welcometoloving

[welcometoloving]

Welcome to Loving: Chapter 2

Shane sat atop a white picket fence running down a dirt path towards a two story, dull light blue house overlooking the beach. He had chosen a spot where the paint was not peeling, and the points of the pickets had dulled, yet they still dug into the seat of his pants; he took no notice, however, his full attention directed to the wind through his hair and the island just off the coast. Though it was fully daylight, it still gave him an eerie feeling; he could see why the devil supposedly made it’s home there. He was interrupted from his thoughts, though, by the sight of three other teens heading towards him down the path.

“Hey Shane, where've you been?”, called out the one in front. The two behind him laughed.

“Just sitting here”, he called back. “What do you need?”

“We’ve been looking for you. We’re gonna go check out that hill in the woods!”. He pointed his thumb in the direction of the trees. Shane paused.

“I thought we were doing that Tuesday?”

“Well there’s been another sighting. Plus, there’s a full moon tonight. It’s prime hunting time!”

“I thought the moon had no effect on ghosts”, Shane inquired.

“Well, it can’t hurt,” replied the boy behind the one in front. “Besides, Tuesday’s gonna rain, and who wants to go ghost-hunting in the rain?” Shane thought for a moment.

“Alright, fair point”, he acknowledged. He jumped off the fence and turned towards the house further along the path. The wind changed direction, blowing in from the lake, and carrying upon it a peculiar smell of fish, incredibly faint, yet recognizable nonetheless. Shane wrinkled his nose, before the wind changed it’s direction again, and the scent disappitated. He looked back towards his friends.

“Well come one, let’s get our gear ready!”

*   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *

Up in a small room on the second floor of the light blue house by the lake, the four teens sat and sorted their gear. Flashlights, trail mix, rain ponchos, granola bars, pocket knives; all went into the backpacks. Shane held up a black rectangular device, with a screen, buttons, and a radio speaker. He addressed the girl to his right.

“Hey Seher, what is this?” he asked. Seher glanced over.

“Oh, that’s a spirit box. It runs through radio channels. People say ghosts can say things using it.”

“BS”, interrupted the boy across from Shane. “Like a ghost would talk through radio stations!”

“Shut up, Jack”, said Shane’s brother, Anas. “As if a ghost would talk to you.” He paused, thinking for a moment, before continuing. “Actually, Jack may have a point; imagine being able to catch a radio station out here!”

“Why haven’t we used it before?”, Shane followed up.

“I ordered it a month or two ago,” responded Seher. “Took a while to get here. Delivery trucks don’t really come to tiny, isolated towns”

“Fair”, Shane responded. His brother chimed in.

“Hmm, small isolated town, off the map, unknown. Great place for a haunting, or a disappearance!”

“Heck”, added Jack, “It’s a miracle this town hasn’t vanished already!”

“Oh, it’s no coincidence,”, said Shane and Anas’s mother, coming up the stairs. “But never mind that; when are you four going to head out?”

“Oh, we were just on our way”, replied Anas. He and the others placed their cameras around their necks, picked up their loaded backpacks, and filed out the bedroom door. They jumped down the stairs, and exited the house into the waning light of the late afternoon.

*   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *

As darkness settled across the treetops, four figures entered a narrow, winding path through the woods. Further and further they travelled as the light slowly waned, bouncing between trunks and rocks, sneaking up on each other through the shadows, and occasionally turning their heads to appreciate the small amounts of starlight that showed through the bough’s silhouettes.

“BOO!”, yelled Jack, jumping out from behind a particularly thick trunk. There was a scream, and in response a startled jump from Seher up front. Shane turned, facing Jack and deadpanned,

“I heard you coming from a mile away, easy.”

“I didn’t”, wheezed a very scared Anas. “What the actual frick?”

“Seems like we found our first ghost for tonight”, said Seher. Jack turned inquisitive towards her.

“Who?”, he asked?

“You”, replied Seher, “If you don’t stop fooling around!” Jack turned to Shane and said in a low voice,

“I think I’m being threatened”.

“I dunno, maybe you should check again”, said Shane. Jack gave a wicked grin, before turning back to the other two, who had gotten a bit ahead.

“Well, couldn’t hurt to make sure”, he said, before hastening to catch up with Seher and Anas. They continued on for another half hour, before coming to a clearing in the woods, centered around a rocky hill. Boulders littered the far side, but the near was clear and grassy. The moon shone brightly above the clearing, full and luminous. It was complemented by the hundreds of visible stars, which, contrary to the warm night, made the four teens shiver. The air stood still, and gave the whole area a silence that was eerie to behold. Jack, Anas, and Shane looked towards Seher, who, taking the cue, stepped fully into the clearing. Head forward, she issued instructions to the other three.

