Post by Chris Hedges on May 5, 2012 10:34:27 GMT -6
This is a story which is both published in the anthology 31 DAYS OF HALLOWEEN and in an issue of the Film4 FrightFest e-Magazine. I am posting this just because I want to share and I would love feedback. I would love to extend this into a longer novella so the feedback would help me choose if I should or not. I hope you enjoy it.
As she waved goodbye to her parents and closed the front door Nancy Blake sighed with relief. She had waiting three whole months for Halloween to come around so she could have some time alone and now it she had the whole weekend to get the of booze flowing, some gory films in the DVD player and her girls over to celebrate the weekend in blood soaked style. Nancy loved Halloween, her Dad had brought her up on Hammer horror films ever since see was ten years old. Her parents always spent the Halloween weekend at her Dad’s brother’s for a huge Halloween party but this year Nancy just wanted a quiet night with her friends. But that was tomorrow night; tonight was her night to relax.
Nancy trudged into the kitchen. She grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge, along with the other half of a sandwich she had left at lunch. Ham and pickle. She looked at the sandwich lovingly and took a massive bite. “mmm tasty” she said to herself as she headed through the hallway and into the living room. She slumped herself down on the sofa and grabbed the remote. In the corner of the room her dog Charlie looked up at her, his eyes still full of slumber. He laid back down his tail wagging. Nancy picked up the remote from the arm of the sofa and turn on the television.
She flicked through the channels. She flicked past Eastenders and the tripe they were showing on BBC Three. Another show with drunken teenagers throwing their guts up in the streets of a clubbing hotspot. As she continued to skip through the many pointless Freeview channels she finally stopped on the BBC news. She lay down on the sofa dramatically and looked over at Charlie.
“I’m so bloody bored Charlie” she complained. Charlie got up and plodded over to her licking her hand which was dangling over the arm of the sofa. The news finished talking about the war in Libya and went to the local news Look East. A middle aged woman appeared on the screen.
“Good evening and welcome to Look East. There have been reports of a murderer on the loose in Colchester tonight. Over the past 2 weeks the bodies of three young girls have been found brutally murdered in their homes. Police ask that anyone taking their children trick or treating tonight should....”
Nancy sat up and quickly turned the channel over to a far less depressing E4, where Friends was being shown again for the five hundredth time. She stroked Charlie’s head and drifted into sleep.
The sound of a car door slamming shut made Nancy wake up with a start. E4 had now moved on from Friends and was now playing the horror film 28 Days Later. Charlie bolted up and ran into the kitchen. Nancy sat up. It must be trick or treaters TP-ing the neighbour’s car again. Charlie was whimpering in the hallway. She got up and headed into the kitchen. She walked through the hall, bent down and cuddled the scared dog. “Oh Charlie you big silly, there is nothing in there”. Nancy walked into the kitchen and turned on the light. Outside the rain had started to fall and a wind was picking up.
“See you silly thing” she said as she walked over to the sink. She grabbed a glass and filled it with water. That was when she noticed the door was ajar. “See that was what you heard Charlie”. Nancy locked the door and bolted it at the top and the bottom. She made her way around the house checking every window and door. The news had got under her skin a little. The thought of a killer on the loose made her goosepimply. She made her way upstairs and checked the upper floor windows and headed to her bedroom. Charlie ran under the bed, his usual place, and laid down. Nancy took off her clothes and walked over to the closet. She was about to open the wardrobe door when a loud bang form outside made Charlie start whimpering again. Nancy tutted and walked over to the window. The wind had blown a recycling bin over. She watched as it got stuck under the wheels of a car parked outside the neighbour’s house.
“Oh Charlie don’t be such a whimp”.
Dumping her clothes on the floor, she went to the wardrobe and took out an old t-shirt and shorts. She got changed and got into bed. She put her hand outside the covers and let her hand dangle at the side of the bed. Charlie started licking her hand. She drifted off into sleep.
