Entry #C11

Out with the New, in with the old Ones

By Matthew C Nelson

Aaron was overjoyed as the day of his departure arrived. He'd been working and studying long and hard for this day to arrive. Sure, it would mean that he'd be away from his fiance, friends and family for awhile, but this was a once in a lifetime opportunity, and he was sure that they'd understand.

Striding with a bit of a jump in his step, he wandered from his bedroom and into the bathroom to begin the routine that would start his day. He reached for his toothbrush, prepped it with the usual "rinse with water for a minute, apply the toothpaste in an even fashion, rinse one more time for good measure, then begin brushing" routine, and set it to motion.

Aaron looked up into the mirror as he began brushing and he froze. Behind him in the mirror was a horrific looking man staring at him. The man's eyes had been torn from their sockets, his lower jaw just about torn off and dangling on but one strand of skin, and his skin looked the way chicken did after it had been on the grill for far too long.

Frightened, Aaron dropped the toothbrush and spun around, only to find that nobody was there. Looking around franticly, he realized that there was nobody there. By this time, his breathing was strained and his body began to sweat profusely. It took some time before they returned to normal. Chuckling to himself, he resumed brushing.

" It's just the nerves," he repeated over and over in his head. Finishing up, he quickly hopped in the shower and continued getting ready. The fact that he never saw the appariton again only supported the idea that his nerves were indeed on edge.

Getting out of the shower a few minutes later, he went over to his bed and began to dress. He looked up at the sound of his phone ringing. Flipping it open, he responded.

"Well, hi honey. I was hoping to talk to you before I left. I don't have time to talk right now, but I will later on tonight, ok? I love you." He ended the call and finished getting dressed.

The two hour drive was rather uneventful, aside from the fact that his stereo cut out for a few minutes. The only other sound in the car, aside from his voice and the news correspondent on the radio station, was the voice that called out his GPS locations to him.

As he pulled up to the naval dockyard, he smiled and let out a whistle. Looking out at the end of the pier was the ship that was going to take him and his research team out to begin testing on the new deepsea submersible he was chosen to pilot. Aaron has spent fifteen years in the navy as a navigational officer aboard a submarine.

As he exited and walked up, one of his fellow scientists approached him and returned his handshake.

"We were wondering if you were ever going to arrive. The crew is all itching to get this rolling."

"Hey Jim," replied Aaron, "yeah, I got stuck in some traffic. I wouldn't miss this opportunity for anything. Is all the equipment and personnel onboard?"

Jim nodded, "Ready and awaiting the arrival of its captain." The two of them turned and headed towards the naval vessel, the USS Lovecraft.

After several hours of reviewing the pre-launch, the naval vessel pulled away from the dock and headed out to sea. After several more hours, the captain signaled to all aboard that they had arrived. Jim and Aaron stared in amazement at the submersible. It measured thirty feet long and about five feet wide. It was covered in a material that reduced the drag and the effects of depth pressure. There was a sphere at the top that allowed the pilot the ability to see three-hundred and sixty degrees. It also was coated in a material that polarized the light, to offer them the ability to see clearer and farther.

Once he took his place in the submersible. After running through one last checklist, the sub launched itself from the USS Lovecraft. All ran with textbook precision. That is, for the first hour. A few minutes after, the entire cabin lighting, as well as all the command and navigational consoles went dead and the sub began to sink.

Aaron was a very cool-headed person, and actually thrived in these sort of situations. However, after about an hour of doing everything he could think of, he knew that he was in trouble. He knew that he was at the mercy of the ocean, and that he was going to hit the bottom far below.

Hours passed by. Without anyone else aboard, the vessel was extremely quiet. Aaron just stared out the bubble and watched as his world plunged into darkness. He knew that this would be his tomb.

-THUD-

The front end hit first, followed by the back end. The vessel his something so hard that it jarred Aaron out of his seat. He went to stand up, but he never got the chance. He heard the sound of metal scraping on metal under water, and that sound sent him running. He immediately dove straight forward and lunged for the submersible suits. Tim was of the essence, and he realized that if he got it on, there might actually be a chance of survival. As slim as that chance was, he had to take it.

