The Ladies of Horror
Picture-Prompt Writing Challenge!

The Carriage 
by Elaine Pascale 

“There’s no one here,” Trent grimaced. He had been against this idea from its conception.

“The carriage is, though.” Molly nodded toward the bright red wagon. “Let’s go get a closer look.”

They crossed the open field in the park to reach the walkway where the vehicle was parked. It looked to be in perfect condition. “Mom always wanted one,” Molly said. They were keeping an appropriate distance from the merchandise until they could find the seller. Perhaps he was using one of the restrooms or had to return to his car for something.

“Why would your mom want one? She doesn’t have a horse.”

“When you give a gift, you don’t dictate how it’s used. She can put it in her garden for all I care.”

“Her garden?”

Molly shook off his negativity. “She will be so surprised, and you can’t beat the price.”

“You are going to pay asking price? No haggling?” He looked around. “There is no one here.”

“You said that.”

“No, I mean, no one at all. The park is completely empty. No kids, no one walking a dog…no one at all.”

Molly had to admit that it was creepy. Finding this normally active place empty was like stumbling upon someone in flagrante delicto. There was a shame involved that she couldn’t put her finger on.

Trent continued, “I hate these marketplace meetups. Just use a store or Amazon like everyone else.”

“I couldn’t get this carriage in a store or Amazon. At least not at this price.”

“It just doesn’t seem…safe. How do we know this guy isn’t a lunatic?”

“Using a carriage to lure his victims? Seems random.”

Trent tapped his forehead. “Exactly.” He sighed and looked up. “That bird had something in its mouth, right?”

She shrugged. “I didn’t notice.”

“I thought there were ball games here in the mornings…,” he continued, “…no one at all…”

“There’s a stray cat over there.”

“Very funny.” The serious look on his face provided evidence that he was not finding this amusing. “Seriously Mol, I am giving this five more minutes. If that guy doesn’t show, we are out of here. I don’t care how cheap that carriage is.”

She was coming into agreement with him. The more they stood, alone in the park, the more the carriage was losing its luster.

“I guess we should wait here.” They moved behind the carriage where it was shadier as the day was growing warm.

“That smell,” Trent said, “Is it coming from the carriage?”

“I don’t think so. There’s a bunch of crows over there.” She pointed to the dugout across the park from where they stood. “They look like they got something.”

He pulled her behind him. “And vultures over there. What happened here?”

“There’s trash in the field. Maybe there was a celebration, and the animals are making the most of—”

“—That’s not trash,” Trent managed before bending over and expelling his breakfast.

“Oh god,” she whispered, “Oh god, oh no.”

Had they entered the park from the front of the carriage, they would have received a fair warning of what had happened that morning; they would have had a clear view of the remains littering the field. Had they seen the front of the carriage, they would have noticed the dribbled pieces of flesh and blood. Most importantly, they would have noticed the monster tucked inside, that was now stirring from its sleep.

.

Fiction © Copyright Elaine Pascale
Image courtesy of Pixaby.com

More from Elaine Pascale:

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