At 2am Nancy woke up. The house was dark but at least the wind and rain had died down. She could hear a dripping sound. “argh fucking piping” she complained as she got out of bed and into the bathroom. She checked the taps were off and headed back to bed. She put her hand at the side of the bed again. She felt the wetness of Charlie’s tongue against her hand again and closed her eyes. Still the dripping continued.
DRIP. DRIP.DRIP
This time the dripping sounded closer, like the water was hitting wood. She looked up towards to roof. “Ah for god sake the roof can’t be leaking” she complained out loud. She got out of bed and walked out onto the landing. The dripping continued, but it seemed like it coming from behind her. She headed back into the bedroom, stopped still and listened. The noise was coming from the wardrobe. Cautiously she walked towards it, her hand clammy, sweat formed on the forehead. She opened the door and screamed. In the wardrobe, hanging from a length of garden hosepipe was Charlie, his face had been sliced off and his chest had been cut open. The dog’s guts had dropped on to the floor of the wardrobe. Nancy covered her mouth and started to back out of the room. She turned on the bedroom light and screamed as she saw the writing in blood above her bed.
HUMANS CAN LICK TOO
From under the bed crawled a middle aged man, dripping wet from the evening’s rain, a knife in his hand. He wore an old sandy coloured army camouflage uniform covered in a mixture of Fresh and dried blood. On his face the man was wearing the freshly flayed face of Charlie as a mask. The man’s breathing was heavy as he got to his feet. The man’s breathing was like the breathing of a dog. Nancy bolted for the bathroom. The dog masked man was close behind her; his sicken chuckle echoed through the silent hallway. Nancy rushed into the bathroom and slammed the door shut just as the dog masked man slammed his knife into it. She locked the bathroom door and back slowly up against the wall. The dog masked man fell onto all fours and started scrapping at the door with his nails dirty nails, before slamming his whole body against it. The man howled as he continued to attack the door. Nancy screamed with every attempt he tried. Amongst the confusion Nancy could hear another dripping sound coming from behind the shower curtain. Slowly she got to her feet and reached carefully for the shower curtain. She pulled them open and screamed. Hanging from the shower curtain rail were Nancy’s parents.
The door burst open. The dog faced man howled. Nancy screamed.
The Licked Hand
By Mark Goddard
By Mark Goddard
As she waved goodbye to her parents and closed the front door Nancy Blake sighed with relief. She had waiting three whole months for Halloween to come around so she could have some time alone and now it she had the whole weekend to get the of booze flowing, some gory films in the DVD player and her girls over to celebrate the weekend in blood soaked style. Nancy loved Halloween, her Dad had brought her up on Hammer horror films ever since see was ten years old. Her parents always spent the Halloween weekend at her Dad’s brother’s for a huge Halloween party but this year Nancy just wanted a quiet night with her friends. But that was tomorrow night; tonight was her night to relax.
Nancy trudged into the kitchen. She grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge, along with the other half of a sandwich she had left at lunch. Ham and pickle. She looked at the sandwich lovingly and took a massive bite. “mmm tasty” she said to herself as she headed through the hallway and into the living room. She slumped herself down on the sofa and grabbed the remote. In the corner of the room her dog Charlie looked up at her, his eyes still full of slumber. He laid back down his tail wagging. Nancy picked up the remote from the arm of the sofa and turn on the television.
She flicked through the channels. She flicked past Eastenders and the tripe they were showing on BBC Three. Another show with drunken teenagers throwing their guts up in the streets of a clubbing hotspot. As she continued to skip through the many pointless Freeview channels she finally stopped on the BBC news. She lay down on the sofa dramatically and looked over at Charlie.
“I’m so bloody bored Charlie” she complained. Charlie got up and plodded over to her licking her hand which was dangling over the arm of the sofa. The news finished talking about the war in Libya and went to the local news Look East. A middle aged woman appeared on the screen.
“Good evening and welcome to Look East. There have been reports of a murderer on the loose in Colchester tonight. Over the past 2 weeks the bodies of three young girls have been found brutally murdered in their homes. Police ask that anyone taking their children trick or treating tonight should....”
