Inume Elric
Grim Reaper
Ever wonder what what might be hiding in the darkness, what lies beyond the shadow in the corner? Ever wish to vanish into said shadow? Be careful what you wish for as you just might get it!
In a sleepy town near the ocean where the trees turn the most beautiful colors or red, orange and yellow as the seasons change from summer to autumn. No more than two thousand live in this old town. Buildings all are of relics of the past with the newest ones being the ones of the modern era. A town where everyone knows everyone. Children walk to and from school, houses are not locked up at night. Crime is so low that the lone sheriff need not carry a gun. It does not seem like a place that would hold a dark secret......or did it?
Children riding bikes and speaking of what to be on Halloween rode past as Skyler as he walked down the sidewalk just past the sweets shop. He had just gotten down delivering a meal to his grandmother who had taken ill. The young man was of 21 and just returned from community collage and now helped his parents in their shop. They ran an antique shop and his job was to keep things dusted or to pick up larger objects to bring back to the store. The young man quite liked being around the older things, things from the past. Often he wondered about their past and the stories they might tell. And on this day, after delivering a meal to his grandmother, was to pick up one of these larger pieces for the shop.
"Hey Mike, I need some help getting a....well I have no idea what it is but I'll buy the beer." The man spoke with a grin as he held his cell phone to his ear. Hearing the response he wanted the man smiled then ended the call and walked quickly down the sidewalk heading for home.
Home was an old brownstone house that was quite old but had a look of welcoming and warmth. Several maple and elm trees dotted around the old home and the smell of crisp autumn leaves filled the air. Colors of orange and red colored the ground as leaves covered the ground like a blanket. They crunched under the feet of Skyler as he walked to his 1957 Chevy pickup truck cherry red. Getting in he started the truck up and pulled out of the driveway and turned to the left as he made his way down the street to his friend's home, Mike. Mike was an old friend known from childhood. There were a few others in their small group but they were all working their own jobs. Mike stayed at home and helped his mother around the house, after losing his father three years ago he was now the man of the house and took care of things. He did the yard work and the repairs to their home and cut the wood for their fireplace. The man also did odd jobs for extra money, like helping Skylar's family picking up deliveries. As the truck pulled into the driveway the man came out and smiled at his friend. Mike was quite tall with messy light brown hair and brown eyes, skin tanned from working outside during the summer and also well built.
"Hey man! Glad you called I was getting bored!" Mike said with a smile as he got into the truck and shut the door then buckled up.
"Oh yeah? Ran out of things to do so soon? Well glad I can put you and your guns to good use." Skyler chuckled as he drove along. Skyler was of average height with short blond hair and green eyes, baby faced many called him. Black square rimmed glasses sat on his nose, ones he gently pushed up as he drove along.
"So where are we going?" Mike asked as he sat back in the seat.
"Ah....." Skyler bit his lip. "Grove Manner."
The smile faded from Mike's face. "Y you're shittin me!"
Skyler shook his head. "Crazy I know. I didn't even think anyone lived there let alone wanted to donate items to our shop! They even said we could keep the money.....strange right?"
Mike nodded then rubbed his scruffy chin, it was clear he needed to shave as he had a five o clock shadow.
Grove Manner was once the home of the founder of their small sleepy town. No one had lived in it for more then fifty long years and a place many thought was haunted. The house was huge and old looking and said to be the oldest one in the town. There were several other buildings around it, storage sheds that once housed various things. The house sat at the end of a long driveway and looked like most would think a haunted house would look like. How so many stories would start out describing just such a house. And it was up to this house did the red truck pull up and go around the circle driveway and to the small path to one of these many sheds. Turning off the truck the two got out and looked about the property and up at the old house.
"Feels colder up here." Mike spoke as he rubbed his arms and pulled his light jacket closed more.
"Well it is up on a hill, but yeah I feel you there!" Skyler said with a smile then opened the tailgate before pointing at a large building that was grey with double doors. Walking over he took his cell out and read the message from his father. "It is a large trunk that has leather straps, dark in color with gold accents." He spoke then opened the doors. Once the doors were opened there was a sound and the two men froze. Swallowing hard Skyler slowly took a step inside as he glanced over to his friend. There was another sound, like scuffling. The man pushed up his glasses as he took a few more steps. A hissing sounded right next to him making the man jump in fear.
"W what was that!?" Skyler squeaked out as he looked at Mike. Mike shook his head with a scared look on his face. Skyler took another step when suddenly there was a screeching sound and something darted past. Both men screamed out as Skyler fell to the floor.
