Tales of the Dark - 1. Chapter 1

“You know you’re not even supposed to be up here.” Danny whispered, “You know how your dad gets when we start going through your family’s old stuff.”

“Don’t worry” Eric said, “we’re not gonna mess anything up. He’ll never find out.” He made his way through a maze of dusty, old boxes in the dark and musty attic. Eric loved to go up to this place, this treasury of strange antiquity, although his father always chastised him for “ruining priceless family history.” In the light of his flashlight the years of dust swirled and danced in the air almost as if they had come alive. The attic was spacious and littered with things forgotten. An old armchair and what looked like a large mirror were covered in a bed sheet along with the remains of a desk and a dirty, worn-looking piano. Boxes were everywhere in tall stacks, some of them arranged neatly while others looking as if they had been tossed aside, left to rot in the place where no one ever went. In the middle of the attic some boxes had been pooled together in a disorganized heap. Here the sizes and shapes varied wildly which attested to the great mélange of things contained within. His grandfather had been a bit of an eccentric collector and so these were filled with exotic wares and outlandish knick-knacks. A voodoo doll, an African mask, Eric had once even found a beautifully carved ivory tusk. On his latest expedition however he had discovered something he couldn’t wait to show his friend, something that he hoped might bring them even closer together.

Eric had known Danny since they were small children and as teens they had grown to be nearly inseparable. The two of them had both discovered a lover for the horror genre long ago and it had become one of their favorite pastimes to watch scary movies together. Eric knew though that even if Danny loved the stuff as much as he did, Danny had always been a bit of a pansy. During the scary parts he jumped, whimpered, and hid his head behind his fingers or Eric’s shoulder. A couple times he had even grabbed Eric’s hand. Eric smiled to himself thinking about it. For the past four years or so he had found himself another love besides horror.

As Eric rummaged through an old, grubby box. Finally he found what he was looking for and pulled out a large, dank book, dusting it off a bit before plopping down with his back against the box and the tome in his lap.

“Tales of the Dark” Eric read as he shown their only flashlight down upon his prize, “I think my grandpa wrote it, or maybe he found it.” He flipped it open. The words were old but legible. “I thought we might like to read it instead of watching a horror movie like we always do.”

“Yeah, sure” Danny replied and Eric felt him plop down by his side and with his head resting lightly on his shoulder, trying to get a better look. Eric’s heartbeat began to race and he could feel a slight blush warming his cheeks. Thank goodness they were in the dark.

“Are you gonna start?” Danny whispered.

“O-oh yeah” Eric fumbled and silently cursed himself for being so easily distracted. He cleared his throat and began reading the first story in a hushed and grave tone.

The Spider Hole

Kenta could hear the rushing of the water before they had even made it to the clearing. The continuous crashing nearly drowned out the excited chatter of the rest of the group as they pressed on through the forest in a buzz. There were only five of them, college friends on a summer trip to Japan. Kenta’s family owned a small cottage here in the mountains from their lives before they first moved to America and so it had seemed like the perfect resort to spend the summer relaxing in the pristine countryside. That, however, was before someone decided that they wanted to have a swim in the local waterfall. Though it was only a short distance from the house down a clear pathway and said to be relatively clean, Kenta could not help but feel an overwhelming sense of unease.

“Hey, Kenta, how much further?” said Gabe, his arm draped over his current girlfriend, Kate. In the dark of the night they almost looked like a single three-legged mutant stumbling about. Kate, never known to be one for enlightening conversation, merely giggled and swayed. Needless to say a few of them had been drinking that night.

“Yeah, Ken, you sure you know where you’re going?” Taylor said, slowing down to walk next to him. Kate had invited her sister Taylor to come along so she wouldn’t be the only girl, and instantly Kenta had a new crush. She was so much prettier than her sister, smarter, and more down-to-earth. Kenta for a moment forgot his worries and smiled. If he was one to blush he was sure that he’d be glowing bright red by now.

“It-it’s just a bit further.” He stammered and silently berated himself for stuttering. An amazing girl just happened to be showing even the tiniest amount of interest and he was acting like a dork. Taylor just smiled back.

Brad who was walking ahead of them lifted his beer bottle and shook it. “All I know is, I should’ve brought more beer.” With that he casually tossed the empty bottle to the side.

“Hey, can you not?” Kenta said frowning at his friend’s callous littering of this almost mystical woods.

