Sawyerville: Horror Short Stories From Another Earth Vol.3 (3 page)

"Now, hold on..." The sheriff went to pick up his radio and tried to his officers through it, but there was no response. He placed his radio on his table and picked up the telephone. He started to dial a few numbers then he pressed the receiver against the side of his head.

"No dial tone..." he muttered. He placed his hand on his gun as if to assure himself that he is still safe. He then checked the phone lines, but shook his head when he realized that there was nothing wrong.

Gail watched him as he picked up his radio once more and attached it to his utility belt. He turned to look at them, but before he could say anything, Gail blurted out, "I need to fetch my sister. I need her with me."

"Yes, but we need to get to the bottom of this situation, young lady," Sheriff Farce said. Then he turned to Pip. "You are the Stammers' son, am I right?" he said gently.

"Yes, sir," Pip said. He had started crying quietly while the sheriff was busy trying to contact his officers. "Please, sir, they're on their way, and they will hurt us."

The sheriff walked toward the door and checked that he had locked it. Then, he checked his gun if it was loaded and began packing some extra bullets into his utility belt.

"We're going to go out there, kids," he said to them. "For some reason, I can't reach my officers. I'm gonna have to keep trying, but in the meantime, I'm driving you to the town's health center. There's bound to be more people there, and God knows the doctor can help you two out."

He grabbed his car keys, peered through the window, and said, "Alright, now I'll secure the area outside for you, and once I tell you to come out and get inside the car, you do so instantly. Hear me?"

"Yes, sir," Gail said. "But what about my sister? She's still at the Carvers’ apple grove."

"I'll check up on her as soon as I'm done with the Stammers' residence."

"My mother's body is still in the field," Pip said softly. "She's just lying there."

"You are very brave, son," the sheriff said. "I will make sure to have your mother receive a proper burial, but let's get going now."

He went out, his gun in his hand, then shut the door behind him. Gail and Pip rushed to the window to look. The sheriff approached his vehicle and whipped out his keys then he unlocked the door and stepped inside. Gail breathed a sigh of relief.

He drove the car to the front of the building then honked to let them know that they should come out now.

Gail and Pip stepped out of the office, locking the door behind them. They approached the car, opened the door to the backseat, then quickly slid inside and shut it behind them. Then she immediately pressed the lock down.

"You settled, kids?" The sheriff turned to look at them. "First, I'll bring you to the town center, then I'll..."

CRACK!

Gail shrieked and Pip jumped when a huge mallet hit the windshield of the sheriff's car. She saw Mr. Stammer's grinning face outside the sheriff's, his eyes blood red, his hands gripping the handle of the mallet.

"Hello there, Sheriff." he said. "Where are you taking my son?" He raised the mallet over his head to take another swing.

The sheriff revved the engine and backed up to avoid another heavy blow. Gail could feel him concentrating hard to take them out of the driveway.

As they drove out onto the road, she saw Mrs. Travis and Mr. McLaw standing by the side. It was dark, but she could see that they were grinning. The sheriff began to drive fast while calling through his radio once more.

"Code eight! Code eight!" he barked, but there was no response at all.

He continued to drive toward the residential area of Sawyerville, and to their horror, all of the lights were out.

"I'm bringing you kids to secure yourselves in the health center," he said. "Then I'll have to go back to the office and arrest Mr. Stammer and the other two."

Gail nodded silently. She didn't want to stay put while her sister was still out there, but she needed to make sure that Pip was safe. The sheriff seemed to have made up his mind, so she was going to have to take things into her own hands if she wanted to save her sister.

"Tell me exactly what happened," he commanded.

Gail and Pip took turns telling him everything that happened, starting from the eyeball Gail had received up to the time when they were chased along the trail. Gail heard Pip mention that he had heard his parents arguing outside the house while he was still inside an hour before Gail and the other arrived, then he heard his mother scream.

The lights were already out, and all he did was cower close to the candle his mother had lit for him. He said his parents often argued, but he never thought that it would go that far. Gail felt sorry for the pooroloy.

"I'm sorry to hear that, son," the sheriff said kindly. "I thank you for saving Gail from... them." He was about to say something more, but he shut his mouth and concentrated on driving.

