Unhallowed Spirit
an excerpt

Aila got her first look at the kitchen as she hurtled into it. Her aunt was at the stove on the far side, and her uncle, Dan, was sitting at the table near the double doors that led to the back yard, and quick look to the other room revealed Jake, lounging on the sofa and watching television. She shouted a quick hello to her uncle and cousin before bolting out the back door and running to the far end of the yard, where the grasses ceased to be kept tame.

With a quick look back to see where her cousin was, she dived into the tall grass, and ran as fast as she could, her destination the corn stalks fifty yards ahead of her. She ran only ran so far into the cornfield, and stopped, so that the only sound that could be heard was her cousin coming after her. Aila turned to her right, walking carefully, as to avoid making too much noise.

After a couple of feet, she ducked down, turning back to where she had been moments before. She watched, a silent giggle in her throat, as Nikki ran past her hiding spot at top speed, completely unaware of where her cousin truly was. Aila waited a few moments, listening to the sounds of her cousin running farther away. She smiled and stood up when she thought that Nikki was far enough away, and began picking her back to the house.
She could hear her name being called, and it sounded like her cousin’s voice, and yet, it was distorted. She stopped, turning around, studying her surroundings in apprehension. She jumped in shock when the stalks surrounding her began rustling loudly, as if there was something beyond her line of sight.

A screech sounded from behind her, and she whipped around, her paranoia getting the better of her. Her breathing quickened as the noises grew louder, and she felt a sense of danger – all encompassing – grip her heart. She gulped, turned, and began running back to her aunt and uncle’s home, intent on getting out of the cornfield and into a place where she could see her surroundings more definitively.

Her cousin completely flew from her mind, and just as she saw the stalks begin to thin, she was forced to stop, as the temperature dropped suddenly, provoking a sharp shudder to go up her spine. She watched as her breath misted in front of her, coming out in big puffs as her breathing quickened.

“Oh, God,” she breathed, heart racing. She was terrified, she admitted to herself, and as she looked up, her fear grew. “What the hell is happening?”

The sky – which had previously been a clear, bright blue – darkened dramatically, becoming dark in a matter of seconds. The temperature, if it were possible, dropped farther, and an eerie mist settled over the cornfield.

Aila was not easily scared, but this was too much for her, and she was frozen in fear. The mist thickened, and, combined with the pitch-blackness, she could no longer see the stalks just feet from her. She knew she had to get out of the field, but her brain couldn’t make her feet move, and she knew she was paralyzed.

Tears began to form in her eyes as the noises, which she had previously heard further back in the field, started again, this time closer. Something brushed against her leg, which finally propelled her into action. A scream escaped from her mouth as she lifted her feet and ran as fast as she could. Unfortunately, Aila realized as she continued to run, knocking through stalks of corn at top speed, she had gotten turned around when the mist and darkness had descended, and she had no idea which way the house was.

She was lost, in the dark and the mist, and her fear was mounting with every second.

Her name was called from behind her, and she knew without a doubt that it wasn’t Nikki calling to her. “Please no,” she sobbed as her fear finally consumed her. Although she had such terror coursing through her veins, she continued on, until her foot caught on something, and she crashed to the ground, twisting her ankle as she went down.

The voice was coming closer to her, as were the noises, and she realized, they had kept pace with her, and they were now closing in. She flipped over on her back, propped up on her elbows, head swivelling from side to side so she that she could be completely aware of her surroundings.

Then something began to materialize from within the mist. It had an ethereal glow in it’s middle, but the outer edges were very fuzzy, giving no definitive form to the thing. Aila heard it say her name, and saw a long, arm-like appendage reach forth to stroke her skin. Her eyes rolled back at the touch, and her body, having previously been supported by her arms, fell dead away.