“Brad, you jerk, have some respect.” Taylor joined in.

Brad stooped down and pick up his trash “Alright, alright, sorry.”

“Taylor, chill. Don’t be such a tight-wad.” Kate snapped at her sister.

Kenta felt Taylor glare back and they all continued on their way. After a moment Taylor turned to him. “So, Kenta, what do you know about this place?” she asked.

“Well,” he said, “all I know is that as a kid we were told never to go into the forest or play by the waterfall. It’s said some evil creature lives in it and we’d get pulled into the water and eaten if we ever went there.”

“Do you believe in the stories?” she asked with a worried look.

“Well, no, I guess not.” He replied, “It’s just a boogeyman sort of thing. Something the adults tell their children to scare them from wandering into the forest and getting lost.”

Kenta forced a small laugh that seemed to ease Taylor’s concern a bit, but deep down he wasn’t so sure. He knew it was probably just a story but still, he couldn’t shake the foreboding feeling welling up in the pit of his stomach.

“Hey guys, we’re here! Come look at this!” Brad’s voice called out from the front and everyone jogged to where he was standing. Behind a wall of trees and shrubbery there was a large, beautiful grassy clearing that formed almost a perfect semi-circle. In the middle sat the waterfall, a coursing river rapid attached to the surrounding mountainside that cascaded into a shimmering pool of water. Everything seemed so clean. In the bright moonlight every surface had a soft glow to it and the waters themselves sparkled and gleamed. The rushing of the falls and the fresh, misty spray was invigorating and intoxicating.

“Alright! Yeah!” Brad and Gabe ran like a couple of excited five year olds to the edge of the pool, pushing and shoving each other like children. Kate giggled and ran after them while Taylor and Kenta merely stood at the clearing’s edge, taking in all the splendor.

“It’s beautiful.” Taylor whispered. Kenta looked over at her and the moonlight hitting her eyes made them shine like the most beautiful of jewels.

“Yeah” he said, “just beautiful.”

For a moment they locked eyes and time came to a standstill. The roaring of the waters, the chattering of their company, the wind against the forest trees, all of it faded away and they were lost in each other’s’ gaze.

“Hey, Kenta!” Gabe called out, breaking the two from their trance, “We’re going swimming. Come join us!”

Gabe started to undress amidst a Kate squealing with delight. Brad was already shirtless and began heading around the edge of the pool to the rocky cliff.

“Hey, bro, I’m gonna climb up and jump off!” Brad said and leapt up onto the rock face.

“Woo! You go, bro!” Gabe called out. Kenta and Taylor looked at each other with concern and began walking towards them.

“Hey, Brad” she yelled, “Maybe you shouldn’t do that.”

“It’s kinda dangerous, man.” Kenta said.

Brad, who was already half way up the two story waterfall, called back, “I’ll be fine. No worries, bruh.”

Suddenly from the top of the falls an extra wave of water burst forth and spewed down the falls. Roaring and spitting, it rushed down the cliff like a tidal wave, beating down upon the hapless young man like a wall of hammers.

“Brad!” everyone cried out all at once. Amazingly he stayed, clinging onto the rock for dear life, trying to recover from the sudden onslaught.

“What the hell was that?” He coughed and sputtered.

Then Kenta heard another gurgling and looking at the top of the falls he could see the waters churning madly in a tempest. He didn’t even have time to shout out before another torrent of water blasted down the side of the cliff, this time bigger and faster than the last. To everyone’s horror they heard Brad’s gurgled scream as he was washed off the rocks and plunged downward, hitting the edge of the pool hard.

Everybody was running and screaming. Gabe reached the limp body of his friend lying face-down, bottom-half submerged in the water. Quickly he grabbed Brad’s arms and began trying to heave him out, yelling his name out all the while. Gabe pulled Brad onto the shore and flipped him over, the boy was unconscious, and Gabe began trying desperately to get a response. Kate stooped over the two, crying with worry as Taylor and Kenta stood a few steps away, Taylor clutching his arm tightly.

Fleetingly, out of the corner of Kenta’s eye he thought he caught a splash of the waters near them. A sinking feeling plunged into his stomach as he noticed Brad’s feet were still submerged in the pool.

“Get him out of the water.” Kenta said gravely.

“What?” Gabe asked confused.

There was another small splash and Brad’s eyes fluttered open.

“All the way! Get him all the way out of the water now!” Kenta screamed.