Aaron had just finished putting the suit on when the aft of the sub was torn apart. Aaron scrambled to get out of the way of the walls as they began collapsing inward. He was completely caught off guard as something massive wrapped itself around his waist several times and began pulling him out of the submersible and into the deep depths of the ocean.

The suit's auto-light turned on, bathing everything in a light that shot out for about forty feet. This was a place where light had never been seen. All the sights that Aaron saw were bizarre. However, he didn't have the luxury of looking around at his leisure. He was at the mercy of whatever had dragged him out of the sub. All he could make out was that it was a greenish-grey tentacle that had the texture of stone. It looked like it was covered in thin black lines that criss-crossed and spiraled outward.

His body was being pulled at such an amazing speed as he bounced off the ocean floor. He bounced a few more times and then darkness . He had the split second to look around at his surroundings. Whatever had him was dragging him into the deepest regions of the Marianas Trench. His mind went numb when he realized that. Nothing man-made could withstand the pressures of the Marianas Trench...nothing.

Miracle of miracles, he was still alive. As he was being pulled, he saw something floating past him....he bumped it and it was snagged in his arms and legs long enough for him to see what it was.

It was a body....it was the body he saw this morning, standing behind him, staring at him in the mirror.

Aaron screamed inside the suit.

The waterlogged body wrinkled its face as it spoke. Aaron was even more shocked when he could hear the words inside his head.

"You have been chosen. You are the six thousand six-hundred and sixty-sixth soul to be collected. The Old Ones have chosen you to be the last one....the last one that leads to their beginning....you have broken open the seal....you are in the arms of the great and insane lord, Cthulhu....all praise him."

The Old Ones had come.....Aaron had been the way....Aaron had made a name for himself after all.

The End?

Entry # B20

"The Corn Maze"

By

Matthew Christopher Nelson

On the outskirts of a small village along the Texas-Mexico border...

Mike had just finished his late Friday night shift at the diner and wasn't ready to go home and spend the evening with his parents and little brother. He'd just gotten a car the week prior and he was aching to pick his girlfriend, Rachel, out and do something fun.

As Mike punched out of the time clock, he looked up to see Rachel waiting outside with the rest of his friends. He smirked as he got to the door.

"I see how it is. You guys are only capable of showing your asses when I get a set of wheels, but just last week, you all were unable to return my phone calls?" Mike teased as he wrapped his arms around Rachel and planted a firm kiss on her lips.

Letting out a slight purr, Rachel replied, "So, it's Friday night, we have absolutely nothing planned tonight. What are we doing, oh darling?"

Pulling out a piece of paper, Mike unfolded it from his back pocket and handed it to Rachel as he spoke. "I want to go here!"

Mike's best friend, Craig, leaned over the side of the truck and looked over Rachel's shoulder and read aloud.

"S.Hain Farms' Corn Maze....come experience the fun and terror of the Haunted Corn Maze...with Hay Rides...admission is just three bones. Sound's cool to me!"

With unanimous cries of "Sounds awesome"l, Mike nodded as he and Rachel got into his truck with the rest sat in the bed of the truck. "The Corn Maze it is."

It took about three hours to get there, with the last stretch being a long winding dirt road. Marking the exit was a sign that said "S.Hain's Corn Maze". Mike maneuvered his truck and navigated the side road until he finally came to an old white barn with an older gentleman sitting in a rocking chair smoking a cigar.

"You youngun's must be here fer the maze, right? Well then, park yer car and pay the devil his due boys. Just three dollars a person...except the pretty little gal, she can go fer free."

Blushing, Rachel blurted out, "Why thank-you. I guess I have an admirer."

"Since I just got paid, let me pay for you all...my treat." Mike smiled proudly as he spoke. Looking back at the old man, he replied, "So, I guess I owe you twelve bucks." He reached in and pulled a ten and two single bills.

Smiling, the old man accepted the money and slipped it in his shirt pocket. "Go have some fun." Mike and the rest of the gang ran off down the road and stepped into the corn maze.

The old man walked over to Mike's truck and nodded. He lifted up a walkie-talkied and spoke, "OK, Jim, you can tow it away." Moments later, a massive tow truck drove up, hooked Mike's truck to it, and hauled it away.

Smiling, the old man mused, "They won' be needing it anymore." He turned and walked towards the corn maze as well. The moment he stepped foot into the corn maze, he vanished into the earth.

