Tresari Castle

Bill Kelley felt the ring in his pocket. Still there.

He bought the stupid thing twenty-seven hours ago. 3,000 miles ago. Seven time zones ago. Now he just wanted to chuck it into the Carpathian Mountains. He didn’t want to propose. He wasn’t ready. Besides, Judy wouldn’t like it anyway. She wouldn’t like anything she didn’t pick out herself.

He stood on the balcony, leaning his body against the stone railing, even though the stones felt loose and there was a long way down. If I plummet to my death, he thought darkly, at least I won’t have to pay back all those loans.

Their weekend in Tresari Castle—hell, their whole Eastern Europe trip—was a huge drain on his bank account. He didn’t seriously consider jumping, of course. How awful! How morbid! But the idea didn’t exactly repulse him, either…

Two hands grabbed him around the waist. “Hey!” a voice whispered.

He turned around in her grip, finally face-to-face with his girlfriend. She had taken her shoes off, so they were at the same eye level.

She kissed him. Usually that was how it worked. He wasn’t the best at initiating such things. Well, he used to be. With previous girlfriends. Judy was different, though. Judy made the decisions herself.

After all, she was the one who chose Romania. She had roots there, supposedly. Plus, it hadn’t adopted the Euro yet, so it was by far the cheapest European Union country to visit. So many reasons, and they all made sense… But it would’ve been nice to have some input. It was his money, after all.

She pulled away. That was one of their better kisses. Not too much tongue.

“Thank you,” she said. “I hope you realize this is a dream come true for me.”

“Me too,” he lied. Sure, the flight was painless, and he had fun in Bucharest, but it was hard to label something “a dream come true” when that particular dream cost thousands of dollars and two weeks of vacation time.

“The castle really is something, huh?”

And it was. Tresari Castle had a history dating back six hundred years. It was built inside one of the nooks and crannies along the Carpathian Mountains, otherwise known as the Transylvanian Alps. It had history, but more importantly, it was also a world class B&B. Like a few dozen other foreigners, Bill had rented out a room for the weekend. He hadn’t met any of the other foreigners yet, but he assumed they were also going into heavy credit card debt because of the expense.

Of course, he hadn’t told Judy how much this really cost.

“Well?” Judy asked.

Bill didn't hear her question. “Well what?”

“Aren’t we going down to dinner?” she repeated. “I don’t want to be the last ones there.”

Bill looked at his watch. Dinner was at six. It was now five fifty-two.

He followed her downstairs, through the main hall, and into the dining room. He probably wouldn’t have remembered the way if he had to walk there alone.

The dining room only had one table, but it was long enough to comfortably seat twenty. And just as Judy had feared, all of the seats were occupied except for two: theirs.

Bill waved sheepishly and they took their places with the rest of the tourists. Americans, mostly. They looked much richer than Bill.

Their host, Gabriel Irescu, stood at the head of the table. He smiled, gripped his wine glass tightly, and welcomed his guests. He was a short man, weirdly hunched and twisted for someone no older than forty. His hair was thin, like his lips, like his face. He smiled, and Bill got the distinct feeling that he resented his guests. Perhaps he had been forced to sully his home with ugly Americans. Perhaps money had grown so tight that he had to cheapen his family name by turning his home into a tourist attraction. It certainly seemed that way. Or perhaps he was simply an ugly man with an ugly smile.

“Welcome,” he said. “Thank you so much for coming to Tresari Castle. I trust you are all pleased with your rooms?”

Some of the guests nodded.

“There is much history at Tresari Castle. It is all around us. Unfortunately, because of the shortness of your visit, much of that history will go unexplained.” He glanced around the grand dining hall.

The room was at least thirty feet high, with a wide awning on the second or third floor extending outward above them. The decorations were ornate and faded.

He continued his big welcome speech, emphasizing his excitement at inviting a little bit of the new world to enjoy the old. “…And I know you will remember this trip always.”

The other guests applauded politely. Bill quickly joined them.

“Thank you,” Gabriel continued, “but there is no need for clapping. You all paid a pretty penny to come here.”

Bill stopped himself from nodding.

“I’ve already talked with you individually,” Gabriel said, “and I am confident that you understand all the rules. However, please be mindful of the first rule, the most important rule.” He paused. “After sundown, please stay inside your rooms.”

Bill glanced at his girlfriend. Judy did not return the eye contact. She was too busy looking around the room, down the halls, in the hidden corners.

