Tag Archives: stephen king

Stories After Midnight

21 Friday Sep 2018

Posted by in poems, stories

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , ,

I am running out of money at a rate of knots so I really need to get off my arse and get myself a job.

The bills are piling up and two are way overdue.

But first things first I am also running out of reading material plus I need to return a few books because the last thing I need is for the library police to get on my case.

So I grab my wallet and keys and head out the door.

 

I park my old rust bucket outside my local library and walk into my favourite place on earth.

I could happily wander the aisles for hours taking in the smell of thousands and thousands of books.

But today I am in a hurry so I throw my returns down the chute and walk over to the horror section.

The master of the genre Stephen King has a new novel out and I have been dying to get my hands on a copy for weeks.

So I am pleased to see ‘The Outsider’ sitting on the shelf waiting for me.

I grab it fast before someone beats me to it and make my way to the counter.

But I stop at the community noticeboard first because just maybe my new job is waiting for me as well.

 

But the board is full of notes about missing cats and dogs and different items for sale but then I notice a business card down in the left hand corner.

‘Are you handy on the tools and love to read? Because I have the perfect job for you.

Call Apex Industries today to start an exciting new chapter in your life’

Well of course I love to read but I am about as handy as tits on a bull so I put the card back and head home.

Tomorrow I will go to Centrelink and get myself a job.

 

Once at home I make myself a ham and cheese sandwich and settle down to read the kings latest classic.

Stephen King is known for his huge tomes and ‘The Outsider is no different.

It is as thick as a house brick and just as heavy.

I am soon lost in the story but when I reach page 219 I am surprised to see a business card marking the page.

And I nearly piss my pants when I see that it is the same business card I read at the library.

‘Well this is a bit creepy’ But then I laugh to myself ,obviously there must be more then one card in circulation it is just a coincidence that’s all.

But I still have a funny feeling deep down in my gut.

 

I put the business card on the coffee table and continue my reading until once again my concentration is broken ,this time by my mobile starts to chime.

The screen says PRIVATE NUMBER and I don’t usually answer private callers but maybe it is lotto ringing to tell me that I have won $ 10 million so I answer.

‘Hello am I speaking to Mr Warren Bigelow? ‘Um yes that that’s me’

‘Hi Warren my name is Daphne Pincombe and I am the owner of Apex Industries’

‘I was expecting a call from you today but you must have forgotten ,are you still interested in the position?’

 

I am dumbstruck and lost for words ‘Sorry but I didn’t apply for the position because I am not very handy even though I am a very good reader’

‘That doesn’t matter Warren the tools are very rarely used but I am positive that you are the perfect person to fill the position so can you start tonight say just before midnight?’

‘Um don’t I need to be interviewed first and maybe pass a medical?’

‘Oh no Warren that wont be necessary I know that you are just what I am looking for ,so can I expect you tonight?

And even though my stomach is doing backflips and I mind is in turmoil I find myself answering ‘Of course Mrs Pincombe I will be there’

 

‘What in the fuck just happened? Do I really have a new job?

But than my brain starts to do its job. How did the lady from Apex know my phone number? And how did she know that I had even read the business card?

But I push those thoughts to a small compartment in the back of my mind because I really do need to start earning some money.

So I pick up the business card again and I am pleased to see that Apex Industries are located only a few kilometres away at 219 Riverside Drive Reversby .

 

I am to charged up to sleep so I read for a few hours more have a shower and put on my best clothes then I jump into my car and drive off to start a new career.

And when I arrive at Apex Industries ten minutes later a little old lady is there to greet me Hello Warren I am Daphne and I am pleased to welcome you to Apex Industries’

‘It a very small company in fact you will be my only employee’

We shake hands and I follow my new boss into her office.

 

Mrs Pincombe is about seventy years old with grey hair very steady on her feet and she looks a lot like my own grandmother so I begin to relax.

”I am sorry for the late start Warren but I have found that a lot of my clients respond better to the readings when they are either asleep or when their minds are less active’

‘I have hired you Warren because you have a special talent that you are totally unaware of plus alas I am not getting any younger and I am starting to lose my ability to connect with the clients like I used to so I new a new pupil’

‘So Warren I need you to travel with me every night and heal our clients by the power of the voice and of the touch so that we may heal some damaged minds and souls’

But I warn you Warren that not all minds and souls can be saved some because they are beyond our reach or their minds are pure evil and then Warren I will ask you to end a life before they can do anymore harm to innocent people’

‘So Warren do you want to become my apprentice with the view of one day carrying on my work into the future once my time has come?