After a few seconds Mike helped Skyler to stand then they both made their way outside to watch as a raccoon darted off for the safety of the trees. Both men looked at one another then burst out laughing. Shaking their heads they went back inside and saw what the raccoon was protecting, her young. The two men grabbed the trunk and tried hard not to disturb the babies as much as possible. The trunk was quite heavy and had an old lock keeping it sealed tight.
"What is in this thing?" Mike asked as he closed the tailgate.
"Don't know but I will find out later on tonight. Gotta clean this thing first." Skyler said with a smile. He couldn't wait to get started.
Of course word spread like wild fire of how the two young men were sent to pick up something from the old house on the hill. And of course Skyler's friends all wanted to come and see the old trunk! Sam, Dave and Shelly arrived at Skyler's house along with Mike. Skyler lived in what was called the mother in law house, a small house next to the main house. He rather liked it as his younger brother and sister could be quite the pains in the neck.
"What! A cute little coon got you scared!" Sam laughed as she then took a sip of her wine cooler.
"Hey it was this big!" Mike cried out as he held up his hands to show how large the raccoon was. The others chuckled while Skyler worked on cleaning the large trunk. Slowly the gold accents started to shine once more. Though the lock had given the man some trouble, thus the reason for Dave. Dave worked as a locksmith and loved old locks like these and he was promised the lock as payment for getting it open. The sound of metal breaking was soon followed by a curse.
"Damn! That is the third tool I broke! I never have this much trouble!" Dave scratched his buzzed head and sighed.
"Man just give up and let's just drink!" Shelly said with a sigh as she tossed her phone onto the couch. "I mean it's been a long time since we all got to hang out like this." The others agreed and decided to give up on the trunk, for now.
A movie played while the friends chatted and drank, not really paying attention to the movie. Suddenly a wind blew and the door flew open, making the others jump. Chuckling Skyler stood up and went over to the backdoor and shut it.
"Looks like a storm is blowing in. You all are free to crash here till it blows over." He said with a smile then started to make his way back to the living room when the power suddenly went out. "Don't worry, the genny will start up soon." Skyler smiled but as the minutes ticked away, no generator powered on. Frowning Skyler grabbed his cell and made his way to the basement to check on the generator while his friends kept chatting away. The wind outside blew hard as it shook the windows.
"Wait! Quiet!" Sam spoke. "Did you hear that?"
The others paused and listened.
Nothing.
They kept listening. Suddenly there was a sound. A light knock. Another knock followed by a tap. The group made their way over to where the sounds were coming from.
Tap tap....knock knock.......BANG!
The bang made the group jump as they watched the trunk move with the force of the bang. The bang that seemed to come from within the trunk! They looked at one another, perhaps they were too drunk and hearing things? But just before that thought could take root.....the sound of metal hitting the floor alerted them. Eyes went back to the trunk and all took note of how the lock was missing. The now opened lock sat on the floor. Dave bent down to pick it up but then cried out in pain and dropped the lock to the floor.
"Hot! The damn thing is hot!" Dave cried out.
Mike shook his head then threw his hands up. "No man! I don't mess with shit like this!" He spoke as he backed up some.
"Oh come on, Mike. Don't be a baby!" Shelly said with a sigh then walked over and went to open the truck. Just as her slender fingers went to grab the latch the lid of the trunk flew open and hit the back of the trunk with a thud. This made the woman jump as she clutched her hand to her chest. All came over and peered into the trunk, one used the flashlight app on their phone to light up the trunk.
"Empty? But the damn thing was heavy as hell!?" Mike cried out as he shook his head.
"It's not empty. You can't see the bottom. Kinda like.....it's deeper than the light can reach." Sam pointed out as she moved her phone around. The others all used their phones to try and light up the trunk but to no avail. Shelly then cried out and jumped, claiming she saw something move.
"I am DONE!" Mike cried out again as he threw his hands up in the air. "I am going to tell Skyler I am going home and-" The man then turned and looked around. "Hey.....where IS Skyler?" The others looked up and around but could not see their friend.
"Maybe still in the basement?" Dave asked. "I'll go check it out." And with that he opened the door to the basement and the dark stairs. Slowly he went down, shining his light about the room as he called out for the missing man. All around the small basement he looked, but Skyler was not there. Going back up the man told the others that their friend was missing.
"What do you mean gone?" Mike cried out. "Did you look everywhere?"
"Yeah I did! It is a small room with a water heater, the genny and some boxes. Or should I look for Sky in a box of Halloween decorations?" Dave asked with a flat look. "And there are no windows so I have no idea where he could be! Don't believe me....go look for yourself, man!"
