The Dusty Taverns

I pulled on my "old" jeans with the hole in the right knee. I put on two sports bra's, and covered them with a warn out college t-shirt. I had been looking forward to a trip like this for years. There use to be this desire I used to always get to be scared. I was always searching for something scary or thrilling, I loved the feeling it sent surging through my body. I would seek it almost any place I went. I guess I have changed in that sense. 


I dove into the old dusty chest at the foot of our bed and pulled out the jug shaped flashlight. It clicked on like the batteries were brand new.


I pulled on my knee high socks, criss-cross laced up my boots, and headed out the door. I was off to meet my parents at the Dusty Taverns. 

The Dusty Taverns were a new cave in North East Arizona that had just opened up to hikers. My family and our unexperienced hiking skills were going to dive in head first. We stopped at the convenience store near by and bought a map and an "I survived the Dusty Taverns" magnet, even though we hand't yet. I had heard rumors that the Dusty Taverns were still haunted, Miners in the 1700's were apparently trapped and never found. On an ordinary day this would have thrilled me, but not the new me, today just felt different. 


We ventured down into the wide and smelly cave. I instantly saw why they called it the "dusty" taverns, everything you touched seemed to poof out dust. The further we hiked down, the skinnier the cave got. We even came to a place you had to crawl to get through. 


Once my my mother was flat on her stomach crawling through a space, my father squeezing between two rocks, and I was left stuck in a corner staring at a rather dark cubbie hole directly above me, we questioned what we were doing. 
"What if this hike is a little too advanced" My dad mentioned
"Yeah, maybe we don't have enough gear with us" Mom chimed in




"Maybe.......and maybe it's really haunted" I suggested


They both looked at me like I had just took a drag from the peace pipe. From their annoyed eyes, to their exhausted expression. But then I watched both of their faces change in unison. Their mouths drooped down, their eyes widened, and their heads fell slightly forward like they had to catch themselves. There was obviously something behind me that was mind blowing. 


I turned to see a large black and gray blur speeding towards us. We tried to run, but were stopped by the cave's jagged walls. Before we knew it, our flashlights were on the ground and we were under a group of hysterical people. They will thrashing around in the dark screaming and and clinging to us like koala bears. We tried to get to them explain what was going on, but the only thing they communicated was panic. 


We exited the cave as quickly as possible, hearing unexplainable noises and eerie crashes the entire time. Once we reached solid ground, we ran to the nearest shelter possible, a dark hotel. I couldn't help but notice everyone in the parking lot, calm as ever, looking at us like we were crazy. Were we crazy? 


We walked into the large lobby and instantly searched for a restroom, splitting up, like we were overly excited children in a theme park. Landon, a guy from the group that had run into us, ran with me down a long hallway to the right. We were running for what seemed like half of a mile before we slowed down. 


"Longest hallway ever" Landon said 
"Seriously" I replied "And it is so strange too, the doors keep getting further and further apart" 


As we kept walking, coming across a door was becoming a slim shot. We decided to stop and go back. We turned around and saw a man running at us. He was carrying an ax, and was torn up and bloody. He was moving so quickly, it was surreal. Almost like he wasn't even human. I was instantly convinced that he was a ghost. We started to franticly run away from them, but they were burning our heels. They sounded so close it was as if they were inside me. In sheer panic I ducked down, covered my head and screamed "Help!". 


A fraction of a second later, I looked up to the sound of a gun shot. A man at the end of the hall was leaning outside the last door on the right, holding a small pistol. He had shot through the guy chasing us, who had managed to get ahead of us, and into Landon's chest. I screamed and fell to Landon's side; he was already unconscious. I cried and screamed into his lifeless body as if I had known him for years. I felt like I had. Everything was so different now. 


The man who was chasing us picked himself up and walked back up the hall changing forms and making ridiculous groaning sounds. But I didn't care about him anymore, whatever he was. I glanced back down the hallway to scold the man who did this, maybe turn his made-for-killing-humans pistol on him and see how he likes it. 
But he wasn't there.
In fact, the door wasn't even there either.  

4.27.11

Influences:

no clue