Merle Estate

(CW: Drugs and mild gore)

“You wanna do something fun?” Bridget asked broadly to the group. A wide smile broke across Desirae’s lips as her boyfriend, Tommy, nibbled on her neck, “God, do I ever.” She whispered, pushing him away. Natalie didn’t like the tone in Bridget’s voice. Well, she just didn’t like Bridget at all. When she first came to the school and joined the cheer team, this wasn’t what she expected. She had heard from books and TV shows all about bitchy cheerleaders who weren’t as pure as they pretend to be, and this squad was no different. They were the biggest cliché’s Natalie had ever met. She thought they might be like her last squad: a little dramatic, catty, but fun to be around. During her first day on the new squad Tiffany, the captain, asked her if she wanted to try blow after school. Now they were sitting doing “team bonding”, but most of them had their boyfriends there. They weren’t bonding at all, just making out and eating pizza paid for by the school. At least they weren’t doing drugs for once. Not yet anyway. Natalie promised herself she would at least finish out the season. Her mother was so hopeful of her fitting into this new school, she couldn’t let her down. Not after what happened at her last school.

               “Remember when I was dating Jacob Lee and he used to take me out in the woods to, ya know…anyway, he showed me this really creepy, well, this whole area. A road that’s not even taken care of anymore out near Caryville. He used to tell me stories about the—” Bridget started.

               “About the Hell Hounds.” Natalie chimed in by accident. She heard a lot of the kids around school talking about it ever since October started. It was one of the only popular legends in their area, possibly in the whole state of Wisconsin. She had heard about it just briefly at her old school, but not as in-depth as here.

               “Oh, the Merle estate is back on that road right Bridgy?” Tommy asked. She scowled at him for using her nickname but nodded anyway.

               “That place gives me the creeps. You know the whole Merle family died there?” Tiffany asked, fluffing out her bouncing blond locks, “That’s why the road is abandoned now. It’s a forgotten area. I’m surprised those cornfields aren’t at least used or something.”

               “That's exactly what I'm talking about. Let's do coke in the Merle Estate bathroom! See if we can spot some hounds!” Bridget shouted, clapping her hands together as if it was the best idea since sliced bread.

               “It’s getting dark though you guys, I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

               “Oh don’t be such a lame-o Nat.” Desirae hissed.

Before Natalie could object any further, she was stuffed like a sardine into Tommy’s truck. Shelly and Ariana sat in the bed of the truck with their boyfriends because the cab was too full. Out in the country this far, you didn’t have to worry about cops stopping you for having teenagers in the back of a pick-up.

 The nearly full moon was climbing high in the sky, lighting up the area like a dim sun. Stars speckled across the blackness like holes poked in a lampshade. Tommy’s truck window was down, allowing his cigarette ash and chilly night air to cling to Natalie’s dewy skin. In the front seat next to Tommy, Desirae stuffed green stuff into a glass pipe, she assumed it was Marijuana. Her head began to spin wildly from the panic that was setting in. She couldn’t tell if it was from the sheer number of illegal things happening in one vehicle, or the fact that they were driving right to a place where people had been murdered less than fifteen years ago. Tommy turned his growling truck onto a road that, like Bridget had said, was not taken care of. Weeds and moss began creeping over the edge of the road, brown grass sprung up between the cracks. There were no reflective lines anymore, they had been washed away by the elements. On either side of the road, orange and red trees made their way closer and closer to the truck until it reached a clearing. The claustrophobia-inducing trees gave way to unmanned cornfields. Stalks popped up sporadically from the natural growth and death of the plants, tall grass nestling them in their lonely plots. The whole area looked like it was forgotten back when the Merle’s died. They were deep into an area where cops weren’t likely to venture without reason and Natalie’s phone had no service. It wasn’t even on roaming. Her heart rate spiked at the thought that if she screamed, nobody could hear her. Not that she would need to scream, but what if she did? What if an animal attacked them? The Hell hounds obviously weren’t real, but who knows what other animals could be prowling out here at night. Or whoever murdered the Merle’s. They were never caught. Natalie was freaking herself out with these awful thoughts. She tried to shake them from her head, but the talons of fear gripped her.

