The Ladies of Horror
Picture-Prompt Writing Challenge!

Alone in the Parking Lot
by Sheri White 

Cara waved goodbye to her coworkers and headed to the parking lot. She served a lot of tables and wanted to get home, but the tips were worth the long evening.

A cool fine mist felt great on her sweaty sticky skin. She turned her face up to the sky for relief while she fumbled in her purse for her key fob. Cara pushed the button and heard the beep as the taillights flashed. She had parked under the light for safety, as she always did.

She started to walk to her car but stopped when she realized someone was sitting in the passenger seat.

Cara pretended to look for something in her purse while surreptitiously watching the person for any movement. Whoever was in her car stayed completely still. Unnerved, Cara grabbed her phone to call 9-1-1 as she turned around to go back to the restaurant.

She could see the restaurant was closed out now; lights turned off and no coworkers’ cars in the front parking lot.

She was alone.

The slamming of a car door startled Cara into dropping her phone. She bent down to retrieve it, slightly turning her head to look at her car. Now the person was standing beside the door, but the fog made it difficult to see whether or not the person was facing her since they were dressed all in black.

Then two red eyes appeared, and Cara realized that whatever it was had been facing her the whole time. She slowly stood up with her phone, trying to dial for help, when it suddenly bent over, putting its hands flat on the pavement, its rear up in the air. It lifted its head, focusing red eyes on Cara.

They stared at each other for what seemed to be an eternity, then the creature ran on all fours at Cara, its hands slapping the blacktop with loud smacks. It opened its mouth, showing sharp, jagged teeth and emitted a horrific inhuman cry that chilled Cara to her soul. Cara screamed and ran to the right, but the creature easily caught up to her. It barreled into her, knocking her down onto her back.

The creature put its head close to Cara’s and blew dank, foul breath into her face. She choked back vomit, then began coughing. The creature pulled back and looked at her curiously. Cara took advantage of the moment and tightly gripped the small can of bear spray she always kept attached to her key fob.

She sprayed it into the thing’s face; its ungodly howls drowning out the hissing from the nozzle. It stood up and covered its eyes, giving Cara a chance to get away. She scrambled to her feet and ran to her car, grateful she had already unlocked it earlier.

Cara got into the driver’s seat and shut the door, then hit the button to lock every door. Movement caught her eye—the creature had recovered and was now on all fours again, heading for the car. She pushed the START button, put the car in drive, then pushed the gas pedal so hard the tires squealed for mercy.

Cara looked in her sideview mirror before she turned out of the parking lot. The creature had fallen behind. She breathed a sigh of relief and slowed the car down before she got on the freeway.

She heard a rustling in the back seat and turned to check. The inhuman howling she had heard before filled the car, but this time it was a chorus. On the floor was a litter of small creatures. With no arms yet, they began to slither toward her, clicking their tiny but sharp teeth together.

Cara lost control of the car, swerving it into a ditch.

Her mind mercifully checked out before they were upon her.

.

Fiction © Copyright Sheri White
Image courtesy of Pixabay.com

More from Author Sheri White:

Don’t Turn Out the Lights: A Tribute to Alvin Schwartz’s Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark

Featuring stories from R.L. Stine and Madeleine Roux, this middle grade horror anthology, curated by New York Times bestselling author and master of macabre Jonathan Maberry, is a chilling tribute to Alvin Schwartz’s Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark.

Flesh-hungry ogres? Brains full of spiders? Haunted houses you can’t escape? This collection of 35 terrifying stories from the Horror Writers Association has it all, including ghastly illustrations from Iris Compiet that will absolutely chill readers to the bone.

So turn off your lamps, click on your flashlights, and prepare—if you dare—to be utterly spooked!

The complete list of writers: Linda D. Addison, Courtney Alameda, Jonathan Auxier, Gary A. Braunbeck, Z Brewer, Aric Cushing, John Dixon, Tananarive Due, Jamie Ford, Kami Garcia, Christopher Golden, Tonya Hurley, Catherine Jordan, Sherrilyn Kenyon, Alethea Kontis, N.R. Lambert, Laurent Linn, Amy Lukavics, Barry Lyga, D.J. MacHale, Josh Malerman, James A. Moore, Michael Northrop, Micol Ostow, Joanna Parypinksi, Brendan Reichs, Madeleine Roux, R.L. Stine, Margaret Stohl, Gaby Triana, Luis Alberto Urrea, Rosario Urrea, Kim Ventrella, Sheri White, T.J. Wooldridge, Brenna Yovanoff

Available on Amazon!