Board Thread:Writer's Workshop/@comment-4893169-20150521160433

Here's the part I'm going to add to the story> The Last Day of October--Bookstore Horror

"Frowning Fiona shook her head and continued on with her browsing. For a split second she thought she saw the photograph of a crowded Pemberly Station moving like an old film reel, but she couldn’t be sure. It could of just been a lightning flash as well as her wild imagination overreacting as usual.

''Ugh, get a grip, Fiona! I mean, look around you. What could be much more peaceful and safe than this quaint place?''

Peaceful and safe...like this old town of white chalk cliffs and giant ammonites.

“Nothing weird’s going to happen,” she mumbled. “I’m just getting the creeps because of the storm and because today’s Halloween.”

Shivering, she shut her eyes tightly and stood really still, feeling her skin prickle with goosebumps, and listening as the rain pelted against the windows and the wind howled around the eaves of the shop.

Something brushed against her ankles, startling her. Gasping, Fiona snapped her eyes wide open and looked down.

A large silvery-blue cat looked up at her with wide orange eyes.

“Oh, hey there, kitty-cat,” Fiona sighed in relief. “It’s nice to meet you. You gave me quite a start there.”

The cat sat up, stretching out his front paws to snag her pants leg.

“Well, aren’t you just precious--”

She knelt down to scratch the tom gently behind his ears. He leaned his head into her hand, eyes closing ecstatically as a deep purr rumbled up from his chest.

Fiona thought about her own cat staying at her aunt’s place back in Harnam. It was probably for the best since many of the inns and hotels in Eskaŕd didn’t accommodate companion animals, and Miss Tabitha barely tolerated the boarding house cats or even being put into a cattery for two weeks.

She’s definitely going to yowl up a storm when I get back, Fiona thought wryly, as well as insisting on sleeping near my head for the next couple of nights. At least she’s not pooping in my slippers like she did when she got out of quarantine.

Yet even the petting of a friendly resident feline couldn’t quite dispel the feeling of dread that hung heavy in the quiet, musty air of the shop. Like an expectation that something very dark and ominous was steadily approaching...but exactly what it was, Fiona was unsure.

“Uh, say, Monsieur Chat?” she began hesitantly, not knowing if the animal would answer back in fluent French or some Gerdin language or even telepathy. Anything was possible in the Realm of Faerie.

The cat raised his head, staring silently as he continued to knead his paws on her pants leg.

“Uh...you wouldn’t happen to notice anything odd with the atmosphere here?” she asked lamely. Fiona thought for a minute, then added, “That creepy feeling you get when ghosts are about to show up?”

The cat’s only response was to rub against her legs, his purr rising to a loud steady thrumming. Then he uttered “Meeow,” which roughly translated to ‘“Pet me more.”

“Ah yes,” Fiona nodded gravely. “No wonder you don’t understand me. You’re a plain ole Earth Cat.”

Earth Cats couldn’t talk nor understand the complex Gerdin or Faerie languages. Despite their lack of complex thinking skills, the Midgard Federal Republic, composing of multiverse governments, rescued as many Earth Cats as possible as well as many other animals before the barbaric hualau species destroyed the planet entirely.

“Well, that’s great,” Fiona muttered as the cat batted one of her floppy sleeves with one of his paws. “Out of all the cats in this place, I get one who’s a simpleton. I must be losing my mind her. I’m complaining to an ordinary non-Faerie feline.”

The cat continued his continued his contented purr. almost seeming to smile as he rubbled against her hand.

“Yes,” she gently scratched behind his ears again. “The life of an Earth feline must be rather enjoyable, plenty of food, shelter, always having someone at your beck and call, ready to give you an endless supply of love and affection. Kind of like the fur person I live with, only she can read, play board games(when she wants to) and dispense helpful advice...Of course you have absolutely no idea what I’m talking about. I could be talking about fern centipede and tree vampires ready to invade, and you’d think I’ll be talking about providing you with pampering room service along with a helping of fresh tuna fish.”

“Mrrow,” the cat replied before climbing into her lap and curling up into a ball for a snooze.

Fiona stared dumbly at the blue bundle of fur, feeling as if a huge leaden wight had been lifted. Although the storm outside continued on, the dense ‘fog’ of negativity seemed to have dispersed.

“You Earth rascals might not be super-geniuses,” she muttered in wonderment, “but you sure are experts when it comes to breaking up bad vibes. I feel better already.”

However, despite her gratitude toward the friendly feline, Fiona had no intention of remaining a comfy “cat” chair for several hours. At the same time, she didn’t want to distrust this furry bundle of utter cuteness.

As she debated whether or not it would be okay to let pussum finish his nap in her book bag, she heard a familiar sound.

Goat bells clanked and tingled as the front door swung open. Fiona’s ears pricked as she listened for the sound of footsteps, but all she could hear was the hiss of rain and wind whispering across the threshold, bringing with it the skittering of dried autumn leaves. For less than a minute she listened carefully. So what’s going on? she thought as the silence stretched into several long uncomfortable moments. They got the wrong place or what? Finally, she picked up the still-sleeping feline and slowly rose to her numb feet. Without warning, the door slammed shut, causing Fiona to jump and the cat to suddenly bolt awake and scramble out of her grasp.

Bewilderedly, she watched as the cat barreled down the narrow aisle, finally disappearing into the Mystery section.

“Well, that was weird!”

The words escaped her lips in a rush as her heart thumped rapidly with fear. Cautiously, she peered around the wall of books just in time to see an unimaginably strange sight-- a great pack of long-legged black hounds or something dashing down the main aisle. Could these animals be responsible for the door suddenly opening? She was suddenly seized by the notion that there was something rather unsettling about these things and that they should be left well alone.

Let sleeping dogs lie, she thought, suddenly remembering that human proverb. Something was wrong; something was very wrong. She shuddered, and suddenly it was very icy cold and the lights didn’t seemed to be working at their best. With each crack of thunder, they seemed to wane from their brilliant orange to a dull filmy yellow. In this strange flickering twilight, the main aisle seemed to stretch into the infinite, and the tall shelves surrounding it seemed to loom large until they resembled a forest of shadowy trees. At the edge, the hounds turned to look back at her, their sulphurous yellow-orange eyes glowing steadily, but they made not a sound. Wait a minute, are those things standing up. She did not cry out, but just stared and held her breath as shadows seemed to flow out of the shelves and surround the gaunt shaggy figures. When the shadows receded and the strange visitors had vanished, the lights returned to normal, eventually she breathed in a shaky breath, her heart pounding hard in her chest. Once her mind cleared and her heart resumed its normal beat, Fiona decided she had just encountered some young phouka who decided to just scare the living crap out of her for their own twisted Halloween amusement.

“You've got nothing at all to worry about... ," she muttered reassuringly. "Just some harmless mischievous faeries who enjoy playing practical jokes on people. That’s all. Nothing to worry about.”

As if on cue, the door opened a second time with a screech of bolts and a clatter of bells. Fiona flinched suddenly, rubbing the side of her elegant face. Her wide golden eyes fearfully examined the various Folk swarming in. " 