Oh great, he thought. She’s going to wander.

*****

Later that night, after a delicious meal and a nice walk around the castle’s exterior, Bill slipped on his pajamas and slid under the covers. He wasn’t tired, but the bed felt inviting and comfortable.

Judy, already in her pajamas, sat on the edge of the mattress. She was lost in thought.

“You want to explore,” he said. Not a question.

“What makes you say that?” she asked, playing coy. She pretended to study a glass perfume bottle. She saw a warped reflection looking back from the rippled glass.

“You want to explore,” he said again.

“I want to explore.”

“No,” he said.

“Come on. Just for a little bit.”

“You heard what…”

“Come on,” she snapped.

He worried that the conversation would escalate, and this wasn’t the time or place. Arguments weren’t allowed during eight-thousand-dollar weekends. Besides, you can’t argue with a woman when you have her engagement ring in your pocket.

“Just for a little bit,” he said.

Moving like a cover model for a Nancy Drew book, Judy crept through the door and out into the dimly lit hallway. Bill—her very own Hardy Boy—followed a few steps behind.

Their room was toward the end of a long hallway buried in the castle’s east wing. The travel agent said the east wing got the best views because of the sunrise, but he probably would say the same thing about the west wing and sunsets.

The only noises Bill could hear were their footsteps, slow and deliberate against the burgundy carpets. They rounded the first corner, then another. Bill made sure to pay attention, because he could very easily lose his way in a castle like this.

In fact…

Were they lost?

He looked around. Even the paintings looked the same, as if some decorator went out of his way to make each hallway identical.

“Huh,” Judy muttered to herself. It was the first thing she’d said since they left their bedroom.

“What is it?”

Judy pointed toward a small, rounded door on the wall. It was the only one of its kind they had seen. The whole thing couldn’t have been more than three feet tall, made out of dark, warped wood. It looked so out of place.

Judy cocked her head. “That’s strange.”

“What?”

“Look at the locks,” she said.

Bill honestly didn’t know what the big deal was. Just like their own door, this one had two heavy-duty, metal locks. No keyholes, just small knobs that you twist. “What about ’em?”

“The locks are on the outside.” Then, without saying anything else, Judy crouched down and leaned forward. Her fingertips touched the wooden surface.

“Well, obviously that leads to the outside,” Bill said, but even as he said it, he knew that couldn’t be right. They were deep inside the castle. There was no way this little door led anywhere except deeper inside.

“I think…”

BAM!

Something slammed against the inside of the door. Judy instinctively pulled back. Visibly shaken, she stepped backwards and grabbed Bill’s side. He wasn’t used to her clinging to him like that.

“Is this part of the tour?” she asked.

Bill knew it wasn’t. “Honey…”

“We should go back,” Judy said.

“No.”

“What?”

“No,” Bill repeated. His voice surprised him. He never said no, at least not when Judy asked for something.

He didn’t know why he felt compelled to say it now. He didn’t know what was so special about this tiny door and the weird noises behind it. Maybe this time, he was finally ready to draw a line in the sand. She wouldn’t make all the decisions, especially not with all this money wasted.

He reached toward the locks.

No noise. No BAM. Nothing.

“What are you doing?” Judy asked.

And honestly, he didn’t know. But dammit if he wasn’t going to see what was inside this stupid door.

He clicked the first lock open.

Nothing from the other side.

Bill waited.

“Come on,” Judy said. “You proved your point. We can just ask Gabriel about this tomorrow morning. I’m sure there’s a logical…”

Click.

Bill opened the second lock.

There was no sound in the hallway besides Judy’s shallow breathing.

Bill glanced once more at his girlfriend. Then he pulled the door open.

He expected darkness inside, but it was so much more than that. It was darkness, sure, but it was thick and teeming and somehow alive. The door led into a long, narrow tunnel, so narrow that his shoulders would scrape the stone walls, so long that he couldn’t make out an end point.

But it was more than just a tunnel. It felt… unnatural. Looking into the shadows, Bill had to catch his breath.

Hold back vomit.

Squint.

It was physically difficult looking through that doorway, and he didn’t know why. He assumed this was how it would feel to turn on a microwave with the glass door wide open.

“This is wrong,” Judy said. “We shouldn’t…”

“Shh,” Bill snapped.

