Lady Waverley

A story based on a dream I had about a woman who couldn't let her daughter go

Mia held her breath as the door opened and pressed herself further against the wall, fighting back tears.

“How could this happen?” She thought, as the sound of dragging feet filled the room. “This isn’t right.” She fell  to her knees and began to cry, too tired to fight anymore, knowing it was all over.

 

“Leave me alone!” Mia laughed, shuffling further towards the car door, looking over at Lily.

She was looking straight ahead, biting her bottom lip, trying not to laugh.

“I know it was you.” She snapped, rubbing her sore arm,trying to be angry.”You’re sitting right there.”

Lily turned to her and smiled sweetly, a large gap where her front tooth had fallen out.

“Just- leave me alone, alright?” She asked. 

“Mummy-” Lily complained, leaning forwards through the two front seats. 

“Mia- be nice to your sister.” A voice drifted from the front of the car. “She’s a lot younger than you are- have some patience.”

Mia smiled and shook her head, looking out the window. “How long is it going to take to get there?” She asked, watching the fields go by. 

 Mia was just finishing her school exams, and wanted to take some good shots for her photography class. After days or research she could think of no better place than Waverley House, a ruined manor house with a family graveyard in the back garden. The only road around was the on leading up to it, so it would be quiet, and there would be no traffic spoiling her shots.

“Not long. Look- you can see the entrance up ahead.”

Mia leaned over, looking between the two front seats, Lily complaining because she couldn’t see.

The road turned off just up ahead, a small sign reading “Waverley house.” with the opening times written underneath.

Her dad stopped the car next to the sign, and Mia wound the window down and took a photo.

“We’ll have to ask about the closing time when we get there.” He said, squinting at the sign. “This rust’s too thick to see.”

Mia looked at the photo as her dad started the car again, beginning down the drive which was lined by trees on either side, and frowned slightly. There was a lot of rust on that sign- “why would they let it get into such a state?” She wondered. “The rust’s so thick- it almost looks like... blood.”

She looked back up as she felt a sharp prod to her arm, to see Lily pointing up ahead, her mouth open and her eyes wide. 

“What?” Mia asked, putting her head through the open window to get a better view. 

There was small courtyard which served as a car park up ahead, Waverley house standing ruined, but proudly behind it. 

The four walls were still standing, but the inside was hollow, most of the house had fallen into ruin and the walls had only been saved when it had become a protected building.

The car stopped as their father pulled up outside a small booth just in front of the car park entrance, with a small sign that read “Tickets” stuck on the front window.

A middle aged man wearing a victorian style butler’s outfit slid the glass across to welcome them, as he talked Mia noticed his eyes were dull, his voice weary, and as he handed her father the tickets she was sure his hands were shaking. She caught his eye on the way past and he stared at her for a few moments, and the look in his eyes was one of complete helplessness and a terrible sadness, and it frightened her.

“It’s empty today.” Her mother said, looking around the car park, there were five cars parked up, one of which must have belonged to the man in the butler’s uniform.

“Apparently it’s never very busy.” Mia replied. “I read that some days they don’t have any visitors at all.” 

“No wonder the place is such a mess.” Her father replied as he pulled up, then added. “You girls wait here- I’m going to see if I can find a map of this place from that booth we just passed before we get ourselves lost.”

“I’ll come with you.” Her mother replied. “I need to stretch my legs.”

“Stop it!” Mia scolded, for what seemed to be the millionth time. Their parents had only been gone for a few minutes, but Lily had already gotten so bored she had jumped into the front seat and was pressing all the buttons in an attempt to turn the radio on.

“Come on.” She said, opening the car door, Lily scrambling out in front of her.

She shivered as she stepped out of the car, wondering why there was a chill wind blowing all of a sudden when it had been so warm all day.

She felt a tug on her skirt and looked down. Lily was hiding behind her, staring at the house, her eyes wide and frightened.

“What?” Mia asked, kneeling down and trying to see what she was looking at.

“I don’t like that lady.” She said, her voice cracking, her bottom lip beginning to quiver.

