This tale was originally published a few years back as a Horrorwalker Travel Guide horror tale!
And it is an apt little story of horror and woe to start your Halloween night!
There are monsters out there in the darkness and the light!
Here are some words to help prepare your for your first experience when you meet some...
Dark Creatures!
RLJ
DARK CREATURES
(Fairfax, Virginia)
-1-
To whomever concerned, this note, written on this hotel’s courtesy note pad, is a recounting of the last few days of my life holed-up in this room. My name is Magus Lance Jones, and if you are reading this blood stained note of mine, well… I just might be dead, eaten or worse... and you might be seconds away from suffering the same fate as me. And if that is so, well I offer my sincerest apology because I have no control of what you might be experiencing.
May the God you serve have mercy on your soul, and mine, because this situation is terrible. And just to let you know, by now I have lost whatever faith in God that I might have had,
Anyway, here is my tale of horror and... more horror!
-2-
The basketball game was another blowout loss for the Washington, Wizards... Washington, D.C.'s often times beleaguered NBA franchise. I drove up here to the D.C. area from Richmond because I won two tickets on a radio trivia contest six months ago to see the Wizards play the Lakers. I’ve never seen the Lakers play a game and I looked at this as a chance to do something that might be a once in a lifetime experience for me.
Bobby, my best bud, bought the second ticket from me for fifty bucks because his wife is a huge Lakers fan, too. I would have given the ticket to him for free, but he wanted to give me something, so fifty bucks seemed right.
“Magnus,“ he told me with a huge smile on his face as I handed over the ticket. “You’ve just given me ten years of equity with my wife to make up for the birthday incident last year. What you just did for me will give me something to give to her that I could have never thought of on my own. We both know she gives to me what I do not deserve. Thanks, brother...“
We hugged it out, again!
I know exactly what he meant by that statement because we both know damn well that, from the first time April showed interest in him -- this six foot one inch tall blond haired, blue eyed beauty picture of feminine perfection, who by the way was an excellent big time college volleyball athlete at VCU throughout her four years of her college days -- she was a mile above our normal league with women.
Actually, none of our clique of six guys, including Bobby, could really believe her true intent right up until the actual moment he put the ring on her finger after the final pronouncement of “You are now man and wife.” The fact that nearly every man who sees her has to try to talk to her filled him with insecurity... at first. But, as we all got to know her and her family, it became obvious that she is a one man woman with traditional family values... despite the way she looks. And because she WANTED to make Bobby happy... so then were we happy for her.
As they drove away from the church, on their way to Miami for their honeymoon, it all became too real. And Bobby even called me the next day from his honeymoon to ask me if I could still believe his fantastic luck. I told him again, for the fiftieth time, treat her right without arguing because God has decided to bless you with a goddess who loves only you. 'And hey, man… don’t call me again from your honeymoon. If she catches you calling me she’s going to probably get on my case later on and I don’t need your tall wife looking down on my bald dome asking me why I can’t let her have you alone for a week. At least, that’s what I imagine she would think. Get back to her and I’ll see you next Sunday when I pick you up from the airport. Bye.'
And I know my best friend of 22 years… he realizes his good fortune. And, so, there was never any doubt that I needed to give him that other ticket to present to his new wife as a clout building gift.
-3-
We drove up here on the early Saturday morning in separate automobiles because they were going straight back home after the game. We arrived at my hotel room in Fairfax, had a hell of a good time hanging out for a few hours and eventually drove over to DC to watch the game. Despite the Wizard's loss... we still had a great time and parted ways soon after the game was over.
The weather was suppose to turn very bad a few hours after the game ended. The storm was blowing in from the Northeast... and that should give them plenty of time to drive the two hours back down south to Richmond.
Me, I’m still a single dude, and so I took off a week of vacation from my bookstore business and allowed Patricia to manage the store on her own for a week without my presence. She’s always wanted this experience, and I know she can handle Jeff and Mario without any issues… so I gave them all a step-up in responsibility.
That new large shipment of vintage books from the English castle estate sale in Leeds, England that I had attended three months ago, consisting of the huge collection of ancient books on mysticism, religion, and dragon fiction had just arrived hours before I left, and this was a perfect project for them to research, catalog and price. They would be very busy with that project.
And so, bringing my thoughts back to the now, I waved goodbye to my friends and then returned to my hotel room.
-4-
It is now three hours later and I am still very impressed by my room... and I knew at the time that I was going to have a good week here. I had already mapped out a whole bunch of activities that would take me to Wednesday. After that, I would go back home and chill for the rest of the week.
I took a long hot shower under the powerful jets of the hotel water pressure. And it was great. And as soon as I stepped out of the bathroom, into the bedroom, I hear the first thunder boom in the distance. I looked outside the huge window and marveled at the lightening strikes coming from the North.
And then… the actual storm came!
