 

  No there has to be something wrong Amy had no intention of turning herself into an emotional drinker. She turned the key on the subaru trying to get the suberu to go to Tyler’s house. The car lurched forward and then stalled. 

  “Come on,” Amy wailed. Of course the expensive car that Tyler convinced her to buy was stalling a few weeks after she bought it. Amy looked around the car. In the middle of all her stress packing she seemed to misplace her cellphone. Amy opened her side door and walked out of the car. Walking into the Tavern she noticed that Kyle was working. He greeted her with a smile. 

  “Hey Amy, the girl with the sweet car. Can I get you something?’ 

  “Actually my car broke down and I need a phone to call Tyler.” Amy tried hard to smother a smile. 

  “I could take a look for you, it is mostly computers so I don’t know much but I could see what I could do.” Kyle stated. He handed a drink to a fellow waiter and walked with Amy out to her car popping the hood. A solid metal box with flashing lights appeared under the hood. 

  “I don’t really understand this, but I something that resembles a battery, I can try to jump it,” Kyle offered. He got inside his 2020 Hyundai and parked alongside her. 

  “Can I have your keys? I just want to see if I could turn the wheels a little bit so that I could get the cable connection.” Amy nodded in agreement. Right as Kyle grabbed the keys her Subaru came to life.  Surprised Amy almost fell backwards. 

  “Well it looks like you don’t need my help from here on out.” 

  “Thanks for all your help.” Amy said getting back into her car. 

  “Hey for what it’s worth, I saw what was in your back seat. If I were you I would just dump all of his stuff right here. I mean the way that he treated you it was a mess. It’s the least that he deserves.” Kyle said. 

  “Thanks for the advice,” Amy said as she got into her car and her car drove away to hopefully what would be Talyer’s house. She watched Kyle smile at her as she left the parking lot. After that all Amy could think about was Kyle and his smile. She decided to take Kyle’s advice and dumped Tyler’s stuff in his front yard, and then went home. 

  The next day Amy found herself wanting to see Kyle again, her car drove itself to the front of Beachland Tavern. Amy walked in hoping to see Kyle tending bar, but he was not behind the counter nor was he anywhere else in the tavern. Amy walked up to the young woman behind the counter, and asked, “Excuse me, do you know if Kyle is working today?” “Sorry,” she said, “Kyle usually only works in the evening. But I don’t think that he is scheduled until tomorrow evening.”  Disappointed, Amy thanked the barmaid. She ordered a turkey club, and while eating her lunch decided that she would use the rest of her afternoon to run some errands.

  Amy got into her car and expected the Subaru to bring her to Target, where she needed to buy some items. However, the car ended up taking her away from the city and out into the countryside. “What is going on with this car?” Amy said out loud to herself.  The self-driving technology came with a feature that it would automatically take the fastest estimated route to the final destination, thereby circumventing any accidents or delays.  It’s probably avoiding all that construction that is always going on, she thought. She decided to let the car do the driving and doodled on her phone until it got to the shopping center.

  Ten minutes passed. Then twenty. And the car continued driving further and further from civilization. Ok, something must be wrong with the car’s technology Amy thought. It must be taking me to the store in another state. I knew something was up when it did not work yesterday. She tries to shift the car into manual override so she can drive back to the city. She pushes down on the knob to switch override but it is jammed. “Arggg!” she cries out in frustration. She pulls out her cell phone but she has no bars. Today is not my day, she thinks. 

  The car pulls off the windy country road and on to an even windier and narrower dirt road. “OK, something is definitely wrong!” she says out loud. The car continues down the dirt road, astutely avoiding the numerous obstacles in the way. Amy checks her phone; still no bars. 

  The car reaches the end of the dirt road, and Amy can see that just after the dirt road ends there is a magnificent vista and, presumably, a significant drop off. “The car is going to go over the cliff!” Amy exclaims. Just as she is about to open the drivers side door and roll out onto the ground to safety the car comes to a stop. Amy sees that there is another vehicle parked near the overlook and a man is sitting on the hood.  I hope that this guy is not a murderer, Amy thinks. However, Amy then notices that the man sitting on the hood is Kyle from the tavern. Amy almost passes out from the relief. 

  Once her car is parked, Amy gets out and runs toward Kyle. She notices that Kyle has a concerned look on his face, but once he recognizes her the look turns to relief. Even though she just met him last night, Amy hugs Kyle  “Oh my God, I’m so relieved it is you! I had no idea what my car was doing!” 

  “Me neither,” Kyle proclaims. “After taking a look at your car last night, the car guy in me was intrigued by this new technology. I just had to try it for myself. I called my friend and asked him if I could try out his self-driving car, and that I was interested in buying one for myself. I figured I’d let the car decide where to go, but it just took off, out of the city and into the country, and down this road. It pulled up to this overlook, and then a couple of minutes later your car showed up.”

  “Weird,” Amy says. “Although, to be honest, I had initially gone to the Tavern to see if you were working this afternoon. When I learned that you were off today, I went to my car and told myself that I would run errands today. Although, in my mind I was thinking about you.”

  “I think the same is true for me, too,” Kyle says. “I was thinking about you all this morning. If I’m being honest, I’ve been thinking about you since you walked into the Tavern last night.”

  “Well then I guess the fancy new technology in these things is better than we thought,” Amy says.

  “I guess so,” says Kyle. He looks like he wants to say something, but keeps twirling with his keys.

  “Hey,” says Amy, “how this is a very beautiful view, but would you like to see if there is a place to eat around here? All this adventure has left me famished.”

  “That sounds great!” says Kyle. “Know of any good places out here?”

  Amy looks at him and says, “Let's see where the cars take us!”

The end.