Content Warning
Violence and child abduction.
At the end of a long drive, away from the ocean in the pacific northwest, sits a sleepy town tucked into a valley, shielded from the outside world.
Six homes rest around the valley on the foothills of the mountains that encompass the town. Here, the descendants of six families continue to live – year after year, decade after decade, century after century—even after one small family disappeared in the night.
“This is a lovely home, rebuilt at the turn of the century. A classic Victorian structure.” Kelly pointed at the ceiling and widened her arms to the foyer they were standing in.
“It’s really old.” Diana whispered to her husband. The house was rather large but, once they stood within it, the atmosphere wrapped around her throat. There was a faint smell of mold that Diana couldn’t quite place. Was it water damage? Rotting wood?
Her skin itched with the feeling that she didn’t fit here. The emptiness of the room raised the hair on her arms; she squeezed her husband’s arm a little tighter.
“It’s really affordable,” Tarrin countered. His face crinkled in a fake smile. “How many rooms?”
Taking the cue to keep going, Kelly led them deeper into the house, which darkened in response. “A lot of natural light.” Kelly laughed and Diana wasn’t so sure she was joking.
“The house has six rooms, two on this floor and four upstairs. Now this does predate some modern design so there aren’t any bathrooms in the rooms. However, the primary is large with its own fireplace.” Rooted to where she stood, Kelly pointed to every corner of the house.
“Shit,” Diana muttered, impressed. This home was far more grand than the trailer she grew up in. Nerves crawled in her gut and through to her fingertips. She didn’t belong in a place like this.
“Please look around, take your time. I’ll be outside.” Kelly smiled then walked with purpose back out the front door.
Diana followed Kelly with her eyes, wasn’t that a bit weird to just leave them in here? What about upstairs?
“This house sits on five acres.” Tarrin pulled the listing out of his pocket and unfolded it. “It’s a shame the previous family didn’t hold the land they had for the farm.”
The image of the house demanded Diana’s attention. She hadn’t wanted to come here at all and told Tarrin the home was probably a dumpster fire. Why did the flyer only use a single photo?
Stepping inside proved the house was anything but garbage. Which gave Tarrin that airiness of being proven right.
The previous family did take great care. So why was it so cheap?
“You wanted the farmland? Tarrin, you complain about mowing the quarter acre we’re on now!” Diana pulled away, the warmth from Tarrin’s body dissipated in the chill of the sitting room.
“I mean who knows what we’d like to do until we do it?” Tarrin’s ever-present optimism brought an annoyance that chased away Diana’s nerves. “We could be farmers.”
“We?” She looked over her shoulder as she reached the steps leading upstairs. The woodwork in the home belonged in a magazine. It wasn’t even dusty.
“Let’s head upstairs, but seriously, a part of the roof could be missing, and I’d still want to put an offer in.” Tarrin jostled past Diana and jogged upstairs to pick out their future room.
The following weeks went by in a blur. They’d put in an offer and it was accepted within the hour.. Tarrin spent his free time organizing the move and Diana did what she could to remain silent. She didn’t want to move into that house, but she couldn’t come up with a coherent argument against it.
It was a huge home and something they could never afford otherwise. They wanted a family, and this offered a way to make that comfortable. But Diana couldn’t escape the innate wrongness that came with even glancing at photos of the house.
Before the end of the month, they were moved in.
“Let’s sit outside and watch the sun set.” Tarrin suggested as he put pizza on paper plates. He grabbed two beers while Diana sat unmoved on a barstool. They did it. They bought their first home, and she was ruining their first night—why couldn’t she just be happy?
“Okay.” The false cheeriness in her voice grated her ears.
“I know this move felt rushed.” He gestured to the back porch door. “If you don’t love it here by the end of the year we’ll leave. We can rent it out or something.”
Guilt washed over Diana like a wave lapping the beach. Tarrin always placated her, and she offered nothing but pessimism in return.
Tarrin opened the door and paused. “A note?” He turned to Diana and handed off the beers as he grabbed at a piece of paper tapped to the windowpane.
She moved onto the porch that faced the back yard. The leaves on the trees rushed like babbling water under the wind as if joining in on their laughter. “It is beautiful though.” Diana sighed, inhaling the fresh crisp air of the evening. The green woods that started right at the end of the acreage line were dense. No tree really looked the same, the greenery was painted in all shades of the color, some yellow, gray, and blue.
Rabbits ran across the yard, going home for the night. There was a quiet peace that begged to be enjoyed.
“What the fuck?” He held out the note for Diana to see.
Stay inside.
“That’s weird. Is it left over from the showing?” Diana grabbed the piece of paper and turned it over. Those two words were the only scrawls.