"Hey! Chill out you two!" Shelly spoke as she stood between the two men who looked like they were about to fight. "Let's just think rationally on this. Where could he have gone? Maybe he came up when we weren't looking? Sam, did you see anything?" Shelly turned to her girlfriend but......she was not there. "Sam!" She cried out and started to look around the house.
The five friends were now just three. One by one they were vanishing. But how and why? Ever more the house grew more and more dark. Grew more and more cold. Dave, Shelly and Mike moved about the house trying to look for their missing friends. When Dave tried to open the door to check outside, the door was ripped from his hand and shut with great force! The man cried out and jumped back. This sparked things even more as the others tried the other door and even the windows, but were met with the same fate. Panic now flooded the three, tensions were high.
"That trunk! Ever since it opened this strange shit has been happening!" Shelly cried out as tears ran down her face.
"Come on now, you can't believe that!" Dave said with a growl. "Ghosts are not real!"
"Then explain this shit, man!" Mike cried out as he waved his hand at the trunk. "Where is Sam and Skyler? Why won't the doors or windows open?"
"The storm, jackass! The pressure from the storm!" Dave retorted. "Stop with this ghost shit. Sam and Sky just must be playing a prank on us is all. Like back in 4th grade." Dave rolled his eyes then turned to speak to Shelly but......she was not there. Turning back to look at Mike the man gasped, Mike was gone.
The darkness creeped in closer and closer. If any had paid any attention they would have then noticed the blackness that was pouring out of the old trunk. Whispers quietly filled the air. Voice that could not be made out. They creeped ever so closer. Creeped in with the Darkness. One by one they had been taken in the Darkness. Just one was left, hand shaking as it held the cell phone. The light from the phone slowly started to grow more and more dim as the seconds ticked by. Hands of ebony then reached out, covered the mouth of the man and pulled him quickly into the Darkness, phone clattering to the floor. Soundless the man was taken. Soundless they all were taken. But....to where?
Morning came with Skyler's parents walking in to the small house, wondering why their son never answered their calls. The house was quiet, not a sound made. Looking about there were no signs that anyone had been there. The bottles of wine coolers and beer.....gone! The cell phone that fell to the floor....gone! Scratching his head Skyler's father walked into the kitchen and saw the old trunk.
"Guess they never could get the lock off this thing. But Sky did a good job cleaning it!" His father smiled. "Looks brand new!" The man then looked towards his wife.....or where she once was. "Margret?" The man called out. The doors slam suddenly as a light knocking comes from the trunk.
In a sleepy town near the ocean where the trees turn the most beautiful colors or red, orange and yellow as the seasons change from summer to autumn. No more than two thousand live in this old town. Buildings all are of relics of the past with the newest ones being the ones of the modern era. A town where everyone knows everyone. Children walk to and from school, houses are not locked up at night. Crime is so low that the lone sheriff need not carry a gun. It does not seem like a place that would hold a dark secret......or did it?
Children riding bikes and speaking of what to be on Halloween rode past as Skyler as he walked down the sidewalk just past the sweets shop. He had just gotten down delivering a meal to his grandmother who had taken ill. The young man was of 21 and just returned from community collage and now helped his parents in their shop. They ran an antique shop and his job was to keep things dusted or to pick up larger objects to bring back to the store. The young man quite liked being around the older things, things from the past. Often he wondered about their past and the stories they might tell. And on this day, after delivering a meal to his grandmother, was to pick up one of these larger pieces for the shop.
"Hey Mike, I need some help getting a....well I have no idea what it is but I'll buy the beer." The man spoke with a grin as he held his cell phone to his ear. Hearing the response he wanted the man smiled then ended the call and walked quickly down the sidewalk heading for home.
Home was an old brownstone house that was quite old but had a look of welcoming and warmth. Several maple and elm trees dotted around the old home and the smell of crisp autumn leaves filled the air. Colors of orange and red colored the ground as leaves covered the ground like a blanket. They crunched under the feet of Skyler as he walked to his 1957 Chevy pickup truck cherry red. Getting in he started the truck up and pulled out of the driveway and turned to the left as he made his way down the street to his friend's home, Mike. Mike was an old friend known from childhood. There were a few others in their small group but they were all working their own jobs. Mike stayed at home and helped his mother around the house, after losing his father three years ago he was now the man of the house and took care of things. He did the yard work and the repairs to their home and cut the wood for their fireplace. The man also did odd jobs for extra money, like helping Skylar's family picking up deliveries. As the truck pulled into the driveway the man came out and smiled at his friend. Mike was quite tall with messy light brown hair and brown eyes, skin tanned from working outside during the summer and also well built.
"Hey man! Glad you called I was getting bored!" Mike said with a smile as he got into the truck and shut the door then buckled up.