“We’ll climb the hill on this side, it’s a lot easier. Then we can set up the cameras on the top towards the forest. Jack, can you make a salt circle for us to retreat to if things get sticky?” Jack pulled out a half-empty container of salt.

“Sure,” he responded. “Where do you want it?”

“Oh, at the very top should do,” said Seher. “We can also set up the cameras inside it too so that nothing can mess with them”.

“Random squirrel in the trees, ready to ruin our plan to catch video evidence of ghosts”, laughed Anas. He turned to the trees, both middle fingers brandished high. “Screw you, squirrels”. Shane laughed and gave Anas a soft punch to the shoulder.

“Let’s not provoke the most dangerous creatures on Earth”.

“Ghosts?”, Seher asked.

“Squirrels”, Jack confirmed. “Those little bastards will get us all one day.”

“Crazy people”, Sana breathed, exasperated. “We’re hunting ghosts, not rodents”.

“Hey!”, protested Anas. “Us rodents are a noble race, perfectly worth hunting… oh wait oh no”.

“Well, if you insist”, said Jack, hoisting the camera stand he was holding like a gun. Anas backed away.

“Woah man, hold up,” he began, before Seher interrupted them.

“Okay you two, it’s time to stop fooling around and get ready. Jack, did you finish the protective circle?”

“Yeah, and the cameras will just take a few minutes”. Jack and Shane got to work on the cameras, while Seher and Mark pulled out other equipment. Eventually, they had both finished their jobs, and they settled into a sitting circle on the far side of the hill, next to the rocks. Seher laid the spirit box in the middle, and switched it on. The device emitted a loud stream of static, before developing a more recognizable, steady pattern of discordant sound and vague, disjointed syllables. Seher addressed the box.

“Is there anyone here with us? If so, please say something”. The box continued on it’s pattern of channels, with no discernable alteration. Seher tried again.

“If there is anyone here with us, please communicate using the box”. The wind picked up, blowing eerily through the trees. The air grew chilly, but they couldn’t tell if it was the wind or something else. The noise made by the box began to distort, as if trying to from a meaningful word. Finally, something seemed to come through, though just barely recognizable.

“Leave”, said the distorted voice. The four teens looked at each other with worried yet curious eyes.

“I’m sorry, could you repeat that?”, said Seher. Again, the box began to form syllables, before forming another word, more clear this time.

“Go”, it said. Shane looked up.

“Did it just say go?”, he asked.

“I think so”, replied Jack. “But go where? Go away? Does it want us to leave?” The box’s emissions became violent. Out came a third word, clear as day, cutting through the air and through their minds.

“RUN”. Now they were afraid. Shane, Jack and Seher all looked at each other, then back at the spirit box. Anas spoke.

“Guys?”. They ignored him, and he started again. “Guy’s we need to leave”. The other three looked at him, then followed his gaze off into the forest, past the rocks. Lurking between the tree trunks, barely visible, was the shadow of something that looked like a man, but was thin, emaciated, and unnaturally tall, with long, spindly limbs. They froze in shock for a moment, before coming to their wits.

“Quick! Behind the circle!”, whispered Seher. Instantly, they scrambled to the salt line, careful not to disturb it. Once inside, they all stood, huddled together, and faced the figure in the trees. Jack, in front, raised his camera, and a small clicking noise came from it. Delicately, the shadow stepped forward, blending into the shadows, a hazy silhouette against the shadows of the trees. It continued forward, slowly, tentatively, it’s long legs bending and straightening in a way that made the teens sicken. Finally, it reached the edge of the shadows, and, after pausing for a moment, moved forward into the moon-lit clearing, parts of it’s form now horrifyingly clear.

That was too much for Anas. He opened his mouth and tried to scream, but no sound came out. Whipping around, he bolted towards the path back through the woods. Hesitating for a second, the others followed him as the thing moved slowly closer and closer to the hill.

The flight that ensued was panicked and clumsy. Each blundered their own path through the dark woods, vaguely along the trail, but none had time to mind the branches that scratched at their arms and faces, or the leaves that filled their open mouths and got caught in their hair. Occasionally, one of them would glance around, to make sure the others were with them, and, satisfied by the sounds of the other three crashing through the trees, would turn their full attention back to their frenzied escape. Eventually, they found themselves free of the woods and, in the full light of the moon and the stars, they analyzed the shadows of the trees. Backing slowly away they eventually determined that the shade was no longer in pursuit, and they were in fact safe. Convinced of their safety, they still hastily made their way back to the house, and collapsed on the porch.

