Scraping the Bone: Ten Dark Tales Read online

  Scraping the Bone

  10 Dark Tales

  William Malmborg

  Dedicated to all the editors who ever published one of my tales, and to all the others who always encouraged me to submit more.

  Acknowledgement

  The following stories previously appeared in the following publications: “Red Pickup” in Black Petals, summer 2003; “Jacob’s Gift” in Black Petals, fall 2004; “The Bone Yard” in Black Petals, summer 2006; “Code Blue” in the Love & Sacrifice anthology by Zen Films, winter 2007; “Redstone Lake” in Ghostlight, fall 2009.

  Contents

  Redstone Lake

  Rest Stop

  Jacob’s Gift

  The Phone Call

  The Other Side

  Sunburn

  Red Pickup

  The Bone Yard

  Code Blue

  Wrong Turn

  RedstoneLake

  No! Oh god! No! Dark water flooded his mouth. It had that unnatural fishy taste of lake water. It wasn’t salty, but definitely not pure, and most certainly undrinkable.

  Arms flailing, he tried to get back to the surface, but the hold was too strong. Slowly but surely the water filled his screaming lungs. Then, nothing but darkness.

  * * *

  Tim. Honey. Tim. “It’s okay. Wake up.”

  Tim opened his eyes and looked at his wife Kim who was standing before him, her hands on his shoulders. She was wearing the red robe he had gotten her for Christmas; only it was unbelted and did little to cover her nakedness.

  Nakedness? He remembered the two of them making love the night before. At first it had started with a few gentle kisses, but then had gotten hotter and hotter until they had ended up in bed tearing at each others clothing.

  “You okay?” she asked.

  “Um . . .” confusion racked his brain. He looked around. What had happened? Despite the peaceful surroundings he felt terrified. Something awful had happened. “I’m fine.”

  “Nightmare?” she asked.

  He rubbed at his eyes. Brittle crusts fell away. He remembered the lake and the girl. Something grabbing him. “Yeah. A nightmare.”

  “Must’ve been a bad one. Come on, let’s get some breakfast before we leave.” She started walking out of the room.

  “Leave?” he asked.

  Kim stopped and looked at him. “Ha, ha, come on.”

  * * *

  Tim’s great grandfather had built the old log cabin before the turn of the century back when the country was still young. The man had been born during the Civil War and lived to the end of the Second World War. Since then the cabin had gone through serious renovations while being handed down from father to son, father to son, until it reached Tim.

  “I can’t believe you never told me about this place,” Kim said while stepping out of the car. It had been a seven-hour drive from Chicago to the north woods of Wisconsin. Both were eager to walk around, yet Tim did not get out of the car right away.

  He had forgotten about the place for several years, just recently being reminded of it when his wife found a picture in the back of his desk drawer. What had she been doing in his desk? This had been a couple of months ago. Almost instantly she had confronted him about the place and demanded they go visit it sometime. Now they were here.

  A sense of dread engulfed him.

  “You coming?” Kim asked.

  Tim didn’t respond.

  Turn around, his mind pleaded. Leave. Go home. Now!

  These strange thoughts had been appearing throughout the drive north from the moment the car had left the garage, yet he had no idea why.

  “Tim? TIM!”

  He jerked his head to Kim’s door, which was open. Kim stood by it, crouching down and peering in. “Uh . . . what?” he asked.

  “What’s wrong?” she asked.

  He shook his head. “Nothing. I’m fine.” He pulled the keys out of the ignition – who would steal the car way out here, there’s no one around for miles – and stepped out. No one around for miles. The thought sent a chill down his spine. “Let’s go inside and look around a bit before getting the bags.”

  Tim hoped to God something would be wrong inside that would force them to leave -- rotten floorboards, broken pipes, animals, crumbling foundation -- anything. With the bags still on the car all they would have to do was walk out and drive away.

  The cabin was in great shape.

  * * *

  RedstoneLake was so named due to a red rock formation in the middle of the water. Nothing grew on the rocks and they were only large enough for a few people to walk on. However, they were surprisingly soft and it was not uncommon to see someone lying down upon them after rowing a boat out, usually with a simple towel protecting their back.

  “That’s why it’s called Redstone?” Kim asked after they had gotten settled in. Together they sat on the screened porch watching the lake.

  “Yeah. There’s red rocks beneath the surface as well, dotted all over the lake. That’s why no one has any motor boats or jet skies.” Which in turn was one of the reasons why the lake wasn’t that popular.

  “I like it like this. It seems more -- I don’t know -- natural.” Kim shrugged. “How are the stars at night?”

  This comment made Tim uneasy again.

  “Tim?” Kim asked. “Tim.”

  He jerked his head to her. “What?”

  “I asked you a question. What’s wrong with you? Ever since we got here you’ve been acting strange.” She was getting that motherly tone he did not like. All girls seemed to have it.

  “It . . . I don’t know. It’s been so long. Too many childhood memories.” Actually, there were no childhood memories that he could think of. Tim had no idea what was making him uneasy. It had something to do with the water, and his dream the night before. Did I almost drown?