“What lady?” She asked, looking around the entrance to the house.

“The lady at the window.” She whispered, pointing.

Mia followed her gaze to find her staring at the upper window. “There’s no one there, Lil.” She reassured her, looking away from the window none the less.

“There is!” She cried, clinging onto her skirt again.

“Lily, there are no stairs.” She soothed, looking back down at her and ruffling her hair gently. “There’s no floor- there can’t be any one there.” 

“But she’s looking at us!” 

Mia turned, looking up at the window, beginning to grow frightened. She couldn’t see anything.

She turned the camera on and took a few pictures, one of the house and one zoomed up at the window Lily had been pointing at, but put her camera back away without looking at them.

“I wonder where mum and dad are.” She said, scanning the car park. “Can you see them?”

Lily shook her head, her eyes lowered to the floor.

“Didn’t they say they were going back to that booth?”  She turned, but the booth was empty and her parents weren't there.

“Come on, Lil.” She said, taking her hand and walking towards the house. “They must have gone round the other way looking for that man.”

They walked across the car park towards the house, Lily keeping her eyes on the floor, Mia wondering where her parents had gone.

“That’s a nice picture.” Lily smiled, shuffling next to Mia. She had knelt on the floor, facing away from the house to get a photo of the entrance.

Lily had seemed to forget about the Lady in the window, and Mia was more than happy to let it drop. She had read stories about a ghost which supposedly haunted Waverley house. The last owner of the House, Lady Lenore Waverley. 

Mia had read that nearly 300 years ago Lady Waverley’s only child, Maria had drowned while playing by the fountain with one of the servant girls. Distraught Lady Waverley had wandered the garden every night, looking for any sign of her.

As winter drew on and the weather grew colder, so did Lady Waverley, until one day she stopped coming in altogether, no matter how many times she was put into bed or how often the doors were locked, the servants would still find her standing by the pool every morning, calling out for her daughter.

A few years later, in the middle of the winter early in the morning the stable boy found her, frozen.

Sitting on the floor, leaning against the fountain wall, staring into the pool, her eyes still open, looking for the little girl she lost so long ago.

Mia shook the thought away and glanced over to Lily, who had taken the camera and was trying to take a photograph, the story had been one of the reasons she had wanted to come here, but she hadn’t wanted Lily to get frightened.

Mia stood up, having a sudden urge to turn around. She reached for Lily’s hand again and turned towards the house.

A trail of soil was leading from the side of the house towards the front entrance, as if it had fallen from someone’s shoes. Except it hadn’t been there before- and there was too much of it- whoever had trailed it across the courtyard must have been covered from head to toe.

As Mia stared she noticed an odd shape amongst the soil, and was about to take a step forwards when she felt a hand on her shoulder.

She jumped and spun around.

“There you are.” Her mother smiled, looking from Mia to Lily.

“Mummy!” Lily cried, clinging onto her leg, laughing. “Where were you?” Mia asked. “We thought you’d gotten lost.”

“No.” Her father smiled. “The man at the booth had gone- so we went around to the back door and found a box full of leaflets-”

“The maps were right at the bottom.” Her mother laughed, holding the creased leaflet up for her to see.

“We got two in case you wanted to wander off to take your photo’s- we thought Lily might distract y-”

Mia smiled slightly, as Lily began to moan that she needed the toilet.

“I might just wander off.” She laughed, opening the map and taking a quick glance. “I’ll meet you back at the car in about- half an hour?” 

Her father nodded, picking Lily up, laughing. “We’ll go and find the toilets- be careful, there’s no one around here-” He frowned slightly as her mother glanced at the map, looking for the toilets, and said. “-I don’t like it.” 

“I’ll be fine.” She smiled, putting her camera back in her coat pocket and looking at Lily.

“You behave.” She laughed. Lily smiled, and waved, before beginning to moan again.

Mia zipped her coat up further, beginning to feel the cold, and made her way towards the trail of soil as her parents disappeared around the corner of the house, noticing the odd shape again.

