Godmother



“Hi and welcome back to “Rock the Radio with Reira”! Reira here, and to celebrate Halloween we are going to let YOU; our beloved listeners call in and share your most horrific experiences! Its eleven o’clock and we have a caller! Welcome to the show… Lily Barrel?” “It’s Burell…” “Sorry about that, sweetie. So, tell us your story!” “Well…”
 * Intro*

It all started when my godmother called me from the hospital. She had slipped on the chair while exchanging a light-bulb and fallen to the floor, breaking her ankle. It came as quite a shock at first when she asked me to guard her cabin. Sure, she didn’t have any family of her own to ask, but to be honest, I had only been there a couple of times and knew her cabin wasn’t… well… a first class hotel. She and my mom used to be the best of friend, that’s why she was made my godmother, but lately, she had become so awkward. My mother had once invited her over for a party but my godmother had this weird habit of creeping people out so they kinda lost their contact trough time. I guess she lost her contact with most people as she sold her apartment in town and moved out into that cabin deep into the woods. Her husband had built it for the summers and when he died she didn’t want it to be sold or just stand there and decay more than it had already done. Maybe it was more of a ramshackle now that I think of it. The red color had faded years and years ago and trees and bushes had started to grow closer and closer, almost as if the wood was trying to swallow the cabin… take it back to nature or something.

As soon as she had persuaded me to drive all the way down to her cabin, I packed my bag and the day after I got into my car with my bag in the trunk. It always felt like going back in time when I drove from my home to the woods. At first you can see like a burger-king ever second turn you make on the road and there are people everywhere and other cars. I had left home early, but still got into a traffic-jam and it took 36 minutes and a road that usually only takes 15 minutes the most. Then, the longer you drive, the less traffic and people you see. Even the fast-food restaurants go away and the road just gets worse and worse. After a while, it just ends and turns into highroad and you pass a couple of barns and occasionally a small house. I still can’t understand why people would live out here… it feels so desolate and lonely. Maybe that’s why? The road gets thinner and thinner as I drive and soon you simply follow a bumpy road that goes straight between fields, and fields of different grain growing as tall as half my own size. On this perticulair road, I always used to say to myself: “Please, no encounter with another vehicle.” Since it would be as well as impossible to pass it without driving down into a ditch and to be fair, I had not had my driver-license long enough to do one of those fancy passes. And then, of-course, a big tractor appears before me with a man sitting behind the wheel starting to wave at me to back my car all the way. I could see how I would have an easier way to back my car, but still felt a bit annoyed that I just HAD to see meet him right now. Anyway, I backed quite a bit before I found a lot that I could drive up on and let the tractor pass me. I tried to wave at the man with a “You’re welcome”, but he didn’t even look at me… he simply drove by and went away behind a bend. I got onto the road again and drove the rest of the way, past the last, farm where the tractor most likely came from, and into the woods. The road got really bad. To be fair, it wasn’t much of a road anymore, it was more of… two wheel-tracks in the ground I followed through the difficult terrain. In about 20 minutes or so, and hundreds of swearing-words later from having the worst shock-absorbers, I parked outside the cabin and got out. No need really to lock the car out here, but as soon as I got my back from the trunk, I did it anyway by habit. Beside… what if a dear stole my car, then I’d never be able to flee from this place as soon as my godmother got back on her feet again.

I walk around the corner to the front, following a small gravel-path, and had a short look around. Who in their right mind would ever feel like living in a place like this? I mean, really? I didn’t see very far since the cabin sure was placed in the middle of the woods without something that could be mistaken for a lot or something, but I knew that somewhere there was a lake. I think it was… south? Or was it north from the cabin? Well, never-mind, I couldn’t swim anyway and there were probably snakes somewhere in these woods. I turned to look at the front of the cabin, just to see that the door was ajar. I knew it would have been unlocked since the ambulance had come in all heist to get ger, but open? I walked to it and slowly opened the door. The old hinges whined a bit as I pulled it open completely. It was all dark inside so I reached my hand in first to press the switch that was revealed in the dim lights. I pushed it and a warm tone of light, lit up the hallway before I stepped in and closed the door behind me, turning the lock to the side until it sealed the door. “Wow… If this is how you live when you get old and crazy, I will die young…” Maybe not the best of words, I admit, but that was the first thing that came to my mind as I saw the cracked floorboards, the thorn wallpaper and smelled that smell you often smell from old people. Some mix between soap and… mold, but it was still kind of cozy. She had put up some nice knitted curtains in the living-room and had a lot of silly figurines everywhere of forest animals. She even had a big porcelain deer with antlers that I, for fun, hung my car-keys.

