Horror Stories from Horrified - Volume One (2)

the little cor r idor and opened the door to the dar k, unlit r estaur ant. Simon stopped to flick
on the light sw itch but although Beth hear d it click, the r oom r emained swathed in black.
They moved deeper in; mur ky shadow s loomed in the still, stagnant air of the r oom? utter
silence, and the tangible, inexplicable cer tainty that although you cannot see, you know
that someone is ther e.
Then laughter. Fr om the bar that they had just left, Beth could hear laughter ? sickening,
conspir ator ial, snigger ing laughter. She star ed up at Simon, and even in the dusky dar k of
the r oom, she could see? he was laughing, too. Quietly, fur tively, laughing.
?Simon, w hat? ?
He gr abbed her by the hand and pulled her back towar ds the bar.
?Come on,? he said. ?Let?s go and have a look."
He dr agged her into the bar. She for ced her self to look? but it was empty. Wher e she had
just that moment hear d laughter , not a soul was to be seen. Beth clutched her head w ith
her hands; then the smell of bur ning-bonfir e tobacco again, so str ong and sudden like a
cigar ette had just been lit.
?What is this place,? Beth cr ied. ?It?s like hell.?
Simon shr ugged his shoulder s. ?I think I?m going to have another w hisky.?
But befor e he r eached the bottle, a thunder ing r umble stopped him in his tr acks. The
gr ow ling gr umble of many boots on the stair s came hur tling dow n towar ds the cor r idor
betw een the bar and the r estaur ant; hur tling towar ds them. Beth?s eyes flar ed and she r an
to Simon, holding him tight. They stood befor e the door , fr ozen and stiff, waiting for The
Men to come cr ashing thr ough. Then, nothing. Nothing. No cr ash thr ough the door ,
nothing. Just stillness and hollow ness and deathly, humming silence.
?That?s it!? Simon said. ?I?m getting into that gun cabinet.?
He gr abbed the fir e poker fr om the hear th and br oke the padlock on the cabinet door. He
snatched a r ifle fr om inside and Beth watched in hor r or as she saw him br eak it and load it
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