“It’s hair.” She whispered. There was a tangled mass of hair in the soil, dirty and matted. She looked more closely as she noticed something stuck in the small pile, and picked up a nearby stick, picking the clump of hair up with it and turning it around.

She dropped it suddenly and scrambled backwards, a hand over her mouth.

There was a large piece of skin stuck to the hair, as if it had been torn away form the scalp. She shook her head, standing up. It looked more as if it had fallen off- the skin was rotten, dry and cracking. She turned around, breathing slowly, trying to get the disgusting stench of rotten flesh from her nose.

Then she heard the noise, the noise she would be listening out for throughout the rest of the day and far into the night, the noise which would be the only thing convincing her she wasn’t going mad. The noise which would terrify her before the end of the evening- the sound of dragging feet.

She turned back towards the house, wondering where the noise was coming from. She took a quick glance at the map, and began to follow the path around the side of the house to the family graveyard, wondering if the sound was coming from around there. She stopped as she trod on something, and looked down to find the trail of soil growing thicker, she put the map back in her pocket and found she only needed to follow the soil to find her way to the graveyard.

She looked up as she came to the gate, which was wide open and falling off it’s hinges. She had been scanning the soil as she walked for any sign of something else out of place, trying to find an explanation for what she had found by the house.

She paused before looking up, sniffing the air- there was that smell again, that awful smell. The air stank of rot, damp and something else she couldn’t quite place. As she looked up, she realised where the smell was coming from, and fear hit her in the stomach like a clenched fist, sick rising in her throat.

The graveyard was empty, there was nothing there- nothing at all.

The graves were open, soil everywhere, bits of splintered wood littered the floor, and Mia began to shake as she noticed the scratch marks every piece of broken coffin lid, some with bits of snapped fingernails still embedded, dried blood clotted around the edges.

The graveyard was small, holding only a few dozen graves, and as Mia stared, she saw one undisturbed, the smallest grave, standing alone towards the middle of the yard.

She stepped through the small gateway, needing to see what the name on the stone read, but stopped as she felt something wet on her fingers. Blood. As she snatched her hand away from the gate, she realised what the last smell was. She stared at her hand for a few moments, the thick, warm red liquid dripping between her fingers, entranced, before the sickly metallic scent reached her nose again and she gagged, pulling a tissue form her pocket and furiously wiping her hand, throwing it to the floor, shuddering. 

She began to walk towards the small grave in the middle of the mess, feeling as if she needed to know what name was. She didn’t have a clue what was going on, and she knew she had to find Lily and her parents and leave, but first- she had to know what the stone read.

She looked at the graves as she walked by, all were open, all were empty. The coffins were all open, most had been broken, splintered into smaller bits she had to avoid as she made her way through, wondering how anyone could do something so horrific.

Some of the graves she guessed belonged to the servants of the  house, the larger ones belonged to the waverley family. She stopped as she heard a noise coming from somewhere beside her, a dull scraping noise, followed by a slow thudding, as regular as a heartbeat, over and over again.

After scanning the grounds for a few seconds, and seeing no one at all, she carried on walking, if she had looked down in the nearest grave she would have seen the empty coffin move, as if there were something underneath it, trying to get out- if she had done more research, she would have known that space in the graveyard had become short, meaning some graves held more than one body and if she had read the tombstone, she would have seen it belonged to the servants, a man buried on top, a woman buried beneath him.

She would have seen the bottom of the coffin splinter and break as fingers curled their way into the open air, fingers that had not seen daylight for more than two hundred years and was never again meant to, fingers which were cracked and rotten.

If she had looked down the nearest grave, she would never have been able to doubt what was going on.

Mia knelt in front of the small, crumbling gravestone and wiped away the moss which was beginning to grow over the letters, which were fading and barely readable.

After running her fingers along the letters for a few seconds she realised the name read Maria Waverley.

“Why has ever grave been defiled but this one?” She whispered to herself. 

She looked over to the small tomb which stood alone towards the forest at the back of the grave yard, knowing Lady Lenore was buried there, and wondered why she had not been buried with her daughter.