 They pulled up in front of the manor, the large front drive was shaped in an O with a huge fountain sitting in the middle. On the fountain, a naked baby who likely once spat water from its cast stone jar, stood on its tip-toe’s, aglow by the moonlight. Beyond the baby fountain and the crushed stone driveway was a towering plantation-style house. Despite the way the road and fields around it looked, the house was well-kept. No weeds sprouted in the driveway and no creepy vines climbed up the house. It was free of graffiti and broken windows which surprised Natalie. Sure, it was out in the middle of nowhere, but kids like them, with worse intentions than doing drugs in the bathroom, had to have come by. The house she was looking at was a dream. It didn’t match what she expected to see. She hadn’t realized that the others had made their way to the front door, a few of them disappearing around the side of the house, trying to find some opening. Tommy got impatient and went to the side of the house and picked up a large rock. Desirae grabbed his arm, “You’re not gonna use that are you?” She asked nervously. He threw the rock at the window, letting out a loud shatter. He used his coat to break the glass around the edge and slid inside, disappearing into the house. Outside, the only noises to be heard were the sound of crickets chirping and a distant cow moo. Tommy opened the front door, calling for everybody to come inside. Natalie walked forward hesitantly, suddenly feeling guilty for breaking into a house in such good condition. Well, SHE didn’t do anything, but she felt like she was part of this. The inside of the house was dimly lit, but not impossible to see. The massive windows surrounding the home let in just enough natural light. Inside was stunning. All the old furniture was covered in dusty plastic or large sheets. The clean floor shined as she tip-toed across it. Why was she tip-toeing? Who was going to hear? In the center of the home was a curving, split staircase that led to a balcony on the upper floor. On either side of the stairs were huge archways, one leading to the kitchen, the other to some sort of study. She looked above her to admire the glistening chandelier that hung in the center of the room. The whole group disbursed into different areas of the house. Ariana’s boyfriend, Gabe, grabbed Natalie’s wrist and pulled her up the stairs. His fingers were rugged, even over her cardigan sleeve. He pulled her down the hall that went straight at the top of the stairs and into one of the bedrooms. Her face grew hot the closer he got to her.

               “You’re not like Ariana. You’re not an idiot.” He whispered. She shook her head, swallowing what little spit was left in her dry mouth. He leaned in to kiss her, but she shoved him back, causing him to stumble hard into the bedpost. She opened the door and rushed out to see Ariana standing with a firm scowl on her face.

               “Why were you alone in the bedroom with MY boyfriend?” Her voice was colder than the late October wind. Natalie stumbled over her words, trying to explain what he had done or even just to tell her it wasn’t what she was thinking, but Ariana held her hand up.

               “He could never be interested in YOU.” She pushed past her, stomping into the bedroom where Gabe stood. Natalie, who was still stuck in silent mode, rushed to where she heard the most people. It was a bathroom on the upper level. There were three phone lights facing the sink where a pile of white powder was divvied into four lines, one for each person in there. Natalie felt her nerves raising again, she needed to get out. She regretted coming. She was mad at her stupid mom who convinced her she needed to spend time with people. I should have never fucking come, she whined to herself. Natalie found a side door downstairs next to the study and rushed out into the cool night air, gulping it in. This group was awful. Gabe was awful. Ariana’s reaction was awful. How the hell were high schoolers doing coke, where did they even find it? She rushed to the back of the house where a beautiful courtyard was lined with well-maintained rose bushes. It finally struck her. This place couldn’t be completely abandoned. It was upkept way too nicely. Just as she reached over to admire a small stone statue, a man’s voice boomed, “Hey!” Natalie spun to see a hunched old man with disheveled hair. She let out a loud scream before realizing HE was probably the one keeping this place together.

               “What the hell are you doin’ out here lady!?” He shouted.

