Board Thread:Writer's Workshop/@comment-31211829-20170202130739

I'm not too happy with the ending but i am too inexperienced to fix it. well I gave it a go.

 This is Sally’s story.

 The dilapidated house down the end of the street isn’t a mystery to her anymore, not that it’s a good thing mind you. This is not your average haunted old building. It has the usual stigma attached, the neighbourhood kids tell a range of tales from witches and monsters, to cults sacrificing pets. These pets’ corpses becoming a vessel for the demons they chanted to. The families of the beloved fur babies welcoming them home with open arms after fearing they would never be seen again. In the dead of night these tainted animals would tear apart every last family member.

 The latter being the latest. Sally has heard it told to her several different ways depending on who told the story, the teen clerk at the local grocery store was the goriest, grinning like a mad man throughout the whole story. When he was finally finished he stood smiling, teeth bared and wide eyed waiting for Sally’s reaction. She asked the teen if he was related to John Wayne Gacy and that he should probably see someone about it. The teen dropped his manic expression, tilted his head and asked “wasn’t that the dude who invented paperclips or some shit?” With that Sally handed the teen a twenty told him to keep the change and made her way back to the car with her bags all the while trying not to shake her head in dumbfounded disappointment. Ah millennial’s she thought.

 While all these being your typical local legends, all we knew for certain is every couple of decades a child would go missing, not enough for the authorities to be alarmed by a trafficking ring mind you. But enough for the rest of us living in the surrounding neighbourhood to have our theories.

 Not one person ever remembers another human being living in nor owning the mysterious property in fact it didn’t even register in anyone’s mind. Sally being interested in the paranormal as a young teen tried to do some research of her own. There were no newspaper articles about the place, not then and not in the past. She asked every elderly person she came across. The only bit of info she ever got was from her 56year old high school maths teacher. “I asked my grandmother once when I was around your age. She told me that it was just there. She said one day it wasn’t and then it just was. It looked the same then that it does to this day. I think the only reason anyone noticed it there, was because it’s an eye sore. You see Sally my grandmother moved here with her parents as a small child when this place was a brand new development, so this house came as a huge shock.” Sally asked if anyone had gone into the house. Her teacher ignored her question and continued on with the childish version of the witches’ coven and finished the conversation with a hearty laugh about the ridiculousness of the subject.

 Sally grew up and learnt to ignore the existence of the house like everyone else in the neighbourhood. “Out of sight out of mind” they would say. She went to college, had the usual adventures and returned to her home town as she scored a cushy job as the town’s local artist which entailed painting murals over graffiti, filling in for the local high school art teacher, art therapy in the old folks home and running a few craft classes in the town community centre. Sally was happy. She met a guy fell head over heels in love, got married and bought a house suitable for a budding family.

 Jackson was a loving, caring, and thoughtful man but a bit of an odd duck. He never spoke of his side of the family. No parents no siblings. Not that they don’t exist, he would just change the subject of conversation. In fact not one relative of Jacksons showed up to the wedding. He did however insist on reserving two seats at the front, for whom he wouldn’t say. They never came. Sally thought this was odd but not a red flag situation, she just accepted it as one of his quirks.

 Everything was great. Sally’s work was steady, Jackson worked in I.T and married life was bliss as the fourth anniversary rolled around. It was the very next day that marked the beginning of this terrifying time for sally.

 Jackson came home from work at the usual time carrying bits and pieces of broken or fried tech gear that his boss lets him take home for Sally to get crafty with, only this time as Jacksons walking through the door he is scanning a post card. Grinning, walked straight through to the kitchen and puts it in the draw we set aside for bills and things. “Honey. Who’s the postcard from?” Sally asks. “My parents” he replied. Sally hugged Jackson and told him how wonderful that was. He smiled and asked what she wanted for dinner. Sally learnt a long time ago that it must have been a real touchy subject and knows to just let it go. She could not stand to see the sadness in his face when she would ask.

 It would be a year before the next postcard came. Same thing, Jackson reading, grinning then placing it in the draw with the last. The next came six months after. Then again in another month, then a couple of weeks until there was a postcard almost every day.

 One afternoon as Sally Settled herself on the couch with a good book, Jackson stumbled through the front door with his now usual afternoon routine of juggling bags, reading a postcard and ignoring the world till he’s done, drops the lot and yells “Oh hell!” Sally raced to the door to make sure he was ok and was met with a dishevelled Jackson who informs her “mum and dad think it’s time to meet you and we are invited to dinner at 7 no excuses”

 Sally and Jackson got ready in a frantic rush leaving the house in a state that could only be described as hurricane chic, headed off to the store to get wine for the hosts.