“Dude.” Brad said softly and smiled up at Gabe.

Gabe never had time to answer. Brad never had time to scream. His body shot into the water like a bullet as if something had pulled him in by his feet with unimaginable speed. Gabe stood on the edge of the pool and called Brad’s name but there was no more movement, no thrashing, no sign of life in the cold, dark waters. Amidst the cries of the other three Gabe dove into the pool.

“No, Gabe, get out of there!” is all Kenta could keep yelling, but to no avail.

For almost a minute Gabe swam and splashed around desperately searching for his friend with a mad, frantic look in his eyes. All the others could do was hold their breath and watch. He then turned to the three on the bank.

“Where is he? Do you see him? Where is he?” Kenta could see the utter fear in Gabe’s eyes.

“No, I don’t-” Another ominous feeling slammed Kenta in the stomach. “Gabe, get out of there!” He started screaming.

“Kenta, what’s wrong? What’s going on?” Taylor pleaded, tears beginning to well up in her eyes.

“The water isn’t safe! You have to get out of there!” Kenta screamed.

Gabe only met Kenta with a bewildered look then in a flash he disappeared. Kate let out a piercing scream and began pacing the bank, looking desperately into the now calm waters of the pool, crying Gabe’s name.

Kenta could only stare blankly. Two of them, the strongest swimmers of the group, where gone, just like that. The waters had taken them.

“Kenta!” Taylor’s voice snapped him out of his shock. She was crying and having grasped his shoulders, was shaking him back into reality. “Kenta we need to go get help!”

“Oh my God, Gabe! Help! He’s here!” Kate’s shrieks made the two turn around and they saw a lone figure near the edge of the pool with Kate shifting spastically on the shore. Kenta look closely and saw that it was his friend, but something was off. Gabe was submerged up to his chest with one arm reaching out at Kate, only he didn’t seem worried at all. He was merely reaching out as if to say, “Come join me.”

“No, Kate, wait!” Kenta began hurrying towards the girl.

“Gabe, baby, I almost got you!” Kate was on all fours reaching out from the shore as Gabe drifted closer, inches away. That’s when Kenta saw it. Gabe’s eyes were dim and locked in a blank stare. His jaw was slack and his head slightly ajar. Something was wrong.

“Kate, no!” Kenta lunged forward and grabbed the girl, attempting to pull her back. It wanted her too. It wanted all of them.

“What are you doing?” Kate cried “Get off!”

With a shove she pushed Kenta away and leaped forward, grabbing Gabe’s outstretched hand. Only he didn’t grab hers back. Kate tried to yank hard but Gabe didn’t budge and neither did her hand.

“Wha-what? Gabe?” Kate’s voice was shrill and filled with fear and confusion. Then Gabe’s head lolled to one side, his mouth hanging agape, and his eyes dead. Fear spread across Kate’s face and as she began to desperately pull her hand back, she found that she couldn’t. It was stuck firm.

“Kate? Kate!” Taylor began to cry out as her sister’s attempts became more and more frantic. Kenta leaped forth and tried to pull her arm but her hand was held fast to Gabe’s lifeless wrist as if it had been glued there. Kate began to scream and pull back in a mad fever, desperate to get away. With a heave, Kenta pulled and laboriously Kate’s hand began to peel off. To everyone’s horror, Kate’s fingers lifted to expose a mass of thin, barely visible threads attaching her to Gabe, keeping her attached as if sewn into her very flesh. Kenta heaved once more with all of his strength and the two sat back onto the grassy bank, the threads long and taunt. Kate was now pale with fear and only whispered “Get it off me. Get it off me.” over and over again.

Kenta quickly rummaged through his pocket and pulled out a small folding knife. He raised the blade, about to cut through the threads when there was a splash and both girls screamed once more. A thin hand, pale, and slimy burst out of the water and grabbed the threads connecting Kate to Gabe. Before Kenta could bring the knife to the threads the hand pulled with unnatural strength and Kate flew screaming and slamming into Gabe’s lifeless body a split second before they all disappeared under the murky depths with a splash.

Both Taylor and Kenta stared wide-eyed at the deceivingly still waters of the pool. The boy’s heart beat madly in his head as his mind raced back to the old stories warning of this very place. The stories were true. There was something in these waters.

There was a gurgling at the pool’s edge.