As soon as they arrived at the health center, they stepped out of the car and strode over to the front door. The lights were out, except for a candle that was flickering behind a glass window.

The sheriff knocked on the door.

"This is Sheriff Farce!" he called out. "I need to speak with Doctor Anderson." Gail heard someone unbolt the door and turn the knob.

"Hello, Sheriff." It was Doctor Anderson himself. He pushed his thick, horn-rimmed glasses up the bridge of his nose as he peered at them.

"I hope you do not mind me leaving these two under your care, Doctor," the sheriff said. "There is a disturbance in town that I need to address immediately. It seems that the health center is the best place for these two."

The sheriff nudged Gail and Pip in through the doorway.

"I don't mind at all, Sheriff," The doctor smiled warmly at them and said, "You take care out there and let me know how I can help."

"Thank you, Doctor." The sheriff nodded once, then briskly walked back to his car. Doctor Anderson shut the door behind him and showed Gail and Pip to the couch. As soon as they sat down, the doctor asked, "You're Fuller's daughter, right?"

"Yes, Doctor."

"Ah, so your father is out of town?"

"He is, but he'll be back tomorrow."

"What about you, you're..."

"I'm... I'm Pip Stanner." Pip kept his head bowed. He seemed to be concentrated on picking the dirt from underneath his fingernails.

"Ah, well then, I hope you're father's doing well."

Pip didn't look up to face the doctor but continued to pick at his nails.

"So," the doctor began to say as he took off his glasses and began to rub the lens with the hem of his shirt. "What's going on out there?"

But just as Pip was about to say something, Gail pressed his hand and held it. "There was a brawl outside, Doctor," she said as calmly as she could. "We almost got caught in it, but the sheriff managed to save us and bring us here."

"I see," the doctor stroked his chin. "Well, I'd better get you two some refreshments to cheer you up." He walked over to another door that probably led to a small kitchen and entered it.

"Come," Gail fervently whispered to Pip. "We have to get out." She quietly stood up, taking Pip by the hand. Quickly, she opened the front door, and they stepped outside.

They began to trot away from the health center and in the direction of Gail's neighbor's house, which was a 20 minute walk away. She began to pick up her speed until she was running again.

"What's wrong?" Pip asked in a scared voice.

"Didn't you see?" Gail couldn't help sounding frightened as well, "His eyes, they were bleeding..."

Chapter 6 - Shaney

Gail and Pip did their best to stay hidden by walking in the dark side of the road, and to dodge behind bushes as often as they can. Every now and then, they could hear screams echoing from some houses, but they kept moving forward as quietly as they could.

They were five minutes away from the Carvers' apple grove when someone grabbed Pip's shirt from behind.

"Aaargh!" Pip screeched. Gail turned to see what had just happened and saw that it was Camille, Shaney's best friend. Her face was pale and her skin damp, but it was the fresh wound on her left cheek that was dangerously close to her eye. She clung to Pip's shirt desperately.

"Please!" Camille cried in a hoarse whisper. "Please help me!"

Gail pried Camille's hands from Pip's shirt and held them between her own.

"Camille," Gail said, trying to keep her voice steady. "Where's Shaney?"

"No!" Camille cried. "Let go of me!" She quickly jerked her hands from Gail's trembling grip and ran in the direction from where Gail and Pip had come.

"Camille!" Gail blurted out. "Come back here!"

In the moonlight, Gail and Pip could see that some people were starting to come out of their houses. Some of them were carrying weapons: a hoe, a pitchfork, a knife.

"Camille!" Gail cried out again. Pip was about to come after her, but Gail held him back. "We need to go to apple grove and look for my sister."

They both ran toward the house. When they finally reached the front porch, they could see a small figure sitting on the floor next to the door. The figure was thin and frail, and she was covering her face with her hands, but the faded gingham dress looked all too familiar to Gail.

"Shaney?" she called out softly. "Shaney, it's Gail! I'm here."

The figure did not move an inch.

"Shaney, we need to leave now." She slowly approached her sister. She held out one hand.