He crouched down and leaned his face close to the darkness. He didn’t know what he was expecting, but he had a feeling there was something in that hallway. He wasn’t sure how he’d describe the feeling, but it was pretty close to dread.

The air felt strangely warm coming from inside the door. It felt thick and lived-in. He knew he should close the door. He knew he should close it immediately. But Judy stood behind him, and he wasn’t going to back down.

Beyond the door, from somewhere in the darkness, was a growl.

Judy tugged at his shirt. She might have screamed, too, but there was no space in Bill’s head for any noise other than that growl.

They ran.

The halls looked suddenly unfamiliar. They had all seemed so identical before, but now… Now, Bill felt like he was running through an entirely different castle.

Something was chasing them.

They ran very fast, but the thing was keeping pace. Worse, it was gaining on them. Bill could hear its feet. He knew.

He wanted to turn around and see for himself, but he knew that would be suicide. He couldn’t lose any time, because if he did… God knows what that thing would do to him. To them both.

It growled again.

They rounded a corner. The carpet bunched up under Bill’s feet, and he almost fell to the ground. Almost.

They had reached the awning over the main hall. There was nowhere else to go in this direction, unless they wanted to jump over the wooden railing. They’d fall two stories, but it wouldn’t be fatal. And any cracked bones would be better than staying up here, up here with that thing…

Judy noticed him first, but Bill soon did, too. Gabriel sat at a small desk to their right. His eyes were busy scanning paperwork. He didn’t look up.

“Gabriel!” Judy screamed. “Gabriel! Gabriel!”

The hunched man looked up from his paperwork, his expression unreadable.

“There’s a… thing,” Judy said.

Bill looked behind him, but the creature wasn’t there. It had been so close before, and now… He didn’t know where it was, but he sensed that it wasn’t far.

Gabriel slammed his papers onto the desk. “You stupid… You know you’re not supposed to be out at night.”

“There’s a thing,” Judy said again. “In the hall. It’s chasing us.”

In a single motion, Gabriel rose from his chair and swept across the room. “Impossible,” he said, but his eyes betrayed the panic bubbling inside him. “There’s no way it could get out.”

“It?” Bill said.

Gabriel pulled a small pistol out of his sock. He walked toward the hallway where Bill and Judy had just been. “This way?” he asked.

Judy nodded.

Gabriel rounded the corner and disappeared down the hall.

They watched him go, and then they waited.

And waited.

Only silence.

Bill was afraid to look at his girlfriend, because he knew what her expression would be. Finally, he did look at her, and he instantly wished he hadn’t.

“Why did you do that?” she asked.

He didn’t know why. Not really.

“Why the hell did you do that?” Judy pushed.

Bill felt a steady wave of anger wash over him. Anger at Judy, and anger at himself. It lapped at his ankles. He let it in, that anger. He let it into his heart, because if he didn’t… the fear would have overwhelmed him.

“This weekend cost us eight thousand dollars,” he blurted. The words just came out.

Judy flinched. “What?”

Bill looked away. “The travel agency… it was a scam. I found out a few days after I booked the tickets. I could’ve fought it, I guess, but… I don’t know. You were so excited and I…”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Judy asked.

“I…”

He was interrupted by a scream.

Oh God.

Gunshots.

Another scream.

Then silence.

“We need to get back to our rooms,” Judy said.

They walked down the dark hallway. Slowly. Quietly. One foot in front of the other.

They turned the first corner, and the hallway was dark.

Not just dark. Black. The hallway was black. Something had smashed all the lights. It would’ve been easier to reach out his arm and use the wall for guidance, but Bill didn’t do that. He kept his arms as close to his sides as he could.

Their eyes adjusted. Still, all they could see were basic shapes and edges. No movement, though.

“Ow!” Judy said. She stubbed her foot against something.

There was something on the floor. A lump. Bill struggled to make out the shape, and when he finally could—when his brain finally deciphered the human-shaped thing—he let out an involuntary gasp.

“Honey, what is it?” Judy asked, but even as she said it, she knew the answer.

Gabriel.

Gabriel was lying motionless on the floor. And he was shredded.

They didn’t have time to scream. The thing stood behind them, so very close behind them, and it growled. Bill felt hot breath on his neck.

Slowly, Bill turned around.

That thing stood inches away, even closer than he’d expected. Its eyes were narrowed, almost glowing. Its snout moved slightly with each breath. Thick moisture, most likely snot, covered most of its face. This wasn’t a costume. It wasn’t natural, either. It was a thing, an unknowable thing, and Bill was absolutely certain that he would be eaten before ever finding out what sort of thing it really was.

