Winter Nights of Hell

Chapter One

Abigail's Tree

(Snow Rumaki)

 

Echoing voices bounced around the bar, clicks and clanks reflecting off the glasses as people cheered to one another. Loud music and laughter chiming through my ears. Yup, just another typical night at the bar. I leaned over my bar as I watched everyone enjoy themselves. Our town was small, and everyone knew everyone.

The only downside was that people fought over one another since everyone did know everyone. A typical night usually consists of a local ramming in, drunk off their ass, and calling someone out for sleeping with their woman. It was full of drama, sometimes entertaining, and sometimes got to kick the bad guys out. 

"Hey, sweet thing," I heard a voice approaching my bar. A tall, handsome man with short black hair, dressed nicely and casually, came up to the bar and sat down. "Double whiskey on the rocks, please," He ordered.

"Coming right up," I replied with a quick spin around to make his drink. We didn't get many travelers, exceptionally nicely dressed ones. I was used to the flirtatious compliments, though. When I turned around, I scanned him over quickly - icy-blue eyes, tall, dark, and rather handsome. 

"So, what's a little thing like you doing in a bar like this? Seems too quiet for you," He commented, the breath of alcohol hitting his breath somewhat hard. He had been drinking before coming here.

"Someone's got to pay the bills," I simply replied.

"No man to take care of you?"

I gave him a sideways glance before turning around and cleaning some more bar glasses. "Don't need one," I replied.

"Mm, well, if you'd like, I can change that."

I spun around to snap at him, but he was gone. It was a strange interaction. My gaze shifted through the bar as I tried to see where he disappeared. But I couldn't find him. Strange. 

Besides the one interaction, it was calm for a Friday night. The moon was full, and you'd think that all the crazies were out. I reached for one of the glasses left on the bar by one of the customers and dumped out the leftover margarita, cashing out their tip. I called out to them as they left the bar and made another drink that was rung in. I hummed softly, closing everything up for the night by making a last call. Once the bar was emptied, I finished up everything I needed to and locked the bar up. Being the bartender, I was typically the last one out, besides one of the bouncers - but we lived in opposite directions. I said goodnight to the bouncer and trotted off towards home. It might be past midnight, but our village was quiet.

With the snow fluttering down, I embraced the cold happily. I've lived here my entire life - this mountain village was the perfect home. You always had a clear view of the moon, even with the light snow dusting downwards, and the moon was such a large image here. It was perfect, lighting up the walkway that carried me home. The silence surrounding me was excellent, and it was easy to hear if anyone was following or if a critter decided they would be rambunctious. It was going to be an easy walk home.

Or so I thought it was going to be. 

As I made my way into the heavily wooded area of the pathway, I began to hear something scattering around me. Prey has been scarce this harsh winter, causing some random and wild attacks by the local predators. Wolves and foxes sometimes bear out of hibernation. Scanning my surroundings, I couldn't see anything. It was hard to see in this part of the woods because the numerous pine trees were thick and practically grew on each other. I took a deep breath, taking in the crisp air to try and calm my beating heart. Whenever I worked late at night, I carried a special hand-made dagger. My father created a black handle with a fiery red burning tip and a fire opal. This was my safety. I've never had to use it, but there's a first for everything.

Once I heard the scattering again, my lavender eyes scanned the sides of me, but I never stopped moving. I moved quietly but quickly - keeping my heartbeat from going fast. I couldn't show fear - not to a predator. Something flickered out of the corner of my eye, and I paused and quickly turned towards it, eyes narrowing now on where I saw it. 

Nothing was there but darkness. "It's got to be a fox," I quietly spoke, holding my dagger tightly with the blade pointed out. I continued down the snowy path only to hear something then behind me. My muscles tensed up as the noise began to come closer to me. Wherever this sound came from, it was coming from all around me - and it was quick. I began to pick up my pace a little and began to dash. I needed to get to the house, where I had other means of protection. I wasn't far from home when I suddenly felt an extremely heavy weight cripple down on me. My body felt numb, and I heard a chuckle. 

"Quick and cute; I enjoy the combination."

I pushed through the weight as best as possible, unsure of what was happening to my body. I didn't step on one of our bear traps and surely didn't gain a few extra jackets on my body. Soon, I could feel my knees buckle in, forcing me to fall onto my chest. 

"I enjoy a woman who obeys," The voice whispered. 

Unable to reply, I began to try and force myself to crawl because it felt like my legs just gave out. I could see the house a few feet away - I had to get there. I put the dagger's handle in my mouth and began to pull myself through the snow. Did someone spike something I had to drink? There was no way. I only had one shot with a group of girls - that was it! I didn't turn away from it either. But I felt dizzy and confused. Now, I felt numb, and my thighs felt cold.

"I - Don't-" I growled through my gritted teeth, "Know - who you are, but you're messing with the wrong girl!" 

"Ah, no, I think I have the correct girl. Strong, cute, and brave," It whispered to me. 

A strong presence appeared behind me, grabbing the boot on my foot, causing me to shriek and drop my dagger into the snow. I quickly rolled onto my back and came face-to-face with a man who was tall and pale. His black hair hung on his face, and I could not identify any features.

 "Let go of me!" I snapped at him, using my other foot to kick at him. This caught the man off guard when I made contact, and he stumbled back a little. A strong smell of alcohol floated to my nostrils, causing them to flare with disgust. "You're drunk - go home!" I called out, pushing myself to my feet and grabbing my dagger. I began to fumble through my bag to try and grab the keys out of there, but as I looked into the bag, I realized they had fallen out when I fell. "Of course, just like any horror movie! Whatever, how about a game of hide and seek?!" I called out, having the perfect hiding spot. Hiding in the house wouldn't get me very far, but I knew one place I could that most locals were too scared to visit.