 

My head is spinning ,Mrs Pincombe just told me that I am to end a life if the need arises and what is this special talent that I supposedly possess?

So once again I find myself accepting her offer of employment and after signing a few documents I am ready to help Mrs Pincombe in any way that I can.

She smiles with gratitude ‘Thank you Warren you will never regret working for Apex Industries and that is a promise’

She hands me the keys to a shiny white transit van and we drive off into the night.

 

‘Okay Warren head towards Reversby hospital because we have an urgent case to attend to.

A patient there has been in a coma since falling off a horse ten years ago when she was ten years old but the doctors have informed her family that her condition is deteriorating fast so this will be your only chance to save her life’

‘I am sorry to throw you into the deep end Warren but there is no choice in the matter because if we cant save Rachel the world will be a lot worse off because Rachel was destined to become a leading scientist in finding a cure for cancer’

 

We arrive at the hospital and Mrs Pincombe opens the rear doors and I am astonished to find it for of books and magazine plus a small toolbox.

Mrs Pincombe noticing my looks laughs ‘Don’t worry Warren for this job no tools will be required’

It is now almost 1 am and the hospital is closed down for the night and as we approach the front door I notice two guards ‘Mrs Pincombe there is no way that they will let us in at this time at night’

‘Don’t worry Warren it has all been taken care of ‘ So when we reach the doors they slide open and we walk right past the guards without being noticed ‘What the fuck are we invisible? ‘Come on Warren Rachel is fading fast we have to hurry’

 

In room 110 Rachel Smith looks to be sleeping peacefully but Mrs Pincombe assures me that Rachel want see another day if we don’t act soon so she hands me a kids book titled ‘Black Beauty’ and tells me to start reading the book into Rachels ear.

Rachel used to love horses with a passion so hopefully you can awaken her mind and give back to her family’

I have been reading to Rachel for over six months now but with no effect and the doctors have done all they can for her so Warren now it is up to you’

 

I take a seat next to Rachel and start to read ‘Black Beauty’ while Mrs Pincombe paces around the room nervously.

But I cant see the sense in what I am doing ,how can reading a book save a life? But I read that book with everything that I have for over an hour with little success .

But then the room starts to start on different shapes and colours and I find myself in a field with a horse chewing on some grass.

‘That is Rachels horse Roscoe he has been put out to pasture since Rachels accident and he to needs to see her again so use your special talent Warren and reunite Rachel with her family and her horse’

 

What changing the shape and scenery of the room isn’t a special talent?

‘I don’t know what to do Mrs Pincombe what is my special talent?

‘I cant tell you Warren because I don’t know ,you will have to figure it out for yourself but be quick Warren there isn’t much time left’

 

Without thinking I stand in the middle of the room and hold both of my arms out straight.

I aim my fingers at Rachel’s head and blue sparks fly from the tips and strike Rachel over and over and her arms and legs flail as her head is impacted.

All of my strength has been spent so I sit next to Rachel and squeeze her hand and I feel her respond to my touch as her hand squeezes mine.

Then Rachel opens her eyes ‘Can I have a drink of water please? “Sure Rachel here you go’

As I put a cup to Rachels lips Mrs Pincombe  presses the buzzer to summon the nurses ‘We need to leave now Warren our job here is done’

 

Back in the van I am floating with euphoria ‘Well done Warren you passed your first assignment with flying colours ,no pun intended’

I cant answer because I am still recovering from the ordeal but I manage a smile and Mrs Pincombe drives the van back to Apex Industries.

 

Over the following six months or so Mrs Pincombe and I travel in the van visiting people who need saving.

Sometimes I needed to open the toolbox and use a screwdriver or a hammer to enter a home unobserved but usually we entered by stealth alone.

Some clients responded to my reading their favourite book while others needed the whole treatment.

After another successful evening I asked Mrs Pincombe how she decided who to save and who couldn’t be saved

‘It isn’t up to me Warren I am just an ordinary citizen’ I try to say that she is anything but an ordinary citizen but she waves me off.

