Dinosaurs In Hats

(Title)

Chapter One: Of Dinosaurs and Hats

Will spotted the dinosaur wearing a hat first. Initially thinking he was hallucinating, he rubbed his eyes in disbelief but the creature didn’t disappear. It remained, a slender-necked creature balancing on two legs with three claws on each foot, and a back and arms covered and feathers. It stood roughly about as tall as the car, studying it with alert eyes from the shadows of the trees. It sported an old-fashioned top hat - the kind that he’d seen pictures of Abraham Lincoln wearing in his history textbook. It was so surprising, in fact, that he nudged his brother, Tony, next to him.

“This had better be good,” he said, pulling out one of his earbuds.

“There’s a dinosaur in a hat out there,” Tony said.

“Yeah, whatever, dweeb.”

“I’m serious.”

But his brother ignored him, plugged his earbuds back in and closed his eyes Will pressed his face to the glass, craning his head until the dinosaur disappeared behind a bend. The car rolled on down the road. Looking ahead didn’t look all that promising - more forested hills and a seemingly never-ending ribbon of asphalt. That was when Will spotted the next unusual thing - even more so than the dinosaur wearing a hat, if that was even possible. The road was somehow shifting, subtly changing direction and taking someplace entirely unexpected. Up above, the slate-colored sky looked like rain.

“Dad,” Will said. “The road’s moving.”

His dad, who had been listening to classic eighties rock music that had been blaring out of the car stereos for the past four hours, glanced back at him.

“What?”

“The road. It’s…moving.”

“I think you need a nap,” he laughed. “Just relax. We’ll be in Grantsville before you know it.” Will shook his head and leaned back against the seat, mutinous. He knew what he had seen - could still see in fact. It was hard to notice but it was there. The road was gradually shifting a little further to the right, a a bend slowly bending further, even as they traversed it. How was nobody noticing this?
He looked out the window again whenever the car jolted, as if it had somehow hit something heavy, the engine spluttering in protest. The music blasting through the car speakers cut out, replaced by static and a grainy announcer’s voice speaking in a language he didn’t recognize and could barely hear. Tony sat up, pulling one earbud out.

“What happened?”

“I don’t actually know,” their dad said with a frown, pulling the car off to the side of the road. “It felt like we hit something but…I think I’m going to take a look. Make sure there’s no damage.” The radio continued to flicker with its static and alien language until their dad killed the power.

“That’s enough of…whatever that is. This shouldn’t take long.”

He climbed out of the car and popped open the hood to the engine. Now at a standstill, Will felt once again a prickle of unease. He peered through the woods whenever he saw the dinosaur again - though now there were two of them, both in the same ridiculous stovepipe hats and both studying the car with bright disaffected eyes.

“Look,” Will said in a hushed voice. “Tony, seriously.”

“This isn’t your stupid dinosaur wearing a hat again, is it?”

“They’re right there! There’s two of them now!”

“Look, I don’t want to be here in the first place on this dumbass camping trip. I don’t want you bothering me about…whatever. Dinosaurs in hats. That sounds stupid.” He mumbled to himself, thumbing through the music playlist on his phone, paying him no more attention. Will, however, was beginning to feel serious anxiety. The road shifting, taking them somewhere else entirely. The dinosaurs. The radio. Something was very wrong.

As if on cue, the two dinosaurs turned and disappeared back into the forest. His dad stepped back into the driver’s seat.

“I can’t find anything wrong,” he said. “No sign that we hit anything either. So I’m not sure what all that was about. Oh, well. That’s road trips for ya!” he started the car, blasting Billy Joel through the stereo speakers as they pulled back onto the road, which almost immediately began redirecting them yet again. Will didn’t say anything for a long time but he felt ill. He eventually stopped trying to follow the contours of the ever-shifting road. It gave him a headache to watch and it just brought to mind more anxieties about what, exactly, they were walking into.

“Dad,” he said. “Are you sure you know where we’re going?”

“Of course I do,” he said. “And if I don’t, the GPS knows where we’re going.” Will turned his attention to the dashboard.

“Uh - Dad?”

“Hmm?”

“The GPS says we’re driving through the middle of town.”

“What? No, that can’t be.”

His dad glanced at the GPS on the dashboard and frowned.

“That’s definitely not right. I wondered why I hadn’t heard it give out any directions for a while.” Will didn’t say anything. Outside the forest rolled by. More and more, he caught quick glimpses of more of the hatted dinosaurs running alongside the road, keeping pace with the car. The road had stopped twisting and shifting around.

Something’s wrong…

“We’ll figure it out. We’ll see if there’s a rest stop or something and we’ll get it figured out.” A silence fell over the car.

“No Internet,” Tony grumbled. “Great…”

Will didn’t say anything. That there was apparently no Internet - way out in the middle of nowhere - came as no surprise to him. He’d barely touched his own phone in his pocket for most of the trip. The radio flickered again, going back to the eerie static and the grainy announcer’s voice in the foreign language.

