User blog:Gnomehunter/Day 22:They warned us not to leave the village after dark

Write a scary story about monster girls

They warned us not to leave the village after dark

'''I had lived in the little valley settlement of Sleepy Hollow all my life. I never wanted for much! A little house, a family, a life of simple joys and hard work, a place to call my own. But the monsters, they surrounded us on all sides. We stayed in town after the sun set, kept safe by the wards provided by the Order, bless their souls, visiting our homes to offer us protection. Merchants managed to travel the small, winding path down the valley every month, where we were able to procure supplies. But there was no other contact. During the day, we worked at our fields, harvesting the crops in fall and hunkering down for the winter. It was even beautiful, the sight of the sun rising over the hills, bathing the town in golden light. But at night I dared not glance out my window. My neighbors had told tales of lights dancing outside their windows and beckoning them to follow. Pale, ghostly figures, red eyes, and growls of fearsome beasts. But the Order’s wards kept them at bay. Until the day I made a mistake. The worst mistake I’d made of my life. If only I could go back!'''

'''“Mark!” My friend Robin was calling me. I set the pile of carrots down on the ground, to see what he was calling about. “Mark! Listen, there’s something we have to check out”. '''

'''“Robin, I have to harvest the rest of the vegetables. It’s getting into late fall and we have to make sure we have enough food for the winter. Don’t you have better things to do than wander around like a child?”'''

'''“Don’t worry, it won’t take long! One of the merchants told us about some ruins not far from the trail, and I think there could be some serious treasure there. We’ve got to take a look before anyone else finds it!”'''

'''“Mark. You’re the one with the aspirations of joining the Order and fighting against the threat of monsters. I don’t want anything to do with them. I’m not going to endanger myself, or you, in exploring some old ruins, especially when tonight is the full moon! That’s the most dangerous time to be out!”'''

'''“Are you really content to live here for your whole life? Do you want to be afraid of monsters for your whole life? Or do you want to prove that we’re the ones who should be feared?” I grumbled. '''

“You’re not going to get me with that Order diatribe, even if they are the ones who’ve kept us safe from attacks”.

'''“Look, we have plenty of daylight! We just need a few hours. If we find something valuable, I swear we can split it halfway, and we can come back as heroes! If we don’t find anything, I’ll help you with the rest of the harvesting”.'''

“I’m not going to make deals to entertain your fantasies”.

'''“Alright. Well, I hope you enjoy your life here. I’m going for those ruins anyway”. Robin stalked off. I stood there, looking at the pile of carrots, and the rest of the vegetables that needed to be pulled. I glanced at the sun, still high in the sky. Then I thought of Robin, taken by monsters, never to be seen again. What would I do if one of my friends was taken from me, when I was free to prevent it? I chased after him. Hey turned as we met near the edge of the village ward, casting a small aura around it. “I thought I could convince you”.'''

'''“I’m just here to make sure we get back in time”. Up the hill we traveled, until we reached the highest point overlooking our home. We took in the sight for a moment, then turned away. '''

'''“There’s where he said the ruins were”, Robin pointed to the trees. '''

'''“Robin we can’t go in there. The monsters would have an easy time picking us off”.'''

'''“I’m telling you, we just need to go in a short ways and we’ll find the ruins”. He walked into the forest, almost disappearing among the trees. I followed him. I tried to keep an eye out for both of us, but there didn’t seem to be anything else around us. We walked further and further, until we found a spot clear of trees. Piles of rubble littered the ground, and in the center were the remains of some large stone structure. “I told you there was something here”, Robin said with a grin. He ran ahead, right through the doorway. The roof was missing, but I still worried what might be inside. As I peered through the doorway, there were what looked like some walls making multiple rooms, some spaces carved into the sides for windows, and a wooden chest of some sort. '''

'''“What’s that?” I asked, pointing to the chest. '''

'''“Our first prize”, Robin said, strolling up to it and throwing up the lid. I took a closer look, but all there was were some rusted weapons. “Too old to use”, Robin grumbled. '''

'''“Well, I don’t really see anything else around here. We can’t just keep looking in the forest, we’ll get lost. I think we’re going to have to concede”.'''

'''“Or will we?” Robin asked. He ran out the doorway and around the corner. I heard a noise, and then it was silent. I was spooked. I cautiously stepped out, and around the side of the structure.'''

'''“Robin? Are you there?” Coming around the back side, I saw some heavy doors opening out of the ground, concealing some sort of underground vault. Robin was gone. “Robin?” I hissed. Finally, he emerged from the darkness. '''

'''“This is it, Mark. This is where the treasure lays, just for someone to find it”. I carefully walked down the steps, peering inside from the entrance. I couldn’t see a thing. '''

'''“I’m not going in there”, I insisted. “I won’t take another step”. '''

'''“Ah, fine. You can wait out here. There’s nothing to be afraid of! Just a lot of winding passages”.'''

“So you could get lost!”

'''“I’ve already been down one of them. It was a dead end. I bet most of them are, it’ll just take a while to explore them”. '''

'''“Alright, fine. If you really want to go in there again, I won’t stop you. But I’m not going any further. When it gets to sunset, I’m going back. I don’t want to be here after dark”.'''