She stood up and walked towards Lady Lenore’s tomb, there were steps leading to the doorway, and she could not see if it had been disturbed from where she stood.

She came to the top of the stairs and looked down, the gate and the door were both open, although it was too dark for her to see inside. She put a hand to the rusted metal handrail which ran down the stairs and, despite her better judgement, despite her common sense, despite her fear she made her way down the stairwell, feeling compelled to do so but not knowing why.

As she reached the bottom of the stairs, the stench hit her again, this time made worse by the confinement of the tomb, and the warm heavy air.

The tomb was empty, the table where Lady Waverley was supposed to lay stood with nothing but a large white cloth covering it. 

Mia put a hand to her mouth, fighting the urge to be sick as she realised at some point lady waverley had been laid on the table The white cloth was stained, not only with the water which had been dripping through the cracked ceiling as time wore on, but with liquid Mia knew could only have come from a body laying there, slowly decomposing, the fluid which had coursed through her body in life giving in and leaving her, providing food for the maggots which writhed on the cloth as she stood and watched.

That noise again. She had forgotten all about it- the reason she had come into the graveyard in the first place.

The sound of dragging feet echoed through the tomb, bouncing off the walls, the steps faltering slightly as whoever it was made it’s way down the stairs.

She turned slowly, fear building in her stomach again, her heart pounding in her chest. 

The figure stood deadly still in the doorway, the light behind it meant Mia could only see a silhouette, the outline of a woman, standing bent over slightly, her clothes hanging loosely from her thin frame. She took a step forwards and her knees buckled slightly, a thin, hoarse rasping like Mia had never heard filled the room as the woman struggled to breathe.

“A-are you alright?” Mia asked, taking step forwards, although she could only see an outline, the woman looked old, and was obviously in need of some help. “Do you know what’s going on?” 

After a few seconds of complete silence, the woman took another step forward, and as she came out of the light and further into the darkness, Mia saw the woman was dressed in a white gown, badly fitted and covered in dirt, her face still difficult to see.

“Do you need help?” Mia asked, taking a step sideways. 

The woman opened her mouth, and Mia froze as a terrible sound filled the room. A rasped, coarse voice escaped the  woman’s lips, a horrifying sound which almost paralyzed her with fear, like someone trying to breathe trough a closed up throat, but she had never heard a human make a sound like that before- such a wheezing, dull croaking sound, as if her whole throat had dried up and cracked away.

Mia took a few more steps around the figure, slowly at first, then stumbling towards the steps, never taking her eyes off the woman, too scared to turn around.

Mia stopped as she reached the stairway as the woman began to move, Mia could see her perfectly now the light was behind her. The woman turned around slowly, as if each movement took a tremendous effort, Mia stood and watched, unmoving until the woman had turned around completely, looking straight at her. 

Except, she couldn’t look straight at her. Mia choked for a few seconds, unable to breathe until a scream loud enough to wake the dead rose from the tomb.

Mia stepped backwards, shaking, an arm against the wall to steady herself, her head spinning. 

The woman looked up through empty eye sockets, her mouth hanging open, unable to close it because most of the muscle had rotted away. Her skin was pulled tight against her face, cracking away from the bone in some places, the colour of old parchment. Her top lip had gone, leaving only a few cracked teeth and splintered bone beneath it, and the sound of dragging feet filled the room as she took a step towards where Mia was standing on the stairwell, her long burial gown trailing on the floor behind her. 

Mia finally turned and ran up the stairs, tears running down her face, terrified. She almost laughed as she broke out into the sunlight, away from the horror in the tomb, then stopped, her breath jagged her feet frozen in fear, a terrible feeling of sickness rising in her stomach again as she saw what was waiting for her in the courtyard.

They were everywhere- men, women and children, all dead- all walking, all looking straight at her.

The sound of dragging feet grew louder as the nearest man began to slowly walk towards her, the same rasping, choking sound coming from his mouth as he dragged himself through the graveyard, his bottom jaw missing, most of his left arm gone.

She ran to the nearest wall, most of the creatures were gathered around the entrance to the house, she saw only a few leading back into the gardens.

