The Ladies of Horror
Picture-Prompt Writing Challenge!

Residual
by Tawny Kipphorn

As the sky turned to an ominous charcoal, and the clouds swirled in a circular motion, a feeling of unease was cast over Alessa. An opening to a wooded area beckoned her with the promise of calm and security, away from the watchful eye of the impending storm. As she wandered deep into the woods’ darkened womb, she noticed how eerily quiet the world had become. It was as if time itself had stopped and the world outside this place had become its own separate existence.

She thought she heard the whistling of a train approaching, and it was at this moment she realized she was standing on the tracks, fixed in place by an unseen force. No matter how hard she tried, her desperate attempts to flee were useless. The whistling rang out through the dead air once again as the sparks flew violently erupting into flames, and Alessa stared in horror as the black engine barreled towards her.

As she braced herself for the impact, like a mist, she felt her body evaporate into the air. Tomorrow will be no different for the poor girl. Alessa has no idea she’s been dead for over a century, and is doomed to relive her tragic end for eternity.

Fiction © Copyright Tawny Kipphorn
Image courtesy of Pixabay.com

More from Author Tawny Kipphorn:

A Shadow of Autumn

Fall—a season as beautiful as it is foreboding. A Shadow of Autumn takes you back to childhood nostalgia while peeling away the mask to reveal things that haunt your worst nightmares. Within these pages, you’ll find the usual denizens of the holiday—demons, witches, ghosts, and bloodsuckers—along with strange and unknown creatures lurking everywhere from innocuous cornfields and pumpkin patches to basement hatches and high school dances. These fourteen tales of fall magic and Halloween horrors will keep you looking over your shoulder long after the last light of October has waned. Don’t say we didn’t warn you…

Available on Amazon!