The Guest House Hauntings Boxset by Hazel Holmes (novel books to read txt) 📕

It didn’t take long for the cold to eat through her clothes, reaching all the way to her bones. Sarah kept her arms pinned at her sides in a feeble attempt to trap what little body heat remained to her.

After the first few miles, she lost all feeling in her face, and the tip of her nose became so cold it burned. Every exhalation puffed icy clouds from her lips and chattered her teeth. And the longer she walked, the heavier her backpack became.

The faint hum of an engine turned Sarah’s attention to the north, and she saw a pair of headlights growing brighter and closer in the distance. She stuck her thumb out, walking backward and hoping that the driver would stop.

The truck slowed then completely stopped in the middle of the road. The engine idled, and Sarah squinted in confusion at the yellow headlights.

“What the hell?” Sarah asked, her voice trembling from her shivers.

The truck engine revved, roaring with an anger that shattered the night. Sarah dropped her thumb and began a slow retreat.

Sarah kept her eyes locked onto the headlights while the truck idled. And then, just as quickly as it slowed, the truck charged forward, and Sarah sprinted into the forest.

The moment she broke through the trees, her foot smacked a fallen branch, and she was hurled forward. She thrust her arms out in front of her as she skidded across the cold dirt and dead leaves.

The headlights illuminated the forest ahead as the truck veered off the road, screeching to a stop before hitting the ditch. Sarah turned her head around, eyes open wide in terror, as Dennis stepped out of the truck’s cabin.

When Dennis stepped down the embankment from the road, Sarah scrambled to her feet, continuing her blind sprint into the forest.

Tears squeezed from her eyes as she ran, arms flailing as she smacked away tree limbs. A few small branches scratched her cheeks, the pain worsened by the cold.

She moved in a serpentine pattern, hoping to lose Dennis in the darkness or find someplace to hide.

Every strike of Sarah’s heel against the uneven earth sent a stabbing pain into the backs of her knees. The boots she wore were meant for hiking not running, and their inadequacies were exacerbated by the rough terrain.

The cold burned like fire in her lungs, and she hacked and coughed. All those cigarettes had caught up with her, and the pain eventually forced her to stop. She ducked behind a tree and tried to quiet her breathing as she listened for Dennis.

While Sarah listened, she remembered the pepper spray in her backpack’s side pouch. Her fingers wouldn’t stop shaking as she retrieved it from the tiny pocket and then removed the cap.

Finally armed, Sarah returned her attention to the forest, which remained silent. She couldn’t even hear the hum of the truck’s engine anymore. Sarah pressed her fingers against the rough bark of the tree and slowly stepped to its side, scanning the forest behind her. She squinted, spotting the truck’s headlights.

But there were no signs of Dennis, not a sound, and the silence made it worse. It was as if the man had evaporated, floating through the treetops, just waiting to swoop down and snatch her up.

Sarah waited another minute, and then after still hearing and seeing nothing, she continued her trek forward. She moved quickly but no longer ran, and she kept her head on a swivel.

Leaves crunched to her left. Sarah froze. She turned toward the noise, but everything had been consumed into a pit of darkness.

After another minute of waiting and no more noise, Sarah stepped forward, exposing herself to the forest. She trembled, searching the darkness. And then hands grabbed her neck.

“NO!” Sarah tried to sprint forward, but she was lifted from the ground and then slammed onto her back, losing her grip on the pepper spray. The pack provided a little cushion to break her fall, but the awkward shape buckled her painfully.

Sarah gasped, and then those hands were around her throat again, choking the life from her, stealing her voice and breath.

“You shouldn’t have gone snooping around,” Dennis said, saliva dripping from his lips. “And you shouldn’t have tried to leave.” He inched closer, and some of his spit dripped on Sarah’s cheek. His breath was hot and wretched. “I came to bring you back. I came to take you home.”

Sarah smacked at his arms and kicked her legs, but her defiance was useless against Dennis’s size and strength. But as she squirmed, she kept reaching blindly for the pepper spray, raking the dead leaves and dirt with her fingers.

“Hey,” Dennis said, his voice angry. “I don’t want to hurt you.”

And then Sarah’s fingers scraped something plastic. She froze and then nodded, hoping to buy herself some time.

Dennis smiled. “Good girl.” Still keeping on top of her, he reached around to his own pocket and removed a rag. “I’m going to gag you.” He leaned in closer. “Do you like that?”

Sarah nodded, hoping to prod his ego a little bit longer as she prodded her fingers closer toward the tiny bottle of spray.

“I liked watching you at the house. You’ve been one of my favorites. So pretty in that little uniform. I think I’ll have you put it on for me when we get back.”

Sarah finally wrapped her forefinger and thumb around the base of the bottle and positioned it so she could spray.

Dennis stuffed the rag in her mouth and then removed a roll of duct tape from his pocket. “We’re going to have so much fun.”

Sarah shimmied the bottle closer to her hand, and then when he used both hands to loosen a strip of tape, Sarah shoved the pepper spray close to his face and pressed down.

“AHHH!” Dennis swiped at the hot chemical burst and rolled to his left, clawing at his eyes. “You fucking bitch!”

The cloud of spray lingered in the air, and Sarah was close enough to feel the effects. She coughed