This week a short urban supernatural story….!
The boy was taller than the other people walking through the tunnels to the railway, and moved with a swagger that set him apart from the crowd. His hair was black as a raven. His coat was long and slightly dirty, although he did not look homeless. His trousers were tucked into his shiny boots, giving him an almost swashbuckling, debonair appearance.
Jenna, wandering aimlessly behind him, suddenly wanted to know more. What did someone like that do? Why was he walking through the city like he didn’t give a damn?
Jenna smiled to herself, as she followed him into an arcade lined with food stalls and cheap shops. I am following him, even though he doesn’t know it.
She was skipping school again, even though her mother had pulled all the strings to get her into a top private school, after she’d been expelled from the last one. She was pretty fed up with her mother, and their nice house, and all her parent’s nice friends. She wanted danger and she felt like being dangerous now.
The stranger had reached the railway station. The air was hot and lifeless. The whistle of the trains was like strange, alluring music.
The boy did not go through the turnstiles but walked down a passage and opened a door marked ’13’ into the wall. Jenna peered curiously.
A door into the wall? A door into the city itself. Who was this guy?
Jenna’s phone rang. Her mother was calling. Instinctively Jenna answered, hoping the railway station sounded enough like the schoolyard that her mother wouldn’t be suspicious. The boy who never knew she was following him, frowned and disappeared through the door.
Of course he had known Jenna was following him all along. He sensed her mood and drawn her to him, as he was always on the lookout for the lost and the impressionable. He ran his hand through his raven-black hair as his eyes glowed bright red in the dark tunnels. A shame, as she would have been a good recruit to the vampire underworld.
An exercise in micro-fiction – stories which run from zero to fifty
click the Flash Fiction tag for more!
© 2014 M. C. Dulac
For longer supernatural fiction, such as “Midnight in Dublin” and “The House of Lost Shadows”, don’t forget to look at the ebook page!
17 responses to “13. The Underworld”
Wow. Real flair. Was totally immersed.
Thanks Alex! There is so much inspiration in a large city which leads to lots of ideas for flash fiction! I was walking through the railway station on my office lunchbreak and saw someone vaguely like this and then started thinking, what if… Luckily there was no door 13!
Edgar Allen Poe’s “Man in the Crowd” story about the alienation and possibilities of the city is one of my favourites!
I’ve mentioned him a few times on my site. I am such a fan. I love that story too. I’m glad there was no door 13 either. Keep writing loads of great stuff 🙂
Nice. There was nowhere else you could really go but here with no.13 was there?
Yes, 13 certainly leads downwards! Although it was lucky for that character that her mother rang just in time!
Ah temptation will get you… eventually ;D
A wonderful story MC! Although, I’d like to know whether Jenna returns and is turned into a vampire.
Thanks Luciana! I think if that ever became a longer novel, Jenna would encounter the vampire again! And the vampire would find lots more recruits to his underground!
Great moral: don’t truant. But you could never use it against teenage girls these days. They knew that guy was a vampire, they’d be in that door in a flash.
Very true! Ahh, teenagers today – the merest whiff of the supernatural and they’re off!
Ooh brilliantly creepy!! Loved it.
Thank you! The city offers so many ideas for stories!
Also there is a little of Sergei Lukyanenko’s “Night Watch” in that piece! (Well worth a read if you haven’t read it already!)
Oh I’ve been meaning to read him! I agree, I love anything urban gothic. It makes you think about all the places you go on a daily basis and how they could be seen differently…
Keep your eyes open! 😉
I couldn’t put “Night Watch” down – highly recommended if you love urban gothic!
Oh, I so wanted her to walk through that door! You set the pace very well on this story and held me captive throughout. Well done. A sequel perhaps? Maybe there’s an entire vampire world through that door…
Thanks Kate! Who knows what’s through that door 😉 The vampires may yet return (when I’m seeking inspiration for another flash fiction piece!)
Definitely needs a sequel. My guess is Jenna will find her way back to that door again.
Welcome back Jennifer! 🙂 🙂
Yes, Jenna and that boy will meet again for sure!