NIGHT OF FEAR
Written By - Prabir Rai Chaudhuri
© All Copyright Reserved By Prabir Rai Chaudhuri- 2023
Sophia and François were going to Aunt Amélie's sixtieth birthday party. She was giving a party in her big house in the country. The parents, our friend, and the baby Nicolas were on the list of expected people.
"Sixty years old, sixty guests," Aunt Amélie had said one day, laughing.
And we took it seriously.
As this family had only fifty-nine members, François, Sophia's friend, had been added. Both seven and a half years old, and great friends, they were looking forward to spending the weekend together.
On the way in the car, she told her friend about the chapel...
-You'll see, explained the little girl, Aunt Amélie's house is built very long and set back from the street. On the garden side, behind the main building, there is an old chapel. The two constructions touch each other, but do not communicate. So to get from the house to this chapel, you have to cross part of the garden, an orchard. This small church dates from the time when a castle stood today.
François listened while watching the landscape melt gently into the falling night.
-The last occupant, added Sophia, was a cruel man. Around the year 1750, the peasants of the neighboring villages, who had nicknamed him the ''garou'', invaded the castle and destroyed it. The cruel lord was not found, but was never heard from again. All that remained of the building was a pile of stones, except for the chapel, which the villagers respected, no doubt because it was a sacred place.
- Will we visit it? asked the boy.
-Yes. Later, about fifty years ago, Aunt Amélie's parents acquired the land and, recovering the old stones that were there, they built their house, but without touching this small church, now disused. I think my aunt puts garden tools and her apples in there for the winter.
As soon as they arrived, the two children rushed into the orchard and, passing between the fruit trees, Sophia showed her friend the somewhat sinister construction under the autumn sky. They entered through a large, heavy door that they had to pull with all their might to open it.
Inside, darkness and cold greeted them. A single small window situated very high near the arch, on the wall adjoining Aunt Amélie's house, shed a pale light. The two shivering children did not linger there. They returned to the party.
During dinner, Sophia and François overheard a conversation between the aunt and our friend's parents.
-A tragedy has occurred in our village, she said. A twelve-year-old girl, Élodie, has been missing for a week. We think she was kidnapped by bandits, because we haven't found her yet. The police are actively looking for her. Pay attention to your children. I wouldn't want anything bad to happen to them. That they don't leave the garden and above all that they don't go for a walk in the woods alone.
Our friends had heard of course.
The best parties eventually come to an end. As several guests came from far away, the charming hostess had prepared the bedrooms upstairs. She led each and every one.
-The Italians here, the French there, the couple from America, next to the bathroom.
Sophia's parents received the largest bedroom. They were staying with the baby. It remained to fit our two friends.
-Where am I going to make you sleep, you two? whispered Aunt Amélie. I have no more room.
-So, we're going to the hotel, said François, laughing.
-The hotel ! You're taking things well, you, answered the lady, smiling. I have a solution. I suggest you a rather special hotel. You go, I believe, to the elves and to the wolf cubs?
"Yes," asserted Francois. I was told to bring my sleeping bag.
"And me too," confirmed Sophia. I have my things with me.
-I say. What would you say to going to sleep together on an adventure, in the chapel behind the house?
"I don't mind..." said François, a little chilled.
"Okay..." whispered Sophia in a small, worried voice.
- You will not be afraid?
- Oh no, said François, I'm not afraid of anything.
Guys often say that, especially when girls listen to them...
"Me neither," added Sophia, who didn't want to sound like a coward.
-I suggest you take some pancakes with you so that if you are hungry, you can always eat them. Also bring a bottle of milk. It's not very hot there. Stay dressed to sleep. And anyway, if you're too scared or too cold, come home here. We will install you in the living room. I'm only afraid that the passage in the night of some of my guests will disturb you.
- How's it going? asked our friend's mom and dad.
- Yes, yes, murmured Sophia, however not very reassured. It will be fine. I will stay with Francois. I will not be afraid.
"Me too," promised his friend. I will watch over my girlfriend. I'm used to it with my little sisters.
There, he played tough, a little boastful.
-Well then good sleep. Kisses. In case of concern, we are not far away.
