Return of the Shadows

Cheyenne came back home to Shiloh, where she grew up since the 70s. She was 21 and had just finished college. After experiencing the hardships and highs of the bridge between her old life and a new one, Cheyenne thought it was best to get in touch with her roots. She even thought to give up her apartment in Kansas City and move back into her hometown, but something told her not to make that decision just yet. “Let’s just see how the summer goes,” she told herself while driving past a sign that read, Welcome to Shiloh: Where Everyone Belongs. Cheyenne reached for her radio, looking for any station to play the right song. Finally, she found one blaring the familiar tunes of Paradise City as she followed the road that led her back to her family home. It was only a few moments when she entered the uniformed neighborhood where the same family home came into view. As soon as she parked her car in the driveway, she hopped out and pulled her bags out of the trunk.

As she did so, the front door of the two-story home swung open. A woman who appeared to be a little over late middle age practically flocked in her directions. At first, Cheyenne was expecting to be snatched in her embrace until she noticed a strange look. More like solemn and unwelcoming. The color of the woman’s eyes was a murky brown instead of its usual sparklingly mahogany hue. Her bouncy chocolate-colored ringlets were hidden in a messy bun, and she sported a concerningly shabby look. “Mom?” Cheyenne blurted taken back by her mother’s appearance. “Are you o---”

Before Cheyenne could finish her sentence, her mother confronted her. “You shouldn’t have come back,” she said. “Not now.”

Cheyenne’s heart fell as she heard those words. “What?” she said. “I am not turning back. I came to visit you and grandma.”

“No? Did you forget what time of the year this is?”

Cheyenne shook her head, completely unaware of whatever nonsense her mother was pulling. That was until her mind took her back to Summer 1983 when she was only 15. Cheyenne and her two best friends wanted to see a circus. It was such an attraction, the three couldn’t help looking forward to what it had to offer. That’s when her grandmother completely lost it. She became almost delusional, crying, “It’s back! It’s back!” Cheyenne and her mother didn’t know how to help her until it was clear her grandmother refused to let Cheyenne go to the circus. If you asked what happened after, the depth of that memory grows more difficult to recall. Anyway, her grandmother had that episode around this time of the year, and again every summer. Funny thing about those times after the first incident was that there wasn’t a dangerous circus she spoke of. In fact, there wasn’t one at all.

“Grandma isn’t herself again,” Cheyenna answered her own question. She blinked back the tears whelming in her eyes. “I just wanted to see my family one last time. I’m thinking of moving on from Missouri. If I do, I don’t know when the next time w I’d see you and Grandma.”

“I’m sorry...” Then, her mother paused as if she thought better of her next words. The moment was drawn out until she finally decided to voice her opinion. “Maybe you should book a room down at Blackbird. That way, you and I can still hang out, no?”

Cheyenne shook her head. “That’s not the point,” she said, but it came out like she was choking on her own words.

Still, she saw no use in protesting. Cheyenne knew she had to leave. She hopped back in her car, preparing to leave town for good. But as she drove further towards the outskirts of Shiloh, her mother’s words made her steer her car back in the direction of town. After about another 15 minutes or so, a motel showed up in her vision as clear as day. It was high noon and her drive from the city to Shiloh had her on the road since 3 in the morning. When she saw a sign above reading, Blackbird Motel, Cheyenne’s muscles felt sore, and her stomach demanded something to eat.

Cheyenne parked amongst the other cars outside the motel before once again grabbing her bags and checking in. In her room, 333, she freshened up. She even changed her outfit entirely. Afterward, Cheyenne picked up the phone to reach out to her mother. However, she didn’t get to press “call” because of an overwhelming need for a nap. Her eyes were heavy even while standing. So, Cheyenne called it quits for now and crawled into bed, hoping to get some shut-eye for a moment or two. The room faded as weird blue dots flooded her vision. This no longer was exhaustion, but Cheyenne passed out before she could recognize the alarms.

Suddenly, Cheyenne woke up in her room back at home. Posters of Def Leppard, U2, and Madonna still clung to the eggshell walls. The blue of her comforter with printed white doves was still as bright as her teenage years back then. However, hairs stood straight on the back of her neck as if chilly air bristled against her skin. Cheyenne took a closer look at her room and realized there were no windows nor was there a door present for use. Panic sent blood rushing to Cheyenne’s legs and up to her ears, causing those areas and other regions within the radius to throb. She darted from wall to wall, looking for a way out like a trap door or a false wall. Nothing. She resorted to punching the walls but the only things that took major damage were her fists, which were left with black and blue bruises and scratches.

Finally, the caged room got the best of Cheyenne, unfairly stealing her sanity. She screamed in terror. She wouldn’t be leaving this dream world anytime soon, wouldn’t she?

As Cheyenne closed her eyes, she snagged a glimpse of a dark figure at the far end of the room. It just stood there, staring back at Cheyenne. Then out of nowhere, it gained some serious balls and darted at Cheyenne. The speed of the figure was so inhuman that it felt like time stopped as it advanced in her direction. In the blink of an eye, it was right in front of Cheyenne. It had a mouth. Cheyenne knew this because not only was it so close to her face that she could smell a horrid stench coming from the figure, but its lips stretched from ear to ear, literally.

The jaw dropped like so, where it seemed that it fell to the floor before thinking better of it and clinking to the figure’s face for dear life like skin to bone.

“Why did you come back!” its low-whispered voice hissed at her. “Why!”

For some God-awful reason, Cheyenne’s mouth formed the words to say before her mind could approve them. “...Because it’s back!”

The haunting figure wasn’t having it. “Leave!”

Cheyenne jolted awake, sweat beading down her face. Her limbs were weak and lifeless. It took all her effort and whatever was left of her strength at that moment to pull herself into an upright position. Breathing in, breathing out, her heart eventually slowed down but her mind was at full speed.

“What the hell was that?” “I need to leave!” “Why am I having nightmares again?” Again? That’s right. The figure visited her in her dreams numerous nights when she still lived in Shiloh, all throughout her childhood. Strangely, the nightmares only came at the start of the summer and didn’t leave until the season ended. When she left Shiloh to go to school and start her own life, Cheyenne led a peaceful life without any bits of her past haunting her, not even the dreams. Cheyenne’s mind drifted to her grandmother and the episodes she had every summer. Unbeknownst to Cheyenne, however, there was a new agenda for her return to Shiloh.