Sherry opened the door to the station and made her way to her desk. It was a cold November evening and things had been slow. A few people with pipes frozen, one person slipped on some ice and had a few bumps and bruises and one lost cat, which was found an hour later under one of the beds in the basement of the house. She slumped into her chair and leaned back to peer out the window. Snow was beginning to lightly fall.
She heard the door open and Todd came through the door stretching with a yawn. They waved at each other and both fell into a lull of medium coffee and the novels of their choosing. The police radio sat scratching in the back of the room for hours as they sat. Suddenly a call rang through the radio.
“Cold base, this is sixteen one, do you copy”
Sherry swung over the the radio “Cold base here, we copy, what’s going on”
There was silence for a moment then the radio spoke up again “Yeah, cold base, another one of those nights, but I did pick up something from a local in the mountains. They keep hearing some strange noises up there and they have reported seeing ‘people’ roaming around. I don’t know what is up, but can you guys check it out. I am on the other side of the valley. Copy?”
They both looked at each other. Todd gave he a thumbs up with a straight face.
“We will check it out, where is the location ?”
“Up in the Warren forest. By that old mining village. You know,old man chandle is up there.”
“Yup, know the place, we will check it out. Over and out” Sherry clicked back the receiver and grabbed her jacket from the back of the chair.
“Something to do” she waved at Todd. He stood and grabbed his gear.
“Something to do” he answered back zipping up his coat.
—-
The sun was gong down as they made their way up the mountain in the squad car. The ground was covered in snow and the trees bare their skeletons towards the dark gray sky.
“You ever think of transferring out of this place?” Todd rested his head on his arm that leaned against the window.
“Sometimes, but summers and spring time is nice. I like the nature and i have grown to really like the town. Sure it’s not the busiest place, crime is low, a few things here and there. Maybe in a couple of years” Sherry turned the wheel to a dirt road that led up to the mining village.
Todd rubbed his eyes “Yeah, that’s what I said ten years ago”
The rest of the ride was in silence as the tires crunched upon the snow and the sun surrendered and they were plunged into darkness besides their car lights.
Warren mountain had been abandoned by most of the population. After the mine dried up there was no reason for anyone to stay up there. As always there were some that did not want to leave the homes that they had built and had grown themselves. So a few mountaineers stayed and looked down upon the town. The houses were spread upon a dirt road that led directly to the mine shaft. They reached Chandles house which was a modest log cabin.
“I expected there to be some lights on or something. At least a fire going. Cold as hell out here” They both got out of the car and produced flashlights.
Sherry knocked on the door which swung open on its hinges. “Mr.Chandles? Are you okay in there?” She yelled. Her voice disappeared into the cabin.
Todd moved past her and through the door. The inside of the cabin was deep cold. They swept their light across the interior which revealed plates and silver wear strewn across the floor, the dining table was flipped to its side and the chairs were splintered into pieces across the kitchen. What looked like claw marks gouged into the side of the wooden walls and scrapped along the floor and to the ceiling in a wide arc. They both pulled and readied their revolvers. Quiet claustrophobia circled them as they made their way past the kitchen to the back room and down the hall. Deep gashes of wood lined the floor and as they saw the door it hung on its bottom hinge. A gust of cold air flew past them as they made it through the door to the bedroom. Everything was cast aside, turned around, torn apart. In the back the windows was smashed from the inside.
“We have to call this in” Sherry breathed heavy as she backed up. They made their way back to the squad car.
“Calling all units in the area, at the Chandles place, it looks like a bear stampeded through his house. Everything is torn apart, no sign of Chandles, need back up, do you copy?”
There was static to respond.
“Let’s head back, we can’t do -“ A scream came from the forest. “You hear that ?” Todd whipped to face the darkness. “Chandles?” He yelled. Another scream barely made it to them across the dampened snow. “Come on” Todd moved out and into the forest with Sherry close behind. The snow wasn’t deep, but it chilled their feet as they moved through the trees and over logs. They scanned their flashlights back and forth like a mobile light houses looking for any clues of where the screams had come from. The snow revealed nothing.
They stopped in a circle of trees. “Mr Chandles” Sherry called again. This time there was no scream to answer. “Shit I can’t see anything out here.” Their heavy breathing steadied and then they stood swiveling their lights back and forth.
Then there was thud.
Like snow falling off the branches of a tree, only it sounded heavier. They both swung and illuminated where the thud came from. A bit past a tree there lay something in the snow.
They moved closer and as they stood over with their flashlights cast down a body lay in their lights. It was face down, no blood, but limbs bent in unnatural ways.
“Mr.Chandles?” Todd went to turn it over
“No don’t touch it,we need to get some back up, this is getting nuts”
There was another thud that came from another direction. Sherry moved towards it and her light swept the ground till she landed on another body. This time dressed in a light orange snow coat. A few moments something heavy broke the branches of another tree and thudded against he ground.
“We have to go, right now, Todd” Sherry turned to where Todd was, but only his flashlight laid in the snow next to the body that he was standing over “Todd? Where did you go?” Sherry panicked and moved towards the flashlight, she picked it up and wielded two beams of light. Another thud came towards the cabin. She swung her double lights towards the sound. This time the body landed face up. The police badge reflected in the light. Above the body something stood crouched with impossible long legs and arms, even in the light it was shadowed.
“Oh my g-“ Is all Sherry could get out before she too became a thud in the forest.
I was watching something on youtube about analog horror and I thought they had said something about bodies falling out of the sky in a snowey forest. When I heard this (which was a passing comment in the video) I thought about nerve wracking it would be if you heard the thud of snow falling, but heavier, at night while in a forest. That heavy, dense sound. And what if happened over and over again. Snow usually just falls here and there, but what it that sound happened over and over again.
This is where the idea came from and sensation.