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Ghost Stories | The Scary Night
Ghost Stories
The Scary Night
The very memory of that night was like a recurring nightmare... The fog was cold and damp, and an icy wind blew through the shadow-cloaked forest, but Raven barely noticed the chill. Autumn trees, bare and skeletal, clawed at her as she ran frantically through the woods outside her home. Her heart pounded so loudly she felt certain it would burst. Glancing back over her shoulder, she glimpsed vague, indistinct figures moving through the mist behind her. A full moon shone through the barren tress branches overhead. Storm clouds drifted across the moon like a veil. They were chasing her. Whatever they were.
Only seventeen year old, Raven knew she was soon to die.
Heartrending screams ripped through the night, sending fresh jolts of fear and anguish through the young woman's soul. Her dark brown hair streamed wildly behind her. Panic filled her wide blue eyes. Undried tears streaked her cheeks. A thin linen nightgown provided scant protection from the cold. Spilled blood streaked her gown, glistening wetly in the moonlight.
The stick crimson fluid had soaked through the fabric, causing the linen to cling to her skin. Bare feet she raced over a carpet of fallen leaves. Thunder boomed above her. A jagged bolt of lightning sliced the sky in twain. Rain poured down in sheets, drenching Raven. The forest floor turned to mud beneath her feet. Muck oozed between her toes and she had to fight to keep her balance on the slippery leaves. If she fell, her pursuers would be on her in an instant. Chances were, she would never rise again.
Who are they? She wondered. Why did they kill her family? More screams penetrated the darkness. The blood chilling ululations came not from human throats. Something is in the stables, she realized. The horses sounded as though they were being torn into pieces, which might well be the case.
Raven had already witnessed far worse this evening. The blood upon her gown was not her own, but it could not have been any more precious to her before it had gushed from the severed limbs of her mother, sister and baby nieces. She had left the butchered bodies of her nearest and dearest
strewn upon the wooden floor of their violated home when she had fled madly into the night, seeking out the only family left to her.
Father! She thought desperately. He had gone out to calm the horses only moments before the mysterious invaders had attacked their home. Please, God, let him live still. Do not leave me alone with these... creatures!
The stables loomed before her, barely visible in the mist and gloom. As she drew nearer the large wooden structure, she saw that the barn door was wide open. Had her father drawn back the door while checking on the horses, or had the monsters already invaded the stables as well? Utter blackness shrouded the interior of the stable, offering no clue as to what might lurk within, but she could hear the frightened horses whinnying in alarm. The poor animals sounded absolutely terrified!.
Dare she enter the stable alone? Glancing once more over her shoulder at the hellish shapes surging through the fog, she realized she had no other choice. The sturdy building was her only hope for sanctuary, no matter how meager.
Trusting her life to fate, she dashed through the doorway into the stables. A timber roof provided welcome relief from the pouring rain. Flashes of lightning and sporadic moonbeams filtered through the roof to provide some slight degree of illumination. Crazed horses bucked violently in their stalls, terrified by the storm and God only knew what else. Their hooves pounded against the solid oak doors trapping them in their stalls. They had worked themselves into lather, the sweat gleaming on their quavering bodies.
Raven could not spare a second to see to the horses. Before her pursuers could catch up with her, she slammed the door shut and bolted it in place. She prayed that the heavy oaken barrier would keep out the bloodthirsty monsters behind her, but feared that no power on earth could truly save her. It was as though Death itself had come lunging out of the fog this night, to strike down her loved ones one by one.
Breathing hard, she turned away from the door. Water streamed from her hair and gown. The dank air reeked of wet hay, dung, sweat, and blood. It took a moment for her eyes to adjust to the darker gloom of the sealed barn, and she staggered forward uncertainly. Another flash of lightning pierced the darkness, revealing a supine figure lying motionless upon the hay-strewn floor between the stalls. The sprawled body was as still and silent as the grave.
No! Raven thought. An icy certainty spread through her veins, and she felt her last vestiges of hope succumb to despair. She stumbled towards the lifeless form, already knowing what she would find. Her azure eyes brimmed with tears. "Father..." .
The face of the corpse was contorted with fear, but Raven could not fail to recognize the kindly, bearded visage that had so often looked upon her with warmth and affection. Her father's throat had been torn open, as though by a rabid animal. Bright red blood was splattered all over him, just as it had been on the savaged bodies back at their house. His limbs were twisted and askew. Broken shards of bone jutted from his fractured arms and legs. Glassy eyes stared blankly into oblivion.
Her father was dead - just like the rest of her family. She was alone. Why me?
She thought in agony. What did I ever do to deserve this? She dropped to her knees beside the body, heedless of the blood spreading out from beneath her father's gory remains. My father was a good man. A decent man. Violent sobs rocked her body. Tears fell upon the dead metal-smith's face. .
A deafening crash jolted her from her grief. She spun around towards the barn door. A battering ram? She thought in confusion as the oak door was smashed to splinters. It crashed to the floor with a resounding thud that echoed loudly throughout the stables. Raven turned away from the door, back towards her father. She squeezed her eyes tightly shut. Although Death had surely come for her, she had no desire to look it in the face. Trembling, she waited the fatal blow that would sever her soul from her body. She could only pray that her end would be swift. Soon, she promised herself, I will be reunited with my family in paradise. Footsteps trod heavily on the blood-soaked floor of the stables. The horses reared up within their stalls, maddened with fear. Raven heard the footsteps approach her at a measured pace. She braced herself for the searing pain of razor-sharp metal sinking into her flesh. She imagined her own blood spouting from her throat.
Instead a steady hand fell firmly yet gently upon her shoulder. She held her breath, expecting the hand to move for an armament of death, but it remained where it was, as though to comfort her. Puzzled, she opened her eyes and looked behind her. No monster stood above her. No pillaging berserker. The hand belonged to a regal stranger clad in magnificent black plate armour. An ornate black helmet, offered only a glimpse of the man's palpable aura of strength and authority. A massive sword, so large that it seemed a marvel that any mortal man could lift it, hung at his side. Compassion shone in his luminous green eyes. "They've gone," the cavalier said.
Can this be true? Raven wondered. Am I truly saved? She eyed the armoured warrior warily, torn between suspicion and an urgent desire to accept the comfort she so desperately needed. Her entire world had been torn away from her. What will become of me now?
The robust-armoured man reached down slowly and gently helped her to her feet. Her legs were unsteady, and she would have fallen, save that he took her in his arms the same way her father had. She rested her weight against his, unable to run or fight back any longer. His strong arms held her up and she surrendered to his sheltering embrace. For the first time since this nightmare had begun, she felt safe and protected. "All is well, child," he said. "You need fear no longer. The monstrosities that slew your family have been driven away." Praise the God! Raven thought. An overwhelming sense of relief washer over her. "There, there child," the countenance of her rescuer cooed in her ear. "You're not alone anymore. You shall never he alone again..." Thunder pealed in the night.