“What’s up with that?” he asked. “Dad…”

His dad reached out and turned the radio off. Silence fell.

“Trying to drive, kiddo We’ll have to do without music for now.”

Will slouched back in the seat again, arms folded across his chest. Nobody wanted to listen to him. And he hated being called ‘kiddo’. He’d just turned fourteen last week. They hadn’t driven much longer than that whenever the radio turned back on, the eerie static and the announcer’s voice permeating the car.

“I thought we were done with the radio,” Tony complained. “Bad enough I can’t get on the Internet, now I have to listen to this…!”

His dad didn’t answer, merely reaching over to flip it off. It didn’t work. It stayed on, the hissing static filling the interior of the car.

“This is like something out of a horror movie,” Will said, his anxiety continuing to build.

“I’m sure it’s fine,” his dad replied, though he sounded worried. “But we can’t really stop in the middle of nowhere.”

And then Will spotted the stranger. He was standing off to the side of the road, dressed in fraying brown robes, head bowed and hidden behind a hood. His dad had seen him too, doing a double take. The static in the car increased in volume, until Will could barely hear himself think. The announcer’s voice in the eldritch tongue began to come through clearer. His head hurt and he had a strange idea - an impossible idea. This man, whatever or whoever he was, was using the radio to communicate.

And then he noticed the dinosaurs again. More and more of them lining the woods, their eyes bright and intense - so bright that they were virtually glowing with blue and red light. All of them sported the same identical stovepipe hat and they were all following the car.

Will shrank back in his seat. He couldn’t remember the last time he felt so terrified, so incredibly alone. Neither his brother nor his dad appeared to have seen the creatures, his brother busy with his phone, his dad with his eyes on the road.

“Dad - that guy on the side of the road,” Will said.

“What guy?”

“You didn’t see him?”

“Will, what’s gotten into you? It’s not like you to be so twitchy.”

“There’s just…something wrong,” Will said. “I don’t know what.”

“Oh, I know,” Tony called from next to him. “Maybe it’s the stupid radio. God, it’s like something out of a horror movie.”

“We’re okay,” he said. “Maybe a little lost because the GPS is malfunctioning, but it’s alright. You’ll see.”

The car whined and began to stall again.

“Again?!” his dad said. “I hope we don’t have to wait for a tow truck.” He pulled over to the side of the road, just as the mysterious ragged cloaked figure appeared once more. 

The Witch in the Woods

I'm thinking about doing like a serialized story or something on here, just kind of kicking around ideas and seeing what sticks. I was rummaging through my extensive list of projects and found this and thought it might fun to re-do and then extend out into a serialized story? Hmm.

I do kind of like the notion of the setting, though. I get a Spirited Away sort of vibe from it. And the Witch is actually a character I remember...

Chapter One

Jeron stood in the large courtyard, sitting before the stone fountain, as he waited for his father to emerge from the merchant’s shop. It was one of the myriad old villages, one that had no doubt stood for generations – going from the old, mossy stone well, the ancient temple with its statues, so weathered that their facial features were barely recognizable or the age of the population: most were elderly, with gray or white hair, talking to each other in slow ways about methods that sounded especially dull.

His father emerged moments later, heavy sacks of grain on his back. “Right. There’s more inside. Go get them.”

Jeron leaped up, just happy for something to do and stepped inside the dim coolness of the store, where the innkeeper stood polishing the counter. He looked up.

“Ah. Blessings to you. Your items are there.”

He pointed to the heavy pile of sacks of grain and supplies. “And, lad. I would be wary if I were you. Beyond the ancient gates lays grave danger.”

“Uh – thanks,” Jeron said. “I think I can take care of myself, though.”

“Do not stray from the path,” the storekeeper said. “The old spirits will strip you of your flesh, devour your bones and you will become one of them, haunting the woods.”

“Okay? I’ll keep it mind,” Jeron said, not really listening. “Pretty sure that there won’t be anything – we didn’t see anything on the way over and we passed through the gates without being decapitated.”

“But the Days of Shadows began while you were in the village. Go now, tread carefully.”

Shaking his head, Jeron picked up a sack full of grain and headed outside, loading it into the village. He continued this for some time, his father, no doubt, was patronizing the local tavern, enjoying a cup of ale before they headed on home.

“You are the traveler’s son, boy?” an ancient woman now stepped in front of him and Jeron stopped, staring.

“Yeah…who are you?”

“The priestess of the Shrine,” she said. “You should wait to return.”

“You may want to take that up with my dad…” Jeron said. “He’s kind of the one in charge of when we leave…”

“I tried. He would not listen.”

“Well, he definitely won’t listen to me,” Jeron said, aware that he was probably being rude. “So if you don’t mind…”

“Take this for the journey home. You will need it and all of your wits.” She handed him a slender flower, a pale orange and red in color, with a slender yellow stalk.