"Oh yeah? Ran out of things to do so soon? Well glad I can put you and your guns to good use." Skyler chuckled as he drove along. Skyler was of average height with short blond hair and green eyes, baby faced many called him. Black square rimmed glasses sat on his nose, ones he gently pushed up as he drove along.
"So where are we going?" Mike asked as he sat back in the seat.
"Ah....." Skyler bit his lip. "Grove Manner."
The smile faded from Mike's face. "Y you're shittin me!"
Skyler shook his head. "Crazy I know. I didn't even think anyone lived there let alone wanted to donate items to our shop! They even said we could keep the money.....strange right?"
Mike nodded then rubbed his scruffy chin, it was clear he needed to shave as he had a five o clock shadow.
Grove Manner was once the home of the founder of their small sleepy town. No one had lived in it for more then fifty long years and a place many thought was haunted. The house was huge and old looking and said to be the oldest one in the town. There were several other buildings around it, storage sheds that once housed various things. The house sat at the end of a long driveway and looked like most would think a haunted house would look like. How so many stories would start out describing just such a house. And it was up to this house did the red truck pull up and go around the circle driveway and to the small path to one of these many sheds. Turning off the truck the two got out and looked about the property and up at the old house.
"Feels colder up here." Mike spoke as he rubbed his arms and pulled his light jacket closed more.
"Well it is up on a hill, but yeah I feel you there!" Skyler said with a smile then opened the tailgate before pointing at a large building that was grey with double doors. Walking over he took his cell out and read the message from his father. "It is a large trunk that has leather straps, dark in color with gold accents." He spoke then opened the doors. Once the doors were opened there was a sound and the two men froze. Swallowing hard Skyler slowly took a step inside as he glanced over to his friend. There was another sound, like scuffling. The man pushed up his glasses as he took a few more steps. A hissing sounded right next to him making the man jump in fear.
"W what was that!?" Skyler squeaked out as he looked at Mike. Mike shook his head with a scared look on his face. Skyler took another step when suddenly there was a screeching sound and something darted past. Both men screamed out as Skyler fell to the floor.
After a few seconds Mike helped Skyler to stand then they both made their way outside to watch as a raccoon darted off for the safety of the trees. Both men looked at one another then burst out laughing. Shaking their heads they went back inside and saw what the raccoon was protecting, her young. The two men grabbed the trunk and tried hard not to disturb the babies as much as possible. The trunk was quite heavy and had an old lock keeping it sealed tight.
"What is in this thing?" Mike asked as he closed the tailgate.
"Don't know but I will find out later on tonight. Gotta clean this thing first." Skyler said with a smile. He couldn't wait to get started.
Of course word spread like wild fire of how the two young men were sent to pick up something from the old house on the hill. And of course Skyler's friends all wanted to come and see the old trunk! Sam, Dave and Shelly arrived at Skyler's house along with Mike. Skyler lived in what was called the mother in law house, a small house next to the main house. He rather liked it as his younger brother and sister could be quite the pains in the neck.
"What! A cute little coon got you scared!" Sam laughed as she then took a sip of her wine cooler.
"Hey it was this big!" Mike cried out as he held up his hands to show how large the raccoon was. The others chuckled while Skyler worked on cleaning the large trunk. Slowly the gold accents started to shine once more. Though the lock had given the man some trouble, thus the reason for Dave. Dave worked as a locksmith and loved old locks like these and he was promised the lock as payment for getting it open. The sound of metal breaking was soon followed by a curse.
"Damn! That is the third tool I broke! I never have this much trouble!" Dave scratched his buzzed head and sighed.
"Man just give up and let's just drink!" Shelly said with a sigh as she tossed her phone onto the couch. "I mean it's been a long time since we all got to hang out like this." The others agreed and decided to give up on the trunk, for now.
A movie played while the friends chatted and drank, not really paying attention to the movie. Suddenly a wind blew and the door flew open, making the others jump. Chuckling Skyler stood up and went over to the backdoor and shut it.
"Looks like a storm is blowing in. You all are free to crash here till it blows over." He said with a smile then started to make his way back to the living room when the power suddenly went out. "Don't worry, the genny will start up soon." Skyler smiled but as the minutes ticked away, no generator powered on. Frowning Skyler grabbed his cell and made his way to the basement to check on the generator while his friends kept chatting away. The wind outside blew hard as it shook the windows.
"Wait! Quiet!" Sam spoke. "Did you hear that?"
The others paused and listened.
Nothing.
They kept listening. Suddenly there was a sound. A light knock. Another knock followed by a tap. The group made their way over to where the sounds were coming from.