'''“Worry not, my timid friend. I’m going to find enough riches for both of us!” I watched him go, the darkness swallowing him up. Must have done a good job of muffling the sound, too. I sat there, my nerves still on edge. It was deathly silent, not even the call of a bird, or the wind through the trees. I started to pace, moved closer to the top of the staircase, trying to get as far from that doorway as I could. I watched the sky, almost hoping for the sun to set so I could get out of there. ‘Just  a little longer. I told him I’d wait’. Didn’t even take that long to get here.'''

'''As the sky began to change to a mix of orange and red and purple, I knew I was out of time. I risked one more moment to call into the vault. '''

'''“Robin!” It was barely a whisper. Something moved in front of me and I screamed. '''

'''“Just me!” Robin said, appearing before me. “We’ve gotta get out of here”. '''

'''“That’s what I’ve been trying to-” I stared at his face. It was stricken with terror and panic. I didn’t want to make him feel worse, so I walked up the stairs and he followed. We ran straight into the woods. Our breath was the only sound, but as we ran forward, I stopped. “Robin wait. This is the wrong direction. This is the back side of the ruin. We came from the front”. '''

'''“We can’t go back there!” He said, his panic rising. '''

'''“We’ll just skirt around the edge. But we have to get back to the village”.'''

'''“Of course”, he replied, as if forgetting what the real danger was. We turned around, and much to my relief there were the ruins. We just had to pass them and run a short way through the trees to the trail, which would lead us right back home. My house was closer than his, we’d go right there and wait the night. But as we passed the ruins, I glanced at the vault. As if it drew my attention. We’d left the doors wide open. And I saw two figures. Robin let out a ghastly scream, and ran even faster, outpacing me and vanishing into the trees again. And I tripped. My attention divided, I stumbled over a small brick, and fell, my face smashing into the ground. I groaned in pain, trying to get my bearings and continue to run. As I stood, I staggered forward, my head spinning. '''

'''“Oh dear, that was quite a nasty fall”. A woman’s voice spoke up behind me. In spite of my fear, I turned around to see what was talking. There, in the waning light, I saw a woman and a girl. The first would have been very beautiful, long black hair flowing past her waist. She was barefoot, and not very well dressed, but she carried a giant sword with red liquid flowing from the blade, black metal bits interlaced to form some sort of pattern, and a great big eye in the center. Half her body was covered in some sort of black armor. I scrambled back, trying to run but unable to tear my gaze from them. Her companion was a little girl with white hair that flowed all the way to the ground. She had a dark red hat. Ragged white and bloodstained clothing with bone like ornaments. She grinned at me, and lifted up a giant meat cleaver, also dripping with blood. It had to be blood. “Oh dear, it seems like your friend left you behind. That wasn’t very nice of him, now was it?” The woman was taunting me, her eyes full of blood lust.'''

'''“Sis, I want to take this one”, the girl said. '''

'''“Please, let him go!” I finally found my voice. “Don’t touch him. You can have me, just leave my friend alone!”'''

'''“I’m afraid I can’t do that”, the woman said, smiling again. “Monsters prefer their own prey”. She ran, leaving me alone with the little girl. I stared in horror as the girl stepped closer, gripping the cleaver. It was completely dark now, the full moon hanging above us, almost as bright as day so I could see the sick grin on her face. I heard Robin scream in the distance. '''

'''“No, no, no!: I shouted, as the girl swung her cleaver down across my neck, pain flooding my senses as her gleeful laughter filled my ears. --- As the sun rose high above the trees, Katrina opened her eyes and yawned. She was laying on top of the man she’d jumped the previous night. Her cap was pure white, and her head was now filled with soft, happy thoughts, She sighed contently, embracing her husband and kissing him. '''

'''“Big sister Shauna”, she murmured, seeing the cursed sword laying next to her, tightly wrapped around the other man. She smiled at Katrina, kissing her own husband. '''

“Did you enjoy yourself, little sis?”

'''“Mhm. I’ve never been so satisfied”. '''

'''“Well, we’re going to need to go. This is no place for our husbands to live, and we can’t risk being found by the Order”. '''

'''“Alriiiight”, Katrina pouted, untangling herself and standing up. She tried to pick her husband up, but he was too big to carry. '''

'''“Let me help, sweetie”. Shauna stood up, her sword on her back and her husband under one arm, and hefted the other man up so she could carry him under the other. '''

'''“Won’t they be surprised when they wake up?” Katrina asked. '''

'''“That’s the other reason we should get further away from here”. She smiled at Katrina, and walked to the back side of the ruins. “Anything you’ve forgotten in there?” She asked with a giggle, nodding to the vault. '''

'''“Nope! I’ve got everything I need right here!” Katrina replied, as she followed Shauna into the vast expanse of forest that lay beyond the small village, and they both disappeared. '''

This is definitely meant to read like an r/nosleep story. I got into a binge, listening to audio readings on youtube. I've got some new nightmares fro hearing them, and I wanted to try my hand at writing one. There's still a more happy MGE ending, just a bit of an unreliable narrator going on. Maybe the Order is telling this story as a warning.