Stories

I have had only one goal in my life, and that was to go sky diving. I suppose it's a rather odd goal; it doesn't really achieve much and it doesn't further my life in any practical way. But, that's just the way it was. I spent the first eighteen years of my life waiting for my chance to go sky diving. You see, I would have jumped before I was eighteen, but my parents had to give their permission, and they were by no means keen on the idea. They were always protective of me, making sure I didn't do anything too dangerous, always going to the doctor if I got sick. But once I turned eighteen, nothing they said or did could stop me from making that first jump.

I had dreams of breaking world records with the most spectacular jumps. I was going to be a stunt man for the movies - but I never told my parents that. They just wouldn't have understood. They didn't seem to realize that no one can go through life without taking risks, without getting hurt. Maybe it was because I was an only child. Don't get me wrong, I love my parents. I don't resent the way they sheltered me - well, maybe a little. But I love my parents.

Anyway, once I turned eighteen, I was out there getting lessons for my first jump. I couldn't have been more excited. To make my parents happy, I did some research on just how safe sky diving really is. For example, there were only fifty-nine sky diving accidents worldwide in 1999. For some reason, it didn't comfort them too much. After my training, though, I was ready. The instructor and I climbed into the plane and away we went. Adrenalin was pumping through my system, but I wasn't nervous. It was like a dream. I just couldn't believe I was finally going through with it. My goal, my dream, was finally being realized.

So, there I was. We were at 5,000 feet and I was poised at the open door, wind ripping at my protective clothing. I could see the ground far below me, looking more like the coloured maps we studied in Geography than the real thing. Suddenly, my instructor slaps me on the back and yells for me to jump. Out I go! I let out a holler simply from the sheer exhilaration of the situation. Then, I felt the tug of the cord that attached the opening clip of my parachute to the plane. I realized that I didn't feel or hear the parachute open, and I looked up to see the plane falling very rapidly away from me - or was it me falling very rapidly away from the plane? In any case, I was falling from 5,000 feet and there was nothing to break my fall.

And here we are! I'm watching myself falling at God knows how many miles an hour toward the ground and I'm going on about how my parents were too overprotective of me. Really, you'd think I'd be more interested in finding out why I'm out here watching my body over there fall to the ground. Isn't there a name for that? It's like the shock of the situation has caused my life essence, or spirit, or whatever you'd like to call it, to leave my body. I remember, an out-of-body experience. That's what it's called.

Strangely enough, though, I'm not scared. Maybe that's because you need various chemical reactions that happen in your body to feel scared, and I'm not actually in my body. In reality, that should scare me, too, but it doesn't. I know what's coming, and I'd rather be out here than in there.

Well, my time's almost up. Here comes the ground! It's been a short life, but a good life. The most important thing, though, is that I was able to achieve my one goal in life - to go sky diving. I'm grateful for that, at least.

Whump!

You know? It didn't hurt at all.

A Nightmare Come True

A shiver ran down my spine, as if someone had just walked over my grave. I could feel something evil in the air. I could almost smell it. I quickened my pace, the clicking of my shoes echoing outwards like the ticking of a clock, bouncing off the domineering walls around me and fading into the fog. Time was short, I could sense it. The pale yellow light washed over me from a street light, surrounding me as if I had stepped into a spotlight. For just a moment, disorientation gripped me, a sense of panic rose up in my soul and pushed at my mind. I shivered again, pushing the thought out of my head. I had to keep going. I turned into a narrow path off the main road and was immediately enveloped by overgrowth. Cool leaves caressed my skin as harsh twigs scratched at me, clawing through my hair as if to capture and engulf me in their claw-like vines. My heart beat faster, echoing in my ears as my shoes echoed through the vast night sky. Above me loomed my goal, my nightmare. That house, it was the source of my fears. I didn't want to enter, to see what horrors could be encased within its crumbling walls. But I had to go in, it was a matter of life and death.

I made my way quickly along the twisting path to the forbidding front door. I reached for the door handle, the metal feeling like ice in my warm, clammy hand. A whisper was carried to my ears by the wind. It sounded like the rabid growling of a beast, faint and menacing. The hairs on the back of my neck rose, and my hand froze in mid turn. I held my breath and listened, but the night fell mute. No ominous murmurs reached my ears again, and I remembered that I must hurry.

I grasped the door knob and turned it, giving the wooden door a light push. Slowly, it opened, yawning wide to reveal a great blackness beyond. Quickly, I stepped inside and turned to close the door just as a gust of wind pulled it shut, like the hand of the night wishing to encase me in its inky stillness. I was swallowed by the abyss and, once again, I paused, letting my eyes adjust to the darkness. Suddenly, I heard it again. It was that primordial, deep-throated growl that has, since the dawn of time, produced the instinct to fear and to run. My heart pounded in my chest, in my ears, and I quickly made my way to the slim, skeletal staircase. Thump, thump. One beat of my heart, one step closer to my dreaded goal. The growling grew louder, and I could hear claws clicking and scraping on the lacquered floor like bones tapping against the clostrophobic walls of a coffin.