She jumped over the wall and ran down the path to the gardens, skidding to a halt as a man not much taller than herself stumbled out in front of her, landing on his knees, his suit muddied and torn. She grabbed onto a nearby tree trunk to stop herself from slipping over on the gravel, and took a few steps backwards as the man looked up towards her, his entire face missing as if it had caved in, she saw the cracks in his skull at the back of his head, nothing inside but a few clumps of soil.

She threw herself away from the tree, avoiding his hand by an inch as he grabbed out for her, and ran. 

She looked behind her, some of them were following her, but slowly, if she managed to find somewhere to hide...

She tore the map from her pocket, hardly daring to look down, despite the fact the path in front of her was clear, and spotted a cafe just around the next corner. 

She turned the corner, there was a small dead end path leading to a little brick building she guessed was the cafe, an empty land rover parked up beside it. 

She ran straight into the door, slamming her shoulder into it when she discovered it was locked. 

“Let me in!” She screamed, banging on the door with her fists. “Please!” She glanced behind her and found that the creatures were close behind her, rounding the corner. 

She turned around, and was taken aback when she saw the door had been opened. 

She breathed a sigh of relief and put a hand on the door knob when she felt a hand clamp over her mouth and she was dragged roughly around the corner of the building. 

She struggled for  few seconds, trying to scream but only managing to make a small muffled sound, when a voice in her ear whispered. “Be quiet- are you trying to get yourself killed?”

She relaxed as the hand was moved away from her mouth and turned around to find herself face to face with a middle aged man, with thinning dark hair and a flat cap, a gun slung over one shoulder.

“What are you doing?” She cried. “They were going to let us i-” He grabbed her by the shoulder and pushed her to the nearest window, as she peered into the gloom she saw who she guessed had been the staff at some point- blood staining their uniforms, their eyes dull and lifeless, waiting by the door.

She turned as a gun shot rang in her ears. The man was firing into a group of the creatures, every time a bullet hit, they got back up.

He cursed and fired another shot, which hit the nearest creature straight in the back of the head. 

Mia froze as it turned around, blood pouring from the bullet hole, it’s eyes lifeless.

“Dad?” She whispered.

She didn’t realise she was moving until the man pushed her into the passenger seat of the land rover, climbing in the other side and starting the engine.

“You shot my father.” She whispered, tears beginning to pour down her face. 

She stared at the crowd of creatures, her father among them- he looked straight at her but there was no recognition in his eyes. 

“It’s not your father any more.” He said, starting to drive.

The creatures turned, noticing the noise, and changed direction, stumbling towards the car. Some without eyes, some without ears, but all somehow knowing which way to go.

“I’m Tom-” He said. “I own a farm nearby.” He turned the wheel sharply to avoid crashing into the creatures lunging at the car.

“You shot him!” She screamed, shaking. 

“I saved you life.” He growled, fastening his seatbelt as the car left the road.

“What’s going on?” She cried, unable to break her gaze away from the window.

“It’s that lady of the house.” He spat, turning and driving up the gardens, away form the house.

“Lenore?” She asked, closing her eyes as the car drove into one of the creatures, where it writhed on the bonnet for a few seconds, almost grinning up at them with it’s skeleton like face, before he braked, sending it flying onto the floor, and ran over it with a sickening crunch.

“She’s never rested.” He said, shaking his head. “She’s never stopped looking for that daughter of hers- before she died they say she cursed this place-”

“Why is this happening now?” She cried, looking up as the car sped towards the forest, away from the grounds.

“If i knew that do you think I would have come here today?” He shouted, frustrated.

There was silence for a few seconds, before Mia seemed to remember something. 

“We can’t leave.”

“What?” He asked, glancing over to her. “Why not?”

“My sister.” She said, looking back towards the house, the creatures forming in a small crowd around the house entrance.

“It’s too late.” He said, shaking his head.

“We have to go back for her!” Mia shouted, tears forming in her eyes. “I lost my father- I won’t let Lily be turned into one of those- things out there!”