And then… came the horror drama!
-5-
The thunderstorm raging outside my bedroom window suddenly appeared like a vicious predator springing out of a dark cave. It was obvious that this nature assault was what we consider an electrical storm because of the crazy light show dancing shadows from the trees out side my windows, reflecting off my hotel bedroom walls. It all sounded like, and looked like, two angry armies battling it out with cannons and laser guns. Loud, window vibrating thunder made me cringe. And the lightening flashes made me close my eyes all the tighter as this was extremely stressful stuff. I have always hated thunderstorms. This storm reinforced my hatred of this weather gone rogue. And the anger and the forces dragged into my personal world by the storm changed the reality paradigm of my life!
So, there I am… I’m lying there in my bed, covers pulled over my head, cringing with the tension of what was happening outside the building. The large rain drops were pelting my window like tiny pebbles tossed by millions of pranking kids. I swore repeatedly to god that he didn’t need to make the weather this aggressive. I got the point, I’m a little worm to you and this weather is pounding my little body back into the ground.
Without any warning, the double door window suddenly swung open inward and slammed against the inside walls with a loud crash. The slammed window frames sounded like every crashing bit of the violent outside came crashing into the room. I don’t know how the two window sections did not splatter into pieces. I jumped up out of the bed, braved the wind and rain drops forcing itself into the gale and secured the bent and now leaking window. I ran to the bathroom to towel off the cold water covering my front side of my body, stripped off my drenched underclothing and exchanged them with dry ones, skipped back to the bed and slid under the sheets and comforter to try to shimmy my body back into the warm safe spot I had recently occupied. Just as I got comfortable… I heard the things in the dark corners of my room move!
-6-
Five days of shear horror have passed! And, I have finally decided to use this pen and paper to tell this horror tale!
-7-
My eyes are now closed and I can hear the dark creatures.
My eyes are now open and I can see the dark creatures.
I sniff the air in the room and I can smell the dark creatures.
If I dared to risk losing one of my body parts...
I could reach out my hands and touch the dark creatures.
Over there is the dark thing that now resides in the darkened closet.
Over there is the dark thing that now hides under the kitchen sink.
Over there is the dark thing that now stands ominously in the shadowy corner by the front door.
And finally, splayed out there by the front door...
There lies the days old eviscerated bloody bodies of the maid and the security officer.
When she came banging on the door, I screamed at her, "I realize I've been in this room two days past my check-out date!" I screamed at her, "Go away! Don't open that goddamn door!" I screamed at her, "I can't be responsible for your safety if you come in here!" I cried and moaned and screamed as I watched two innocent people ripped apart by the dark creature by the door!
It is now obvious that at least one of these dark creatures is fully capable of unprovoked murder. Why I am allowed to remain alive is a complete mystery to me. These creatures sit in growling silence in their dark corners and stare at me. Why am I the victim of this unbelievable affront to reality and sanity?
This far corner of the bed has been my perch for days! I can’t call my friends because my pants with my cell phone in the pocket is over there by the creature that murdered the people. The room telephone is disconnected, too.
I have only eaten six small bags of peanuts, five candy bars, eight sodas and tap water. The dark creatures allow me movement around the bed and into the windowless bathroom, but growl at me if I approach the front door. I'm frightened...not only for me... but for what the short future holds for this hotel.
The dark creatures haven’t actually eaten the dead bodies by the door. All three of them have examined the bodies, running their claws over the remains, but not showing any desire to consume them. My lord, what do these things actually eat? And what will they do if they actually are waiting until they are actually hungry? Are they allowing me to live as a captive live food source.
These thoughts have made me very afraid for my life.
-8-
I now have only a couple of candy bars left to eat. I do have an unlimited supply of water from the bathroom faucet, but food is soon going to be a major issue for me. I am now looking into the glowing fire red eyes of these dark creatures as I sit here in my spot steeped in fear because I can’t grab any semblance of good sleep in the night time blackness as these creatures are occupying the space around me.
Funny thing, though... something truly crazy just hit me. The bodies haven't begun to decompose. The blood still looks fresh and the flesh is still raw, red and fresh.
Holy shit! Are these creatures keeping the flesh fresh to be our eventual food source? Do they expect me to eat that...?
-9-
There is a little morning sun now illuminating my room, shining in from the rising clear autumn 7:12 AM sunrise. I obviously dozed off to sleep this morning around 4:30 from the lack of sleep... or, did I faint from the realization I came to.
The dark creatures are still crouched in their spots and they are still staring at me... and... oh fuck... it sounds like the entire Fairfax County police force just appeared at the front door and is now banging on the door, demanding for me to open it.
I can only close my eyes, pull my covers up over my head and scream inside my mind in horror at the unworldly savagery that is about to unfold!
Horrorwalker, where are you at this moment in time to explain this demon shit to me!
MLJ
