Night Terrors: Supernatural Mystery, #1

By Noah Hudson

Ash is haunted by vivid night terrors each night. 
His mornings are an island of calm as he catches the bus to college with Ingrid, his childhood friend.
Ash is hopeful that friendship with Ingrid will turn into something more but there is a major obstacle in his way - Ingrid's boyfriend, Simon.
And then Ingrid disappears.
Ash must follow the clues in his dreaming and waking life to uncover the shocking truth.

A book for lovers of spine-tingling mysteries such as The Woman in Black, Twin Peaks, and Stranger Things.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Gothica Press
• Release date: Aug 8, 2016
• ISBN: 9781533715883

Book preview

Gothica Press

I could be bounded in a nutshell and count myself a king of infinite space, were it not that I have bad dreams.

William Shakespeare, Hamlet

No blinding light

Or tunnels, to gates of white

Just our hands clasped so tight

Waiting for the hint of a spark

Death Cab for Cutie

I Will Follow You Into the Dark

––––––––

‘To see a world in a grain of sand,

And a heaven in a wild flower,

Hold infinity in the palm of your hand,

And eternity in an hour.’

William Blake, Auguries of Innocence

CHAPTER 1. HOTEL 

I enter a hotel. There’s a college student at the counter reading his textbook. Good job for a student, I think. Quiet here. I look down the street. Nothing.

Any rooms?

The student looks me up and down trying to figure me out.  Decides it’s better not to ask.

Yeah. Sure. $50 per night.

I hand over the money. Receive the keys. Three flights up some pretty dingy stairs. Only one way up. No lift. No one else around. Not even the sound of a TV.

I check the room out. It’s dimly lit by a low wattage globe on the ceiling. There’s only one exit other than through the door to the hall. I pull the curtain aside, open the window and look outside to a moonlit streetscape still wet from an earlier storm. Three stories up. There is a small balcony with a few cigarette butts left behind.

I lie in the bed still dressed looking up at the ceiling. Too wired to actually sleep.

I look out the window and there is a bird perched on the balcony – a screech owl with large round eyes penetrating the darkness. I stare at it and it takes off, swooping into the night.

Then there is a scratching at the door like a cat. I look out through the peephole but just see the empty hallway.

Hello. Is there anybody there? I say.  I should have just been quiet.

Nothing.

And then more scratching. More insistent.

Help, I yell.

There is a massive thud. Then another one. I stand back from the door.

Another thud and the door cracks a bit.

There’s a sound like a wild animal. Snarling and scratching. Grunting.

I look for something to push against the door. There’s a small desk that I push up against the door and hold my weight against it.

Thud. I hear the door crack and I’m pushed back by whatever is behind the door.

What do you want?

The reply is just snarling.  

I let go of the desk and rush to the balcony still hearing the snarling behind me and I can smell a terrible smell.

I don’t look behind and am in the balcony just for a second.

Down here, I hear a young woman’s voice from below the balcony.

I then jump a floor down whacking my head on the corner of the balcony below.

I feel something wet then wipe my hand across my forehead and realise I’m bleeding.

In the darkness I see the shadow of what appears to be a woman, dark hair overhanging her face. She hands me a handkerchief.

I and put it up to my head to try and stop the flow of blood.

I can still hear the snarling above me and run to the door of the unit.

It is so dark that I cannot tell if there is anyone or anything in there. I stumble on some furniture and fall to the ground.

There is silence for a moment. I cannot hear anything other than my quick breath. Then something is pounding upon me.

I open my eyes and there is a woman who looks worried, she is a long way from me. The woman says, Ash. Are you awake?

I look around the room and there are long shadows surrounding me. The room seems familiar to me like my bedroom at my grandparents’ house but different.

I hear the scratching outside the window and leap up out of bed and run down the hall.

Out of the shadows, there are two figures that look remotely like my grandparents. They try and touch me but I run from them into another room.

My breath is fast.

My heart pulses out of my chest.

Before I can escape, the woman takes my hand and takes me back to that room with the long shadows, the scratching and that smell, the smell of pure fear.

CHAPTER 2. INGRID

I smile sheepishly at my grandparents and Mum as I walk into the kitchen for breakfast. I know something happened last night - another nightmare, well, that was probably the best thing to call it.

Mum comes over and scruffs my hair and looks me in the eyes and smiles, checking to see if I am OK.

Hello you, she says, ruffling my hair.

Hello you, I repeat her words and laugh then tuck into the beans and eggs for breakfast. 

My Nan scrapes the black off the overcooked toast, never wanting to waste anything. She’ll have that piece herself, always giving me the best.

My little brother Pete is in front of the television, dancing along with The Wiggles and trying to sing the words but getting them all jumbled.

First day back at college, Ash? my Pa says.

Yes, Pa, I say, trying not to sigh.

Middlebury College had not turned out to be quite what I expected. I was in Middlebury for elementary school but then my parents went to Portland where my Dad was working as a doctor. That was before my parents separated and my Mum came back to Middlebury to puts as much distance between her and my Dad as possible.

I miss my friends from Portland and find it hard to connect with the people at college who already seemed to have their own groups of friends. Also all the academics seem to be talking in a foreign language that all the other students seem to understand except me.

You can borrow my car if you like, Pa continues, trying to cheer me up. The car is his most prized possession. He worked in the factory where it was built and the car is a special limited edition.

No, that’s OK Pa. I’ll take the bus, I say, knowing that the car has had a flat battery the whole time Mum, Pete and I have been staying with them.

I also have an ulterior motive for wanting to catch the bus. Ingrid Wilson, a graceful, tall girl with stunning eyes, who used to be a childhood neighbour of mine, also catches the same bus, if I get my timing right.

Ingrid chats with me on the bus. I know she has a boyfriend but that does not matter. Just seeing her smile brightens my whole day and makes the rest of it, almost bearable.

After finishing breakfast, I brush my teeth then shower while listening to the morning news on the radio. There’s more trouble in Europe and in the Middle East. More bad news about