“What don’t you understand?” He roared, holding tighter to the wheel as the car buffet up a small stone stairway in the garden. “Everyone who has ever died here is coming back to life!” 

“She’s just a child!” She shouted.

Tom looked away form the road and stared at her for a few seconds. “What does she look like?” 

“What?” Mia asked. “Why?”

“What does she look like!” He shouted, glancing back ahead for a brief second.

“Blonde hair.” Mia began “Long-”

“Blue eyes?” Tom asked, shaking his head slightly. “Yes.” Mia replied. “Have you seen her?” 

He shook his head, and seemed about to say something when the car hot something with a loud bang. 

Mia opened her eyes, the car was upside down, the windows smashed. She fumbled for her seatbelt but stopped when as she felt something sticking into the back of her neck. She reached up behind her and pulled it over her head. It was Tom’s gun. He had left it in the back seat and it must have been thrown over in the crash. 

She held onto it and reached for her seatbelt again when she felt a hand on her arm. 

“Are you alright?” She asked, unable to twist around in her seat to see him. She didn’t reply for a few seconds, but winced as the grip on her arm grew tighter.

“Tom-” She cried, trying to pull away. “You’re hurting m-” She stopped as two terrible sounds reached her ears. The sound of dragging feet from outside, almost silent on the grass, and as the rasping, wheezing sound grew louder beside her, she remembered Tom’s words.

“Everyone who has ever died here is coming back to life!”

She pushed the seatbelt catch and tore her arm away, landing on the broken glass, pain coursing through her arms and legs.

She scrambled backwards as she opened the door, squeezing out into the open air, and looked back inside the car. 

The steering wheel was covered in blood from where Tom had hit his head, and as he turned to look at her she saw his eyes were dull, almost rolled back in his head. 

He opened his mouth, struggling against the belt, blood pouring don his face, when Mia felt someone walk into her.

She looked up to find one of the staff from the cafe standing above her, scratches on her face, chunks of hair missing, blood trickling slowly from her mouth, part of which had been torn away. She put an arm down towards Mia, who only moved when she felt warm blood drip onto her head.

She grabbed the gun, pointed up and fired, wincing as the force hit her, holding back a scream as she was showered with blood and pieces of flesh and bone.

She wiped her eyes and looked up to find the woman still standing a few feet away, struggling to stay upright.

Mia stood up and pointed the gun, shooting again and hitting her in the chest. After the woman only stumbled again, most of her head gone and a hole in her chest, Mia realised she couldn’t kill them.

She looked towards the forest- if she ran quick enough she might be able to find a way out, but if she went down there...

She looked back towards the house, the creatures were still gathered on the courtyard, only a small crowd, but too many to fight off when nothing could kill them. 

She knew what she should do, and she knew what she had to do- there was a big difference.

She should have run into the forest, not stopping until she came to a road. 

But she had to go and find Lily.

Mia took a few steps backwards, then put the gun over her shoulder and ran.

She past the fountain the car had crashed into, smashing the right side of the wall where it had hit- the fountain that had been the cause of all the problems. It stood tall and proud, the water rippling in the wind. 

She ran past the cafe, when appeared up ahead, she, like many of the other creatures, had no eyes, but still seemed to know where Mia stood. 

She took the gun off her shoulder and continued to run, raising it above her head and hitting the woman around the face as she reached forward, knocking her to the floor. 

The bullets were no good, but she could still use the gun to knock them out the way.

She raised the gun again as she saw the man she had nearly run into before, and sent the barrels of the gun straight through the back of his head.

She froze for a few seconds, wondering what to do- the gun was stuck, and she needed it. 

As she looked back towards the car she saw the woman from the cafe was beginning to walk back down the hill, and knew she had no time to think. She grabbed the gun barrels and pulled, the gun smashing his skull with a loud crack, completely caving it in. 

She straightened up, too tired to feel sick, and shook her head as the man stood back up again. 

“It isn’t fair.” She shook, looking at the headless body which was beginning to stumble towards her. 

She smiled for some reason, fighting back laughter. “It isn’t fair!” She stopped as she heard a noise from somewhere beside her, and stumbled over the grave yard wall. It had begun to grow dark, and she had to squint to see where the noise was coming from. 