“Kenta. Kenta, come on!” Taylor began grabbing at him and started to pull him away from the shore. Kenta sat transfixed with fear as the waters began to part. Out of the depths a figure began to rise, slim with long, entangled hair, all covered in a thin coat of slime. Skinny, unnaturally long arms hung loosely at the sides and suddenly the creature looked up. Blazing red eyes pierced deep into Kenta’s with unholy malice.

“Kenta, come on!” cried Taylor and she yanked him to his feet. The two turned and sprinted towards the surrounding forest while behind them they heard a deafening, ungodly shriek.

The trees and flora rushed passed in a blur as the two sprinted in a mad dash to escape the creature of the falls. Suddenly Kenta tripped over a tree root and tumbled to the ground in an exhausted heap. Taylor quickly came to his side, she too was breathing hard.

“Kenta!” she huffed between gasps of breath, “Are you alright?”

He nodded, sitting on the ground trying to catch his breath. Taylor kneeled by his side.

“Kenta” he could hear the fear still in her voice, “What was that thing? Where are we? I don’t-I don’t know where we are.”

He looked around to find that she was right. In their mad dash they had forsaken the pathway and were in unfamiliar grounds. They were lost in a rather vast forest with no one who would come looking for them. At least for now they were away from the waterfall and whatever that thing was.

“Kenta, they’re all gone. Kate, Gabe, Brad. Oh God, they’re all dead! Kenta, I’m so scared!” Taylor said and broke down into tears. They hugged and he could feel her entire body trembling badly. For a few moments he closed his eyes and let them both take comfort in their embrace. When he opened them he noticed something strange on Taylor’s foot. Quickly he smacked what looked like a large insect off of her.

“What? What was that?” Taylor jumped in surprise. Together they watched a big, ugly crawler skitter off into the bushes and Taylor shivered.

“Ugh! Now bugs? What else?” she said dejectedly. They held one another and stared reassuringly into each other’s eyes. They were both in tears, battered, broken, and loved one’s dead, but at least now they had each other. Lost or not, they’d make it out somehow.

There was a yank, a scream, and together they barreled backwards through the forest with Taylor being pulled by her ankle by some unseen force. She was shrieking in fear, holding onto Kenta’s shirt in a death grip. Trees and flora rushed past in a blur as they were dragged over the forest floor with immense speed, barreling through the undergrowth. Kenta could only yell and stare helplessly at Taylor’s freighted face, streaming with tears, until suddenly his shirt ripped off of him and she was sped away into the darkness. He heard her screams trail off into the distance, then a dead silence. Kenta got up and sprinted after her, he knew where she was being taken and in his heart he pleaded with God, not her too. In moments he burst into the clearing.

There, near the edge of the pool, was a lone figure illuminated by the moonlight with its back to him. As Kenta slowly approached he saw that it was a woman, thin and delicate, half submerged near the water’s edge. She was apparently naked, combing her long, satin hair with her fingers as she softly hummed a beautiful, soothing tune to herself. When Kenta finally reached the shore the woman turned her head to look. In the glow of the moonlight her eyes shone bright like starlight, and her skin looked as soft as an infants. Gazing upon her face, he was amazed by her splendor. The light seemed to catch her gentle, delicate features just in the right way and no painting or sculpture could ever have done her justice. She was beauty unmatched.

Gracefully she turned to him and reached out her hand. “Come to me.”

With her full body’s grandeur revealed to him, his heart raced. He reached out and touched her hand, though something inside of him remembered tragedy and he quickly drew back. There were no threads there, only a hand that felt as soft as cream and so he reached out again and took it. Stepping into the water, they embraced. She smelled of sweet cherry blossoms, and her touch was warm and comforting. Softly she began humming, easing all of his fears and his tension away until he soon forgot everything that had ever happened. All that mattered now was that they were together, there in the pristine pool of this hallowed waterfall, and nothing would ever keep them apart.

Kenta was transfixed, so completely engrossed in the radiant beauty of the woman that he failed to see the long, spindly legs begin to rise out of the water. He failed to notice the fine threads weave themselves around him. He failed to feel them both sliding slowly deeper into the depths.

“Stay with me.”

Kenta was lost, his eyes glossed over with oblivious reverie. He could not see her skin, once smooth and warm, turned slimy and pale, her eyes began to glow bright like hot coals, and her mouth split in half into two twisted, hideous fangs.

“Stay with me forever.”