“WHAT the HECK was that?!”, shouted Anas. They all looked at each other.

“I… I think we found ourselves a ghost!”, said Seher, astonished.

“I can’t believe it!”, exclaimed Jack.

“I know, right”, said Shane.

“No. I actually cannot believe it,” Jack clarified. “Ghosts don’t exist. There’s gotta be some other explanation. Like maybe a bigfoot-like creature, or a trickster of some sort.”

“We literally saw a walking shadow”, said Anas. “Explain that”.

“You know what?”, said Jack. “I will. You hear me?!”, he yelled, pointing to the trees off in the distance, past the road and field. “I’m gonna find out your secrets!”. The other three laughed.

“Sure you will,” said Seher.

“Mark my words”, replied Jack. “Soon, the forest will learn to fear the name of Jack Fyons!”

“Can’t wait to see the newspaper articles”, said Anas. “Local boy destroyed by own hubris, not a single person who knows any Greek mythology surprised.”

“You’ll see”, assured Jack. “You’ll all see. And what’s better, you’re gonna help me.”

“Uggh”, groaned Anas.

“Oh no”, uttered Seher.

“...this is where the fun begins”, said Shane, laughing.

[welcometoloving]

Welcome to Loving: Chapter 1

Welcome to Loving, M

The billboard greeted them as they drove down the forested road towards the little town nestled deep in the Michigan woods. It depicted a beachside scene, with shining sun and cool blue water, and something dark painted just off the coast. Robert couldn’t help but notice the stark contrast between the sign and their current scenery; looking around, the woods were opaque and dark, with shadows that played on the mind (and it did not help that most of the trees were coniferous, with great brushes of needles blocking the view); Lake Michigan, though apparent on the GPS, was nowhere to be seen, most likely obscured by the trees. Moving his eyes from wood, he turned, and with his free hand, shook his wife awake.

“We’re almost there, dear”. She slowly turned, stretched a bit, and looked at him with drowsy eyes.

“Couldn’t give me five more minutes?”, she asked, jokingly.

“We’re here.”

“I don’t see the town”. In response, Robert scanned the trees, searching for a glimpse of a building or another road.

“Yeah, that’s weird… we passed the welcome sign a minute or so ago.”

“Huh… well, wake me up again when we’re actually there”. She turned around, and started to nestle back into her sleeping position. Robert turned his eyes back to the road, and wondered how long it’d be until he actually saw the town; small towns can be like that, they put their signs at their borders and you have to delve further to find the actual buildings. He was interrupted from his musings when he saw his wife's head perk up, and she suddenly became alert.

“Is something wrong?”. She hesitated for a moment before answering, not taking her eyes off the forest.

“No, I just… I thought I saw something. Moving between the trees over there”, she pointed to a dense group of tall trees, with small gaps between the trunks that gave just enough room to peer into the forest beyond. Robert thought for a second before responding.

“What did it look like?”

“I dunno, kinda like a man, but, not… like, thinner, and darkish. It was probably just the shadow of some tree branch.” Robert noticed that her alarm was waning, and decided to lighten the mood a bit.

“Sure you didn’t see a sasquatch?”, he teased.

“Sasquatch is big and hairy, I saw something thin–weren’t you listening?”, she returned the jest.

“Fine; a wendigo then.”

“Ooh! Maybe it was Slenderman!” She broke down laughing.

“Good idea. Should we go try to find it? Catch it on camera?” he nudged her and giggled to himself. She pushed away his elbow, laughing.

“No, I’m good. I just had a nightmare, I’m not ready to be scared while awake.”

“I thought you wanted to go back to sleep?”, he inquired.

“Yeah, well I’m still sleepy”. Robert waited a moment, before switching to a gentler tone and readdressing her.

“Are you ok?”. Now it was she who took a moment to respond.

“Yes… I don’t remember most of it anymore. There was just, I dunno, a lot of shadows. I can’t even remember what was casting them, or what they looked like. Just that they were there.”

“Well, if you have another one, tell me.”

“Sure, next time I’ll let you know,” she assured him. With that, she settled back into her chair and Robert refocused on the road. Suddenly, a jolt went through the car, and a loud, high-pitched noise came from behind the tires, like a squeal or screech. Robert cursed, and slamming the brakes, he stopped the car and hastily unbuckled. Mary, startled, stared confusedly at him as he opened the door and stepped outside.

“What happened?”, she asked. Robert’s response came from somewhere behind the car.