I walked to the left, into the kitchen and looked around. Since it had been a long trip, I walked to the freezer and opened it in hope to find something edible, but all I could find was water in bottles, some microwave-food and… cans of dog-food? It was like a shock when I saw it. Dog-food? She had a dog? I looked around and found bowls in the sink with paw-prints on. I didn’t know she had a dog so I immediately started to call for him, whistle and yelling “here boy!” but no respond. That’s when I remembered that the door had been open. Maybe the dog had gotten out... I sighed… I just got here and her dog is already gone. Through the kitchen I walked into the bedroom and looked around. The bed was very low, so I was sure that the dog wouldn’t be able to hide under it, no matter how small it might be. But I did open the wardrobe and looked around there. It was a mess… all clothes had just been showed in and was laying in piles on top of each-other. For some reason, there was also an old lamp showed into it. It was in iron and a bit rusty, looked like as if it was supposed to be outside on the front. She must had bought a new one and I just hadn’t noticed it. To my defense, this was just about the fifth time I was here and first time alone so to not notice something like that might not have been my fault. Anyway, I decided to check it out, so I tossed my bag onto the bed to walk outside. I looked around but couldn’t find the lamp. All I did find was a hole into the panel with two smaller holes on each side. It must have been here where the lamp at first was, but why had she taking it down without replacing it? Maybe she had, I just couldn’t find it. I walked inside again and turned right to have a look into the living-room. The room was almost pitch black and I reached my hand in to press the light-switch, but as I did nothing happened. I’m such and idiot; it was in the living-room she had tried to change the bulb. Well, I guess it can’t be helped, so I walked into the dark room, trying to find my way to the closest window to spread the curtains. Light from the inside shined in and I could more easily find the other windows and pull their curtains aside as-well. When I finally had some dim light in the room, I turned around and inspected it. Everything looked as it usually had done, but in the middle of the room, a chair was lying down and above that, an old celling lamp was hanging. It took a while to find a new bulb but it was very easy to install it and soon the living-room was well lit. I knew my godmother was a bit odd, but I found it inconsequent to try to change a bulb in the darkness but I guess she had her reasons.

After some hours, I had made myself at home. I had fetched my bag from the trunk and put some clean sheets on the bed so I could sleep there, heck I had even went shopping for some supplies before the night came and swallowed the whole forest into darkness. I was playing some games on my laptop when I by accident looked outside the window. It was really dark. If she had another lamp this would be a good time to find out so I left my laptop on sofa as I went up and walked out into the hallway to press the switch, but outside the window, it was still dark. I unlocked the door and stepped outside, letting the door stay open and shine some light out so I could see at least a bit. Nothing... Not even a simple streak of light from the outside. If the lamp in her closet didn’t work, why wouldn’t she buy a new one and if it DID work, why had she taken it down? I felt as if I had missed something… My thoughts were erupted by a sound behind me. I turned around, but saw nothing but darkness… “Hello…?” I said, cursing myself immediately for saying anything at all. It was asif someone had walked onto a twig that had burst and now, to not have me notice him or her, it had stoped moving, hiding in the darkness. “Unless you’re an animal, stop that!” I shouted. I crossed my arms and looked around. Somehow, I felt watched. Another sound, a crack of a twig. My body jumped and I tossed myself inside again, pushing the door closed and locked it… backing away from it slowly. Man… this place is really starting to get to me.

