Lonely Traveller
A dark and stormy drabble
This road circles the rocky hill... as far as she can tell. Her car wheezes out a death-rattle, its soaked system spluttering against the storm.
Oh, let it not skid. Let her not go over.
She does reach the castle. A lonely light glows in a window - a red glow... too red and steady to be candle-flame.
She dismisses this oddity. The world is cold and dark and miserable, yet here - at last - is a light.
She hammers on the vast oak door-
It silently admits her.
She sees no one behind it.
And no one sees her ever again.
Thanks for reading…
…and a big welcome to explorers old and new!
As I said last time, ‘gothic vampire lightning storm’ is not my natural style - but I’ve had a go, anyway. What do you think?
Red for danger, red light = stop, red flag… the horror genre often features a female protagonist. If she makes it to the end of the story - especially because of her good morals - she’s probably a Final Girl.
Some tellings subvert this trope, though. That’s what I’ve tried to do, here - our woman doesn’t escape the castle.
But what happens to her, while she’s in there? Who else lives in the castle? Where does the red light come from?
I’m afraid I cannot say.
As the days creep closer to Halloween, the unknown haunts every heart and mind…
Next Time:
Our final spooky story!
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Copyright © E.A. Colquitt 2024
I really like the atmosphere in this