I turned into the first room on the left, swinging aside the yellowing door. Moonlight washed across the floor from the window, bathing a hulking mass of dark fur in luminescent light. Torn pieces of paper glowed on the floor like shards of the moon itself. I opened my mouth, sucking in the stale air that filled the room, and let out a piercing scream. The panic had gripped me, it had consumed my mind and filled my body. My brain tried to shut out the horror of the scene before my, the scene my eyes told me to be true.

"Jesse! No! Bad dog!" Jesse raised her furry head to me and whimpered, trotting out of the room as I sank to the floor. My nightmare had come true. I knew that leaving my homework for school tomorrow on my bed would mean Jesse would tear it to pieces. I picked up a half-chewed morsel of my homework. "A Nightmare Come . . ." was all that it said. I let it flutter to the ground, a ravaged snowflake, as I sucked in a gasping breath of air.

"No!"

Horror Hound

I awoke with a start. A blast of cold air swept through my room, blowing papers onto the floor. I got up and swept the papers together, wondering where the wind could be coming from.

"Bang!"

I jumped a mile high.

"Bang, bang!"

It was coming from downstairs! I pulled on some clothes and crept down the stairs. To my surprise, I saw that the door was open.‘How on earth did that happen?' I thought to myself. I caught the door before the wind made it bang again. As I was closing it, I suddenly thought of my golden retriever, Woody.

"Woody? Woody!" I called into the house.

‘Oh, no.' I thought. ‘He's gone outside!' I looked out at the forest that surrounded my house and sighed. I knew I was going to have to go out and find him. Pulling on a coat, I stepped outside and closed the door.

"Woody!" I called, scanning the forest for him, but I couldn't see a thing. I sighed again and started down toward the forest. Suddenly, I heard the spine-chilling howl of a wolf.‘Oh, God. Wolves!' I had forgotten about the wolves that inhabited the forest at this time of year. I hesitated for a moment, but, suddenly worried about Woody, I decided to carry on.

"Woody!" I called. "Where are you, you dumb dog?" The night air chilling me to the bone as I worked my way deeper into the forest. The trees started blocking out more and more of the moonlight, pushing the shadows in all around me. Another wolf broke into a howl behind me and I spun around quickly, my breath catching in my throat. I listened for a moment, but there was no sound except the wind rustling through the trees. Composing myself, I carried on. Fallen leaves crunched under my feet, sounding unbelievably loud. Darkness surrounded me, making me feel very small.

"Woody?" I said. I couldn't bring myself to say it very loudly. My voice seemed to echo around the trees, calling to whoever, or whatever, was out there.

"Snap!"

A sound like a twig breaking came from behind me, and I spun around. I held my breath, stood completely still and listened.

"Snap!"

"Oh my God," I whispered. I knew it was a wolf. I could feel it. My eyes darted around the black-filled forest, but I couldn't see a thing. Then, I heard it. A slow, deep growl seemed to tremble through to the pit of my stomach.

I still couldn't see it, but I didn't care. I turned and ran as fast as I could. I crashed through the forest, dodging trees and scattering mud and leaves. I made so much noise that I couldn't hear if it was chasing me. I glanced behind me, but couldn't see anything. I looked again, desperately trying to see anything, and suddenly went flying onto the ground. Gasping, I looked frantically for the wolf, but there was no sign of it. I was shaking badly, and decided enough was enough. I was going back. Aching from my fall, I got to my feet and wiped the wet knees of my pants. I paused, glancing downward. My pants felt sticky, not just wet, and warm. I squinted at them, trying to see through the darkness.

"Oh my God," I whispered. "Oh my God, oh my God!" My pants and hands were covered in blood. I looked at the ground and saw what I had tripped over. It was a dark mass, glistening slightly in the sparse moon light. I stepped closer, bending to get a better look. I saw pale yellow fur stained with dark blood. Terror gripped me as I continued to look. The throat had been torn out, blood pooling under the head. Fur and flesh had been torn away from the shoulder, exposing muscle and bone.

"Woody . . . no," I moaned, feeling bile rise in my throat. I could smell the blood all around me, and I sank to my knees, fighting the nausea.

"Snap!" I was instantly alert, suddenly remembered the wolf. I snapped my head up, looking all around me.

"Snap, snap!"

It was behind me, close behind me. I heard it move. A growl rumbled from its throat, deep and ominous. Another twig snapped as it moved closer, and I sprang to my feet. I ran for my life, heading as fast as I could toward the house. I heard it behind me, chasing me. I gasped for breath. I couldn't see where I was going. I just ran. I glanced behind me, desperately trying to see where the wolf was. I screamed as I saw its huge bulk flying toward me, white fangs flashing. Blood stained the muzzle, dripping red from the chin. And the last thing I saw was its cold, frozen eyes as we crashed to the ground and the world went black.

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