The next day I decided to call my godmother to see if she was doing well and to ask some questions. I had still not found her dog but I wasn’t sure I would tell her that it was gone since it could make her even more miserable then she could be by now. Anyway, I called her up and when she spoke to me she sounded so weak. “Hello…?” She said. “Hey, it’s me. Euhm... how are you doing?” It felt quite weird to call her. We didn’t have to much contact before but now of a sudden I was alone in her cabin, guarding it from whatever I needed to guard it from. “Oh… hi…” She sounded very confused. “I’m well…” she then said. We both went quiet for a short while. I bit my bottom lip and cleared my throat. “So… when will you be back?” “I’m not sure, sweetie. How’s it going?” “Oh, good I suppose. I switched the light-bulb for you.” “Light-bulb… OH! Oh, thank you.” She must have hit her head as she fell. Nothing I really said got an expected reaction so I decided that it might be for the best to be honest about the dog. “You only have three cans of dog-food left. Do you wish me to buy you some more?” Silence… then some deep breaths. “You… you have fed the dog?” “Not… exactly. I’m sorry, when I got here the door was open and… I think he might have gotten out.” My godmother started to laugh. “Oh, Sweetie…” She chuckled. There was something about her that kind of freaked me out. As if… I don’t know. The whole conversation just felt so weird. “Do like this… take a bowl of food and put it outside the door in the evening. I’m sure he will come back when he smells dinner… I have to go now.” “Wait, euhm… Why have you taken down the porch-lamp?” “I’m sorry, sweetie. I really have to go. Call me tomorrow.” The call ended and I stared at the phone. Did that just happen? A sigh, then I put it back in its holder and went into the kitchen to watch some movies on my laptop to calm me down a bit. As the evening came, I prepared a bowl with a whole can of dog-food. The smell was awful but it would be impossible for a dog to resist it. I brought it outside with me and looked around. The wind was whining through the trees and made some single leaves fall from the branches as I stepped out on the gravel-path. There was something that made me quite… concerned about the whole thing with the dog. I wanted to place the bowl as far away from the cabin, but found that I didn’t want to walk to far away from it IF something would scare me just like last night so I ended up placing the bowl at the end of the path, then walking fast back inside and locking the door behind me. From the window in the living-room I could easily see it standing out there in the evening sun, but it would be harder when the night came, seeing as I didn’t have any working outside lamp.

A scraping sound woke me up with a small twitch and for a short while, I wasn’t sure where I was. I rubbed my eyes and looked around. I had been so focused on the bowl that I had fallen asleep on the chair in the living-room by the window, resting my head against the windowsills. I was about to rub my eyes again, when the scraping came back. It came from the hallway so I gently stood up and walked to the doorway. There, I stared at the main door. The scraping came from it… it was no doubt, cause in every sound that was made, the door kinda fidgeted. Whatever the sound came from it sounded… hostile. It wasn’t as I imagined it would sound as if a cat or a dog would scratch on it. It was bigger and stronger and the scrapings seemed to last so long. As if it started from the top of the door and slowly slid down to the bottom. Without thinking my hand moved to the switch and I shut the light off…