She held the gun tighter as she spotted another walking corpse up ahead, cornering someone against the far wall, dragging it’s feet slowly across the path. 

She smashed the gun into the back of it’s head, and it fell to the ground. She hit it over and over again, only stopping when the smell became too much and she couldn’t see for her tears. 

“Stay dead!” She cried, shaking “Please-”

“It’s you.” A voice said from behind her. 

She looked up, taking a few steps backwards form the woman who was already reaching an arm out, grabbing desperately for Mia’s leg.

The man in the butlers outfit motioned to her and walked further back into the graveyard. She followed as the woman tried to stand up, stumbling.

“You have to find your sister.” He said. “You have to find her.”

“What’s going on?” She asked. 

“Just find your sister.” He begged, “Please.”

“Tell me what is going on.” She replied. “There’s no time.” He said, lowering his voice. “We need to find her now-”

Mia lifted the gun and pointed it at his face. “Tell me.” She whispered, shaking. “What is going on.”

He sighed, and pulled a leaflet from his pocket. “You know about Lady Waverley’s daughter, I assume?”

“Yes.” Mia replied. “What about her?” He opened the leaflet and held it out for her to see. 

It was a photo of a portrait. 

“It’s... Lily.” She whispered. 

“No.” He replied, putting a hand to the gun and lowering it down. “It’s Maria Waverley.”

“They look so alike.” She breathed, staring at the delicate features of the girl in the painting. 

“It’s always been said Lady Waverley would come to collect her daughter-” He said. “I’ve never seen two people look so alike-” 

“She thinks she’s Maria.” Mia replied. 

The butler nodded. “Lady Waverley’s ghost has been seen many times around the ruins- A love strong enough can cheat death- but this...” He shook his head. “I have seen her many times myself, I became worried for you when I saw your sister-”

“Why didn’t Maria come back?” She asked. “Why is she the only one who didn’t wake up?”

“She isn’t there.” He said.

“What?” Mia whispered. 

“Just before Mia was due to be buried the funeral home burnt.” He replied. “Everything inside was reduced to ash, including Maria.” He shook his head slightly. “It just added to Lady waverley’s grief-”

“What do we do?” She whispered, interrupting him as she looked behind her, making sure they hadn’t noticed they were there. “They won’t die.”

“Lady Waverley will not stop until she is reunited with Maria.” He replied. “Or at least someone she believes to be her.”

“What are you suggesting?” She asked, quietly. 

“Well do you have a better idea?” He asked. “Do you want to get out of here alive?”

“Think about giving my sister to her again and you wont get out of here alive.” She spat. “I can promise you that.”

Everything happened at once.

Two hands grabbed the butler from behind and pulled him to the floor. Mia stepped back as three of the creatures stumbled out from the trees, and froze as she felt a hand curl around her neck. 

The skin was rough and dry against her neck, the nails cutting into her as she struggled to turn around, the sound of dragging feet all around her.

She grabbed the hands, the skin cracking away as she tore at them, finally managing to rip them away and turn around, knocking it out the way with the gun. 

She turned, knocking on away from behind her, and saw the butler lying on the floor, his eyes open wide, a strange, choking noise coming from his mouth. 

She ran forwards into the middle of the graveyard, knocking them out the way as she ran, sharp, cracked fingernails digging into her skin, the smell of decay filling her nostrils as she struck out blindly. 

It had grown too dark for her to see any more, and as she ran through the darkness, being pulled back by invisible hands she felt as if all there were was the smell of rot and the sound of dragging feet.

She realised she must have turned a corner at some point as she ran into open air. 

She continued to run until she hit a door. 

She tore it open and squinted as she found herself in a bright light. 

She shut the door behind her, and after a few seconds she realised she was in a bathroom. 

An empty bathroom. 

She made her way around the side of the cubicle and stood against the nearest wall, hidden from view from the entrance. 

She closed her eyes, trying to keep her breathing steady, thinking what to do, when she heard the door open.

