The Voices

October Writing Prompts- Pinterest List by ZellyKatArt

October 29- Whispering in the Dark

Beth and Tex parked in front of a quaint cabin in the woods. They had planned a vacation in the mountains for over a month now, and it was finally time to relax. The couple grabbed their bags and hurried inside after they found the key where the person they were renting from had told them. Beth had always made their plans, so they stayed in a hotel or motel. This time she decided to try something new, especially after her best friend, Coral, had told her about Airbnb’s. She had looked through so many and now had a long list of places she wanted to go to with Tex. But first on their Airbnb adventure would be in a cabin in Idyllwild, CA.

They had talked about visiting the little town in the mountains, but with both of them working all the time at the hospital, both being doctors, they never found the time. Finally, after coaxing from family and friends, they had put in for a two-week vacation. Tex unlocked the door, and they walked inside the quiet front room. In front of them was the living room that led into the kitchen, then to their left was the door that would take them to their room and the restroom. It wasn’t bog, but they didn’t need anything too big for just the two of them. Tex went back to the car and retrieved the cooler of some food and drinks they had brought and sat it on the small kitchen table inside the kitchen. Beth opened the door to their bedroom and carried her bag inside. She sat it down on the bed as she looked around at the room. Beth froze when she thought she had heard a voice, but assumed it was Tex. She shrugged.

She pulled out her phone and sent a quick message to the owner of the cabin to let him know they had arrived there safely and thanked him again. Beth sat her phone on the dresser, opened the first drawer, and unpacked. Tex joined her after he locked up the car and the front door. He was overly cautious at times, but it made Beth love him even more. They unpacked, put their hiking boots by the front door, and headed into the kitchen to unpack the cooler next.

Tex and Beth plopped down on the couch and groaned. They were tired, but everything was done. They’d take a few minutes to rest before they headed into town to look around and grab something for dinner at a local restaurant. Tex grabbed the remote and read the note that had been on the table next to it.

“We can add our streaming accounts on here. We just have to make sure we remember to delete the information before we leave.” Tex turned on the TV and added their information so they could watch movies and other shows at night before bed.

Beth pushed herself up and grabbed her purse, facing him. “I’m ready if you are.”

Tex climbed to his feet, turned off the TV, and grabbed the key. They left the cabin and walked down the street, careful to stay out of the road as cars drove past. They didn’t want to drive into town since they were tired of being in the car and besides, it was a pretty day. Once they got into town, Beth grew excited. She couldn’t wait to check out some of the shops. Even though they would be staying there for two weeks, she wanted to check out everything right away. They walked from shop to shop, talked to the locals, and got recommendations for dinner.

Beth bought a few things, and they made an appointment to meet up in the morning to paint their own ceramics. They’d do it at least three times while they were there, they decided.

“I can’t wait…” Beth said, but her voice went quiet when she heard something. A voice again. It sounded like the one from the cabin. But she had thought it had been Tex. He stood there, not talking, so it hadn’t been him? She looked confused, then looked at Tex. “Did you hear that?”

Tex looked at her, then looked around, listening. “No, I don’t hear anything. Only birds, squirrels, and a few people talking.”

Beth glanced over her shoulder and thought she saw a strange man duck around the corner so she couldn’t see him. She was going to point it out to Tex, but Tex was already walking away. She ran to catch up to her husband and grabbed nervously onto his arm. Tex grinned at him and kissed the top of her head before he pointed out the local coffee shop.

“We’ll have to go there tomorrow morning and try out their coffee,” Tex said as he carefully led them safely across the street. He led them to the Italian restaurant someone had told them about that sat nearly in the middle of town and opened the door.

Beth walked inside, still feeling nervous about the man who had been lurking behind them and the whispering. She put on a cheerful face as the host sat them at a table near the back of the restaurant. She looked at Tex, her eyes worried.

Tex saw and reached across the table, grasping onto her hands. “Babe, what’s wrong?”

“I thought I had heard a voice and when I looked behind us, I thought I had seen someone watching us, but I guess it was nothing.” Beth waved a hand as if to wave off the incident. “Now, what should we eat on our first day of vacation? I’m definitely getting a glass of wine.”

Tex let her hand go and sat back, staring at her. He shrugged and picked up the menu, looking it over. “I am thinking of getting a beer and…” He scanned the list of items. “Shrimp scampi.”

Beth looked at the wine list before she looked at the menu. There were so many choices, she didn’t know what to try. She settled on the Italian salad. She sat the menu down and looked at the few other patrons. There were a couple of families with young kids, one family with teenagers, and a few couples. Beth looked back at Tex and smiled at him. “I’m going for the Italian salad and a glass of red wine. I’m thinking of trying some local wine.”

Their waitress joined them, took their drink and food order, and was gone just as fast as she had appeared. Tex turned his attention to his wife while she stared around the restaurant at the other people. She looked bothered about something, but she wasn’t opening up to him like she usually does. Tex heard a voice over his shoulder, someone whispering, and looked to see who was talking. There was no one at the table or booths behind him. He shrugged and looked at Beth.

“Hey babe, do you want to play a game tonight or watch a movie?”

Beth wrang her hands together as she looked at him. “I was thinking we could play my favorite game, Find the Killer?”

“Oh, I do love that game, but I can’t remember if I packed it or not.” Tex placed his hand on his chin and looked thoughtful.

“You better have,” Beth said as she reached over and playfully slapped his arm.

“I did, I did,” he said, swatting away her hand.

They laughed just as the woman brought their wine, beer, and two glasses of water. Their food was out shortly after that and the couple went quiet as they ate. Tex glanced behind him from time to time, but there still wasn’t anyone back there whispering. He could still hear the voice in his ear throughout dinner, and it almost drove him nuts.

Tex paid, helped Beth out of her chair, and practically dragged his wife out of the restaurant. Once they were outside, he let her hand go and shivered. “Baby, let’s get back to the cabin before it gets too dark.”

Beth could tell that he was unnerved by something and when he was unnerved about something, she knew it was serious. She grabbed her hand, and they hurried out of the town towards their cabin. The sun was slowly going down when they turned on the street where their cabin sat. Tex unlocked the door and gently pushed Beth inside while he looked around. The whispers had followed them.

He locked the door behind him and watched as darkness fell. Tex closed the curtains over the window and paced. Beth went into the room and got ready for bed. As she brushed her hair, she stared into the mirror and heard something behind her. Her hand shook as she tried to see who was whispering in her ear. She screamed as the whispering grew louder and louder, the voices getting closer.

Tex ran into the bathroom. “Beth?” He tried to catch her hand before she hit him with her brush, but he wasn’t fast enough. He felt pain when the full force of her swing bashed the brush against his temple. He staggered backwards out of the bathroom, groaning.

Beth didn’t stop and continued to hit Tex over and over again, not seeing her husband but seeing the stranger from the town. Tex tried his best to escape her sudden crazy wrath, but he couldn’t. He gasped and coughed up blood and his teeth. He raised a shaking hand to grab the brush, but she hit his hand so hard a few of his fingers broke.

Beth gasped and laughed when the voice stopped. It was gone. She sat back on her heels and stared at the bloody body in front of her that was her husband. Beth stood up, dropped her brush in the bloody mess, and went to wash up. She put on her comfortable pajamas after the hot shower and sat on the couch. She wondered where Tex was, but she shrugged. He must have run out to get the games from the car. She’d just sit and wait. Beth turned on the TV and put on a horror movie. She watched and waited.