 With Jackson driving and Sally checking the state of her makeup in the side mirror for the twentieth time, glances forward long enough to realise they are driving back in the direction they came. A million and one questions flooded her mind with no pause making it virtually impossible for her to ask even one of them, when Jackson pulled into the driveway. Sally’s brain made a full 360 and lost all ability to think at all. The only thing Sally could do was sit and stare at the dilapidated building before her through the slightly smudged windscreen. The house so old and mangled, the house no light ever shone on, the house that took her half a life time to ignore, the mysterious house down the street from her own.

 Jackson’s hand came through the open car door to reach her own. Sally closed her eyes and took a deep breath to steady the fuzzy feeling in her brain. “Sally”…. “Sally” his voice sounded distant. “There’s no need for a panic attack, they will love you. Just smile and remember to breathe”

 Walking the few feet to the decayed front porch and up to the once grand front door to Sally felt this must be what walking on the moon feels like. The House having its own gravity while every fibre in her being trying to pull her two feet backwards with every step. All the while not feeling the solid ground beneath her trembling legs, watching herself from a far. Jackson slammed the rusted brass knocker and in that instant Sally seemingly snapped back inside herself, heart thudding heavily.

 With a loud creak Jackson open the heavy door and led Sally into what she could only assume was the foyer. “Jacks…” Sally started, wanting to ask him what the actual fuck was going on, when he cut her off calling out “Ma, Pa, I’m home!” as he helped sally out of her coat and placed it into the corner on top of his own. Sally’s eyes start to adjust a little to the darkness to see the state of the house was in much more disrepair than the outside. Rotten, water logged and missing floor boards peppered with moss and dark stains that looked like pools of black engine oil. Grabbing Sally’s hand Jackson leads her across the hazardous surface with the confidence and finesse of someone who had lived here their whole lives. Down the long mangled corridor with exposed beams and holes the size of a small child visually connecting the gaping black abyss hidden within the passing rooms.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Reaching the end of the corridor, opened up to a large dining hall. Beams of moonlight streaked the top of a long rotting dining table through black grimy highset windows. Odd Sally thought that the sun won’t touch this place but the moon seemed to be fine with it. Seriously THIS is when her brain wants to check in? She was not impressed with herself at all. But be damned if she wasn’t going to be strong and support the love of her life with this obvious and frightening breakdown. Too many questions and not the safest place to ask them she thought. Ushering her to one end of the long table Jackson leads Sally to one of the remaining two chairs that haven’t been reduced to what looks like several piles of bones with dust a thousand years thick.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Sally and Jackson sat at the table in silence for what seemed like an hour staring at the other end of the table shrouded in blackness. It was so dark it seemed to absorb what little light surrounded it. Jackson started to speak “We don’t have to sit here and listen to this, it’s not our fault. Pa you where the one that disapproved.” Sally was confused “that was 6 years ago the whole ceremony you mocked her and Sally had the RIGHT to ignore you!” Jackson spat. Sally laid her hand on his arm trying to pull his attention to her. Jackson continued to defend her honour to someone she could not hear nor see as he angrily leaned on the chair with reckless abandonment completely oblivious to the guttural creaks and groans it made under the strain. Making it without a doubt clear to Sally, what Jackson sees is not what she sees.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Amidst her own thoughts Jackson stands up and throws the bottle of wine into the darkness at the end of the table. Out of the gloom soars a once regale high backed chair that hits the wall behind Sally’s head missing her by mere inches. Jackson yells at sally to run. “Go home. I got this. GO!” petrified sally took a couple of step backwards, not wanting to leave Jackson alone when the solid wooden door to the dining hall slams in her face leaving her shaking in the darkness of the corridor. Sally ran. Not too sure how she made it out of the house, not wanting to remember, but not knowing if she’ll ever forget. The sounds of feet running in time with her own, coming from the ceiling. The banging on the walls as she hoped she made the right turn to the front door, the ear piercing screams. The black bogy liquid oozing out of each crack, crevice and hole.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Sally finally reached her front steps. Her stomach not getting the memo, kept going. She retched down the stairs heaving, trying to suck in air so she wouldn’t suffocate. Pulling herself together Sally got inside and closed the door. She sighed closing her eyes and leaned against the door in frightened exhaustion. Upon opening her eyes the darkness overwhelmed her. Frantic Sally fumbled for the light switch and proceeded to do the same with every light in her house tripping over the mess they made earlier in the morning to get ready for the worst night of her boring but happy existence.

