Night Shrieks - A New Terrifying Tale from Doug
Doxton Drive was a quaint suburban street nestled within a series of soft rolling hills. A tight knit community, the street often celebrated holidays together. Such was the case on the 4th of July. As the day sky had turned to dusk, the street was full of music, dance, and comradery.
Terry Wilkins, often jokingly regarded as the mayor of Doxton Drive, was sharing some drinks with his neighbors and chatting it up. Terry was a portly man with gray hairs starting to peek through along the side of his black hair. He dressed in his usual polo shirt and khaki shorts, a true king of the suburban landscape.
Terry was laughing and drinking as he spoke to Lori Sangren and Debbie Archwood. Lori was the block’s favorite mom. Always out playing with her kids, offering help, and bringing tasty treats to all her neighbors, she was as close to a celebrity as one could get. She was tall and athletic, with hair a fiery orange-red. Debbie was the neighborhood planner. She was the one knocking on everyone’s door, organizing events, and pulling strings to make things work. Her blonde hair was almost always tied up in a bun, and her business casual attire fit her personality to perfection.
The three of them continued to enjoy what was a successful holiday celebration.
“You really outdid yourself this year, Debbie. The food, the decorations, it's just great.” Terry said in between sips of his beer.
“Thank you! It was a real stretch to get it all done, but everything worked out and I couldn’t be happier.” Debbie said with a smile.
“I know my kids will sleep well tonight! They’ve been running around with those sparklers for hours!” Lori laughed and clasped Debbie on the shoulder.
“Thanks, Debbie. I thought having less people to plan for would make it easier, but in the end that wasn’t quite the case.” Debbie said.
“It’s been crazy this year. So many old friends have moved away, and the houses just haven’t been filling up enough.” Lori remarked.
“Yeah, it must just be the market these days.” Terry said just before another sip.
A sudden quiet fell over them as their neighbor Todd approached. Todd was normally a jovial young man, but in recent weeks he had become sullen and withdrawn. His complexion had become pale, and his eyes had become sunken in. He looked as if he hadn’t slept in days.
“Well hey there Todd. Wasn’t sure you were gonna make it, but glad you have! You want a beer?” Terry said as he reached for the cooler by his feet.
“No thank you.” Todd replied politely. He stood there with his hand in his pocket, looking around a bit nervously.
“Is everything ok, sugar?” Lori asked. Todd initially shook his head, but then he took a deep breath and stepped in close to the three of them.
“I, uh, I have to ask you all something. Something has been bothering me for some time, and I just don’t know who else to talk to about it.” Todd said, his voice a series of quakes and shivers.
The three glanced at each other then back at Todd. Terry put his arm on Todd’s shoulder.
“Go on, we are listening.” Terry said. Todd nodded, and then took a moment to find the words within.
“Do, um, do any of you hear that guttural shrieking at night? It’s not every night, but I wake up hearing this inhumane screaming that I swear is coming from that drainage gully that runs behind the south side of the street. I, I just need to know if I’m losing my mind. Please. Please.” Todd spoke in a fast frenzied whisper. He was almost out of breath when he finished, mainly from fear. Silence fell between the four of them as Todd began to close his eyes and clench his fists.
“I hear them, Todd.” Lori said. Todd looked up at Lori and exhaled in an almost violent fashion. Todd stepped forward and embraced Lori with a hug. Lori held him tight and squeezed back.
“I hear them too. They have been happening more recently.” Debbie said, her voice bashful and soft. Terry looked at all three of them and scratched his head.
“Dammit, if I knew others were hearing it I would have said something sooner.” Terry said. The four of them now stood in a close circle, softly exchanging their stories.
After exchanging their experiences, they began to discuss solutions.
“Has anyone walked the gully to see if anything is there?” Lori asked.
“It’s nasty back there. Tons of thorny bushes and disgusting mud.” Debbie said.
“We should try. See what it is. Could be as simple as a hurt animal.” Terry suggested.
“Or a vagrant off his meds.” Debbie retorted.
“Or worse.” Todd said quietly. The three spoke on it until they decided to all go investigate the gully early the next day.
************************
As the sun was just beginning to peak over the hills surrounding Doxton Drive, the group of four began their trek into the gully.
Terry led the way. He had brought his hunting knife, and his hand routinely reached to his belt to reaffirm it was there.
Lori followed behind him, with Debbie right behind her and Todd towards the rear. The gully itself was thick of overgrown grass, loose rocks, and thorny bushes. The houses that bordered the gully all sat on top of steep hills that were to the right of the group as they continued on. To the left, the gully dropped off to another steep hill that led to a rocky creek bed.
As they walked, they began to chat about the sound once more.
“It's such a shrill and almost painful scream.” Todd said as he struggled to keep from slipping on the muddy ground.
“It sounds like something in its death throes.” Lori said. She too was having to take precautionary steps as they kept moving forward.
“Whatever it is, I want to be rid of it if possible.” Terry said from the front.
They continued to chat and walk. The gully widened at one point, where the footing became more solid. After a while it narrowed once more and became much more difficult to get through. The group persevered, and the gully soon opened up once more.
It was at this moment when a realization dawned upon Debbie. She stopped walking for a moment. She looked back at where they had come from, and then back at the group. Her heart began to race.
“Stop!” Debbie shouted. The others halted and turned around.
