A tale of horror

Kate couldn’t believe her luck. Here she was, in David’s car, parked at the Overlook, with his lips firmly on hers. She had dreamed about this moment for so long. When he’d finally asked her out, she had barely been able to answer ‘yes’ because she’d been so overwhelmed.

Their night had been wonderful; he’d taken her to a lovely Italian restaurant. She’d been surprised at how much they had in common and they had talked and laughed as if they’d been friends for years. Afterwards, he suggested going for a drive. She knew they’d end up here. She knew the Overlook was the place where young couples came to park, to get some privacy together.

And so, here they’d sat for over an hour, chatting at first, but eventually David had leaned over and kissed her. Then they’d carried on, kissing and kissing, hardly coming up for air. He hadn’t tried to force anything else on her, which made Kate like him even more. He didn’t expect anything from her. He was enjoying her company, her kisses, just as much as she was his.

He broke off and looked at her coyly.

“What’s up?” she asked.

“I really, really need to pee. I’m sorry!”

She laughed, finding his embarrassment really cute. He leaned over and switched the radio on. “Some company for you. I won’t be long.” David opened the car door and made a dash into the night.

The Overlook was a beautiful spot, especially at night. She could see why couples wanted to come here in the darkness. It was secluded by trees, but when you parked towards the far side, you could see the city spread out below: all of the lights reflecting the expanse of life beneath them. It was buzzing and active; a complete contrast to the shaded stillness where she currently sat.

It was quiet this evening: there were no other cars parked up. David and Kate were given a piece of the world just for them to enjoy this evening, and she intended to stay there with him as long as she could get away with. It was rapidly approaching midnight. She knew she could push her curfew until 1am at the latest, before her dad would start calling.

The radio was playing some soft rock from the 80s, the kind of stuff she reckoned her parents probably sat here and listened to when they were dating. Who knew, they possibly even parked in this exact same spot. Some teenagers would find the thought of their parents kissing in a car as grim and disturbing. Kate was happy at the prospect. Her mother had died when she was a toddler. Her dad had been alone ever since. She liked to think that at some point in his life, he had been in love. Happy.

Kate noticed that David had been away for a few minutes now. She scanned the trees around the car park. There was no sign of him. She wondered if she should call him, but she didn’t want to seem needy.

A few more minutes passed. Still no sign. The songs had changed four times now. Needy or not, she decided to call his phone. She found his number in hers, and pressed the call button. After a pause, the ring tone clearly rang out from the back seat of the car. Cursing, she hung up.

She was very tempted to get out and look for him, but it was late, it was very dark and difficult to see, and it was incredibly isolated. She decided to give him another ten minutes.

Each minute passed with Kate getting more and more anxious. She pressed the locks down on the car doors, feeling incredibly aware of how alone she was. Her mind was racing. Could he have fallen? Hurt himself?

At eight minutes she couldn’t wait anymore. She did what any sensible teenage girl would do. She rang her dad.

Thankfully, Kate’s dad arrived in less than twenty minutes. David still hadn’t returned to the car. She opened the door and hugged her dad tight. He had brought a torch, so they shone it around the area. All they could see was the trees.

“I don’t really want to take you wandering into the woods at night. I think it’s best if we call the police.” he said.

The police took a statement from Kate and began to comb the woods. They advised her dad that it was probably best to take her home for some rest. They assured her they would call if they found him.

The next morning, Kate awoke happy, until the memory of the previous night came flooding back to her. She ran downstairs and found her dad sitting at the kitchen table with a coffee. He’d obviously called in sick to work so that he could stay with her.

“They’ve not found him, Katie. I’m sorry.”

Kate sat down at the table, in shock.

“There’s something else, honey. I don’t know how to tell you this.”

Kate looked at his worried face. She wasn’t sure she wanted to know.

“There were two girls sleeping in a tent in the garden, on a street not far from the Overlook. When the mother went to wake them this morning, they found them dead.”

Kate couldn’t conceal her horror. Her hand flew up to her mouth. She felt shaky with the upset of it. She also knew that her dad wasn’t telling her everything. She could read him like a book: she knew he was keeping the details from her.

“What happened?”

“Don’t ask, Katie, just don’t ask. The police are very concerned about David.”

Making her excuses, Kate went back to her room and switched on her laptop. It was all over the news. It was horrific.

The girls had been torn to pieces.

The police were investigating the possibility of a wild animal attack, although they were unsure what kind of creature could have done the damage that had been inflicted on the girls.

They had been friends, 15 - the same age as her.

The day passed in an uncertain blur. Kate sat with her dad on the sofa, half-watching old films, unable to concentrate. The police called to say they were still searching for David but had yet to find any evidence of what had happened to him.

At around 9pm, Kate felt exhausted. She decided to try an early night although she was unconvinced that she would be able to sleep. However, sleep soon overtook her in spite of her churning mind.

Something woke her. It was dark in her room, still the middle of the night. She was aware of a draft; she always slept with an open window to let the breeze in. However, there was something else…

She could hear panting, frantic breathing.

She reached over to the bedside lamp, and as she switched it on she could clearly see another person in the room, bolting towards her.

It was David.

Except, it wasn’t.

He threw himself on top of her, and she could see his mouth gaped open; rows of razor-sharp black teeth were being thrust towards her. She was being pinned down by his weight. His hands were gripping her arms and she could feel claws digging into her soft flesh. She was aware of the flow of her blood from where he was wounding her.

But his eyes were the most frightening thing. They were glazed over. They looked dead, like the eyes of a corpse.

She screamed.

As the teeth tried to bite her throat, she struggled and screamed.

She heard the door bang open.

Suddenly David was torn off her, with strength that seemed superhuman.

She saw her father’s back, leaning over David’s body, that was now on the floor in the corner of the room. She heard growling, an inhuman, animalistic noise. Her father leaned forward, then she saw the blood spread across her carpet forming a great, dark pool.

At first she thought David had got her dad. But he leaned back, stood up, and turned to her.

Except it wasn’t her dad. He too had the teeth. He too had the claws. He too had the dead, soulless eyes.

“I warned him, Katie.”

The voice was a snarl.

“I warned him to stay away from you. But he wouldn’t listen. So I killed him. At least, I thought I’d killed him. It seems I turned him instead.”

He turned back to the broken boy on the floor.

Kate was aware of the screams. Long and loud, they shattered the stillness which had overtaken the room.

It took her a moment to realise that they were coming from her