<p class="MsoNormal"> The last switch was the kitchen. With her heart rate rumbling like a jet engine now lowering close to normal her eyes set upon the bill draw. Sally threw herself at it. Taking out the garbage bin and two kitchen chairs on the way. Limping the remaining distance she opened and rifled through the draw, tossing bills and recepts in every direction till she found the stack at the bottom. She flipped the first one over. There was nothing written on it. She turned the next… nothing. The next, nothing. Every damn postcard was bare. Sally crumpled to the floor in a depressed heap and cried herself to sleep.

<p class="MsoNormal"> The next 7 months where hell for sally. It was a blur of depression, hormones and no support. She had been back and forth to the little police station. Filed a missing persons report for Jackson being brought back in for questioning again and again. The snickers turned to sad looks of concern that I was sticking to that story. The officers handling Jacksons case said they asked around if anyone had seen him, “nope”, ”nah”, who?” they would say. Even the people Jackson worked with every day for the last several years couldn’t compile a single description of him. One guy said he was short with brown hair, another said he was tall with red hair. She brought in some wedding photos for his missing persons file, they told Sally they were too blurry and couldn’t use them. To her it was a perfect photo of the day they said forever. Both smiling like nothing in the world could ruin their happiness. Through all this she found out she was already 9 weeks pregnant. Some nights it’s unbearable, others tolerable.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Finding herself at the town hospital, if you could call it that. It was essentially a little 3 bedroom house with the walls knocked out and 10 beds. They renovated it quite well to be honest. Sally waited on a chair for the nurse to bring her in for her last scans. Silly little bugger, almost a week late. Wanting to sleep in just like your dad, she thought with a tear rolling down her cheek as the nurse called her name and helped her out of the seat.

<p class="MsoNormal"> As the nurse did her thing sally waited for the screen to show her the baby on the ultrasound machine while the nurse rambled on about her belief system that every child should have a mum and dad and that Sally should think of adoption for the normalcy of the child. Sally stared at the screen. The baby was sleeping yet she could see something moving in the background. It jiggled and squirmed until it looked like…. a face.

<p class="MsoNormal"> The face of an old man. She jumped scaring the nurse. Sally asked “what the hell was that?” the nurse shook her head while clutching her chest. “It was nothing dear, please god don’t do that again”. Sally laid back down on the bed heart thumping. “Here dear, would you like to hear your babies heart beat one more time before the birth? Because after that… well you know, you’ll be praying for silence” the nurse commented as she handed sally the stethoscope. Sally attempted a small chuckle that ended up sounding like a snort. She placed the ear buds in her ears as the nurse busied herself with some medical equipment on the other side of her bed. Breathing steadily sally place the other end on top of her stomach. Thud,thud. Thud,thud. Thud,thud. Then nothing. Sally reached for the nurse when a thunderous growl yelled down her ears through the stethoscope “ Give me my child Sally!” Sally screamed and ripped out the ear piece. In just as much time the nurse jabbed her with a sedative. Sally’s world went black…

<p class="MsoNormal"> Sally awoke to the humming of a nursery rhyme. She saw someone cradling something in there arms leaning over her. That’s when the pain hit her. The unbearable throbbing pain but yet she couldn’t feel any part of her body she felt numb yet felt everything. She couldn’t move. She tried to yell but the only sound she could muster was a gurgle. Sally thought she was drooling she tried to swallow the bitter taste of copper told her she was screwed. She strained to focus on the figure leaning over her. Slowly Sally’s vision cleared enough to make out it was a man. Not any man. Through the din of the room she could make out Jacksons face. He was cradling a baby… Her baby. Jackson kisses Sally’s forehead and whispers “you did good.” Sally tries with everything in her power to grab her child frightened yet determined, it made no difference. She wasn’t in control she had no hope. Jackson frowned straightened himself up and announced “we have to go now” Jackson walks to the door turns around one last time. Holds there child’s hand in the air and says “say bye bye mummy”. As he turns to walk away sally sees the shadows of three figures walk past the rows of curtains to the exit. As the last threads of consciousness slips away sally shed a tear for the child she’ll never know and the family she once had.

<p class="MsoNormal"> Sargent O’rily got into the passenger seat of the cruiser with the temper of a two year old. The rookie diving the patrol car knew this was going to happen. He hated this shift. “Seriously I get woken up for this shit? So what? She’ll still be dead in the morning! Let’s just get this done” the Sargent grumbled. Upon entering the small town hospital they were met by the smell of death. The rooky stepped one foot in the crime scene and vomited down his pants. There laid Sally. Well what was left of Sally. The Sargent asked the nurse a few questions. And concluded she was the only patient at the time. “So you say she was pregnant?” “Yes sir” ”so where is the infant now?” cold as ice the nurse replies “One day it was, then it just wasn’t” <ac_metadata title="Sally&#039;s story (unreviewed) first piece i have ever written"> </ac_metadata>