All of Her Things

Since it’s Halloween, I figured I’d share a spooky short story I wrote. Enjoy!

The doors were about to close, and I couldn’t yell for the conductor to hold the train. I needed to stay quiet. I got one foot in the door just as the train started to move. I can’t believe I ran that fast. My heart pumped so hard I felt it in my throat, and I thought I could puke.

“Girl, hold it in; you need to stay under the radar,” I whispered.

I shook it out and immediately started looking for an empty cabin. Sheesh, there were so many people on the train. I put my hood on as two blonde children zoomed right into me and knocked me over, landing on my butt.

“I’m sorry, ma’am,” said the little girl. They were British and must have been on holiday.

“Where is your mummy?” I asked, faking a British accent.

“She’s sleeping in our cabin, ma’am,” said the little boy. He smiled at me with anxious excitement.

“Then I suggest you go back to her.”

“Yes, ma’am!” they said in unison and ran back down the corridor.

I got to my feet and hurriedly walked down the corridor, trying to find an empty cabin.

The very last cabin was available. I stepped inside, locked the doors, and closed the curtains. I was relieved to finally have a moment to myself to think of my next move, but I couldn’t. We were all being hunted. I kept thinking of their faces: Lena, Timmy, Georgia, my friends, all dead. Each found with fear in their blackened eyes. Their livers and hearts were removed while they were still alive.

It was just me left. I had not slept in days. These horrid images hid behind my eyelids every time I tried to sleep. I found tears rolling down my cheeks as I stared into the darkness of the night. Not a star in the sky. I started to drift as I released the tension from my body.

It had been days.

—

The window was cold against my face.

My eyes fluttered open when I heard the turning of the lock.

Fuck, I’m cornered in here!

The door opened slowly, and the two blonde children from earlier stood there. Behind them stood a tall, slender woman in black high-waisted pants and a double-breasted blazer.

What are they doing with HER? They must be working with her. Are they even children? How did they know it was me?

She stepped inside my cabin while the “children” stayed behind. Her skin was pearly white and clean, with no blemishes. Her bright red lips and black hair against the pale skin made her appear as one of those blood-sucking demons. To her side was a small leather briefcase. She pulled off her sunglasses to reveal beaming yellow-gold eyes.

How could a woman be so beautiful?

All I could do was stare into those eyes. She didn’t say a word but sat across from me and looked into mine. The shimmering gold started shifting: green, brown, and black. They lost their luster. Instead, they were deep black holes, the color of the night. There was no life, no light, no stars, only black. All the images of my friends washed over me. I could feel their fear and their pain. I could feel their last thoughts and dreams leaving their bodies. The woman smiled as her eyes shifted back to gold. All feeling left my body, but she managed to contort my arms and legs, folding me into her briefcase. It was dark, and I could hear the cabin door open and close.

Why have they kept me alive?

Tears fell down my flattened face.

I finally heard the woman’s voice through the briefcase. It was soft and, dare I say, soothing like a mother putting her baby down to sleep.

“We love the taste of fear. We will serve your flesh in pieces to our queen, and then she will eat your heart.”

I couldn’t run. I couldn’t hide. I was trapped.

Fear consumed me as they carried me to hell.