Tap tap....knock knock.......BANG!
The bang made the group jump as they watched the trunk move with the force of the bang. The bang that seemed to come from within the trunk! They looked at one another, perhaps they were too drunk and hearing things? But just before that thought could take root.....the sound of metal hitting the floor alerted them. Eyes went back to the trunk and all took note of how the lock was missing. The now opened lock sat on the floor. Dave bent down to pick it up but then cried out in pain and dropped the lock to the floor.
"Hot! The damn thing is hot!" Dave cried out.
Mike shook his head then threw his hands up. "No man! I don't mess with shit like this!" He spoke as he backed up some.
"Oh come on, Mike. Don't be a baby!" Shelly said with a sigh then walked over and went to open the truck. Just as her slender fingers went to grab the latch the lid of the trunk flew open and hit the back of the trunk with a thud. This made the woman jump as she clutched her hand to her chest. All came over and peered into the trunk, one used the flashlight app on their phone to light up the trunk.
"Empty? But the damn thing was heavy as hell!?" Mike cried out as he shook his head.
"It's not empty. You can't see the bottom. Kinda like.....it's deeper than the light can reach." Sam pointed out as she moved her phone around. The others all used their phones to try and light up the trunk but to no avail. Shelly then cried out and jumped, claiming she saw something move.
"I am DONE!" Mike cried out again as he threw his hands up in the air. "I am going to tell Skyler I am going home and-" The man then turned and looked around. "Hey.....where IS Skyler?" The others looked up and around but could not see their friend.
"Maybe still in the basement?" Dave asked. "I'll go check it out." And with that he opened the door to the basement and the dark stairs. Slowly he went down, shining his light about the room as he called out for the missing man. All around the small basement he looked, but Skyler was not there. Going back up the man told the others that their friend was missing.
"What do you mean gone?" Mike cried out. "Did you look everywhere?"
"Yeah I did! It is a small room with a water heater, the genny and some boxes. Or should I look for Sky in a box of Halloween decorations?" Dave asked with a flat look. "And there are no windows so I have no idea where he could be! Don't believe me....go look for yourself, man!"
"Hey! Chill out you two!" Shelly spoke as she stood between the two men who looked like they were about to fight. "Let's just think rationally on this. Where could he have gone? Maybe he came up when we weren't looking? Sam, did you see anything?" Shelly turned to her girlfriend but......she was not there. "Sam!" She cried out and started to look around the house.
The five friends were now just three. One by one they were vanishing. But how and why? Ever more the house grew more and more dark. Grew more and more cold. Dave, Shelly and Mike moved about the house trying to look for their missing friends. When Dave tried to open the door to check outside, the door was ripped from his hand and shut with great force! The man cried out and jumped back. This sparked things even more as the others tried the other door and even the windows, but were met with the same fate. Panic now flooded the three, tensions were high.
"That trunk! Ever since it opened this strange shit has been happening!" Shelly cried out as tears ran down her face.
"Come on now, you can't believe that!" Dave said with a growl. "Ghosts are not real!"
"Then explain this shit, man!" Mike cried out as he waved his hand at the trunk. "Where is Sam and Skyler? Why won't the doors or windows open?"
"The storm, jackass! The pressure from the storm!" Dave retorted. "Stop with this ghost shit. Sam and Sky just must be playing a prank on us is all. Like back in 4th grade." Dave rolled his eyes then turned to speak to Shelly but......she was not there. Turning back to look at Mike the man gasped, Mike was gone.
The darkness creeped in closer and closer. If any had paid any attention they would have then noticed the blackness that was pouring out of the old trunk. Whispers quietly filled the air. Voice that could not be made out. They creeped ever so closer. Creeped in with the Darkness. One by one they had been taken in the Darkness. Just one was left, hand shaking as it held the cell phone. The light from the phone slowly started to grow more and more dim as the seconds ticked by. Hands of ebony then reached out, covered the mouth of the man and pulled him quickly into the Darkness, phone clattering to the floor. Soundless the man was taken. Soundless they all were taken. But....to where?
Morning came with Skyler's parents walking in to the small house, wondering why their son never answered their calls. The house was quiet, not a sound made. Looking about there were no signs that anyone had been there. The bottles of wine coolers and beer.....gone! The cell phone that fell to the floor....gone! Scratching his head Skyler's father walked into the kitchen and saw the old trunk.
"Guess they never could get the lock off this thing. But Sky did a good job cleaning it!" His father smiled. "Looks brand new!" The man then looked towards his wife.....or where she once was. "Margret?" The man called out. The doors slam suddenly as a light knocking comes from the trunk.