Hey everyone! Happy Spooky Season! I'm continuing the Halloween writing tradition. If you don't already know, I post a spooky story or poem every week of October. Here's my first one!
Dear Rune, How are you? I am well enough. Of course, as today is the first of Octobre, this means that Hallowe’en is drawing ever closer. I am trapped at home, as always, by my responsibilities, but I do hope you will come to visit. Mother would love to see you, I am sure. In fact, she talks of you often. I think she misses you. As I have said, I have not been out in some time. Perhaps you might bring me some sort of treat? I am craving something sweet; sugar is so hard to come by. It has been so gloomy here, what with the weather and all. Your presence would be much welcomed. Without you it seems as though no one else understands me. Ha! Truly, there is no one who so much as wishes to understand me. The rats who scuttle in the walls and the crows who squawk outside my window are the only things keeping me company. Again, I must implore you to visit. I know that you are successful in the city; indeed, I happened upon one of your articles published in the newspaper- you seem to be quite the sensation! A woman journalist; ten years ago it would have been unheard of. What a society we are living in! Ah, and you must be wondering after Agathe. She has been keeping up with her duties, yet retreating more and more into a shell. I do not think housework is suited to her, but we no longer have any use for her as governess, after all, and she would not want to leave, this I know. Finally, I invite you once again to come and stay. It would bring me such joy! Love, Arachna *** Dear Arachna, Of course I will come to stay! I can leave behind my journalism for a while, it is no pressing matter. When? Love, Rune *** Dearest Rune, What news! I am cheered by this prospect. Come as soon as you can! Love, Arachna *** Rune, despite her seeming eager in the letter that she had sent, was not as excited by this visit as her sister. Still, it was too late now. After taking the steam engine all the way up to Maine, Arachna had sent the rickety old carriage, drawn by skeletal horses and manned by an equally skeletal manservant, who gruffly introduced himself as “Jones.” As the carriage rattled along the bumpy dirty road, Rune became increasingly nervous. It had been years since she had seen her sister, not to mention receive a letter from her. And judging by the contents of said letter, Arachna was not as well as she pretended to be. What was all that talk about the crows and rats being her only company? When Rune had left, Arachna had had a social life in the town. This was part of why she had felt fine about leaving. All had seemed well when she got on the train to New York. Rune was startled out of her reverie by the carriage jolting over a rock in the road. The horses struggled up the hill; they must have been exhausted. Luckily (or unluckily, depending), they had reached their destination. The old manor was surrounded by dry grass and leafless trees. The wood had greyed, and it seemed to be at a slant. Rune winced. The carriage shuddered to a halt in front of the door. Jones set down Rune’s bags for her and promptly left before she could thank him. Taking a deep breath, she rang the doorbell. A screeching sound emitted from it, echoing through the whole house. Rune heard light footsteps scampering up to the door, then a horrible creaking as the person behin it presumably tried to open the door. It sprange open, knocking back Agathe, the housekeeper, who had opened it. Rune smiled, “Hello, Agathe!” “Bonjour,” Agathe muttered nervously, then scuttled away once again. Rune picked up her bags and lugged them over the doorstep, closing the door behind her (with some effort). She turned around, then shrieked. Arachna was standing right behind her, wide eyed. Rune put a hand over her heart. “Oh, hello, sissy. You gave me a fright!” Arachna stayed silent. She grabbed Rune’s hand and led her into the drawing room. Run sat down on a cracking old couch, creating a large cloud of dust. Her sistr poured tea into a suspiciously dirty-looking teacup. The situation was worse than Rune had presumed, she thought to herself as she sipped her weak tea. The two sisters made awkward small talk for a few minutes, talking about Rune’s work, until their mother was brought up. “How is she?” Rune asked. Her sister looked down at her hands. “Um… not well.” “Ah.” “The transformation is already starting; I think-” Arachna took a shaky breath. “I think this could be her last one.” Rune gasped. “Oh. You mean…” “Yes.” “Can I see her?” *** Arachna