Member-only story
The Red Ghost of Veritas Avenue
You have more to fear than the dark.
Have you heard the story going around? Sitting at the crossroads of Veritas Avenue and Hither Street is supposed to give you the shock of your life — and I’m not talking about Mrs. Mariella’s bad driving. You have to wait till midnight and see.
Too tired to wait? Yeah, I get that. It’s a good thing I know exactly what happens. I was there with my girlfriend Tessa last night. We had pulled over in my dad’s old Camry, and she was giving me those eyes of hers — I’d seen that look before, and I was ready for it.
Just as I was about to lean towards her, the car rattled. I frowned, looking out the windshield, but I didn’t see a thing. I was about to ask Tessa if she’d heard the sound; I didn’t even have time to ask because the next moment she’d grabbed my head and captured my mouth with hers. It was easy to forget the thought of the strange noise with the chance of making out and even getting laid right before me.
Things were okay after that — we steamed up a few windows, let me tell ya — but right after helping Tessa out of her blouse I saw something out of the corner of my eye. A flash of red, like a stop sign seen through a downpour. But I didn’t want to scare Tessa — though, if I’m honest, I just wanted us to get in the backseat by that point.