They took their sleeping bags, a carton of milk, two cups and cookies and went out into the garden.
The wind was blowing in gusts. The rain was pouring down. They ran so as not to get wet. They opened the heavy chapel door and entered.
The great hall seemed cold, sinister to them. The black walls hardly reassured them. Through the small window high up near the ceiling, thunderbolts were throwing sudden, frightening bursts of light.
"It's a bit scary all the same," murmured Sophia.
- Yes, adds François. It's a scary nothing.
- Me, all alone, dared her friend, I would not stay here.
"Me neither," admitted the boy. But if we go back to your aunt's, they'll laugh at us and say we're weaklings.
- So let's be brave. Anyway, let's pretend.
They set up their cots near the wall, side by side. They put the milk and the cakes a little further away.
It was not very hot. They kept their sweaters and jeans on. They only took off their shoes and they each got into their sleeping bags. They placed between them the flashlight they had taken away out of caution.
They held hands. This reassured them a little.
They listened to the silence of the abandoned chapel. Outside the wind whistled, twisting the branches of the trees. The storm was moving away, carrying the rumbles of thunder away. But there was still the steady sound of rain lashing against the panes of the only window opposite them, above the wall. And sometimes, no doubt because of the wind, the main door of the chapel beat a little.
At that moment, they heard the noise for the first time...
- Hey... Hin...
-What is that ? whispered Francois.
-I do not know. Are you doing this?
"No, it's not me," replied his friend softly. Pass me the flashlight.
He lit. His hand was shaking. He walked slowly around the walls of the chapel.
Suddenly, in front of them, it lit up a carved white stone. It represented a skull. One distinguished the two holes of the eyes, the nose and the mouth. A horrible skull and crossbones was there on the wall. They hadn't seen it while visiting the place earlier. But now...
"She's looking at us," whispered Sophia.
-It's not someone, it's only a stone, dared François, yet not too reassured. She does not speak.
He pointed the flashlight to the right, and then to the door. It seemed well closed. No one in the chapel... They were just the two of them, all alone...
-I think I know, risked our friend. It was a creaking branch in the wind.
Besides, you can't hear anything, Francois reassured himself.
- Yes, it's true, added the little girl aloud, we can't hear anything anymore.
But moments later, as they fell silent again...
-Hey...Hin...
This time it was too much! They got up. They lit up the skull. She did not move. His mouth made no sound.
-''Knock Knock knock''.
-What is that ? whispered Francois, turning around.
"It's coming from there, to the right, behind us," replied Sophia softly.
The large front door vibrated. Something or someone was knocking outside on this portal.
The two children remained motionless, barefoot, frozen with fear, near the sleeping bags.
-We're leaving.
- Yes, okay, we're leaving.
They put on the sneakers and then rolled up their bags to take them with them. They would sleep anywhere, in the living room, in the kitchen, in the dining room, even in the hallway, but not here. They walked slowly towards the door, shaking.
- Hey....Hin....
Suddenly, a violent noise resounded which froze their blood. As if someone was looking with a huge mass to break the portal.
However, they both ran towards this only exit. They touched the handle. They tried to open. It seemed to them that someone was pushing on this door, on the other side. They could no longer leave the chapel.
"But let us out," cried Sophia.
The door did move a little bit, but even pushing together with all their might, they couldn't open it anymore. The two children were locked up, with the skull and the terrible cry that seemed to come from her.
-Hey...Hin...
They put their sleeping bags on the floor and looked around. They saw no other exit. Except for the little window up there near the ceiling. But how to reach it? The beam from their flashlight fell on something lying near the wall. An old ladder, on the ground, in a corner.
-Let's try to go through the window, proposed François.
-Yes, okay, accepted Sophia. But first, let's try to call them... Aunt Amélie... Aunt Amélie, cried the little girl.
No answer. Aunt Amélie slept in the house next door. An impressive silence fell over them, a heavy blanket of anguish and terror.
- Dad, mom, dad, mom! cried Sophia again.
The parents were sleeping. The windows were closed in the other building. No one heard them. No one answered them...
-Hey...Hin...