Sighing, Tarrin took it. “Probably just some asshole bored kids. I’ll throw it away.” He took it back and headed back inside.
“Who the fuck are you?” Tarrin shouted, voice carrying from the kitchen. Gasping, Diana turned around and stepped inside, peering around Tarrin who stood just through the doorway.
A tall thin man stood next to the refrigerator. His wire rim glasses caught the light in an unfortunate way—the shadows elongated his eyebrows, making them look like they grew off his face.
“Your neighbor,” he said bluntly. “I knocked.”
“And you just strolled in when we didn’t answer?” Tarrin glanced behind him, his shoulders dropped slightly when he saw Diana.
“The door was ajar,” he continued, zero shame in his face. “I’m Elmer Lears.” He inclined his head, waiting to hear from Tarrin and Diana.
“I don’t give a shit.” Tarrin barked, and he held his hands in fists.
“Can we help you?” Diana cut in, gently reaching for Tarrin’s arm.
“You shouldn’t have moved here.” Elmer walked around them and shut the door, snapping the lock.
“Man, I am going to give you one chance to get out before I make you.” Tarrin didn’t flinch as Elmer came back around.
“You see that line.” Elmer pointed out the window. Diana looked, but Tarrin kept his gaze on Elmer.
“No,” Diana whispered, trying to determine what Elmer was pointing at. Night was starting to blanket their yard; it was shades darker than when they’d first been outside.
“The shadow line.” He gestured again and Diana furrowed her brows. Was he talking about the shadows cast by the trees?
“Under the trees?” She guessed.
His jaw twitched in response. “That is not from the trees.”
“What about it?” Tarrin’s patience didn’t exist here.
Swiftly, Elmer brought out a lightbulb. Its glass was thick and white as snow. “Screw this into the back porch light and leave it on at night.”
“Dude, fuck you. You don’t pay our energy bill.” Tarrin took a single step toward Elmer, his teeth bared, jaw clenched.
“Why?” Diana stepped between them and took the bulb, anything to de-escalate what was threatening to happen. The heft of the lightbulb caused Diana to do a double take. It didn’t appear to be extraordinary but the bulb was heavy.
“You have to,” Elmer whispered, then promptly turned on his heel and left.
Trembling slightly, Diana turned in the opposite direction, flipped the light off and hesitated slightly as they plunged into darkness. Teeth chattering, she looked toward the tree line again. The shadow on the ground was near pitch black, but that had to be because of the trees, right?
She unlocked the backdoor and ventured out. The rabbits were gone. Diana tried to recall if any ran into the tree line, but they hadn’t; they’d run across the yard. Why didn’t they go into the trees?
Reaching up, Diana unscrewed the porch bulb. Though warm, it didn’t burn her fingers.
“What are you doing?” Tarrin hissed as he stood on the porch watching her.
“What that creepy man said. What if we leave it off and he comes back?” Diana countered.
“In the morning I’m going to his house and bothering his family.” Tarrin walked inside, leaving Diana to screw in the bulb.
When she was done, she faced the tree line, and the shadows had crept three feet closer. Clenching her teeth, Diana felt a whisper of dread caress her back, a low hum in her bones. She made a beeline back into the house and flipped the switch. When the light turned on, the shadow was back beneath the trees.
The bulb wasn’t brighter than the previous light, but it was as if the house itself relaxed around her. Floorboards creaking above told her Tarrin was in their bedroom. Sighing, Diana turned off the kitchen light and ran upstairs before the negative energy came back.
Sitting straight up in bed, Diana was staring into the eyes of a child. She was young, maybe 11 or 12, and the dark shadows around her eyes were a telling heaviness that sat like lead in Diana’s stomach.
Diana wanted to scream, she wanted to turn to Tarrin and wake him. But she was frozen, her neck strained under her command to do something, but she was unable to do anything.
The girl’s hair was shoulder length and a single black headband held back her bangs. Her eyes were so dark Diana wondered if she had eyes at all, or if they were only gaping holes in her head. Lifting her finger to her mouth, the girl shushed a silent Diana.
Turning from the bedroom, the girl walked out, and Diana felt a tug in her chest to follow. Standing, Diana tried to get Tarrin’s attention once more and found that he was already looking at her. He had a warm smile on his face, and he rolled over, resting his head on a propped up elbow. Tarrin tilted his head in confusion.
“Tarrin, help.” Diana wheezed out. It was then she realized Tarrin’s smile didn’t belong to him; it was as if she was peering at his reflection in a mirror—an opposite Tarrin. Diana tried to swallow the lump building in her throat.
“It doesn’t matter what you say or do. Tarrin can’t help you here.” Tarrin’s smile grew unnaturally wide; Diana waited for it to split his face.