               “Oh sir, I’m so sorry. Please forgive me.” She began tripping over her words again and found it hard to explain just exactly why they WERE out there. Drugs. She said in her head.

               “You’re gonna have to pay for that window you broke. I’m calling the police.”

               “Oh, sir please, we’ll leave. There must be a mistake.” She knew there was no mistake. She knew there was no way she could talk herself out of this one. His face softened a bit. Maybe she could talk herself out of it. He grumbled something inaudible before flinging his hand through the air.

               “Just get the hell off the property and make sure those damn kids quit comin’ here. Kay? Tell those kids at school to stop showin' up, messin' up all my hard work. They need to stop the Halloween pranks too! No more fake blood in the foyer.” She nodded and began to walk back to the house when she heard a loud crack. Natalie spun to see Tommy standing above the man, holding a rock that glistened with dark liquid. She let out another scream, causing everybody from their group to come rushing outside.

               “Tommy! He was the groundskeeper for fuck sake! He wouldn’t hurt us!”

               “He was gonna tell on us. He was gonna call the damn cops.”

               “You killed him because he was going to call the cops!?” She said with a screechy huff. She stumbled back as he came forward more, still holding the rock over his head. He turned to the group, “Does anybody else think this was a bad idea?” He shouted. Everybody in the group shook their heads but Natalie wasn’t in agreement like they were.

               “We have to call the cops, now. You killed a man!” She screeched. He turned to her, his eyes flashing with something she had never seen before.

               “You seem to be the only one who's gonna snitch Natalie.” He said, beginning to stalk towards her again. Behind him, Ariana stood with her arms crossed. Nobody made a sound. Nobody was going to stop him. They were going to just LET him kill two people? Natalie stumbled over her feet as she backed away even faster.

               “Please don’t.” Her voice was raspy now as tears brimmed her eyes. A broken stone bench caught her heel and she stumbled into a bush, thorns tearing through her flesh. The group laughed as she begged for her life. How were they so sadistic? Had they done this before? Not a single one of them was more concerned or better yet, terrified of Tommy?

               “That old man has been cleaning up the blood left from our Halloween sacrifices for years.” His voice was low, almost a growl, “We didn’t intend to kill you tonight. Or him for that matter. But it just happens to work out that way.” He lifted the rock high above his head, so Natalie squeezed her eyes closed, bracing for the impact. But instead of pain and death, a low snarl thundered through the air and screams broke out from the group. She opened her eyes to see a dark figure with glowing, crimson eyes tear through Tommy’s flesh like the thorn bush had done to her. She scrambled to her feet, warm blood soaking into her pants. It wasn’t hers. She bolted towards the house, maybe to go inside, maybe to get to Tommy’s truck. She wasn’t sure yet. A wet scream erupted from inside the house which let her know the truck would have to be where she was going. Behind her, she could hear the heavy panting of a creature; a quick glimpse and she could see the glowing eyes. It told her all she needed to know. RUN. She picked up the pace, heading straight for the truck. It was just within her reach.

               “We smelled the blood, but it was not of a sacrifice. Silly, silly children.” The loud whisper tore through the air. Natalie got to the truck, flinging open the door to see Gabe, huddled in the back seat. One of the creatures threw itself onto the hood of the truck, scratching rapidly at the glass. Through the light of the moon, she could see it. It was a Hell hound. Its pharyngeal jaw extending to reveal sets of teeth that were more shark than dog. Teeth that could shred bodies into little pieces like confetti. She shoved the keys in the ignition and turned the key. The truck revved to life. She threw it into drive and the engine stalled.

               “It’s stick.” Gabe whispered. She whipped back angrily to see blood pouring from his leg.

               “Oh god Gabe. I— can you drive stick?”

               “I don’t know how.” His voice turned to a whimper. The car was surrounded by the snapping jaws of blood-soaked hounds. Gabe needed a hospital. Natalie needed to get home to tell her mother just exactly why socializing was a terrible idea. They had to get out of here.

               “Well,” She said, “Now is as good a time as any to learn stick.”