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stories of the macabre Whatever you choose to believe, be warned. Be weary. But most importantly, be safe…
A little blonde girl was sitting all alone on a park bench. She often came to the park to get away from her parents because they were always yelling and screaming at each other. She was an only child and didn't really have any friends, so when she came to the park, she would bring a sack of birdseed to throw for the birds. In her mind, she pretended they were her friends. It gave her a sense of peace to feed them and pretend she didn't feel alone. It made her happy. One day, an old man on a bicycle rode up to where the little girl was sitting. "Do you mind if I sit here?" he asked. The girl looked up at him and noticed his warm smile. "Go ahead." she replied. The old man set the kickstand on his bike and sat down next to the girl. He was smiling and watching the birds peck at the fallen seeds. "They sure are breathtaking." said the man. "They are." agreed the girl. The old man pointed toward a nearby house with red trim and old-style design. "I live right in that house." The girl looked at it and smiled. The old man continued. "Do you come her often?" "As much as I can. I like feeding the birds." The old man exhaled a ghastly sound and grinned. He rubbed his hands together. He turned his face up to the sky and squinted his eyes. Gray clouds were moving above them as the sunlight in the park began to fade. "It might rain." His shoulders quivered. "The wind's picking up." he turned and looked at the girl. "Do you have a coat?" "No. I'm not cold." The old man chuckled and stood up. He swung his leg back over his bicycle and started to peddle off. The girl realized immediately that she didn't want the man to leave. She wanted him to stay and talk with her. He felt safe. She wanted to feel his warmth and kindness by her side, but... he was a stranger so she didn't dare speak any of this. The old man waved goodbye as he turned to ride away. The girl waved back and kept her eyes on the old man. His bicycle rode steadily down the sidewalk. The wind picked up just before the man reached his house and he almost fell, but then he regained his balance. Suddenly, almost out of nowhere, a bolt of lightning came from the sky and struck the old man's bicycle. The girl stood up, horrified at what she had seen. She ran over to the old man to find him lying facedown on top of his bicycle. Pieces of his coat were on fire. His hands were melted into the handlebars of his bike and there was a dank smell of cooked meat in the air. The young girl didn't know what to do. She looked up at the house then looked back at the old man on the sidewalk. "Help!" she screamed. "Help!" As the girl screamed, she looked around and realized there was nobody else around. The park was unusually quiet and no cars were passing on the nearby busy street. Without a further thought, the girl ran towards the house and up the front steps. She banged on the door and rang the doorbell. Anxiety rose in her stomach when she didn't hear anyone approach from inside. "Hello! Is anybody in there?" she called, but no one answered. The girl looked back at the man lying facedown on top of his charred bicycle. She could hear the small fires on his coat crackle and snap, and that dank smell of flesh was filling her nostrils. She wanted to be away from the image and never see it again. "HELLO!" she screamed as she turned and pounded on the door again. "Hello, please!" To the girl's surprise, the door swung open revealing an empty sitting room. Nobody was inside. "Is anybody there?" No one appeared to be inside of the house. The girl turned one last time to see the old man's body burning on the sidewalk. She looked across the street for a sign of anyone watching. But there was nobody. Images of the old man's smile filled her head. She thought of the way he had asked if he could sit down, the way he said it might rain, the way he got on his bike and peddled away. It seemed like it all happened so long ago. She had to get help! The girl turned back towards the sitting room and took a step forward. She put her hands on the sides of the door opening and looked inside. She quickly scanned the room for a phone. There wasn't one. Straight ahead was a hallway, and at the end of the hallway the girl was certain was the kitchen and in there would most definitely be a phone. The last thought the girl had before entering the house was the old man saying, "They sure are breathtaking."