Horror forced her from the room. The little girl watched and waited at the top of the stairs. They descended together silently; the creaks that existed during the day were at rest in the night.
Tears rolled down Diana’s face. Terror strained her muscles.
Finally, they reached the back porch and the little girl pointed to the yard. Two little kids were playing with burlap dolls. One of the playing girls turned her head to watch them. Diana opened her mouth to speak but no sound came.
The shadow from the tree line crept closer to the girls. Glancing up, Diana saw stars appearing in the sky. No light was on, the bulb’s jagged glass pointed toward the porch.
The shadow’s crawl inched closer and closer to the two girls until it touched them. Blood curdling screams erupted from the girls as the shadow gripped them and dragged them into the trees. One girl tried to claw her way free. Her nails dug into the ground and only claw marks remained after she disappeared into the tree line.
“Diana?” Tarrin nudged Diana awake and she bolted from bed.. “You were having a nightmare.”
Diana turned around and the early morning sun was shining through the window. “Who lived here before us?” Diana demanded wondering where her phone was and thinking about what the realtor told them.
“Diana, stop.” Tarrin’s voice echoed around her. “We’re in a new place, you know how that can affect you. Please take a deep breath” Tarrin motioned the inhale and because of a promise Diana made Tarrin long ago she inhaled deeply in synchrony.
“I don’t like it here Tarrin.” Diana’s voice quivered and she hated that. She hated how she felt out of control and the pressure that built in her chest. She wanted to scream but knew that was wrong. So, she held it in and felt the poison of that decision seep into her soul.
“Let’s go to town today and forget about the neighbor. Let’s get something to make this house truly ours. We can stop at the library and look up the history of this place.” Tarrin smiled at Diana and walked carefully over to her, pulling her into a deep hug. She breathed him in and immediately was comforted by his familiar scent and promise of loyalty.
They were on the road and outside the library within an hour and a half. Diana had requested a history of the valley where they resided and the librarian brought over three books. One in particular caught Diana’s eye.
On the cover, a little girl held the porch beams of a Victorian home while her family sat on the steps all facing the camera without smiles. Diana recognized the face. Sliding the book closer, the hair rose on Diana’s neck—this couldn’t be possible.
Photographed: The Gainsbale family, from right to left, Emily (10), Sarah (8), Mary (25), and Clifford (38). One year later the Gainsbale’s lost both daughters, circumstances unknown.
Opening the book, it naturally split to a section about the valley families.
The earliest settlers of this area have largely remained. When the Gainsbale family arrived they negotiated the land from the indigenous people who lived there. When more acreage became available, the Lears arrived requiring a bank loan to purchase thirty acres from the Gainsbales.
“Well this is complete bullshit.” Diana snapped the book closed.
“What?” Tarrin asked, sliding the book closer to him.
“Negotiated? Are you kidding me? They fucking displaced people.” Diana’s anger overrode the fear she held.
“It’s how it was.” Tarrin shrugged and he reopened the book. “I am interested to see which family home we have.”
“The one right here.” Diana sniffed, the image of that girl and the one from her dreams were the same person. There was no doubt about that.
When evening came Tarrin’s mood grew foul. Diana wanted to move, she didn’t want to stay in the house any longer than they needed to.
They’d argued the entire car ride home. Diana didn’t like how the book phrased what actually happened and Tarrin didn’t think it was relevant to the here and now.
“You promised me you’d wait till the end of the year,” Tarrin snapped.
“I don’t feel safe here. We shouldn’t be here!” Diana argued, her frustration rising.
“I’ll fucking kill that guy.” Tarrin shouted, referring to Elmer.
“You’ll do no such thing. I honestly think he intended to help us.”
“Help us?!” Tarrin stomped towards the porch.
“Tarrin don’t!” Diana warned.
“With this fucking thing?” Tarrin was under the glowing porch light, twilight barely visible above the tree line. “There’s nothing out there Diana, nothing! How could there be?” The shadow line beckoned to Diana and her heart pounded in response.
“Don’t Tarrin. Leave it!” Diana screamed as Tarrin unscrewed the bulb. The burn of his skin permeated Diana’s nose.
When the light was out Diana spun in time to see the shadow reach for them. As she inhaled to scream, the shadow overtook the house. There was no warning, no fleeing, no remorse.
“This is a lovely home, rebuilt at the turn of the century. A classic Victorian structure.”
Jay D. Falcetti (she/her) is a biracial Indigenous writer based in Washington, where she lives with her family. Her short stories have appeared in various print and online magazines. She writes fantasy, horror, science fiction, and literary fiction. Connect with her and discover her published work on Instagram @jdfalcetti. Jay D. Falcetti is a pen name.