CURFEW
is just one of five stories of terror that will grace the
pages of the upcoming horror anthology:
“
WELCOME TO THE PSYCH
WARD”
Welcome to the Psych Ward will be one
of the most entertaining and terrifying compilations of horror in
recent years. This endeavor will bring back the essence of what
made millions of horror fans fall in love with the genre with
original stories and new twists that you’ll never see coming. To
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Copyright © 2015 by
NorthShore Publishing Inc.
This is a work of fiction.
Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of
the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance
to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely
coincidental.
All rights
reserved.
DEDICATION
This
body
of work is dedicated to the
readers and lovers of horror worldwide.
Let the darkness enlighten
your imagination
TABLE OF
CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
All honor must be given to
The Creator for blessing me with the gift of imagination and
translating that gift for the world to enjoy.
Gurnee, IL
Warren Township High
School/Almond Campus
October,
29
th
2015
B
arry watched Mary swim her final lap with longing eyes in a
self-indulging bliss that drowned out all the loud chatter of the
High School’s indoor pool area. Mary’s ultra-black hair floated in
the chlorine blue water, the edges escaping from under the blue
swimming cap she wore. Barry exhaled a quiet squeal as she finally
climbed out of the pool, her well defined and athletic body
enhanced by the skin tight swim suit she wore. She was flawless;
probably the most flawless girl in High School at either campus and
her body paired with her genius made her the most popular yet geeky
girl at Warren High. Although the pool area was hot and humid,
Barry’s hands were freezing and he blew on them while he waited for
her to walk in his direction. The water seemed to glow against her
caramel colored skin as she wiped her face with her towel while
flashing a heartwarming smile in Barry’s direction. Standing in the
middle of the pool area got Barry all kinds of attention from the
girls as they strolled past him looking over his athletic body and
model like facial features. But the only girl’s attention he wanted
was Mary’s and his love sick gaze made it obvious. Noticing him
staring at her made Mary blush, so she walked up to him intending
on waking him from his daydream by punching him playfully in his
chest.
“
What are you doing here,”
she asked. Her melodic and Spanish accented voice sounding like a
sweet Latin melody to Barry’s ears. Barry hesitated to answer her
question, they’d been friends since the seventh grade and he didn’t
want to say anything that could ruin it. Mary rolled her eyes as
she looked up at him, waiting for him to respond.
“
Um Barry, are you gonna
just stand there staring at me or are you gonna say
something?”
“
Oh, I’m sorry, he said. He
decided to just ask and get it over with. So exhaling deeply and
bracing himself for the worse, yet hoping for the best he
responded,
“
Yeah, I wanted to know if
you’d like to go out with me to the Haunted House in
Antioch?”
“
When?”
“
Tomorrow
night.”
“
Oh Bare, I’m sorry but
tomorrow isn’t a good night for me. Maybe we can go
Saturday?”
“
I don’t think Triston will
be able to get his dad’s new truck on Saturday and he’s the ride,”
Barry responded while looking down at his feet and slumping his
shoulders. Hearing Triston’s name caused Mary’s chest muscles to
tighten and her nostrils to flare. Triston was the last person she
wanted to spend any night with even if a thousand people tagged
along. But looking at Barry’s heartbroken expression from her
response and knowing it had to take a lot for him to ask her out
Mary decided to change her mind. Barry has always been a great
friend to her and she felt obligated to say yes even though she
knew she shouldn’t.
“
You know what Bare I’ll
go,
but
under
one
crucial
condition. I need to be home before 12:00am. Not 12:01am or
12:00 and ten seconds. I need to be walking through my door before
twelve. So make sure you and Triston understand that.”
“
I’m sure I can get Triston
to honor that and you know I’ll have your back,” Barry responded,
his blue eyes sparkling at the idea of finally going out with Mary
after so many years of wanting but never building up the nerve to
make it happen.
“
Anyway, I have to go and
get ready for my next period. You know this will be my first
Halloween out of the house, this is exciting!” she said while
jumping up and smiling brightly. “See you later Bare and thanks for
inviting me. You’re a great friend!”
