Grave Mistake
Friends from the End
Robin Roberts reflected on the fact that he had existed in
his current incarnation for 146 years. It was early November 2014 last he
checked, but he had been through several gates or wormholes since then, and time
worked differently in the Dreamlands.
Robin’s body died during the influenza pandemic of 1918 but was
revived shortly thereafter by arcane magic. He wasn’t afraid of being in a mass
grave with approximately three hundred other victims of the virus. He didn’t need
to breathe because his body was no longer alive.
Robin tunneled through the soil as easily as if he were
swimming. He noticed another fellow tunneling beside him and the pair grinned
at each other, knowing that if they worked together, they would reach the
surface swiftly.
The wiry Robin and his burly companion climbed out of the
grave on the stroke of midnight. They shook hands and introduced themselves.
“Whistle and pop of the chuffin' evenin' ter ya, guv'ner,”
the portly ghoul said. “I'm John Tamboli, and I'm 'eaven and 'ell chuffed ter
make your acquaintance. Folks call me Lil' John, and I suppose that ya can
clock why. They also call me the tambourine geeza, 'cause I enjoy playin' the
tambourine chicken pen the opportunity presents itself.”
“I'm Robin Roberts, and I'm glad ter kna ya, good sir. 'Eaven
and 'ell, I guess we bof kna why we're not jack's but are feelin’ frisky just
the bloomin' same. I suppose t'was the chuffin' flu that took ya, same as me. “Ell’s
bells, I daan't wish ter 'ang 'round this Drum longer than I must. Wot do ya
say we pop Frank Bough ter Dylaf Leen and find ourselves a tavern where we can
enjoy a pint?”
From that moment on, Robin and John had been inseparable.
Whether in London, Dylath Leen, or anyplace else that the ghoul tunnels connected,
they made their way through the underworld together. Unlike some ghouls, they
weren’t interested in joining a coven or in terrorizing the living. They
preferred to unlive their unlife discovering new things and learning old
secrets.
Robin carried a secret that he told no-one, not even his
best friend. It hurt too much to speak of it. But that night when he looked up at
the sky, it looked just as it had on the night that his beloved Betsy had been
taken from him, and he blurted out a portion of the truth. From there, John and
Robin’s other friends, the snarky Swedish spectre Ketil Nagel, the serpent
mystic Rilpu, and Yitzy the Yithian had encouraged Robin to reveal the truth
that tormented his soul.
Now Robin was running down a seemingly interminable hall,
wishing that he had listened to his friends when they warned him not to follow the
phantom appearing to be Betsy, but which almost certainly was not.
The Apparition
The apparition appeared as Robin sat in the living room of
the House of Lost Dreams telling his friends the sad tale of how his beloved
Betsy was found beside her house with her brain removed from her head and how he
and Betsy had met a rumpled-looking man with a peculiar buzzing voice earlier
in the day. The phantom looked the way Betsy would have had she been allowed to
become a woman. Despite his friends’ protests, Robin leaped up to follow the
vision.
“Ruddy eedjit,” Robin muttered to himself as he ran along
the seemingly interminable corridor. “Oh, it's a grave mistake I've made,
runnin' Frank Bough after a ruddy phantom 'cause it looked loike me Betsy might
'ave looked 'ad she been allowed ter gra up. But it couldn't possibly be Betsy.
It's a trick played by that blasted Nyarlathotep, surely, and I fell into 'is
trap Ham and Cheesy peasy. Na I may never clock me china plates or that
glorious molderin' 'aunch of 'uman or that tasty spiced Porcupine again. You're
a two-foot rule, Robin Roberts. a foolish, foolish two-foot rule.”
A dark vortex appeared at the end of the hallway, and Robin knew
that he had two choices. He could enter the vortex, which would either spell
the end for a body well past its shelf life but with which he was not sure he
was ready to part, or it could lead him somewhere that was hardly guaranteed to
be anyplace he wanted to go. His other option was to try and find his way back
to his friends, but the configuration of the Dream House was not consistent.
The apparition materialized before the vortex, beckoning
Robin.
“Ya can't be wot ya seem ter be nah matter 'a much I want ya
ter be,” Robin said, his voice quavering. “So ya tell me wot ya 're, damn you,
and screw ya six ways ter Sunday for playin' wif a bloke's Horse and Cart in
the chuffin' cruelest way possible.”
“I’m your very own Betsy Bowes, Robin Roberts,” the
apparition answered. “I chose the form that I thought would make you feel most
comfortable. After all, my mind was separated from my body when we were both but
twelve years old. I can show you where they took me, dearest Robin, and you are
welcome to join me there. My companions agree that your knowledge and
compassion would be great assets. What do you say, my love? No longer will you need
to feed on decaying flesh to maintain your corrupt body. You can explore the
Universe with me.”
Gelatinous tears soaking his face, Robin gripped the phantom’s
hand.
“I want so badly fer this ter be real,” Robin whispered. “But
if there is anythin’ that I've learned in me Nifty Donkey's Ears of Porridge
Knife and me ninety-six Donkey's Ears of unlife, it's that if summit seems too
Robin Hood ter be true, it prolly is.”