Mike and the rest of his friends eventually made it to the center of the maze that night.

The prize for it? The ground beneath their feet opened up all around them and swallowed them whole.

Such are the events of S. Hain's Farm....Samhain's Farm, that is.

Entry #A11

The Fog Cemetery

By

Matthew C. Nelson

The fire was the first thing built when the Tallow's finished setting up camp. Having heard about the campfires that got out of hand several years back encouraged them to even take a class the week prior instructed by one of the rangers. Before the class ended, Mr. and Mrs. Herb and Willow Tallow, along with their daughter, Jasmin, all knew the proper ways of fire construction, as well as the proper way to put it out.

The Tallow's had been looking forward to this weekend camping outing for about three months. The plan had been originally to go during the summer, but rethought that after they factored in mosquitoes and erratic weather fronts. After one night's discussion around dinner, they all agreed to go the first weekend in Autumn. They had originally planned on camping down by the river, but were told about a campsite through a friend of theirs. The campsite, called Fort of the Forest, lay about a day's journey up the side of Blackburn Mountain, one of the smaller peaks found within the Rockies.

With the fire made, the tents were set, and dinner eaten, they all decided to go on a small nature hike around the area, to familiarize themselves with the terrain. They'd heard that in the late 1800's, the area had been frequented by man a person hoping to strike it rich on gold. In fact, the ranger told them that quite a few gold mining shacks dotted the park, all of which, sadly enough, were off limits mainly due to the fact that they were probably no longer structurally sound.

As they made their way though the wooded path, they came across a small brook that grew deeper as they followed the trail. By the time they'd come across one of the gold-mining shacks, the river was about waist deep. They were a bit startled when they came up to a burly-looking man crouching over the ground with his back to new-comers. "I can hear you behind me. If you knew what's best for you, you will leave this mountain," the old man hoarsely called over his shoulder. "We appreciate the warning", Herb offered up hesitantly, "but my family and I are camping up here. We don't mean any harm." "You may not 'mean any harm', I don't care...leave now or suffer the consequences!" the man snapped. Quickly gathering his family together, they pushed onward down the trail. At the slightest word from either his wife or daughter, he hushed them.

About an hour later, the incident had been forgotten as the family began to see more and more signs of animal life. It was especially beautiful, definitely the kind of place they were looking to find. Time passed quickly by and daylight began to slowly descend over the trees, with the setting sun steeping the land in a golden glow. As they began to make their way back to their camp, a thick fog had rolled in from out of nowhere. As the fog thickened, everything became covered in dew. As it grew darker, it got increasingly cold, so cold they could begin to make out the outlines of their breath. Realizing that up ahead is where they'd ran into that rude man, they all stuck together.

Coming into the clearing, the man wasn't there. "So much the better" was the general consensus by the family as they pressed on. All of a sudden, some of the fog revealed grave stones all around them. There must have been well-over fifty of them. "Daddy", Jasmin whimpered, "I'm scared. I want to go back to camp...now." "We are honey. Daddy won't let anything happen to you. We're not that far. One we get there, we'll make some popcorn and play some games. Isn't that right?" She turned to look at her husband, but he had vanished.

Welling up with a tightness in her chest, Willow cried out,"Herb? Where are you?" She and Jasmin screamed this as they scanned the area. Stepping out of a tree, one hand behind his back and displaying an odd smile, Herb spoke," Dear....you really should have listened to the man." He pulled a hand axe from behind his back.

"Now relax, this will be painless. The both of you should be feeling quite sleepy right...about...."

Mother and daughter dropped to the forest floor.

"...now."

Entry # 15

"The Swamp Vine"

by Matthew C. Nelson

And so the legend goes....

A long time ago, before the land across Europe was greeted by Ponce De'Leon and his crew, smaller shadow-filled swamps surrounded the much larger Okefenokee. In one hidden swamp, a small village lay nestled within a circle of cypress trees, one which the local people called Turtle's Shadow. Along the edges of the village, a little girl by the name of Swamp Flower, used to play for hours. One day, her grandmother, Sand Crane, approached and sat beside Swamp Flower.

