Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Teaser Tuesday

Wishing Well Part 2
First part is here.

Please comment!

The lower I sank, the higher the smell grew, slipping up my body until the stink of it— dried, rotting meat of some sort and the heavy thickness of curdled milk— penetrated my nostrils. I gagged once and heard Ruth’s voice from above, barely audible against the slow drip of well water.

“Mind all those dead Matthews down there.”

Her taunt was echoed by more laughter and I looked up, eager to glare again, when I noticed only a sliver of light above me. I didn’t know if those horrid girls were sealing me in or if my descent had brought me so far into the well’s belly that the sun was being blotted out with each dip of the rope.

When my surroundings grew dimmer and the smell worsened, I examined the surface, taking in the slimy film on the brick and cool breeze that shifted my hair. The well itself seemed to moan and I knew, logically, that it was only the wind, only the whip of the breeze coming through the cracks and rot of the brick. Still, my heart sped and my grip tightened on the rope. Despite my threat to Ruth, I remembered my old aunt Hilda’s warning; how she made me wary of this place, of its past.

“Never venture to the Wishing Well, dear heart. There are shadows below. Things you mustn’t see. Secrets you will go mad from hearing.”

She was old, I told myself. Old and superstitious and though now, dangling like some tiny worm on a hook, her warning screamed in my mind, I wouldn’t let my fear win.

“Silliness,” my father would say of Aunt Hilda’s superstitions. “ Nothing to fear in the night or in the woods but young boys wishing to lead you astray.”

I smiled, remembering the significant tone of my father’s voice and the deep wink of his eye when he gave me that warning. The smile, however, only remained a second, erased from my face by the slip of the rope. I called above me, shouting to Ruth, but received no response, not even laughter as a reply.

“Ruth?” I called again, this time letting my voice rise to an almost scream.

Nothing.

Then the rope jerked and shifted, twisting me around in a spin. As I turned in the bucket I thought I saw a figure, shapeless and gray, but when I looked back again it vanished. I reached out, trying to grab the thick moss on the well wall, but it broke under my touch. Finally, after the spinning slowed, I dug my fingers in the weathered white mortar between the bricks, my whole body shaking and the rope whining at the sudden stop.

I took a breath, calming, letting thick pockets of air fill my chest before I looked around. The light grew thinner above me. Two black insects I couldn’t name followed one another behind a large fray in the brick then I saw the long face of an old woman staring with wide, colorless eyes at me.

“Lower,” she said before I had time to scream. “Take this one lower.”

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

Creepy, but in a good way. In a, "I want to keep reading way."
You've done a nice job of painting an intense picture and ended it in a way that pulls the reader forward, wanting to know more.
Nice Job :-)

TS Tate said...

Thanks, Paul. Glad you liked it.

Judy the Lovely said...

We have to wait a week? Yes, creepy is a good word. Looking forward to next installment.

Anonymous said...

hi!This was a really outstanding blog!
I come from milan, I was luck to find your subject in digg
Also I obtain a lot in your Topics really thanks very much i will come later

TS Tate said...

LOL Thanks, Judy. Yeah, a week, I'm afraid. I write them just before I post them. :) No clue what will happen next week!

Heather said...

Dang girl, you can flat out write! I love this story! You had me on the edge of my chair and the imagery was perfect!

Anonymous said...

OMG, I'm glad I waited until today to read this one so I won't have to wait a whole week to see what comes next! This was very good :)

TS Tate said...

LOL Thanks Heather, Madison. Y'all rock. Going to put up the third part in a bit.

-Mike said...

I can picture, smell and feel the tension! You've done a great job of building the emotions inside me...can't wait to get back part 3.

TS Tate said...

Thanks, Mike!

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