  No. If that were the case, he would have trouble with the pool as well, which he didn’t. And when at the ocean he could swim for hours without a problem.

  “What childhood memories?”

  “I don’t know. Just forget it, all right? I don’t know why I’m uneasy.” He looked out at the water. As the sun lowered in the sky it reflected off the calm lake surface. Slowly the shadows grew. Darkness was coming.

  * * *

  Tim, I’m waiting. The words were coming from the rocks in the middle of the lake. Tim stood on the rickety pier, listening. At the moment he had no fear, just curiosity. Who was out there?

  * * *

  “No. Kim. I’m not going. Please. I don’t want to go out there.” Only, a part of him, remembering the dream from the night before, did.

  “Why not?” Kim demanded. “I spent all morning getting the boat into the water and now you don’t want to go.” Her anger was not hidden. The hard work of getting the boat into the water from the small shed was obvious. Sweat covered her body and plastered her hair against her forehead.

  “No one told you to put the boat in the water.” Tim hated it when people – Kim – simply assumed he wanted to do something.

  “For God sake, we’re on a lake.” She crossed her arms, a sign that she was really pissed. “Why did you come up here?”

  “I don’t know,” he shouted back. “Maybe that was a mistake.” He started walking back up to the cabin, then stopped and came back down. “Fine. Let’s go row the boat.”

  “Not if you’re gonna be all ticked off,” Kim said.

  “No. You wanted to go for a boat ride. Well, I’m here. Let’s go.”

  Now she turned and headed up for the cabin.

  What the hell? Tim asked himself. Why do girls do that? They wanted one thing one second, then something else the next. It was so irritating. Damn
. He picked up a small stone and threw it against the trunk of a tree.

  * * *

  They started speaking again around dinner that night, after going into town and eating burgers at the Village Tavern. The place reeked of smoke and noise, but was a good distraction from the solitude they had both been suffering at the lake.

  “Do you want to go back home?” Kim asked as they were eating. “Obviously this place is affecting you.”

  Tim thought honestly about this for several seconds and then shook his head. “We can stay. I just . . . I’m sorry for getting upset this morning.” He sipped his beer, his mouth savoring the aftertaste of the cool liquid as it slipped down his throat.

  “What happened?” she asked.

  “I don’t know?” He couldn’t tell her that he had a strange and sudden fear of the lake, could he? Or that he wanted to be as far away from the cabin as possible?

  His mind drifted back to the nightmare he had the other day. Obviously Chicago had not been far enough.

  “Be honest. Why didn’t you tell me about the cabin? Did something happen to you when you were a kid?”

  “No. What makes you think that?” Tim asked with a small laugh. His response was a little too quick.

  “Earlier you said ‘too many childhood memories’ remember?” What memories were you talking about?”

  Tim didn’t know.

  * * *

  That night Tim once again heard his name being called and went from his warm comfortable bed to the cool rickety pier. The shiver that passed through him was not due to the cold, but the sound of the voice echoing over the water. This time, however, it was not a dream. He was out there for real, which meant the calling of his name was for real as well.

  “Tim?”

  He shouted and spun around. Kim was standing there, her robe tight around her body.

  “What are you doing out here? Oh my Lord, look at the stars.”

  Tim followed her gaze up into the heavens. This far north there was hardly any blackness between the small dots of light and one could really appreciate the name Milky Way.

  “Tim, I’m waiting.” These words were coming from the rocks again. Tim looked over at Kim who was still looking up at the stars. Obviously she had not heard the voice. Had she, then the stars would be the furthest thing from her mind.

  “You know. I’ve always wondered what it would be like to make love underneath the stars,” Kim said.

  Tim looked at her. “What?”

  She stepped closer, her robe falling open. A gentle breeze played with her hair. Then, before he knew it, she was pulling him down upon the pier, her hands opening his robe and exploring. Tim couldn’t resist.

  * * *

  Tim opened his eyes. Above him the stars swayed back and forth. His back was damp. All around him he heard the gentle caress of water as it pushed itself against surrounding surfaces. In the trees an owl called out.

  And then suddenly there was the sound of scraping metal, and the rocking of the stars above turned to a terrible jolt.

  Tim sat up, which caused further rocking. For a moment he had no idea what he was looking at, but then realized it was the lake. He was surrounded by dark water, the shoreline barely visible off in the distance.

  There was that scraping sound again. Tim jerked his head to the right. The dark surface of the water was broken by the smooth surface of rock, which the boat had bumped up against.

  Why am I in the boat?

  This sparked a strange fear within him.

  “You came back.”

  “Ahhh!” Tim screamed. The voice was right next to him yet the source still unseen.

  “I always knew you would.”

  The boat suddenly tipped, spilling Tim into the cold dark water. His scream was cut off midway by water flooding his mouth. He couldn’t help but swallow the unclean substance and then began choking as his head broke the surface.

  Overturned, the boat quickly drifted away.

  Something grabbed his foot.

  Tim screamed again and kicked. His foot was free, but whatever had grabbed him was trying to get it back. He had to get out of the water.

