The Ladies of Horror
Picture-Prompt Writing Challenge!

Who Waits For You In The End
by Melissa R. Mendelson

“There are two estranged sisters. One is Karma, the other is Life. Karma has been talking incessantly lately, but Life is lost for words.”

“I thought this was supposed to be a ghost story.”

“Shut up, Bob.”

“You shut up, Amy. She invites all of us over for a good Halloween party, and we’re crashing at her house since her parents are away. And she’s ending the night with a ghost story about Karma and Life?” Bob snorted as his two friends next to him laughed. “I could tell a better story than that.”

“Want to try?” Providence asked. Her eyes narrowed as the fireplace behind her cast an eerie glow around her. “I don’t have to tell my story.”

“Go ahead, Providence,” Amy said as her friend next to her continued to braid her hair. “I would like to hear your ghost story.”

Two teenaged girls nearby muttered to each other, but they fell silent under Providence’s stare.

“Karma didn’t know what to do, and Life was not helping. Things were beyond out of sorts, the world was beyond crazy, and something had to be done. But it was too much for her, so one night, she and Life descended down into a very dark tunnel that seemed to have no end. They came to a stone wall, and Karma removed a silver chain from her neck. At the end of the chain was a very small key, and a keyhole appeared in the stone wall. She inserted the key.” The boys nearby laughed at that word, inserted. She shook her head and continued, “The wall disappeared.”

“Thought it was stone,” Bob’s friend muttered.

“Inside was more darkness. Karma took a step forward, but Life grabbed her by the arm, finally speaking after all this time. ‘Maybe, this is not the best idea,’ Life said, but Karma told her that it was too late to go back. And it had been awakened.”

“What was awakened?” The girl braiding Amy’s hair asked.

“A creature. A very old creature that maybe surpassed time itself.”

“I doubt that,” Amy said. “But go on.” She winked at Bob, who smiled at her.

“This creature resembles an owl, but its eyes are black. Its feathers are soft, white bone; bone from what, I’m not sure. I don’t think anyone would know, and this creature flew past Karma and Life.”

“Great story,” Bob said. “And what does this creature supposedly do?”

“It hunts,” Providence said. “It hunts anyone that has a stain on their soul.” She looked around the room, and her gaze was cold and unforgiving, despite the fire raging behind her. “If you did anything, anything mean, anything terrible, anything unforgivable, it will find you, but the last thing that you will see is not the owl. It is what lies within it.”

“What’s that?” The teen-aged girl had stopped braiding Amy’s hair.

“Yourself,” Providence answered.

“Great story,” Amy said.

“Great story,” Bob repeated. “I’m sleeping in your parents’ bed.” He stood up from where he was sitting. “Joining me?” He stared at Amy.

“Let’s go.” Amy followed him over to the stairs.

“There are other rooms upstairs,” Providence said. She watched the two male teenagers follow the other girls up the stairs. The only one that remained behind was the one that had braided Amy’s hair. “Jessie?” The girl stared at the fire behind Providence. “Something wrong?”

“You know that there is no such thing as decency anymore, right? If you’re kind, then you’re weak.”

“I’m very aware of that.”

“Then Providence, if such a creature were to exist, then we would all be dead.”

“Maybe, Jessie. Maybe. Good night.”

“Good night, Providence.” Jessie walked toward the stairs, disappearing into the darkness above her.

A moment passed, and the brick wall near the fireplace shimmered. Life appeared with her pale complexion and long white hair. She laid a small hand on Providence’s shoulder, but she didn’t say a word.

“I know. I know that I let it out, and I don’t regret it.” Providence smiled as a scream was heard from upstairs. “They brought this upon themselves, no matter who they are.”

Life held up one pale finger.

“Jessie. She’ll be spared, even if she thinks herself weak. The rest?” She listened as more screams followed. “They left me no choice.”

.

Fiction © Copyright Melissa R. Mendelson
Image courtesy of Pixabay.com.

About Author Melissa R. Mendelson:

Melissa R. Mendelson is the author of the Sci-Fi Novella, Waken.  She also has a prose poetry collection called, This Will Remain With Us published by Wild Ink Publishing.  Her short story collections, Better Off Here and Name’s Keeper can be found on Amazon/Amazon Kindle.

If you’d like to learn more about Melissa, you can visit her accounts here: www.MelissaMendelson.com

Bluesky: @melissarmendelson.bsky.social