When the girl entered the living room, the smell of rotting flesh seemed to be stronger. In her mind, the girl perceived the smell to be coming from the old man outside. She wanted away from it. The girl ran as fast as she could down the hallway toward the kitchen where she hoped to find a phone. As she ran, she was too panicked to take notice of the fast squiggly movements on the sidewalls and ceiling. She was in too much of a hurry and too frantic to question the wetness about the air. All she focused on was the phone. The girl ran into the kitchen and saw a puke-green cord hanging against the wall. She reached for it and pulled the receiver off the hook. The dial tone rang in her ear. "911! 911!" Her thoughts screamed. She raised her tiny finger and pressed the three buttons to call for help. All she heard was the dial tone. The buttons made their beeping noise and they pressed in as they should but no connection was made. There was only the tone. As the monotonous groan echoed in the child's ear, she looked around the kitchen. At first, it looked as though the upper wallpaper was changing color before her very eyes, but after watching it sway and move in such a way, the truth unwrapped itself before the young girl's eyes. Bugs. The kitchen walls were covered with insects! For a moment, the girl froze. Instinct told her to run. Panic held her in her place. Horror scratched at the back of her neck as she stood there watching the crawling ceiling. Suddenly, there was a loud 'click.' The operator came on the line and advised her to "please check the number and try your call again." The girl dropped the phone and ran. She ran back down the hall toward the sitting room. The smell of rot was tremendous now and it was all she could do to keep breathing. In her hurry, the girl tripped. There was a slight splash when her body hit the carpet. The girl took a deep breath in and found her lungs filled with fluid. Her eyes were open wide and her arms outstretched in front of her. She quickly gasped and coughed the harsh liquid out of her mouth. It was thick and gooey, too thick to be water. The smell in her nose was now of wet mildew and rot, mixed in with burning flesh. She screamed out loud and lunged forward towards the sitting room. She should have made it there, but she didn't. There was something wrapped tightly around her ankle. It was squeezing and pulling hard, not letting her up. She fought and kicked, screaming the whole while at the top of her lungs. Her foot smashed into the carpet and was tugged further down. She felt something grimy and coarse against her shoes. Fluid was seeping between her toes. Coldness and pain trickled their way up her calf as her body was jerked down into the carpet, inch by inch. Cold, slimy wads raced up the backs of her legs towards her thighs leaving a trail of muck on her skin. The girl struggled and lashed her arms and kicked her legs, screaming for whatever was holding onto her to let her go- NOW! She wanted out! She wanted to escape! Whatever the thing was holding onto her ankle let go. The girl scrambled to her feet, ran through the sitting room and out the open front door. It was raining as she ran down the front steps and the open smell of the outside was most welcome.
As the girl ran out of the house, the rain fell on her face. It was a relieving change from the damp horrors she had just experienced. Down the steps and onto the sidewalk she flew. All she wanted to do was get home. Her concern for the old man was gone. She wished she had never gone to the park that day, never talked to the old man on his bicycle, never gone into that house. She should have stayed home and watched TV. She passed the old man and his bicycle on the sidewalk and didn't bother to look down. She saw the park ahead and knew her home wasn't far away. Just then, the old man reached out and grabbed her by the thigh. His hands were black and sticky. The girl turned around to see his clothes meshed into his bones by the fire. Smoke rose from his body as the falling rain fizzled out the remaining embers. She tried to hit his hand off, but it held tight. Her leg started to burn where his crispy fingers dug into her flesh. She screamed. Her voice was getting hoarse. A noise came from the old man that sounded un-human. His eyes were bright white orbs against his darkened face. Blood ran between his teeth and dripped onto the ground. "Hhhh..." he mumbled, urging her closer. "Noooo!" the girl shouted. Panic was setting in and for a moment, the girl became light headed. She lost balance and fell on her back, her leg still caught in the old man's embrace. "Hhheeee..." gargled the old man. He brought his other arm up to her foot and tried dragging her closer. As he moved, the bicycle shifted with him in a clunky awkward fashion. The girl looked up to see the old man's face between her legs. She screamed very loudly and kicked the gruesome thing square in the