It was Abigail's Tree - the tree of a misfortune event that caused some scary speculations. I ran past the house and jumped over the little brown fence behind our home, landing with a soft thud as I descended the hill and into the heavily wooded area again. 

"I enjoy seeking my prey," The voice called. "You're just running from fate!" 

"And you're just a drunk pervert!" I called back out. My body still felt extremely heavy from whatever was put into my drink, and I felt like my vision was blurry. "This man seriously spiked my drink?!" I scowled as I did my best to push branches. I swore I stumbled numerous times, and my heart was beating extremely fast and almost off-beat it felt. This was an extreme spike it felt, or perhaps because I've never been spiked before, this is what it felt like. I stumbled around a few rocks, catching myself on a few as I tried to catch my breath. I had to pause when I came to the base of the lake. Abigail's Tree and Lake were massive, but it never failed to have large stepping stones to the middle of the tree. No one dared cross the lake because of the rumor of people hearing things here and then disappearing. However, I'd rather disappear than become that man's fantasy for the night. 

At the base of the lake, I froze. The stepping stones across the lake were double, and my vision was blurred. The lake wasn't bottomless, but one misstep onto the frozen top could mean terrible trouble for me. I'd either be frozen to death, or I'd be a man's fantasy - both sounded awful.

I tried to focus on one stone, but the stepping stones made me extremely dizzy. I took a deep breath, trying to regain my focus. 

"You're going to lose this game, little Snow~" The voice sang out to me. 

"I- I-I don't think so," I slurred back. "Also, don't say my name, please. It's gross." My voice was so slurred that I wasn't sure I was even speaking words. Letting out a slight hiccup, I took a small step at a time. I would put my foot out to tap around, ensuring I landed on the correct stone and not the ice. Crossing this lake would be extremely hard, but I could do it. I knew this lake like the back of my hand; confidence was strong! I smiled and began to sing a little song, the spike taking effect on my body. "One little, two little, three little stones~" My sing-song voice sounded. "Four little, five little, six little stones~"

A giggle escaped me as I took another step onto the next stone. I realized I had made it across the lake when I turned around and saw something on the other side. "Oh, there's the big scary monster!" I called.

"Oh, little Snow, how adorable; please return to me. I will ensure you safely return home!" 

"OHH!! My home? No, thank you, I don't go home with strangers," I giggled over to him.

My brain was not able to comprehend anything. However, I began to feel even more dizzy. I turned away from the lake and the shadowy figure and headed into the giant roots of the tree. Abigail's tree was tremendous not only in height but width too. One of the most massive trees I've ever seen, with uprooted roots that held the tree up high off the ground. I was never too sure how this was a thing, but it was! It was amazing that this tree had such high roots that could make a shelter for someone. The origins began forming into figures, or at least, that's what my mind saw. I would bump into one, giggle, and say, "Excuse me! Sorry for disturbing you!" 

I even pat one of the tree roots, offering it a huge smile. "So sorry for interrupting this!" I squealed with delight as I pushed further into the roots. Once under the middle of the tree, I gazed around and flopped down. My head began to hurt, and I felt fatigued. My heart was pounding faster than it should've been, making me feel incredibly sick to my stomach. I forced myself to lay on my back, staring at the base of the tree above me as it spun around and around - faster with every second. I closed my eyes and embraced the dizziness, knowing I had at least gotten away from the stranger following me. "Oh, Abigail, please," I whispered. 

What looked like a faint blue light above me; I reached up to it and whispered, "So pretty."

"I prefer the term, handsome," The voice whispered into my ear, and suddenly my body flopped over, and I could feel a sharp pain twist into my side. A warm feeling filled my side; it was oozing. Was I just stabbed? My twisted brain could not understand what just happened. Something cold grabbed my neck and wrapped around me; I could only assume it was the man's hands as they tightened every second. 

"N-n-n-no," I pleaded as the pain in my side grew even more robust, which made me call out with agonizing pain. My scream was loud and brittle - the pain was unbearable. I glanced down as my head was held upwards by this man's hand, and all I could see was the ground splattered with blood. Another agonizing scream sounded from me as I felt something jag me in the thigh. As I screamed bloody murder, I could feel tears of pain filling my eyes as I was forced to look up even higher. My head was held high now as I stared at the bright blue light above me. Head spinning, sides in pain like no tomorrow, I cried and tried to slash at the figure with my dagger. However, with a quick instant, my wrist was twisted, and my blade dropped to the ground, landing on its fire opal. "Help me," I begged into the light.

My body began to go even more numb as I lost all feeling in my feet and part of my legs. Whether or not it was the drug that was thrown into my drink or the blood loss that I was experiencing, the bright blue light turned into a dark swirling light of red. The effects of the drink had taken over my body, and I could not see straight or move. I watched as the swirling red light grew more prominent.

"What the hell?" I heard the man's voice, and suddenly I was dropped hard to the ground with a thud. My head hit something, and I felt an immense pain shoot through my head now. My consciousness began to fade between the drug, the stab wound, and now my hurt head. I could only reach out for my dagger just a few feet away as the clearing began to darken. As my fingertips touched the blade, I felt a warm sensation wash over me. "P-p-please," I whispered so softly as I made contact.  

".... Did ….. I …… Here ….?” Another voice sounded as my eyes closed nearly shut. 

 As soon as I was about to grip the dagger, I faded out with the sound of a second voice and the first voice fading in and out. 

"........on…….? How….. …..ld," The second voice was fading in and out, but I had no idea what it was saying. The last thing I saw was a bright fire.