Alone

A short story

David Stamm figured a week of house sitting in the mountains of North Carolina, would give him ideas for his next novel, which he hadn't begun to write. As he prepared to leave his Upper Manhattan condo and drive seven hundred miles to Western North Carolina, the novelist could feel a rush of excitement about roughing it in the wild while forgetting the urban hustle and bustle that can be draining; even for city slickers like him.

As a bestselling horror novelist whose seven books have all been adapted for the screen, David Stamm enjoyed a lifestyle that he always imagined while growing up in Boston. A socially awkward boy who found solace in the works of Edgar Allan Poe, David could imagine himself writing scary stories about creatures lurking in the woods from the safe haven of his bedroom in an upper-class enclave. Exclusive prep schools further nurtured his love of reading and fascination of words. The only thing young David lacked growing up was the hardship of living in places that he describes so eloquently in his books. He never went camping, fished on a lake, waded through a creek, climbed a tree, or hiked in the mountains. The outdoors were for those who lacked curiosity about the "real world."

Now, David Stamm was looking forward to something he loathed for most of his forty-seven years.

The marriage to his college sweetheart, which dissolved years and two kids later, left him bitter. A second divorce to a woman barely out of her teens, hardened his heart. His last marriage, which resulted in two more kids, ended with his wife taking off to California with the two boys, made him realize just how cruel life is.

Thank God for alcohol.

Booze began to be a problem for David in his early thirties, but he always managed to keep it from consuming his life. He went sober for five years until the death of his wayward brother sent him reeling. For two years he sunk into a depression that nearly ruined him. It was only when his agent intervened and sent him off to Arizona to get dry that he began to come out of it. He stayed fairly straight until a year ago when his third marriage failed.

Booze is now a serious problem.

The trip took a little over twelve hours, but David felt surprisingly sprite. He looked at the two-story colonial home nestled deep in the woods, and let out a nervous smile. Whispering Rock, North Carolina certainly lived up to the image in his head. The house was surrounded by woods and there was no other residence within eyesight.

"Damn, Margaret, you really are eccentric," David said aloud.

David's sister, Margaret, was on a two-week assignment in Europe, with her husband. They both worked for an art publication and shared the same sense of adventure. She asked her brother to watch her house because there had been a recent rash of break-ins perpetrated by a hermit who wasn't a physical threat, but she and her husband did have valuables in the house. Margaret knew her brother couldn't handle two weeks in the woods, so she asked a close friend to cover the first week. Davis agreed because he had failed his sister in the past by not being a man of his word.

He walked up the porch of the house and was greeted by a tall, muscular man wearing a smile.

"You must be David Stamm," he said.

"Yes, Sir, and you must be Dan Wallace," David replied.

"That would be me. How did your trip go?"

"Great, now I just have to get used to roughing it," David joked.

"Don't sweat it, I'm sure Margaret told you about the hermit, but he's harmless. He won't come around if he knows someone is here, so relax and enjoy your week of solitude," Wallace said.

Solitude didn't seem so appealing in this setting.

Dan Wallace left shortly after David arrived, which made the novelist apprehensive. He knew he needed to calm down and act like a man who's been alone before, but he couldn't shake the feeling of dread that had consumed him since arriving at the house. He decided to walk upstairs to the guest room and settle in.

"You're grown man, so stop acting like a twit," David said to himself as he ascended the creaky staircase.

After putting his things away, David tour a self-guided tour of his sister's house and discovered no cable television, junk food, alcohol, or anything that made him feel at home. The house was also sparsely furnished, which added to David's stress. He took a seat at the kitchen table and tried to imagine how he was going to make it. He got up and walked in the living room and saw a desktop computer. He booted it up, but couldn't get on the internet, which made his stomach churn. He called the local provider and was told that there was a problem with the connection and that service would be down temporarily.

"This is just great," David said in a near scream.

Night descended and David tried to contain his growing apprehension. The temporary problem with the internet hadn't been resolved and with no cable there was nothing to watch except the insipid fare in network television. The wind had picked up, which created eerie sounds that David had never heard before. The strange pops and clicks were a constant reminder that he was out of his element. The crickets chirped, dogs barked, and the rustling leaves could be heard from inside the house.

"Take hold," David said in a voice edging on panic.

Then he remembered the booze he brought.

The scotch made his worried slowly disappear, which made David relax. He sprawled out on an antique sofa and closed his eyes. He was now good and drunk, which meant the world went away until he sobered up. He drifted off to sleep.