Friend,
Barry thought as he watched in awe as Mary
switched away towards the locker rooms.
L
ater that evening Barry’s mom noticed a new stride in his step
as he walked around the house with his chest poked out and a silly
smile on his face. She watched him closely for nearly an hour
before she decided to get to the bottom of her son’s new found
confidence. Looking at him across the dinner table she smiled and
asked,
“
So what’s got you all
chipper today?”
“
Oh nothing special, just
excited about going to the haunted house tomorrow.”
“
Oh yeah, so who’s all
going?”
“
Triston, Amanda, myself
and Mary,” he responded, but made sure to lower his voice to a
whisper once he let Mary’s name escape his lips.
Blinking rapidly his mother
asked,
“
Wait, Who?”
“
Triston, Amanda, myself
and Mary,” Barry responded while still making sure to whisper
Mary’s name.
Laughing loudly his mother smack the
top of the dining room table and yelled out,
“
So you finally got up
enough nerve to ask your “friend” Mary out on a date?”
“
Well, I didn’t call it a
date mom. It’s just two friends hanging out.”
“
On a Friday night? Yeah ok
Casanova.”
“
Mom?!”
“
What? I’m ok with you
going out with Mary. Now if you’d told me you were going out with
that tramp Amanda, that’s another story.”
“
Mom she’s not a
tramp!”
“
Maybe, but she sure
dresses like one.”
“
That doesn’t mean she’s a
tramp because she may dress a little too sexy for her age,
mom.”
“
Jeez, that girl dresses a
little too sexy for anyone’s age.”
“
That’s still no reason to
say she’s a tramp though. That’s just mean.”
“
I’m sorry son, but if you
wear the uniform of a tramp you can’t get upset when someone
assumes you are dressing for success.”
“
Some women don’t dress the
part, but they live up to that label to the fullest.”
Barry’s mom blankly stared at her son,
her blue eyes locked in a piercing gaze. Barry could tell she
wasn’t amused by his comment, but he didn’t care. Amanda was
trouble, but as long as she kept her eyes and paws on Triston who
was just as much trouble as she was…he was fine with this double
date.
“
Son, I know Triston is
your friend and team mate, but I don’t like him or his girlfriend.
But because you’ve finally asked Mary out, I’ll allow it. I just
want you to have fun and be safe. But don’t you think about walking
through that door at an ungodly time in the morning like your
friends do to their parents. That’s not allowed in this
house.”
“
Mary has to be home before
twelve so I’ll be home shortly after that.”
“
That’s good,” his mom
responded before beginning to clear the dinner table.
T
he next evening Barry looked outside his living room window
anxiously waiting for the loud horn of Triston’s dad’s 2015
Cadillac Escalade, telling him to come outside. Triston rarely came
over anymore after Barry’s mom caught Triston “sexting” with
Amanda. Triston had momentarily stepped away from his cellphone to
take a piss and Barry’s mom caught a glimpse of a message on his
screen. The way she screamed after reading their exchange gave
Barry goosebumps. Neither Triston nor his mom ever shared what was
in those messages with Barry, but the fact she banned him from
coming inside her house for life spoke volumes of its contents.
After that night the embarrassment hung to Barry for months and he
could barely look his mother in her eyes; afraid she may associate
Triston’s behavior with his own. Little did she know Barry was
still a virgin, but he was hoping that one day that would change
and there wasn’t another girl he’d want to take that step with
besides Mary.
As the seconds crawled and the evening
progressed, Barry became impatient and was about to call Triston
when he saw the black SUV pull up in front of his house. Triston
immediately blew the horn as Amanda rolled down the truck’s front
passenger’s side window and started screaming Barry’s name. Her
voice was loud and seductive as she made moaning sounds after each
time she would yell out his name. Barry felt the skin on his face
warm as his mother walked over to the window and stood by him,
watching Amanda’s antics. Shaking her head she whispered “tramp”
and turned to her son and gave him the infamous “look”. Barry
understood perfectly what she was saying without saying it and he
nodded in submission.