Nancy sat up and quickly turned the channel over to a far less depressing E4, where Friends was being shown again for the five hundredth time. She stroked Charlie’s head and drifted into sleep.
The sound of a car door slamming shut made Nancy wake up with a start. E4 had now moved on from Friends and was now playing the horror film 28 Days Later. Charlie bolted up and ran into the kitchen. Nancy sat up. It must be trick or treaters TP-ing the neighbour’s car again. Charlie was whimpering in the hallway. She got up and headed into the kitchen. She walked through the hall, bent down and cuddled the scared dog. “Oh Charlie you big silly, there is nothing in there”. Nancy walked into the kitchen and turned on the light. Outside the rain had started to fall and a wind was picking up.
“See you silly thing” she said as she walked over to the sink. She grabbed a glass and filled it with water. That was when she noticed the door was ajar. “See that was what you heard Charlie”. Nancy locked the door and bolted it at the top and the bottom. She made her way around the house checking every window and door. The news had got under her skin a little. The thought of a killer on the loose made her goosepimply. She made her way upstairs and checked the upper floor windows and headed to her bedroom. Charlie ran under the bed, his usual place, and laid down. Nancy took off her clothes and walked over to the closet. She was about to open the wardrobe door when a loud bang form outside made Charlie start whimpering again. Nancy tutted and walked over to the window. The wind had blown a recycling bin over. She watched as it got stuck under the wheels of a car parked outside the neighbour’s house.
“Oh Charlie don’t be such a whimp”.
Dumping her clothes on the floor, she went to the wardrobe and took out an old t-shirt and shorts. She got changed and got into bed. She put her hand outside the covers and let her hand dangle at the side of the bed. Charlie started licking her hand. She drifted off into sleep.
At 2am Nancy woke up. The house was dark but at least the wind and rain had died down. She could hear a dripping sound. “argh fucking piping” she complained as she got out of bed and into the bathroom. She checked the taps were off and headed back to bed. She put her hand at the side of the bed again. She felt the wetness of Charlie’s tongue against her hand again and closed her eyes. Still the dripping continued.
DRIP. DRIP.DRIP
This time the dripping sounded closer, like the water was hitting wood. She looked up towards to roof. “Ah for god sake the roof can’t be leaking” she complained out loud. She got out of bed and walked out onto the landing. The dripping continued, but it seemed like it coming from behind her. She headed back into the bedroom, stopped still and listened. The noise was coming from the wardrobe. Cautiously she walked towards it, her hand clammy, sweat formed on the forehead. She opened the door and screamed. In the wardrobe, hanging from a length of garden hosepipe was Charlie, his face had been sliced off and his chest had been cut open. The dog’s guts had dropped on to the floor of the wardrobe. Nancy covered her mouth and started to back out of the room. She turned on the bedroom light and screamed as she saw the writing in blood above her bed.
HUMANS CAN LICK TOO
From under the bed crawled a middle aged man, dripping wet from the evening’s rain, a knife in his hand. He wore an old sandy coloured army camouflage uniform covered in a mixture of Fresh and dried blood. On his face the man was wearing the freshly flayed face of Charlie as a mask. The man’s breathing was heavy as he got to his feet. The man’s breathing was like the breathing of a dog. Nancy bolted for the bathroom. The dog masked man was close behind her; his sicken chuckle echoed through the silent hallway. Nancy rushed into the bathroom and slammed the door shut just as the dog masked man slammed his knife into it. She locked the bathroom door and back slowly up against the wall. The dog masked man fell onto all fours and started scrapping at the door with his nails dirty nails, before slamming his whole body against it. The man howled as he continued to attack the door. Nancy screamed with every attempt he tried. Amongst the confusion Nancy could hear another dripping sound coming from behind the shower curtain. Slowly she got to her feet and reached carefully for the shower curtain. She pulled them open and screamed. Hanging from the shower curtain rail were Nancy’s parents.
The door burst open. The dog faced man howled. Nancy screamed.