“I don’t know; maybe we popped a tire”. He moved to check the wheels, moving from one to another and methodically inspecting each. They all seemed unharmed, although the back left tire had some sort of dark liquid of an indiscernible color on it. Concluding his investigation, he turned back to his wife.

“Well, none of the tires are out. Maybe we ran over something”. Noticing her open the car door, he insisted “Mary, you don’t have to get out, I’ll check the road”.

“I could’ve sworn I heard a scream,” she replied. “If we hit someone it’d be better to have two people to help”. Robert’s heart started to quicken. Had they actually run over someone? What if they did? Was it a local? He wasn’t familiar with local law, what was the penalty? Who was even walking on this road, in the middle of nowhere?

“It wasn’t too far back, should only take a few minutes to check”, he remarked. Apprehensively walking up the road, they began to search the road. Eventually, Mary called him over to one side of the road. “I think I found something”. She was standing over a mess of black feathers that appeared to be the remains of a crow, but much larger.

“Think it’s a raven?”, Robert asked.

“No, they don’t live around here. Rather large for a crow though”, Mary remarked. “Wonder how it got that big”. Robert stared at the dead thing in slight disbelief.

“Well I guess that explains the bump, but what about the noise. That sure didn’t sound like any crow I’ve heard.”

“I thought it was a scream”, replied Mary. “Could’ve sworn it sounded like a person”.

“Well, we’d best get on the road. No use worrying over a dead crow”. Robert turned and walked back to the car, his wife close behind. Reaching it, he gave the back left tire a quizzical look, and said to Mary,

“That’s funny; the stuff on the tire’s disappeared. Wonder what happened to it.”

“What stuff on the tire?”, came Mary’s response.

“There was some dark, thick stuff on the tire. I would’ve thought it was blood, it but it was more of, I dunno, a greenish-purple. I can’t really describe the color, but it wasn’t red”.

“Maybe we’re both imagining things now”, Mary said, before opening the car door and returning to the front right seat.

“Yeah, maybe…”. Robert opened his door, and was just getting in when he thought he saw something out of the corner of his eye, deep in the trees; the dark, shadowy figure of a man-like thing standing and watching. He whirled to face it directly, but when he did, there was nothing. Shrugging, he dropped down into his seat.

“What happened,” his wife asked as he reached for his keys.

“I think I saw your slenderman,” he joked, before turning the keys in the ignition and continuing along the narrow, twisting road.

  *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *  

After another five minutes of driving, they began to see small cabins among the trees, their bleak, lifeless faces peering through the dense forest. Little dirt paths, barely wide enough to drive a small car down, dotted the roadside. These, upon closer inspection, generally led to the residences, but several seemed to disappear into the darkness of the trees, and others simply dead-ended a few hundred feet in. By now, the sun had passed it’s zenith and was beginning it’s slow descent towards the horizon.

Finally, the trees came to an abrupt end, revealing a small town. It had one main street, lined by a few two-story buildings–a few shops, two or three restaurants, and a small bank/office building. A few dilapidated bed-and-breakfasts stood there too, though they looked as if they hadn’t had guests in years. A gas station and convenience store lay on a small secondary road leading away from the town. The few lanes which branched off of the main led to several houses, quite small, but still larger than those along the road leading to Loving. On the left, following the direction of the main street, a beach could be glimpsed, and beyond it the blue of Lake Michigan. There was a dock too, with a few small vessels tied to it; they looked mostly like a combination of pleasure craft and fishing boat.

Turning the wheel, Robert brought the car onto the road running through town, and made his way to the only building in town that wasn’t tourist-oriented. Pulling into the single open parking space (which wasn’t saying much, as there were only two), he turned to Mary, who looked nervous.

“Ready?”, he asked.

“Yeah,” she said. “I’m just… it’s a bit much.”

“You seemed fine on the car ride”, he responded.

“Well we weren’t here yet. It’s so… run down. You know? Like, it’s so isolated out here. So solitary”, she mused.

“I thought you wanted solitude?”.

“I did. I’m just a bit nervous. It’s a whole new life, right. Away from all the, you know, unpleasantry.” She looked back down the way they had driven.

“Well we’re here now”. He paused. “Do you want to come inside with me?”

“No, I think I’ll stay in the car”, she said. Her tone changed, becoming more teasing. “Who knows what unscrupulous sorts of people live up here, far from the reaches of the law and the state?”

“Okay, I’ll leave you to defend the car”, he returned, opening the door and exiting into the warm air. Straightening his collar, he turned and walked to the door, almost tripping on the broken sidewalk. The door opened at the slightest touch, creaking with a noise that disturbed Robert in a way he couldn’t quite place. He took a deep breath, and stepped into the building.