The decisions come from a higher power that visits me in my dreams and nightmares and when I wake all the information I need is etched deep in my brain.

 

Just before Christmas I am having a snooze in the afternoon when my phone rings ‘Warren I need you here at the office straightaway I had a visit in a nightmare last night and the news isn’t good so get here as soon as you can and I will fill you in’

I arrive at Apex Industries to find Mrs Pincombe in distress she is looking old and haggard ‘I am sorry for my appearance Warren but all of the visits to my mind over the years has finally taken its toll’

‘And the visit last night has left me with nothing left to give so on this job Warren you will be flying solo’

‘There is a predator on the loose and he is about enter our lives now hold my hand and I will tell you all about this evil piece of shit’

 

I listen intently as Mrs Pincombe whispers and tells me all about a serial rapist named Cedric Otis.

And as I listen my blood begins to boil ‘Mrs Pincombe maybe we should call the police and let them handle it’

‘ Warren you didn’t let me finish it is too late to involve the police because Cedric Otis has passed over to the other side but his evil spirit lives on’

Mrs Pincombe cant talk no more and collapses into a chair.

I have no time to lose so I call 000 and run out to the work van.

And this time I will need the toolbox.

 

Will I catch Cedric Otis evil spirit in time or will he create havoc all over Sydney town?

To find out the answer you will have to come back and read part two

 

THE END

Thanks for taking the time to read one of my stories and could you please think about making a donation so that i can fulfill my dream of becoming a fulltime writer. Thanks again Steven.

The Stain

14 Saturday Jan 2017

Posted by in Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , ,

Martha Abercrombie has lived in Bangor Maine her whole life.

She recently lost her husband of forty years and is at a loose end.

She is lonely and she desperately needs something to occupy her

mind.

 

For over thirty years on her way to work she has driven past the house

of author Stephen King.

But it is another house that has caught her attention.

 

The house is a two storey monstrocity  that has clearly seen better days.

A faded old For Sale sign sits in the front yard.

It has been there for as long as Martha can remember.

 

One day Martha stops at the rusty old sign and saves the Real Estate

phone number into her mobile phone.

It is a pity that Martha doesn’t drive another route to work.

Than she would never have seen the house.

Because there is a very good reason why the house has stood vacant

for over twenty years.

 

The house is situated at 16 Balcomb Lane is shrouded by overgrown

shrubs weeds and a nasty reputation.

Originally built in 1900 by a doctor and his young family.

Who travelled all the way from Scotland to start a new life.

 

Doctor McIntosh his wife Stella and their children six year old

Prudence and little Colin a chubby four year old.

The family were excited when they finally moved into their new house

on 1st March 1900.

 

But one thing bothered Stella right from the start.

An ugly stain on the living room wall

Despite all of her scrubbing that stain just wouldn’t go away.

So finally Stella gave up and hung a family portrait over the stain and

forgot all about it.

 

Stella should have left the stain alone.

It has laid dormant for over one hundred years.

Now it has been awoken.

And it isn’t happy.

 

A month after the family moved into the house little Prudence was

spotted arriving home from school.

And since that day not one member of the McIntosh has ever been seen

again.

It is like they just disappeared into thin air.

 

The house stood empty until 1919 when another family moved in.

And than promptly vanished.

A radio was playing songs of the day.

The table was set with plates piled high with food.

Food that was never eaten.

Another family has disappeared without trace.

 

From 1932 to 1970 a total of eight families have lived in that

house.

38 people have vanished into the dust.

 

The neighbours cross the street when they come to the house.

Their is talk of a local Native American tribe laying a curse.

Their are whispers of witchcraft and of sausquatch  coming down

from the mountains.

 

In 1971 the house was demolished and every single piece of that house

was taken away and burnt.

The land stood vacant until 1986 when a new house was built.

The house was blessed by the local priest.

And a lovely young couple moved in.

 

But all of the activity has once again awoken the stain.

 

The same day as the family moved in the brand new house started to

fall apart.

The brickwork and shingles crumbled and fell to the ground

The wiring exploded in a shower of sparks.

While the plumbing leaked dirty water and sewage through out the

house.

 

The new house is transforming back into the old house.

And for the first time there is talk amongst the neighbours about

a strange stain.

 

The lady of the house a Mrs Penelope Lomax told them of a stain on the

living room wall.