“What's wrong?” Lori asked with a concerned tone.
Debbie pointed back down the gully. She could still see the point from which they had entered, albeit quite a distance away. Todd walked up to Debbie and looked at where she was pointing.
“What? What is it?” Todd asked.
“I can still see the end of the gully. But I swear we’ve been walking for almost two hours. Doesn’t it feel like that to you? How long have we been walking?” Debbie asked, her voice with traces of panic.
“Look, there is no place where it widens, or narrows. Where are all the rocks and bushes we just walked through?” Debbie pleaded.
“I mean it can’t have been that long…” Todd looked at his watch, but there was nothing on the dial. No numbers, no hands, just a white circle. This wasn’t his watch, but somehow, it was his watch. Todd looked at Debbie and began to breathe rapidly.
“Something is wrong!” Todd shouted.
Just then a high pitched, soft snarl was heard from a nearby bush. The attention of everyone was now centered on the sound. The bush was large, with holes of light peeking through its thick foliage. Behind it, within the shadows, movement could be seen.
Terry signaled for everyone to be quiet, and he put his hand back on the hilt of his hunting knife. Terry took very soft, purposeful steps towards the bush. The snarl continued, and Terry found himself unable to move any closer.
“Hello?” Terry said with apparent unease. The snarl stopped instantly, and from behind the bush rose a strange looking man.
The man had curly yet matted black hair. He had no clothes on the upper part of his body. His body, face, and hair were covered in what could only be described as a thick soot. The only color aside from the charcoal black on this man was the pale blue color of his eyes.
Terry now gripped his knife tight. He put out his hand to try to not startle the man.
“Are you alright? Are you hurt? Terry asked
The man moved from behind the bush and strode out in front of Terry, exposing his furry goat legs.
Todd wanted to run, but his legs would not obey. Debbie covered her mouth to hold in a scream. Lori’s body began to shake beyond her control.
“Have you summoned me?” The goat man said. A cloud of soot seemed to follow every word that fell from his mouth. No one replied, and he asked once more.
“Have you summoned me? Was it you who drew the circles? Was it you who lit the candles and spoke the incantations? Was it you who made the sacrifice?” The goat man said, his voice raspy and yet almost mechanical.
“No, no, not us.” Terry spoke like a scolded child.
The goat man closed his pale blue eyes and clasped his hands together.
“A shame then.” The goat man rasped. He then approached Terry, opening his mouth to release the horrendous scream from deep within his lungs.
Terry pulled his knife, but as he tried to swing at the goat man, his arms just would not move with any power. His strikes were feeble and the goat man caught his attacking arm with his soot covered hand. The goat man squeezed, and Terry’s arm broke with ease. The knife fell to the ground as the goat man maintained grip of Terry’s now mangled arm.
Lori tried to scream. She opened her mouth, her lungs pushed, but nothing came out. She grabbed at her throat and turned to Todd and Debbie. She tried to scream again, the veins in her face and neck bulging.
Nothing. She couldn’t make a sound.
“The ways of nightmare are here with us now.” The goat man said as he reached down to pick up the knife, still gripping onto Terry.
The goat man picked up the knife, and began to plunge it into Terry’s face. The goat man had a look of almost empathy and Terry‘s face became a crimson waterfall.
Terry’s limp body fell to the ground and the goat man quickly moved to Lori who tried to scream one last time in defiance of her own demise.
The goat man reached his arm into her mouth and down her throat. Her body convulsed as he pulled his arm out, holding her heart in the palm of his hand.
Todd and Debbie turned to run, but their legs just would not cooperate. The ground beneath them felt like quicksand, and each step was labored and inefficient.
The goat man caught up quickly as Todd sank into the ground. Tod was waist deep into the ground and was sinking fast. Every piece of ground he would try to grab would turn to dust within his hands. The goat man knelt next to Todd as he was now struggling to keep his head above the sinking mush that was swallowing him.
“We all fall. Some faster than others.” The goat man said as he pushed Todd down into the ground. The swirling dirt and mud filled Todd’s mouth and lungs as he disappeared. The goat man looked up at Debbie, who was still trying to run, but could not keep from falling over. She looked back at the goat man, who was still crouched down where Todd had sunk. The goat man simply pointed up, and from the sky fell the body of Todd. He hit the ground with such force that a spray of blood and dust filled the space around his now broken body.
The goat man rose and began to stride towards Debbie. Debbie turned and tried once more to get her legs going. Debbie closed her eyes and tried to push every part of her being into getting moving.
Her feet began to find solid ground. Her steps began to have pace. Debbie screamed as she ran, her voice echoing through the gully. She was now running at a fearfully fast pace. Debbie did not look back; she just ran and ran until her legs gave way in the slippery mud. Debbie hit the ground hard and slid through the muck of the gully to a stop. Opening her eyes, Debbie could see she was almost at the gully entrance. She had outrun the devil.
Debbie glanced back at where she had come from. There were no bodies, no remnants of what had happened. Only an empty gully lay before her. Debbie laughed softly, then began to cry.
Her relief was ripped to shreds as a diabolical shriek pierced the silence. Two soot covered hands reached from the ground and grabbed her legs. Debbie screamed as she was pulled back into the nightmare. Her scream fused with the shriek of the goat man as she disappeared into the ground.
The gully fell silent once more. The shrieks would return in due time.