Let's leave our friends for a moment and go back. Long back.
In 1750, the castle and its chapel still existed. They had not been destroyed by the peasants. The occupier was a cruel man. Moreover, in the village, he was called the "garou".
A werewolf, a man who can turn into a wolf, on full moon nights...
One evening returning from the forest, the lord of the castle called Sylvain, his servant.
-Sylvain!
-Yes Master.
-I'm mad! I hunted all day, and found no animals.
-But master, you kill so many that there are no more animals in the forest. Just the other day you brought back four does, three fawns, two stags and eight rabbits. You kill them as long as there are no more animals left on your land. Either you killed them or they ran away.
- This is not the answer I expected, Sylvain. I claim someone is stealing my game. So, seek and find this poacher. Otherwise, I'm going to hunt you.
-Yes Master.
Two days later, Sylvain, who feared losing his place with the terrible squire, brought a poor marauder. A skinny, dirty boy, dressed in rags. He was holding a live rabbit in a bag.
-Master, here is your thief. I caught him in your forest with that hare. It steals the game you hunt for your killing pleasure.
- Please, begged the boy, please let me go, sir. Lord of the castle, do me no harm. My father is dead and my mother is sick. We are five children at home and I am the oldest. I'm fourteen. I have two younger brothers and two younger sisters. We have nothing left to eat and we are starving. We live in a shack close to collapsing. I caught this bunny so that once we would have a little more to eat. We are so hungry. They are so skinny.
- You dare to hunt on my land! cried the werewolf.
- Please, we're hungry.
-You hunt on my land and you steal a rabbit from me, depriving me of my pleasure in killing. I'm going to throw you in my dungeon to punish you. Take him, Sylvain.
- Please don't throw me into oblivion. If I don't come back, my little brothers and my little sisters will starve.
"In the dungeon," replied the Were, inflexible.
And he dragged the poor boy into the chapel.
The master walked towards a statue in the shape of a skull carved in white stone. He inserted a finger in the left eye, then in the right eye. He then started again in the opposite direction, a finger in the right eye then in the left. The teeth of the skull's mouth slowly moved apart, revealing a small opening.
The Were slipped his hand into this slot, and seized an iron handle that he turned a quarter turn. A section of wall opened, revealing a hole five meters deep. The dungeon in which he locked up his enemies.
- You stole one of my hares. You'll die.
He pushed the poor boy forward. He fell to the bottom of the dungeon, on the rocks that carpeted the ground.
"I hurt myself!" cried the boy. Please let me out, don't leave me here, think of my family. Sorry...
-You will die there.
The Were went to his pocket and pulled out a book.
-Here, here you go. Read a few pages while waiting for death.
And pushing with all his might, the abominable squire closed the wall.
The boy suffered excruciatingly in this hole. He had hurt himself when he fell. It was pitch black in there. The days passed. He slowly starved to death.
Some time after these events, the angry villagers destroyed the werewolf's castle. His body was not found. Sylvain had fled. But the chapel remained, amidst the ruins.
Much later, when Aunt Amélie built her house, right next door, and she did not discover the dungeon.
Our two friends, still locked in the chapel, wondered how to get out. No one answered their calls. They paused to think for a moment and heard the abominable creak again.
-Hey...Hin...
-It starts again...
-It comes from there, murmured Sophia, frozen with fear. Near the skeleton. Lets go see. And above all, let's stay away from the door, we don't know who's stopping us from going out.
"Let's stay together anyway," her boyfriend insisted. Come, let's go close to the statue.
They approached the horrible white stone whose mask grimaced under the beam of their flashlight. Francois touched her. The stone was cold. She did not move.
-Look, you can place your finger in the left eye, then in the other, indicated the boy.
"Careful," said Sophia.
-It's a statue. See, I'm starting over again.
He put his finger in his right eye this time, then in his left. They heard a click and the statue's mouth opened slowly. They backed away, terrified. They were holding each other and screaming.
Then they took heart. They approached the skull, located a little too high to be able to reach into it. They fetched the ladder and put it against the wall, right next to it. Sophia climbed up, courageously.
-Give the flashlight. I think I see a handful back there, yes a big handful. She's moving. What do I do ?