"Let's go, Shaney. We can't be here." She reached out to take her sister's hand from her face.

"Gail," she heard Pip say in a quivering voice. "We need to hurry. They're... They're getting nearer." He began tugging at Gail's sleeve.

"C'mon, Shaney." She held Shaney's hand and tried to pull her to stand up. As soon as she could see Shaney's face, she noticed that her sister was grinning, but Gail didn't think too deeply on it. Her priority was to leave at once and find some place to hide until they could find a way to escape or look for the sheriff again.

She pulled Shaney to her feet.

"Grab her hand, Pip!" she cried out. They both began to pull Shaney by the hands and got her to stumble forward. She and Pip hobbled down the porch and continued to drag Shaney. Her eyes were blank stares, but the grin on her face remained. It was starting to bother Gail. She slid her hands underneath Shaney's legs and began to carry her in her arms and for once, she felt a horrible gratitude that her sister was thin and light.

Despite this, her body felt powerful as adrenaline flooded her veins and helped her to run toward their home. She couldn't think of anywhere else to go.

Lock ourselves in,
her thoughts began to race.
Get Pa's rifle. Lock ourselves in. Get Pa's rifle. Lock ourselves in...

"Ah! There she is!" she could hear someone from afar shout. It sounded like Mr. McLaw, but she didn't care enough to want to find out.

Lock ourselves in. Get Pa's rifle.
her mind continued to scream.

Pip tripped and fell on the ground. She stopped, but only for a second to say, "Hurry!", before she continued to run. She heard Camille's blood curdling scream coming from the crowd.

When they finally reached the front door, she placed Shaney on the ground and fumbled for the key, which she wore on a necklace and kept underneath her shirt. Her hands trembled as she tried several times to insert the key into the keyhole.

She could hear herself blubbering in panic when she finally got it in. She twisted the key, turned the knob, and pushed herself into their house.

As soon as she got in, she heard Pip scream.

"GAIL!" Pip was holding onto Shaney, who was trying to run toward the crowd. He could barely hold on to her, as he was so much smaller and even thinner.

She ran toward them and wrapped her arms around Shaney's waist then she lifted her kicking and screaming sister and quickly carried her into their house. Pip quickly followed. When they got inside the house, Pip slammed the door shut.

Gail placed Shaney, who had calmed down, on the ground. She secured the bolts on the door.

"We're going up to the attic," she quickly told Pip. "They can't get up there easily." She turned and grabbed Shaney by the hand. She raced up the stairs to the second floor, Pip following close behind her. She then opened a closet door and stepped inside. It was very dark, but she knew her way around easily. She pulled at a rope that was hanging from the ceiling and it brought down the pull-down stairs that led to the attic.

"C'mon!" she barked as she pushed Shaney to climb up. Her sister simply clambered up without resistance.

"You're next, Pip!" she said as she pushed Pip up the stairs as well.  She could hear the noise of the crowd coming closer to their front yard.

As soon as the two were up there, she pushed the stairs back up again.

"But what about you?" Pip cried out.

"I have to get Pa's rifle," Gail replied in a hurried voice. "Watch over Shaney." She swung the rope up toward Pip, who hurriedly caught it.

"Call out so I push the stairs down again." Pip said right before the hatch was shut.

She ran out of the closet, closing the door behind her, then rushed to her father's room.

Pa's rifle, which was usually hung on pegs right above the door frame inside the room, was not where it should be. She only had the moonlight coming in through the windows as she frantically started searching for the rifle.

CRASH! CRASH!

She could hear the windows from downstairs being smashed, and the door being struck violently by what sounded like a log.

"Open up, kids!" She heard Mr. Stammer cry out. "We're not going to bite!"

Gail tried not to be distracted by the noise as she began to search for the rifle. After she checked the bureau drawers and ran her hands across the shelves, she realized that her pa must have placed it underneath the bed.

She lay flat on her stomach next to the bed and slid her arm underneath. She began to feel around, when she felt the cold barrel of her pa's hunting rifle. Quickly, she pulled it out and checked to see if it was loaded. Her pa had taught her how to use it once, and she hoped that she won't miss if she had to use it.