led Rune all the way up to the attic, where their old mother was huddled in a corner, next to the broken window. She smiled feebly. “Rune,” she said, her voice cracking, “How good to see you.” Rune nodded. Her mother looked out the window sadly. “The bats are gathering. This may be my last-” “I know,” Rune cut her off. “Arachna told me.” “Yes,” her mother agreed. “Well, we knew it was coming. I’ve bided my time for long enough. The spirits are tired of waiting. We made a deal. You remember.” Yes, of course Rune remembered. It was impossible to forget walking into her mother at the center of a red chalk star, black smoke pouring out of her mouth, and her eyes rolled back into her head. It was impossible to forget the misty voices that came from everywhere and nowhere, telling Rune to give up as she tried to shake her mother awake. It was impossible to forget the look Arachna had had when she found the two of them sequestered in the attic. That was when their mother had started screaming. “Just a few years!” she had said. “Let me raise my children!” And the spirits had reluctantly dissipated. Still, every year, on Halloween, the spirits possessed Rune’s mother. She became huge, terrible, destroying everything, and attacking Rune and Arachna. The window had broken one year, and they had no money to fix it, so it stayed that way, and their mother stayed in the attic, muttering to herself. Every year, the transformations became worse and worse. There had been an interlude, and that was when Rune had left. Arachna hadn’t said anything, but if this was the state their mother was in, then that must have ended long ago. *** The weeks passed, until it was almost Hallowe’en. After the strange first day, Arachna had become much livelier, and they managed to have fun, even with the danger looming over them. Arachna only retreated back into her shell whenever they talked to their mother, whose paranoia was increasing as Halloween drew nearer. She would mutter about the spirits for hours on end, shivering occasionally. Rune did not pity her mother. How dare she do that to them? She had been about to leave them and become a ghost. What kind of mother did that to her children? Rune’s leave of absence was concerning her superiors. She received a letter a week from Hallowe’en saying that if she did not return by November 2nd, she would be fired. No matter. By November 2nd she would either be dead or back in New York. *** The day before Hallowe’en, Arachna suddenly broke down sobbing. “I can’t,” she repeated, rocking back and forth. Rune didn’t know what to do, so she just hugged her sister tight and hoped for the best. *** Hallowe’en. Arachna locked herself in her room. Rune didn’t know what to do, so she spent the day in the garden alone. She tried to absorb herself in the vegetables, and it worked. But it was almost sunset, and she was beginning to be concerned. Suddenly, from inside the house, there came a loud bang, and a bloodcurdling scream. Arachna. Rune sprinted back inside. No no no no no no. How culd she have done this to her sister? She was older, she was supposed to be protective. By the time she reached Arachna’s room, the door had been broken off its hinges and lay splintering on the floor. A huge creature loomed, taking up almost the whole room; it was like a spider made of mist, with their mother in the center of it. Her eyes were black, and her teeth had elongated into fangs. She- it- hissed, widening its maw over Arachna’s trembling, sobbing body. “HEY!” yelled Rune. The creature whipped around, then advanced on her. “Run!” shouted Rune. Arachna scrambled to her feet and bolted, tears flying. This left Rune with the monster. There was no stopping it, she knew. She had to let it run its course. So she ran, grabbing Arachna’s hand along the way, and they ran to hide in the cellar. They were safe- for now. Rune sat down, panting, and smiled weakly at Arachna. Her sister grinned back. No. No. No. Arachna never grinned. Rune stared at her. Her sister’s teeth grew into fangs, her face morphed. She levitated off the ground, and huge, misty spider legs emerged from her back. “No!” screamed Rune. The spirits’ voices surrounded her. “It is too late,” they boomed. “Your sister is dead.” Rune didn’t try to run. She didn’t fight. What would she be now, with Arachna dead? A hollow shell. Nothing left. She gave in. The last thing Rune saw before she died was Arachna’s face, grinning with those fangs of hers. FIN Thanks for reading!! Since this one was so long, my next post will probably be a poem, or a very short story. *woks away*
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