Bill saw a sudden movement in the corner of his eye. Judy! Before he realized what was happening, Judy reached out and struck at the thing with a silver candlestick.

He had no idea where the candlestick came from, or even when Judy managed to pick it up. For all he knew, it might’ve simply appeared in her hands thanks to some unholy force.

Judy wasn’t strong, at least not physically. She had bought them a few precious seconds, but that was because she had taken the creature by surprise. She certainly didn’t inflict any lasting damage. In fact, the thing seemed angrier now, more empowered.

Bill and Judy fled from the thing, but it bounded very quickly behind them. In its pursuit, it pounded its fists against the walls and knocked over tables. It wailed.

Bill wanted to scream, but it wouldn’t have made any difference. The thing was making enough noise for both of them.

They made it back to the east wing. Just one more hallway, and they’d reach their bedroom door.

Judy ran toward one of the big oak doors to her right. She pulled on the handle—desperately pulled—but it wouldn’t budge. The locks held tight. For obvious reasons. She pounded on the door once, only once, and then she kept running.

The thing was closer.

Bill recognized their door up ahead. It was just a few feet away. If they could manage to get inside and snap the latch shut behind them…

If they could just get there…

They’d be safe.

The thing wailed.

Judy reached the door first. She clicked the handle down and used her entire body to ram the door open. She was inside.

The thing was upon them now. It swiped a claw through the air, the tips of its nails making contact—slight, barely felt contact—with Bill’s back. He knew that his shirt had been sliced.

His back, too.

He dove into the room. There were pinpricks of pain where its claws had touched skin. It wasn’t a lot, but it was enough to distract Bill from the fear. Thank God for pain.

“Shut it! Shut it!” Bill shouted.

With her shoulder, Judy slammed the door shut. Before she could click the lock into place, the thing—the hot, breathing thing—pushed its way inside.

They had nowhere to go. It was upon them.

The balcony! It was the only place left. If they could get to the balcony and close the door behind them, then they’d be safe.

Bill ran first, and for once, Judy followed. They ran to the balcony and slammed the little wooden door shut behind them. This one didn’t have a lock, so Bill leaned his entire weight against it while Judy pushed a stone chair toward its base.

Once the chair was in place, Bill moved away. And the door held. For a moment, it seemed sturdy.

Scratch. Scratch.

The thing was playing with them, holding back its strength and waiting. Waiting. Waiting for what, exactly?

BAM!

It slammed against the door. The hinges shook. So much for their safety. Just a few more hits like that, and the door would be splinters. And the thing would be on them.

Judy looked at her husband, frozen panic in those beautiful, brown eyes. He didn’t know the last time he’d really looked into Judy’s eyes. He didn’t know the last time he realized they were beautiful. A long time. Too long.

“What do we do?” she asked.

Staring into her eyes, ignoring the scratching and banging noises, Bill didn’t have the time or the ability to think of an answer. Instead, he just said it: “Honey, we have to jump.”

Once those words came out of his mouth, he realized what they meant.

“But… we won’t make it.”

Bill nodded.

BAM! A crack formed through the center of the door. It started to buckle outwards.

Judy didn’t say anything, but he could tell from those eyes—those beautiful, shining eyes—that she understood. Then, with effort, she whispered, “Bill. I can’t.”

BAM!

“You asked me what we need to do,” he said. “We need to escape. One way or another.”

“No.”

He held out his hand. “You have to trust me on this,” he said.

She hesitated. The door buckled further. Then, slowly, she placed her hand in his. Together, they held each other, fingers over fingers, and waited.

Without thinking, he used his other hand to take out the engagement ring from his pocket.

“What are you doing?” she asked.

He didn’t get on one knee, but then again, he didn’t need to. “You know what I’m doing.”

“But why…?”

“Will you marry me?”

“I don’t think this is the time…”

“I just want to hear your answer.”

He waited.

She looked at him—really looked at him, up and down and up again. “Of course,” she said.

Together, they jumped.

****

I hope you liked my story! I spent some time exploring the castles in Romania and let me tell you, they're spooky. I wouldn't be surprised if all sorts of creatures were locked away in hidden rooms.

Oh, and I'm making a horror movie! You can check out our awesome look book.