jaw. She felt it squish and break under her weight. The jolt gave the girl the chance she needed. She wiggled out of the creature's grasp and scooted away from him. She managed to get back to her feet, turn around and run away. The old man called out to her as she ran. "Hhhheeeeerrr..." His voice became distant and far away. The dropping sound of the rain helped drown most of it out. Thunder crackled across the sky and for a brief moment everything in the park lit up like electricity. Another lightning bolt danced above the trees. The girl thought she saw movement near the park bench, but she couldn't be sure. It looked as though clumps of fuzzy hair were running through the grass. Normally, she would cut across the park and run back home through an opening in the chain-link fence, but this time she wasn't sure that was the safest way. If she took the main sidewalk home, it would take her twice as long and she would have to go past the elementary school. She didn't have time to think. A car was coming down the road. The girl's instincts took over and she ran towards it, flailing her arms and jumping up and down. "Stop. Please stop." she said out loud, and the driver of the car seemed to notice her. Yes, the car was slowing down. "Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou." the girl mumbled as she ran towards the oncoming vehicle. It was an orange Beetle. The car slowed to the curb and stopped. The wipers on the windshield were running back and forth causing gushes of water to splash off. The windows were tinted and the driver could not be seen. The girl ran to the passenger side and reached for the handle. It was locked. The girl talked in fast, hoarse whispers thanking the unknown driver from stopping. She was pulling at the door handle trying to get it open. The car engine stopped. Very quickly the girl's relief gave way to anxiety. The wiper blades on the car were still swishing. The head and taillights were on, but the motor was dead. The driver could not be seen. The car did not move. The wiper blades made their rubbery marks. Swish, swoosh. Swish swoosh. Suddenly, the doors unlocked themselves. The girl jumped and took her hand away from the car. She looked back where the old man and his bicycle had been. He wasn't there. The ground was dark where she had last seen him, but no old man. There was only a trail of ooze and charred flesh headed in the direction of the park. Without warning, the driver side door of the car opened. The girl held her breath and waited to see who would step out. She couldn't see anyone, but she thought she heard a 'crack.' Then a 'whomp' then a gurrrrrrrrrrgle... "Heeeeehhh..." echoed in the air. The girl screamed and decided not to wait for what happened next. Instead, she ran towards the elementary school and didn't look back.
The girl ran as fast as her legs could carry her. She was beyond terror. The shock had past. All she knew at the moment was the elementary school was five minutes away from her home. Her parents might yell and scream at each other, but at least they made her feel safe. The orange Beetle was moving again. It left the curb and pulled out into the street. The girl had to stay on the main sidewalk until she past the old city hall building. Once past that, she would be in the vicinity of the elementary school courtyard. She would cut across the courtyard and run past the bike rack, past the school building and playground equipment, and run through the hole in the fence to her neighborhood. She saw it all in her mind, and she knew she would complete it all in a matter of minutes. She also saw the approaching orange Volkswagen Beetle behind her. It was coming up fast; it's headlights on high beam, wiper blades swooshing violently back and forth. Closer and closer it came, gaining more and more speed. The car swerved on the road and bumped up onto the curb. One side of the car remained on the road while the other was swerving over the sidewalk. The car chased the girl at a slant, cruising along the sidewalk, tearing up bushes and shrubs in its way. The girl looked didn't look over her shoulder as the car moved in closer. She just ran. The car was just inches behind the girl's small frame when she jumped into the corner of the school's courtyard. The Beetle swerved to follow but the rain forced it to skid and spin on it's tires. The car hit a solid platform of concrete and jumped up on its side. Sparks flew out from underneath the vehicle as it scorched across the basketball court and smashed into the bike rack. The girl rolled on the grass and held herself up on her hands and knees. She saw the trail of skid marks across the concrete. Her eyes followed them to the toppled heap meshed with the bike rack. The engine still ran and the lights were still on. Even the windshield wipers still moved back and forth. The girl was about to get up and continue running when something in the grass caught her eye.