Her grip tightened around his arm, showing surprising strength for an elderly woman. “Promise that you will not let the flower leave your person. It is your only hope.”

“Okay, okay,” Jeron said, now somewhat alarmed. “I promise.” Her grip relaxed and she nodded, accepting his assurance.

“Good.”

She turned and left. He examined the flower carefully, before he shrugged and put it in his pocket. An hour later, they were ready to leave, his father climbing on top of the wagon, slightly tipsy from one too many ales.

“Why do all the villagers think that we shouldn’t leave?” he asked suddenly.

“One too many superstitions is all.” His father grunted in reply. He flicked the reins and passed beyond the gates. As the darkness fell, mist began to creep in. It grew thicker and thicker, weaving among the dead or dying trees.

“I don’t like this…” Jeron said. Water dripped from the trees.

“Bah. Calm down. It’s just a bit of fog.”

“There’s no sound either,” Jeron said. “I think we should turn back.” He looked longingly back towards the village. But it was gone, lost in the trees and mist. The path was gradually swallowed the further in they went, until at last they could no longer see anything.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw something move, rustling through the thick underbrush and he found that he clutched the flower in his pocket. His father, however, took no notice and kept driving.

The fog grew denser, coiling steadily around the pair of them. Things rustled and moved in the forest. Twice more, he saw the thing out of the corner of his eye.

“Home is right ahead. See? Nothing to worry about,” his father said. Jeron looked ahead. There was nothing but the trees. A vile looking raven landed on a branch, and let out a harsh caw. Jeron bit his lip.

“Dad, there’s nothing there. Just more forest.”

“Don’t be stupid, Jeron. We’re here now.” And he stopped the wagon, in the middle of the road and climbed off. “Just take the grain to the granary. I’m going to check in with your mother.” He walked right towards a tree and disappeared suddenly, into it.

“Dad…!” but there was nothing. He was gone. Jeron was left alone with the cart.

“So, dear boy. You’ve lost your way and now have nowhere left to turn. Well, well, well…” a hissing, clicking noise filled his ears as a giant spider appeared in his vision, a hump-backed witch, her eyes pointing in opposite directions appeared.

“I…uh…” he said. “Who are you?”

“I am the Witch Who Lives In the Woods, of course. What is your name?”

“J-Jeron.”

“Hmm. A human name. The Days of Significance must be upon us.”

“The what?”

“Oh, never mind. You’re just a silly human. I forgot. In any case, you’d best climb on.” She tapped the spider and it obligingly lowered itself to the ground. As little as he wanted to, Jeron slowly, reluctantly climbed on the back of the creature.

“And off we go!” the king-sized spider climbed and scuttled through the trees rapidly, the Witch Who Lives in the Woods appeared to be enjoying herself immensely.

“Do you have an actual name?” Jaron asked.

“Eh? I told you my name. Though if you feel like giving me one of your silly human nicknames, you may. I’ve picked up quite a few of them from various villages, who worshipped me as a goddess for some reason! Here we are…”

They had arrived at a rather pleasant looking cottage. The forest looked slightly more alive here, with buds on the bare branches, and bits of green beneath the yellowing grass.

“Um – what’s going on exactly? I mean, no offense but you just kind of took me for a ride on the back of your giant spider and, um…”

“You haven’t guessed? You’re in the spirit world now! Right when you passed through the gates.” She studied him.

“Everyone, of course, already knows you’re here. I must have passed a good dozen debates on whether or not we should eat you and your father or if you would be edible at all.”

“Uh – do I want to know the verdict?”

“Well, you certainly aren’t on the menu. They know better to eat a Witch’s assistant, after all!” Jeron choked.

“What – but, I can’t stay here and be your apprentice!”

“Certainly you can! And you must! After all, I didn’t eat you, argued for you in fact. And I need a human. It gets rather dull among the forest creatures, you see.”

“Er…” she smiled at him and he realized uncomfortably there wasn’t much of a choice here. She was clearly a witch. With a giant spider at her command.

“Okay. Okay. Not saying I like but I obviously don’t have a lot of choice at the moment. Do you know what happened to my dad?”

“Hmm? I do not.”

“He – he thought we were home, but we clearly weren’t. And he walked into a tree and disappeared.” The Witch thought for a moment.

“He’s probably in the hands of some spirit or another. Bewitched, more than likely. He’s likely safe, but I’ll find out for sure.” She patted him on the head.

“Why don’t you tie up Violet for me, then meet me inside. I’ll go brew up some potions.” She walked inside the hut and Jeron stared up at the huge spider, his heart in his throat.

“Tie up the giant spider,” he said, scratching the back of his head. “Right. I can do that. Uh, come here girl?”

The spider approached him, its eye lidless eyes staring at him, sending his reflection back at him.