-As you think, answered François, but don't hurt yourself.
Sophia grabs the iron handle. It was spinning. Suddenly the wall moved. A little more and the ladder fell, destabilized. The wall opened and a black hole appeared in front of the two terrified children: the dungeon.
-Hey...Hin...
They understood this time:
-Hey...Hin...I'm...hungry...
-Is there someone in there? cried Francois.
- Please release me!
-Who are you ? asked Sophia.
-My name is Elodie.
"The girl who's been missing for a week," cried the boy.
-Oh my God! Elodie sobbed. I've been in there for a week! I thought I was going to die there. On Sunday, I came to visit the chapel. Only. Curious, I entered. I saw the head of the skeleton. I put my fingers in his eyes, at random, and a section of wall opened. I wanted to see. I leaned over and slipped. I fell into this hole. And the door closed. What day is it ?
"It's the night from Saturday to Sunday," answered François.
- I've been here for a week. I have nothing to eat. I drank the dirty water that oozed on the walls. Plus there's a skeleton here. I'm afraid. Can you get me out of here, please? And I'm so hungry.
"It's deep," the boy worried.
"We have a ladder," said her friend.
Sophia and Francois took the ladder and slipped it into the hole. Elodie quickly climbed the ladder. She was holding an old moldy book under her arm. Our friends stretched out their hands to help him out. She put the old book on the floor, then managed to pull herself out. They resumed the ladder. A few minutes later, the secret door to the dungeon closed.
- You have nothing to eat? begged the little girl. I'm so hungry.
-We have cookies and milk.
- Can I take them?
-Yes of course!
Elodie devoured the four pancakes, and generously drank milk.
-It's a little better, sighed the survivor. How do we get out of here?
-We do not know. It looks like someone is pushing on the huge door and preventing us from opening it.
They tried with all their might one last try, but the door barely moved.
-Let's break the window up there, indicated Élodie. Let's go out there.
- What is this book? asked Sophia, curious.
-I don't know, he was in the hole with me, in the dungeon. It looks very old. It was pitch dark so I didn't even open it. But it's strange, a book in this place.
-Oh, look! It's all soft and it gives off a strange smell, says François.
Frightful beasts, spiders, grasshoppers, mosquitoes, wasps, monstrous beetles, came out of the book. Sophia crushed some under the soles of her shoes.
-How awful! shouted our friend. Let's get out of here quickly.
The three children observed for a moment the abominable procession of abominable beasts which little by little dispersed in the chapel.
They straightened the ladder and climbed behind Elodie. She smashed the window with a loose piece of brick. They passed through this small passage one behind the other. The little girl helped them not to hurt themselves with the sharp pieces of glass which remained hung on the edges. They found themselves on the roof of the little chapel, right up against the cornice of Sophia's aunt's house.
They progressed on all fours and arrived at the parents' window, they knocked on the panes.
- Dad, mom, dad, mom! Wake up!
The parents, surprised, got up in their bed.
-What are you doing there ?
- Mom, dad, it's horror in the chapel. There are beasts everywhere and strange noises. We are prevented from going out. Thanks to Élodie, we were able to escape through the roof.
-Who is Elodie? asked the dad.
-I've been the girl locked up for a week, explained their new friend. Your children delivered me.
-Where were you ?
- In a dungeon.
Aunt Amélie and all the guests still present were awakened. The police were called. Elodie's parents were notified.
All together, they went into the garden. No one was pushing on the main door of the chapel. But because of the rain, the storm and the violent wind, a tree in Aunt Amélie's orchard had been uprooted, and the bent trunk was pressing against the door of the chapel. That's why we couldn't open it from the inside.
The police lifted the trunk and cleared the entrance. They opened the door. A row of horrible insects escaped. They scattered in the grass and disappeared.
Sophia, François and the young survivor showed the secret of the dungeon by pushing into the eyes of the skull and then turning the old handle in the hollow of the wall.
Several skeletons were discovered at the bottom. The bones of unfortunate long-dead prisoners. People that the werewolf had locked up in the past... and who hadn't had the chance like Elodie to be freed by our friends.