  The rocks.

  He splashed his way forward, his legs kicking furiously behind him. It took only a second to reach the rocks and crawl up on them.

  His wet robe clung to his cold body. He wrapped his arms around himself trying to hold in heat. It didn’t work and within seconds he was shivering uncontrollably.

  And then he saw something in the water. At first he thought it was the reflection of stars above him, but then slowly realized it was a face. A girl. She was looking at him.

  He shouted.

  The face drew nearer. A voice came out of the water from it. “I always knew you’d come back for me. True love knows no boundaries.”

  “NO!” Tim screamed while moving backward. Unfortunately there wasn’t much space and he only managed a few inches. “GO AWAY!”

  “Tim!” a voice called over the water. It was Kim.

  “KIM! HELP ME!”

  The face drew nearer and nearer. Tim remembered the last time he had seen that face. It had been drifting away from him, Jenny’s blood still on his hands from where her head had struck the rocks after their struggle.

  It’s too late, he had said earlier that day.

  No. I changed my mind. Please. I can’t do this, Jenny had said back while trying to stand, one hand grabbing her swimsuit while the other tried to cover her nakedness, her body bumping up against his several times as the two tried to balance on the wet rocks.

  Tim lost his balance and reached for her, his hand yanking her arm hard as he tried to hold his footing.

  Jenny yanked back as she started to fall forward but over did it and shouted as her feet went right out from under her.

  A terrible thunk echoed as her head bounced against the rock. All struggle stopped. Tim, horrified, bent forward, his manhood hanging forgotten, and looked at her head. Blood oozed backward into the water.

  “Together forever,” Jenny now said, jerking Tim’s mind back to the present. “Isn’t that what we once wrote?” Her face broke the surface and appeared before him.

  Tim saw himself pushing her body into the water all those years ago, not before putting her swimsuit back on, however. Luckily she hadn’t brought him far enough along for there to be any of his fluids in or on her.

  “Go away!” he shouted. “It was an accident. Go away.” He kicked at her but she just grabbed his leg. There was strength in that grip – strength unlike he had ever felt before.

  A quick tug pulled him into the water, his back easily gliding against the smooth rock. The hand continued to pull against him and soon he was beneath the surface, arms struggling against the water without success.

  He tried holding his breath, his mouth shut tightly against the water that wanted in.

  “You didn’t even try to help me, did you? All you cared about was making sure no one blamed you.”

  Tim couldn’t hold it anymore and took a deep breath. Cold, dark water flooded his mouth and went down his throat. It tasted awful, yet he couldn’t help himself and gulped more and more until it filled his lungs.

  “Together forever,” Jenny said as his life left him.

  * * *

  “I don’t know,” Kim insisted the next morning to the town sheriff. “He seemed happy until we got here and then something wasn’t right.” She fought back tears. “Did you find him?” The sheriff had been out on the water for a long time, over by the red rocks with one of his deputies.

  Earlier that morning Kim had woken alone on the pier, Tim’s shout across the water waking her. She hadn’t been able to see him but felt that his location was somewhere near the red rocks, where she later directed the sheriff.

  “Yes ma’am, we found him. I’m sorry.” He had never seen anything like it before. Her husband had tied two large cinder blocks to his ankles before tipping over his boat near the red rocks. The water in that area was only ten feet deep. H
ad the rope been a foot longer the man’s face would have broken the surface and he would have survived. “I’ll need you to come down to the station and answer a few questions.”

  Rest Stop

  I’m watching you.

  Carol read the message carved into the bathroom door and shivered. Had she not already committed her flesh to the grimy toilet seat she would have gotten up and changed stalls. One dose of mysterious bacteria was enough, however, no matter how unpleasant the décor.

  Relief came quickly. For an hour she had been clutching her thighs together, the courage inducing liquor she had downed earlier wanting an escape. Carol had refused to pull over. Not until she was far enough away from the bastard to feel safe. Had her bladder not been about to burst she would have put more miles between them and Terry, but alas nature had won the battle.

  Kelly was asleep in the car. Carol had been unwilling to wake the five year old. A good shake would have been enough, but she couldn’t do it. Waking her up once, telling her to be quiet, and then driving her away from her father without an explanation had been enough trauma for one night. Questions would come eventually, but that moment hadn’t arrived. In time her daughter would realize this was all for the best.

  The door to the bathroom opened.

  Footsteps echoed.

  “Kelly?” Carol called even though the steps seemed awfully heavy for a child. A terrible thought entered. What would Kelly think if she woke up in an empty car in the middle of nowhere?

  They were most certainly in the middle of nowhere. Carol had gotten on the expressway after leaving Terry and just headed South at about eighty miles an hour. The lack of traffic would have allowed her to go faster, but she had managed some control. The last town, Haddonfield, had been ten miles back. Since then nothing but trees and some old abandoned houses had lined the road.

  “Hello?” Carol asked as the footsteps continued.

  Silence.

  A chill danced across her spine.

  Not only were the footsteps too heavy to be that of a child, but they seemed too heavy to be a woman.