As soon as the light had gone off the noise had stopped, but I had remained on the same spot all night. Not until the sun started to shine in trough the dirty windows I dared to move again, standing up with my knees shaking. Whatever had been outside that night, it must be gone now? Right? The rest of the day I avoided the main door. I walked passed it in the hallway with rapid steps and once every half hour I looked out from the living-room window to see if something was outside. But of course… nothing. It wasn’t until about five o’clock as the sun was going down, shining through the trees, that I dared to unlock the main door and gently slide it open and walk outside. The birds were singing soft songs in the trees and the wind blew gently trough the leaves, giving a quite harmonic and calm place during day. I took a deep breath before I turned around and faced the door. My eyes stuck on the outside of it… From the very top of the door to the bottom, long, deep marks was now found carved into the white door. My jaw dropped a bit before I raised my hand and placed it on top of it. The marks was as wide as my fingernails and there was about four in every row. There was as if something in my head snapped. I jumped, then ran inside, closing and locking the door before taking the phone and dialing the number to my mom’s workplace. “Please pick up… Please…” I whined to myself, feeling how my eyes started to tear up. I don’t know how long I waited for a voice to answer before I gave up and tossed the phone back into its holder and ran into the kitchen to pack up all my belongings. I made sure that all windows were closed, even if I had not opened any and that all lights where off before I took my bag and walked outside. My godmother could say whatever she wanted; I couldn’t stay another second here! No way! I walked around the corner of the cabin to my car, unlocked it and tossed the bag into the backseat, then took place behind the wheel and just as I was going to close the door… I heard a loud scream. The panic filled shreik from something I could just imagine was some sort of animal. It was so inhuman and the strong voice echoed in the distance. It must come from the lake… that’s the only place I knew had high cliffs that could produce an echo so strong. I shut the door and locked it from the inside then started to feel my pockets for the car-ke… the car-keys… where were them?! I looked through the pockets several times but couldn’t find them. I even searched through my bag, tossed my belongings around the backseat like crazy but no keys. I felt my eyes tear up as I took a deep breath and went out from the car again, leaving the door open as I ran to the front of the cabin again to unlock the main-door and get inside. “Keys, keys, keys…” I repeated to myself in a stressed voice before I found them on the antlers of the porcelain deer. I grabbed them in a rapid move and held them hard in my fist as I walked outside. For the second time, I turned around to close the door… then I heard… a twig burst behind me. I jumped around and started out into the forest. My mind started to get paranoid and I could swear I saw movements behind every tree. Something in my head said “run” but my feet was as frozen. Run… RUN! My teeth clenched themselves and I could feel how something was watching me just like last night… something was out there. Suddenly, my feet managed to move and I ran back to the car, tossed myself in behind the wheel again and closed the door before I started up the car and backed all the way up onto the wheel-tracks, made a quick turn and started to drive out from the woods the same way that I had come the days before. As I finally got out from the damn woods, the sun had gone down. I drove like a maniac over the highroad through the fields, trying to tell myself that I was safe now and that I’d never get back there ever again but yet I felt that I would never ever be calmed down again. Suddenly, something rammed my vehicle from the side and it was pushed out into a field. I screamed in panic until it stopped. My eyes stared out the front window as a big shadow moved passed my headlights, towards the driver-side. With quick fingers I tried to unlock my seatbelt but it was jammed. I tried to pull it up but I couldn’t get it off me and my fingers tried in vain to find and push down the button on the side, but when you’re as terrified as I was… it was so hard to get myself to do the simplest task. It wasn’t until a growl… right next to the side-window as my whole body froze again. My bottom lip quivered as I slowly turned my head to the side. There, pressed up against the window, the face I will never forget. It looked like some sort of… man with a deformed face. The skin was pale white and almost shined in the darkness. The mouth was open and the breath was hitting against the window, creating a blur over the bottom of its face… But the… eyes… they were just like deep holes in the face and it didn’t have a nose, just two smaller holes where a nose should have been. The deep, black holes stared straight into my eyes before IT started to claw the side of my car slowly. I watched it take a deep breath as its jaw dropped and screamed out into the night, the same inhumane shriek as before and that made me scream to the top of my lungs in the car. This would be the end of me… That was when a bright shining light suddenly appeared. The beast cringed before it crouched and ran off into the field. I kept screaming as the door on the passenger-side was thorn open and a hand grabbed my arm. “How the hell do you drive, woman?!” I turned around and faced the appearance of a man in overalls and a cap. “You have mowed half my crop with your car!” I know he was angry with me, but with tears falling down my cheek I couldn’t do anything else then to toss my arms around his neck and cry out against his shoulder. He had been out with his tractor for a drive as he had seen my car suddenly hurl itself down among the crops and came for rescue It was the bright headlights of his tractor that had scared the beast away…  now drowning my car in the safety of the strong headlights.

“Wow… that is one creepy story you’ve got there, Lily. Did you ever tell anyone else what happened that night?” “Yes… I told the police, my parents, my friends… There was even a search going through the woods to try to find the beast, but nothing…” “When was this?” “Two months ago…” “How’s your godmother doing?” “She disappeared five days ago… the door into her cabin was crushed and she was gone, as the domestic help came there one morning to clean.” “So, what are you going to do now?” “I haven’t slept a whole night since… and I never will as long as that… thing, is still out there. I think I know where it lives… and I know what it doesn’t like. I just need someone to hel…” “Aaaand that’s all from Lily Burell, ladies and gentlemen. Do YOU have a good story you wish to share tonight? Call now and you might get lucky to share your story LIVE!”
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