The first thing he noticed was the heat. The building was stiflingly hot, despite all the windows being open and several mechanical fans blowing at different corners of the room. A few sad, droopy plants lay scattered around in dirty white pots. Filing cabinets full of papers leaned haphazardly upon each other and the walls. A few tables and chairs sat scattered across the room, with brochures strewn about them. Looking deeper into the building, Robert could see a rotund, balding man in a messy suit sitting` behind a counter with fudged glass. He looked up as Robert approached.

“So you’re the guy buying the house?”, he asked. Robert thought for a moment before responding.

“Yeah, how’d you know?”. The man chuckled to himself for a few seconds before answering.

“Not many people come to Loving, much less choose to live here. Whenever someone does, it’s a big occurrence.” A houseplant in the corner seemed to dip it’s leaves further, as if to sadly agree. It’s leaves were browning on the edges, and it was an unhealthy shade of green, as if it hadn’t been watered in a while.

“Oh, I’m sure you have people come up for the beaches this time of year”, Robert responded. “I mean, it’s tourist season”. The man chuckled again.

“Seems you haven’t seen the town very well. Sure, we have a few places to eat and shop, heck, even to sleep. But no one comes here. They all head for the bigger tourist traps like St Joseph and Traverse City. Anyways…”, he began opening drawers, shuffling papers around, searching for something. When he found it, he made a pleased face, and slid a set of keys across the counter.

“These are your house keys. Your house is a little ways along the road gas station-side. There’s a dirt off-shoot with a little red mailbox. Can’t miss it.” Robert grabbed the keys, turning to leave.

“One more thing,” added the man. “Folks around here don’t particularly like outsiders. You won’t be one for long, I’m sure, but just letting you know. Oh, and I highly suggest The Fishhouse, it’s a restaurant down the road a bit, big fish statue on the roof.”

“Thanks!” Robert said as he exited the building. The air outside hit him like a cool blast, even though there was only a slight breeze. It was a relief to leave the stuffy building, and see healthy plants again. He strolled over to his car, twirling the keys on his finger. Settling back into the driver’s seat, he addressed his wife.

“Well, I’ve got the keys. The man inside said that the house should be pretty easy to find; it’s over that way,”, he said, pointing towards the gas station. “It has a red mailbox. Think you could help me keep an eye out for it?”

“Sure”, she replied. Her tone became more worried as she continued. “It’s so strange; I haven’t seen a single other person while we were here. Not even a light on. I wonder where they are.”

“Yeah, that’s strange,” Robert said. “The guy inside said it was a major occurrence when anybody know came to town. You’d think they’d be lining up to catch a glimpse of us”

“Apparently not,” said Mary. “Well, I suppose we should head on our way.”

“I suppose so”, replied Robert. He backed into the road, turned the car, and headed off in the direction of the house.

*   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *

The man in the office building was wrong. The house was very easy to miss; Robert would have, had his wife not pointed it out right as he drove past it. Swearing, he swerved into the dirt road, narrowly avoiding clipping a tree in the process.The road, or really driveway, was short enough that it easily connected the house to the street, but long enough as to almost completely hide the view behind several layers of dense foliage and trees. The house itself was small, one story and an attic, and old. The absence of light in the windows left it with a ghostly, lonely air. Around it lay a neglected garden, overflowing with weeds and covered in stones. Off in the woods behind the house, they could see a small tool shed and wood pile. Mary evaluated the property, hands on her hips.

“I can work with this”, she concluded.

“Is it not the ideal dream home you were looking forward to?”, teased Robert.

“Well, everything needs a bit of work. But I can make it perfect.” She nudged him. “We can make it perfect”. With that, he gave her a kiss, before turning back to the car.

“I guess we probably should start unpacking then”, he said.

“Oh, that can wait until tomorrow”, responded Mary. “It’s getting late.” She was right; the sun was beginning to settle down to the treeline, and the late afternoon light was fading. Mosquitos were beginning to come out too, and they had to slap a few away from their exposed skin.

“Okay, let’s just bring in the essentials,” Robert said, They spent the next few minutes carrying in all the sensitive and particularly expensive items from their car. As they finished up, Mary went inside the house, with Robert close behind. However, as he was about to step through the doorway, he thought he saw a dark, thin shadow lurking in the trees. He turned to face it, but there was nothing there.

“Are you coming, honey?”, called Mary from inside the house.

“Yeah, just give me a sec”, Robert said, stepping into the house as he tried to shake the nagging feeling that they were being watched. As he closed the door, the leaves where he’d thought he’d seen the shadow rustled, and woodland creatures scattered as something tall and dark moved off through the trees.