How could this happen?” She thought, as the sound of dragging feet filled the room. “This isn’t right.” She fell  to her knees and began to cry, too tired to fight anymore, knowing it was all over.

When she heard crying.

She stood up, shaking and walked around the corner to find Lily trembling in the middle of the room, making her way to one of the cubicles to hide, dragging her feet because she was too tired to life them any more.

She looked up when she heard movement, her clothes torn and blood staining her face, scratches on her skin.

“Mia!” She cried, running over to her and flinging her arms up. 

Mia threw the gun back over her shoulder and picked her up. Lily buried her head and began to cry. 

“Where were you hiding?” Mia asked, holding her tight.

“With- the lady.” She said, between sobs.

“The lady from the window?” Mia asked. She nodded. “she- told me to stay but- I saw you and I came to find you.” 

Mia laughed despite herself and whispered to Lily.

“I need you to do something for me, ok?- Close your eyes and don’t open them- no matter what you hear.”

Lily nodded, and Mia took the map out her pocket. 

If the map was right, the car should be just around the corner, if it was unlocked they might have a chance of getting away after all, if not-” 

Mia shifted uncomfortably, the gun sticking into her shoulder, knowing there were still some bullets left.

She held Lily tighter as she opened the door gently, peering out into the dark. 

Sh could see nothing for a few moments, and she stood and stared until she could make out the rough outline of a vehicle up ahead, and the dozen lifeless figures standing between her and it.

She ran, she ran and she didn’t stop when she heard Lily’s screams or when she felt nails digging into her skin, and pulling at her hair, tearing strands out and puling at the gun. 

She came to a halt as she ran into the car, almost falling over the bonnet. 

She pulled desperately at the handle and almost laughed as the door opened. 

She half place, half threw Lily in the car and ran to the drivers seat, jumping in beside her and locking the doors.

She turned the lights on to find the creatures gathering around the car, the awful sound of dragging feet and rasping breath reached her ears again as they began to bang on the glass, trying to get inside. 

Mia sat for a few moments and stared out of the front window, not knowing what to do, when she felt something land softly on her knee.

She looked down to find the car keys there, and looked over to Lily who was pointing frantically at them. 

“Where did you find them?” She asked, twisting them in the ignition. 

“Daddy gave them to me.” She replied, blankly. Mia fought back tears as she turned the keys in the lock and sped down the driveway, knocking the creatures away as she drove, hearing them crunch under the wheels. Her dad had been teaching her to drive and must have given the keys to Lily in case they had met up again. 

As she reached the end of the driveway she seemed to remember something, and took the camera from her pocket, keeping one hand on the wheel. 

She skipped back to the photo she had took of the house that day and sure enough, in exactly the same spot where Lily had been pointing stood a woman, deathly pale with dark, hollowed eyes, almost transparent in the bright light. 

Mia threw the camera down and laughed as she drove out onto the country road, not knowing what else to do.

“Where’s mummy?” Lily panicked, looking over to Mia. She didn’t reply, but Lily continued to talk. 

“Daddy?” She asked, turning in her seat, “where’s mummy?” 

“Who are you talking to, Lily?” Mia asked, fear knotting up in her stomach. 

“Daddy.” She said, staring into the back seat. “He’ll know where mummy went.” 

“Daddy isn’t there, Lily.” She shook, not daring to turn around. 

“Yes he is.” She laughed, then frowned and shuffled backwards in her seat. “Daddy?  Daddy- you’ve got bugs in your hair.”

Author's Note

I've never been one for short stories, especially not zombie ones because they're so hard to write- I know it needs a lot more work and any friendly advice would be greatly appreciated- Thank you in advance

Reviews

[Hamza]

it should be maria instead of mia here i guess ..
“Just before*** Mia ***was due to be buried the funeral home burnt.” He replied. “Everything inside was reduced to ash, including Maria.” He shook his head slightly. “It just added to Lady waverley’s grief-”

and i bet, this is a world class story ... beautifully written ... and the end .. it was superb ...
i'm so curious who lily was talking to in the car .. daddy ??
it scared me ..