Dare Not Go by Omar Najam

Every day of 13 Days 13 Shorts I'll be posting a short story or poem that I have written and read! Here is Dare Not Go

There’s a coastal town

I wouldn’t dare say where

Or in what state

But it’s there

You’ll need to trust me

As you’ll learn in this tale

You’ll need to trust me

There’s a coastal town

Quaint and tucked away

A perfect place for visitors

To stay for a day or two

Maybe a week

Nothing more than that

There’s antique shops

And coffee shops

And even a—

Well no I shouldn’t tell you that

Because you might find out

Where this coastal town is

And go there

When you’re not supposed to

For you see every day of the year is pleasant here

Save for one

Just one day

One night to be exact

October 19th

That’s a night that no one ventures out

Not visitors

Not residents

Not the bravest of souls

For you see

Years ago

One hundred and nineteen now

A sailboat

With massive sails

Crashed and sank

Just off the coast

The sailors

Cargo men

Made their escape

Through the choppy waves

Making it ashore

Just barely

Just out of breath

And then they counted the living

And they were all accounted for

Save for seven

For you see

Seven had snuck off

During that dark foggy evening

Down below the decks

Their stomachs had been paining them

And their throats suffered the worst of parchments

So they went below the deck

To drink and feast on stale bread

Their laughter hidden beneath the murky water

And as the ship went down

As ships tend to do

They didn’t know

They had no idea

Until the murky water that had been hiding their laughter

Became to creep up

Began to swallow their ankles

Began to consume them whole

The ocean ate them

Well ate the ship at least

And in the ship’s stomach

The cargo men screamed

Banging at the hatch

Crying for help

Shout into

What they didn’t realize

Was murky water

The ocean swallowed them up

Well swallowed the ship to be exact

And broke the bow

The water consuming their knees now

Up to their hips now

Eels swimming about

Churning the water

As the men screamed

The ocean swallowed them up

Well swallowed the ship to be exact

It snapped the mast

And ran over the quarterdeck

And the water consumed their shoulders now

Their necks now

The eels joined by other deep sea creatures

Horrors

Things that moved in the lantern lit abyss

Until the water swallowed that too

And in the pitch black

The ocean swallowed them up

Well swallowed the ship to be exact

And inside the ship’s stomach

These seven men

They were all accounted for

Save for these seven men

But they didn’t die

Hell nor heaven opened gates to these poor souls

They were consumed

But they didn’t die

No

Instead they sank

And there they sat

Sockets gaping at the rocky floor

Nothing but the sound of distant wave breaks

Nothing but the moving

Of the murky water

To keep them company

But as luck would have it

Fate shown upon these souls

These consumed men

These figures of bone and dread

Fate shown upon them

In the form of a blood moon

And gave them life

Once more

Just for this night

And they rose

This coastal town

Which I wouldn’t dare say where

Knew not what was happening

As these figures rose from the waves

Ambling into town

Shambling into the shops

There were screams

There were shouts

But the people here were smart

They held to certain superstitions

So it took very little convincing

For them to leave town

Every October 19th

And I’ve shared this tale

And all who listen have believed me

Save for one

One foolish soul

Who thought I spoke only in parables

That my history was simply local legend

That held as much water

As the beach with its melting waves

And so on October 19th

He went

I won’t dare say where

I won’t dare say which town

He drove

And he parked

And he waited

And the moon rose from above the clouds

Looking down at the chopping sea

And he stood

And he waited

And then he screamed

And then he was silent

I ask you now

Anyone who will listen

Stay away from this town

Which I won’t dare tell you where

Stay away from this town on the 19th of October

Under the light of that moon

Stay away I tell you

For that town is empty

Save for eight shambling souls now

Who are always looking

For a ninth to join their company