Robin released the apparition’s hand and turned away, his broken
sobs echoing off the walls of the House of Lost Dreams.
996 Words
Acknowledgments
Earth’s Dreamlands are the creation of H.P. Lovecraft,
inspired by the works of Lord Dunsany.
Robin and John are ghouls, a race of Undead creatures that
subsist on decaying human flesh. Ghouls are either born as ghouls or become
ghouls following the death of their bodies by the use of arcane magic.
Nyarlathotep is the creation of H.P. Lovecraft, initially
appearing in his 1920 story of the same name.
The House of Lost Dreams appears in the Land of Lost Dreams
scenario in the 1996 H.P. Lovecraft’s Dreamlands supplement for the Call of
Cthulhu RPG published by Chaosium.
The Great Race of Yith is the creation of H.P. Lovecraft,
initially appearing in his 1936 novella, The Shadow Out of Time.
This chapter was written using the October 2020 WEP prompt,
Grave Mistake.
https://writeeditpublishnow.blogspot.com/2020/10/wepiwsg-october-challenge-for-2020.html
It also utilized the “Apparition” prompt from the October
Spooky Writing Challenge list.
The story was submitted to the https://blog.reedsy.com/creative-writing-prompts/
challenge for the Write a ghost story where there’s more going on than it first
appears prompt on 17 October 2020.
The original characters Robin Roberts, Little John Tamboli,
Ketil Nagel, Rilpu, Yitzy the Yithian, and Betsy Bowes are the intellectual
property of Naughty Netherworld Press.
Robin, John, Ketil, and Yitzy are the stars of Naughty Netherworld Press’ novella, Tales from the Dreamlands: Ketil and Yitzy’s Adventure in the Xura Dream House.
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Ouch.
ReplyDeleteHow very sad that Robin has learnt (the hard way) the truth of that lesson.
A lesson which probably stopped him from perpetuating his grave mistake - but hurts just the same.
Poor Robin. Hope he manages to find his friends.
ReplyDeleteAww, how sad for him, but at least he still has his friends to return to. Thanks for sharing this.
ReplyDeleteHello Ornery Owl. That part about was so sad. What if it were really her? I hadn't come across the concept of 'ghoul tunnels' before. A really interesting flash, part of a larger story. You created much sadness in your tale. A great entry for 'Grave Mistake.'
ReplyDeleteRead in a breath. Grasping.
ReplyDeleteHi,
ReplyDeleteI must be honest and say that I was hoping he would take hold of her hand and go with her. It was a risk but the way I saw it he had nothing to lose. So I was very sad when he turned around and went back. Who knows what he has missed.
i didn't understand all of the language but I understood the story. You did a great job of pulling me into the emotional meaning of the tale. You also did a great job building up the tension. I was deeply into what was happening.
Shalom aleichem,
Pat
Too sad, so sorry for Robin, even in the afterlife if it's too good to be true... Darn what do we have left? I hope he finds his Betsy somewhere along his undead journeys! Great entry for Grave Mistake!
ReplyDeleteAn interesting concept played out by characters that have lost so much. I enjoyed your tale.
ReplyDeleteNancy
Hiya - a fun read ... and I wonder if there are Robin's out there taking in the world from their ghoulish perspective - while we live amongst them. Sadly I think he's being led on ... thank you - Hilary
ReplyDeleteAn interesting story, and I admire the fun you had typing the conversations! Always hard to do consistently.
ReplyDeleteGrave Mistakes indeed. Thanks for entering this month with your ghoulish tale.
ReplyDeleteEngaging and poignant. Great take on the prompt - what a terribly difficult choice, but at least he's going back to friends.
ReplyDeleteWEP Participants, I will get to all of your stories, although not in an entirely timely manner. As usual, I have taken on too much. Plus, I have to go for both physical and psych examinations to (hopefully) qualify for disability payments, and I'm a nervous wreck about it. I know that they love to deny people and I also hate being judged.
ReplyDeleteI am thinking of you, dearie. You can do whatever it takes because of who you are as a person. I believe in prayer and I have said a prayer for you. I came back on your platform because I didn't see my comment yesterday. I thought the little black hole in space had gobbled it up. So I was checking today to make sure it wasn't there so that I could write another comment. I'm glad I came back.
DeleteTake care of yourself. Things get awfully rough at times but each step you take toward that large mountain makes it smaller and smaller and smaller. And when you arrive, you realize it was a small fearful ant.
Good luck.
Shalom aleichem,
Pat Garcia
Thank you kindly. I'm not always timely about publishing comments under the best of circumstances! I should fire my inept, unpaid secretary. Who, oddly enough, looks exactly like me. ;-)
DeleteGood luck with everything! I hope you qualify. Take all the time you need with commenting.
DeleteI feel terrible for Robin. What a terrible choice to be faced with. You did a wonderful job of portraying his emotional struggle. Well done!
ReplyDeleteA ghoulish tale, seen through the eyes of the undead as they cope with new life and its strange cost. Well done.
ReplyDeleteThat was fun. Love the Brogue! I really wanted him to take the leap.
ReplyDeleteIt was a little bit difficult to read in the language but it came across well.
ReplyDelete