Wednesday 16 May 2012

'The Taxi Ride' by Donna Blanchard McNicol

"I hate night shift, gives me heebie-jeebies," I whispered, looking in the rear view mirror at my latest passenger. "So where can I take you tonight?"

"The Pit," a voice rumbled from the back.

"The Pit, huh. I hear stuff about that place."

He grunted.

"All kinds of weird things. People go in and freaks come out."

"Don't believe what you hear, believe what you see."

"Well, I'd rather not see those kinda things." i sought his face but it was obscured by his hood.

The Pit was an old mansion about 10 miles outside the city. For the last dozen years it had became a gathering spot for the fringes of society. Kids conforming in their nonconformity for the most part but it was the elders who gave me the creeps; tonight's passenger was one.

I slowed as I approached the gate. "Um, I usually stop at the gate." My voice betrayed me and I shook with fear.

"Drive!"

I hesitated, "Okay. But I'm stopping on the other side of the gate."

"Keep driving."

A shiver ran up my spine and ended with a tingling at the base of my skull as I passed through the gate, "It's a higher fare..."

"Just drive," he boomed.

"Yeah, okay." The mansion hovered in the mist that suddenly appeared. Lit only by candlelight  strange shadows danced on the walls inside. I shuddered, "Could this place get any creepier?" He paid his fare, slid out of the cab and glided towards the house.

"Thanks. Have a good evening," I shouted as I drove towards the gate. Strange laughter erupted behind me and I looked in the rear view mirror. Slamming the brakes, I screamed. The face in the mirror wasn't mine and it wasn't human.

His words echoed back, "Believe what you see."

4 comments:

  1. NO, N0, N0! You should not scare people like that. Glad there is no more to that story!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Just came back to see if this link was still valid - glad you enjoyed the story!

      Delete
  2. How to scare the bejesus out of someone in 500 words or less. Sheesh, will you stay up with me tonight? I can't come to the meeting tomorrow because I ain't getting in no more taxis. LOL- Fabulous piece of writing!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you so much! I was just checking out links to see if they were still working.

      Delete

2024 Wigleaf Longlisting

Huge congratulations to Lisa Alletson whose 2024 FlashFlood piece, ' Translucent ' made the Wigleaf Top 50 longlist! You can read th...