"Swamp Flower", Sand Crane looked to her grand daughter as she spoke, "I know you are growing faster then the vegetables in the garden, and faster then the swamp deer along the edges of our village, but I hope I need not remind you to stay away from Grandmother Cypress."

Swamp Flower looked at Sand Crane directly in the eye and replied, "The large tree that sits with its roots deep within the earth over there?" She pointed to what was perhaps the largest cypress tree in the area, it's roots so massive that they began to erupt out of the ground and back in, forming loops all along the ground.

Sand Crane nodded without looking to where Swamp Flower pointed, for she knew better then most of its direction. "Child, only those who are ready to take the first steps towards womanhood are allowed to approach, and you still have several more seasons to go. Though you might think you are ready, trust me when I say that you are not. My sister...your great aunt, Water Weed, thought she was ready and approached well before her time, and vanished without a trace. We have no wish for that to happen to you as well.

Now, "Sand Crane slowly attempted to rise, "help your dear, old grandmother up, would you?" Swamp Flower placed her hands beneath her grandmother's arms and slowly lifted her up to her feet. Turning to head back towards the center of the village, Sand Crane looked back at her granddaughter one last time. Removing a freshly picked flower from her pouch, she gently placed it within Swamp Flower's hair.

Swamp Flower silently watched in amazement as her grandmother headed back towards the village. How did she always have the knack for reading her mind? Why, also, was it possible for her grandmother to say something that always made her frustrated? She slowly began to count off her fingers until all of them were stretched outward. That, plus a few fingers, were how many seasons she had already seen pass by. How was it, then, that she was not ready? She had heard rumors of women as young as two hand's worth of fingers, and almost one other complete set, had gone before Grandmother Cypress, and successfully completed their steps towards being a woman. Surely, one or two years shy of that was good enough...right?

Swamp Flower looked at the grand tree, and slowly found her feet walking towards it, all the while thinking about her grandmother's sister, Water Weed. Maybe she was just not ready. Maybe she had performed the ceremony wrong. Yes! That had to be it! Smiling, her feet began moving faster towards the tree, her gait increased to match her steps. Within minutes, she stood directly beneath the branches of the massive tree... and stopped.

Slowly getting down onto her knees, she looked up above into the hidden branches and tried to follow with her eyes all the patterns of the vines that wove into and out of them...that is, until one of them moved.

Swamp Flower blinked several times and directly stared at the odd-shaped vine. It was no false sight, or trick of the eye; the vine really moved. Then, having unfurled itself a bit from the branches, a set of reptilian eyes opened and gazed at her. Beneath the pair of eyes, the vine gave way and appeared to crack in half, only to reveal a matching pair of glistening white teeth shaped in the way of a half-smile.

Opening wider, the mouth yawned a few times before speaking. "I know your name, child...just as I knew your kin before you...Water Weed. Are you prepared for the ceremony, or will you succumb to the same fate that Water Weed did? Hmm?"

Swallowing once before speaking, Swamp Flower whispered, "I am...ready."

A chuckle erupted from the alligator's mouth before speaking, "We shall see...we shall see." The "vine" slithered down and appeared along side Swamp Flower. "Before going before the great spirit, Grandmother Cypress, you must give up something of great value...a sacrifice. What will your sacrifice be, child?"

In that moment, Swamp Flower understood why her grandmother had given her that flower. Try as she might to persuade her granddaughter to not go before Grandmother Cypress too early, Sand Crane realized that Swamp Flower had already made her mind up. So, Sand Crane gave her the gift of a swamp flower, in hopes of ensuring her granddaughter's success.

Picking the swamp flower gently from her hair, she set it down before the "vine". "I give you this token of my faith, as well as my belief, that I am ready."

The "vine" looked to child's sacrifice and nodded before leveling its eyes back at Swamp Flower. "You offer a token of love and family. It is accepted, child. Let me lead the way."

Turning back towards Grandmother Cypress, the alligator guided Swamp Flower towards a small opening within the tree and entered it...and vanished.


Resting now back at her hut, Sand Crane sat brewing some tea near the fire, when a lone, damp cypress leaf came fluttering in through the window, and gently stuck to the side of her face. Reaching up to grab it, Sand Crane gently smiled at it as a long tear rolled down her cheek.

"Good luck Swamp Flower...good luck."