Morning came and that meant one day was down. David staggered off the couch and decided to take a shower. He walked upstairs and took off his clothes. He stepped in the shower and was about to turn on the water when he noticed something big, hairy, and scurrying up the wall

It was a wolf spider.

The novelist who made a living scaring people let out a piecing scream before stumbling out of the shower. We looked for something to kill the arachnid, but could find nothing. He ran into the bedroom and found a magazine. He folded it up and raced back tot he shower, but the spider was gone.

"S**t," David screamed.

He threw the magazine down and stepped into he shower, but was overcome by fear, so he hopped out and quickly got dressed. He then grabbed his keys and headed into town.

David wondered if he could make it a week.

Whispering Rock had a few stores, which catered to tourists, so David was able to purchase DVD's, junk food, and most importantly: alcohol. He ate at a small diner, which he found throughly disgusting. He then headed back to the house to hunker down with comedies to take his mind off his fear of being so alone.

Then, night fell once again.

The booze took the some of the fear away, but it didn't work like it did last night. The strange sounds continued to rattle him and then there was the huge spider lurking about. David staggered outside to get some fresh air and ponder his sanity. He gazed into the woods and imagined one of his characters trolling for victims. He quickly darted back int he house and locked the door before heading upstairs to the bedroom where he grabbed his cellphone that he tossed on the bed. He turned it on and discovered there was no service, which further agitated him. Then he spotted the wolf spider on the wall. He grabbed the magazine and slowly walked toward it, but the hairy creature quickly scurried up the wall and out of his reach.

"Goddamn you!"

Screaming like a frightened child, David could feel himself descending into helplessness; a feeling he's experienced many times before, but never like this. His agent wasn't around to make it better. His friends were seven hundred miles away. He was all alone.

And completely at the mercy of a spider that wouldn't let him kill it.

David didn't sleep, so he drank until he could no longer stand. Morning had risen, which meant light, but now he was exhausted. He crashed in a chair and closed his eyes.

He awoke as night fell.

David then realized that if he could sleep during the day, his apprehension level would subside. He put a DVD in and watched movies until dawn. He dozed off until night fell again. He started his routine all over again.

"I got this now," he said with confidence.

He walked upstairs to get wash off his face and brush his teeth. When he reached the top of the stairs he noticed the door of the master bedroom slowly opening. David froze in terror. The door kept moving inward until it was fully open. David couldn't move as he stared into the darkness. He couldn't see anyone, but that didn't mean no one was there. He ran downstairs and raced outside. He didn't know what he was doing as he flailed about in the night wishing he were back in the city.

He then saw someone standing at the edge of the porch.

"No, no, go away," David screamed. "I just want civilization!"

David looked over again and saw that the person was gone.

"Who are you!"

A patrol car pulled up and a young deputy stepped out. He walked up to David, who was still frantic.

"You okay, Sir," he asked.

"I saw someone," David replied.

"That was probably Willie,the local hermit. He's harmless, but he can be a nuisance. You must be Margaret's brother?"

"Yes, Sir."

"I'm sure she told you about Willie, but don't worry, he means no harm. I got a call about him a few minutes ago and I figured he might have headed up this way. I'll take a look around back," the young deputy said.

David stood in motionless while the deputy checked the back. He hated being like this and he could no longer take it. He looked inside the house and saw a man staring down at him from the master bedroom.

"He's inside the house," David bellowed.

The young deputy came running around the house and asked David what he screamed about.

"He's in the master bedroom!"

"Wait here, Sir."

The deputy raced upstairs and headed to the master bedroom. David saw the light go on. A minute later, the deputy appeared the window and said he would check the house. After ten minutes of looking, the young deputy walked outside and told David that there was no one in the house.

"Your mind can play tricks on you out here, but if you need us we'll be out tonight, Sir."

David looked at the deputy and began to shake.

"I can't go back in there," he said in a panic.

"Calm down, Sir."

"I can't go back in there!"

"Sir, it's alright."

"No, I can't, you gotta believe me!"

"I believe you, Sir."

"No!"

David hit the ground and then everything went black.

David Stamm sat in a small padded room. He could see Margaret standing outside talking to a doctor. She had an angry look on her face, which meant that he had failed her again. Margaret nodded her head before walking inside the room.

"Looks like you had a meltdown, David. I thought you could handle the job, but I should have known. Bob is still over in Europe, because that's where were moving. I won't ask you to do anything again because it's just too hard. I've arranged for you to get back to New York. Go write your horror novels while shielding yourself from the real world. I guess being alone isn't the nightmare for you that it is for everyone else. Goodbye, David," Margaret said.