[Today's Fiction Friday is a continuation of the story I posted last week. If you haven't read part one, you can find it H ERE. As always....thanks for reading!]

Arriving just ahead of the ominous clouds and darkening skies, a car far fancier than ever seen in Townsley before rolled onto the village’s streets. With its emerald body sparkling under the last of the sun’s rays, it drew the attention of everyone it passed. Tinted windows only added to the mystery of who was behind the wheel.

The car eased slowly down Main Street and by the time the first drops of rain pelted the ground and turned dust to paste, everyone knew of the mysterious visitor. They watched, mesmerized and stunned, as the car took a sharp right turn and made its ascent up the hill toward Galloway House. The closer the car drew the more foreboding the enigmatic home appeared as the storm clouds settled over its slate roof and stripped away the details of its patterned bricks.

The car pulled to a stop and the villagers held their collective breath. The brake lights flicked off and they waited for the brave soul—or the fool—to reveal themselves. The driver’s side door eased open and something long and narrow and black advanced from the vehicle. Imaginations, along with the angle of the hill and limited sight from cloud cover, aided in the illusion that it was surely something sinister. Several people jumped when the object snapped open and then laughed nervously upon realizing it was just an umbrella. A black-panted leg was spotted briefly before lightning cracked blindingly across the sky.

So blinding that when everyone opened their eyes white spots floated lazily in their line of sight. After blinking them away, disappointment rippled through the villagers as they looked up the hill. The stranger was gone, no doubt already inside the house. With barely a glimpse, they had no idea if the person had been male or female, short or tall, but they would be the main topic at every dinner table that evening nonetheless. Theories and speculation would be tossed around. Embellishments would be added. By morning, the mysteries surrounding Galloway House would have many new chapters.

Perched atop the hill protruding in the middle of the village, Galloway House loomed over Townsley. No one had been seen leaving or entering the home in years. Yet, every night, after the sun dug itself into the horizon and the moon cast a pale blue over the village, warm light glowed between the green shutters of the eerie, eye-like windows. And although shadows never crossed those windows, every villager bore the uneasy feeling that they were being watched.

The Galloway family’s history was steeped in mystery. Aside from their ancestors being the first to settle in Townsley, little more was known of them. Speculation and tall tales had been passed down from generation to generation. Each year the stories grew more fantastical and cautionary like a morbid, decades-long game of telephone.

To this day it was believed that no one could ever escape the long gaze of Galloway House. Those who have traveled far beyond the village’s borders claim that its image still flashed through their nightmares and questions about who resided behind its wall still tumbled noisily through their thoughts, even years after cutting the cord and moving away.

Younger children often stared up the hill, eyes wide with wonder before their parents yanked them away and explained to them—in hushed tones—that they were never to approach the house. As these children grew older those words turned into dares of ringing the bell which always ended with teasing. No one had ever summoned the courage to go past the middle of the hill.

In the distance dark clouds gathered and aimed their sights on Townsley. As they eased closer, an uneasiness spread amongst the town. A sense of dread that was as thick as the murky gray sky following in the clouds wake. An energy swept through the village and with it, the knowledge that they needed to brace themselves. The storm on their horizon would prove to be unlike any they had ever faced before.

READ PART TWO HERE.

Fiction Friday: [Galloway House pt. 2]

Fiction Friday: [Galloway House]