It was the size and shape of a human face and the colour of blood.

And despite constant scrubbing and cleaning the stain just wouldn’t go away.

 

A month later Mrs Lomax was seen at her kitchen window.

But after that Penelope and her husband were never seen again.

 

Once more Martha Abercrombie is driving past the house at 16 Balcomb

Lane.

When she comes to a fateful decision.

After work she stops at the real estate office and makes an enquiry about the

house.

The agent is shocked by the question.

No one has asked about that house in over twenty years.

 

But she puts a smile on her face and offers to show Martha the house anytime

that suits.

They arrange to meet at the house at four o’clock the following afternoon.

 

So they meet the next day and Cathy Simpkins the agent walks with Martha

towards the front door.

But it is obvious that she is scared out of her mind.

Martha asks what is wrong and Cathy comes clean and tells Martha all about

the disappearances  that has occurred since 1900.

 

In the back of her mind Martha remembers reading about the missing people.

But this all happened years ago and this house is a renovators dream.

She decides that she has to have this house.

 

The estate agent refuses to go inside.

She opens the front door and tells Martha to take her time.

Martha walks in and feels a chill down her spine.

She goes from room to room and she like what she sees.

All of the rooms are spacious with high ceilings.

But it is obvious that the house needs a lot of work.

But she has to have it and signs the contract on the spot.

 

As Martha is signing the contract back at the cars a stain appears on

the living room wall.

It is barely visible but it is there.

 

For the next six months contractors come and go renovating the house

from top to bottom.

The wiring and plumbing is completely replaced

The house is gutted from roof to the basement fully renovated from top

to bottom.

 

Behind the living room wall the stain is shimmering in a rage.

Once again it has been disturbed.

 

Martha has finally moved into her new house and is enjoying a glass

of wine.

She cant believe how happy she is and how cheap the house was.

Life is perfect.

 

A week after moving in Martha is sitting on her couch reading the latest

Stephen King novel.

When her eyes are drawn to the living room wall.

A blood red stain is seeping through the paint.

 

Martha gets out of her chair for a closer look.

The stain looks like a human face.

Martha shakes her head ‘God my imagination sure is working overtime’.

She goes to the liquor cabinet and pours herself a large whiskey.

Than she walks back towards the stain.

 

It is definently a face.

The eyes of the stain seem to be looking back at her.

Martha’s spine tingles and her bladder starts to leak.

Despite herself she has another look at the stain.

The face is developing you can now make out all of the features.

It appears to be the face of a middle aged woman.

 

Martha pours herself another whiskey as she decides what to do.

But there really is only one decision to make.

So Martha grabs her car keys and runs toward the front door.

 

But a voice stops her in her tracks ‘Come and join me Martha and we can

be together forever’

Martha is shell shocked and her bladder empties completely.

She tries to run but her legs wont move.

Instead they turn back towards the stain.

 

Foot by foot her legs walk towards the stain until she is only five feet away.

Her legs move even closer.

Until she is standing face to face with the stain.

She waits for it to speak again.

 

But this time it doesn’t speak.

It attacks.

Two arms are thrust through the wall and enclose Martha in a bear hug.

She tries to resist but it is of no use.

Martha feels herself being pulled into the stain.

 

She struggles with all of her might.

But she cant fight off the stain.

She is dragged down to the basement and beyond.

Down to an old cemetery full of old tombstones.

Next to one of the graves is a freshly dug hole with a new tombstone.

Martha Abercrombie

Born 18 October 1944

Died 13 January 2017

RIP

The stain has fully engulfed Martha and is walking Martha backwards

until she is teetering on the edge.

Martha can smell and taste her own fear.

 

The stain whispers ‘Goodbye Martha welcome to death’

Martha fulls six feet down and lands on her back.

She is quickly covered in dirt until Martha is no more.

The sound of silence is deafening.

 

The house at 16 Balcomb Lane is up for sale again.

If you have the deposit the house can be yours.

It has been freshly painted inside and out.

The perfect place for a loving family

Or first home buyer.

 

All ready to move in.

Without a blemish or stain in sight.

 

But looks can be deceiving

 

THE END.

Thanks for taking the time to read one of my stories and now if you could please make a donation so i can reach my goal of becoming a fulltime writer. Thanks again Steven.