"Don't go yet" the thing said. It was a large hairy, spider-like creature with a baby's face. Its head was bald and its eyes were blank white orbs. "I want to taste you first." The girl was too exhausted to scream anymore. Instead, she just started running. Unfortunately, she didn't get very far. Two more of the hairy, spider babies had leeched onto her ankles and pulled her to the ground. "Let us taste you. We will help!" the things cried out. The girl didn't have time to think of an answer, let alone choose one. As soon as her body fell to the ground, spider babies were crawling all over her. She felt them prick through her clothes and flesh, rubbing their bristly legs up and down her body. She placed her hands over her face in attempt to protect her eyes and mouth. "Mmmmmm..." the creatures exclaimed at the same time. "Delicious!" Almost as fast as the girl had felt the things crawling over her, they were gone. The girl peeked through her fingers to see what had happened. She saw nothing. Frightened, she stood up. There was nothing. No talking spider creatures in sight. Then, the girl felt a strong surge of adrenaline in her system. She felt powerful and bursting with energy. The places on her body where the spider babies had bitten her were numb. The rest of her body was painless. Yes, she felt alive! Without warning, the sides of her dress began to rip. The girl felt her skin stretch and burn against the material. Long spider legs ripped from her armpits and wobbled in the air. The girl would have been terrified of the situation had she not felt so much adrenaline running through her system. She felt power, anger, hunger, and awesome physical strength. Her dress ripped entirely as the last of her eight new legs tore themselves out of her flesh. She still had human arms, but the legs she had been running on moments ago now hung below her giant spider abdomen, weak and dead. Several splits tore over the girl's forehead, making way for new eyeholes. Her teeth were pushed aside as massive fangs shot from her gums and bled poisonous venom from their tips. She squealed in her new spider-like voice. "Aaahhhhhhwwwww!" The girl stood in her new form, the rain falling all around her. Half human, half spider. The finishing touch came when all of the beautiful blonde hair on her head fell off and she was left a freakish bald monster. She squealed again. "Wooooaaaahhhhhh!"
The door of the orange Beetle creaked open. Out climbed the grizzly body of the old man and his bicycle. It crawled from the side of the wreckage and fell to the concrete of the courtyard. Blood splattered as it landed. The girl watched as the old man dragged himself across the basketball court. Somewhere in the back of the girl's mind she recalled how warm he first appeared to her- warm and friendly. Now he was something completely different. And so was she. The girl bunched herself up and sprung from the grassy hill onto the basketball court of the schoolyard. The old man didn't see her coming until it was too late. She ran at full speed, all eight of her massive legs thumping against the ground. As she got closer, she rose on her hind legs and bared her sharp teeth upon the man. Her fangs dug deep into his heart and filled his innards with venomous bile. The old man screamed. Lightning crashed against the sky. Blood soaked rain poured into the gutters. She fed on him as a real spider would feed on a fly, but her venom was much stronger. It poured through the metal in his bicycle and turned that into a soft clumpy mess, easy for digestion. She sucked everything she could out of him and left hardly a trace behind. The only real evidence of his existence on the courtyard that day was the orange Volkswagen Beetle wrapped around the bike rack. The rain was letting up. Darkness surrounded the girl, but she could see everything around her in negative colors. Her strength was suppressed from the feed and her physical strength felt diminished. She needed to rest. Climbing back onto the grassy hill was an option, maybe even crawling under the old city hall building if she could find a hole big enough, but before she started moving her eyelids began to close. She was falling asleep on the very spot. Her fear, anger, horror and pain were gone. She knew only peace. And in that moment, she slept.
When she awoke, the girl was again human. Drenched from the rain and cold from the night air, she sat up in the middle of the courtyard. Her dressed was thrashed. Her entire body felt bruised and broken, but at least she was human. Surrounding her was an outline of the giant spider creature she thought she was. The outline looked like ash or burnt wood. It blew away in the night breeze. The thought of getting up seemed painful. The girl's feet were bloody. She looked at her toes and saw bone sticking out of the side of her foot. She felt something warm and sticky on her head. She hoped it was only blood. She was found the next morning by the school janitor, Clement who had but three fingers on his right hand. She was quivering and crying on the cement courtyard twenty feet from a tragic car crash. Amazing that she was alive! It appeared the driver had run off after crashing his car into the bike rack. Most of the girl's bones were broken and she was very badly bruised. She couldn't remember anything, or at least that's what she told the police. Eventually, the case was ruled a hit and run and the girl recovered over a brief period of time in intensive care. After everything she went though, the girl was just happy to be alive.
Little Miss Muffet sat on her tuffet,
C. Jake Cordova
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