The hill was on fire, that was my first thought as i stepped outside for my 15 minute break. I lived in a small valley surrounded by hills, it was a boring kinda trashy place but hey it was home. I worked at the local fast food joint Granpappy willie’s burgers. That’s when I noticed it. The hill off in the distance, normally a dull mix of browns and yellows was now alight and glowing in an array of bright oranges and reds. You could see the individuals flames dancing frantically across the hillside. It was almost beautiful, in a macabre kind of way. I couldn’t help but stare my eyes taking in the lights as they burned their way across the hillside, and that’s when I heard it. A loud agonized scream, it sounded feminine and you could tell whoever it was, was in excruciating pain. But that wasn’t the weird part, no what was weird was that the scream was in my head. It sounded so distant and yet i could tell i was hearing it in my head. “Hey breaks over” the harsh voice of my manager broke me from my trance “oh yeah, i’ll head in minit” he simply grunted and went back in. my eyes turned back to the hillside but the screaming had gone silent, the only sound in my head being my own inner voice.
I went back into the restaurant and resumed my duties, mindlessly flipping burgers long having memorized the various menu items and no longer needing to use the chart posted on top of the grill. My shift went by uneventfully although I could overhear some customers in the lobby mentioning the blaze. Sounded like you could see some fire trucks up on the hill fighting off the flames. I looked up back at the hill, i could barely see the corner of the inferno from my spot at the grill, its light was still mesmerizing, as i stared i could almost hear a sound coming into my brain, a pained cry for…BEEP BEEP BEEP the alarm to the frier shook me out of my thoughts as it blurred angrily signaling that the crispy bits of potato inside were done, we didn’t serve french fries at Grandpappies, no instead we served what we called potato balls, they were just clumps of potato rolled in bread crumbs and deep fried. They were disgustingly greasy. I removed the basket and pressed the button. It was quick work to put the fresh batch of potato balls into the keeping area ready to be served.
My shift finished uneventfully and soon I was out the door and in my car driving home, some generic music playing over the radio. I turned onto the freeway and prepared to merge when my eyes caught the hill, it was no longer burning, but the damage had been done. At least half of the hill was now soot black with gouts of smoke streaming up into the air here and there, as I was looking at the smoking hill I could hear the screaming come slowly filtering back, distant and coming from the hill but heard only in my head. HHHHHHHHOOOOOOONNNNNKKK i had to swerve violently to avoid hitting the truck as i had been distracted, i was in the ditch but my car was fine, a near miss though and all to close a call. I stayed there with my heart pounding away in my chest as I breathed heavily trying to gather my nerves. I had been so distracted by the hill, and that awful screaming, it had to be in my head and yet, I just couldn’t shake it. I called my doctor right there in the ditch and set up an appointment for the next week. I WOULD get this sorted out, this had to be some sort of nonsense, maybe some stress based hallucinating.
I managed to make it back home without any other instantes, although I had to strain myself to not look at the hill. I didn’t know why but it seemed to draw my eye for some reason. Once home I threw off my shoes, not even bothering to change out of the greasy work uniform that could wait until my shower. I was greeted by my dog Rocky, a big ol goofy bulldog who was all slobbers and fun. We sat on the couch, mindlessly flicking through channels, that is until I landed on one of the local news channels, and this being a small town of course the topic they were covering was the hill fire. A pretty blonde haired woman was standing on what looked to be the side of the road being filmed as she covered the fire, a single cigarette, could you believe it. Some guy had been smoking outside his house on the hill when he dropped the butt, well that was enough to light the entire hillside on fire. I was about to turn away when the voice of the reporter spoke up “so far there has been only one casualty, that being of one Mr.Erickson himself, the one who started the fire” i leaned in as the camera cut to a body bag being held between two paramedics being loaded into the back of an ambulance. I may have been tired from the day at work…but i could almost swear i saw the body bag, writhe and move for a bit before being loaded into the back of the ambulance…right then i heard the screaming once more, although this time sounding as if it was coming from the tv, unlike normal it was getting louder and louder and LOUDER. I rushed for the remote and shut the tv off. With it went the screaming leaving me in the silence of my apartment once more.
I couldn’t stand it after that, so I took a brisk shower and went straight to bed. My sleep was unfortunately not restful. I had a nightmare of being on the side of the road where the reporter and paramedics were, except no one was there, the ambulance and tv van were all there, their lights shining in the void that was my dream. But what unnerved me the most, was the body bag that lay on the ground in front of me, faint wisps of smoke coming off of it. To my horror the bag twitched, quickly at first and only once, but it soon began to twitch and writhe more. Convulsing as whoever was inside was trying to get out. I could hear their screams, muffled by the thick body bag as it continued to convulse, my nightmare ended as a lone arm erupted from the body bad, charred and still glowing like an ember in a fire, the nightmare ended with a deafening scream that jolted me awake, that scream was my own. Rocky jumped up onto the bed sensing my discomfort and began to do his best to give me a second bath. All I could do was sit back and breathe heavily holding my chest as my heart was threatening to beat right out my chest.
The night went on without any more nightmares though my sleep was fitful and I would find myself waking up every 40 minutes or so. The next thing I knew my alarm was blaring loudly and no matter how many times I hit the snooze button it refused to give up until I was up. I went through my morning routine clearly, only after my morning shower did I really wake up. Thankfully it was the weekend, and I had the next two days off work to do ABSOLUTELY nothing. So that’s exactly what I did, went to the couch to catch up on some sleep, and you know what, I actually managed a decent nap. When I woke up it was around 10 in the morning. Rocky was asleep on the foot of the couch snoring away peacefully. I sat there for a minute thinking about what I would do for the day. I could go to the mall and check out the game store, but that didn’t really interest me. Maybe I could go take Rocky for a walk. On mentioning that word the dog in question let out a groan and turned over on the couch so his back was to me. Okay point taken on that. Eventually I settled on just going for a walk around my suburb while I kept thinking. I strapped on my shoes and soon was out the door.
. As I was walking the sun was out shining bright, illuminating the sidewalk in its warm sunlight. It was so nice that it made me forget about the past incidents with the hill and the screaming. Almost. As I was passing by the local minimart my eyes were once more drawn up to the scorched hillside. The smoke was no longer there, it had finally cooled down. I kept staring for a bit, taking note of all the details, every patch of scorched shrubbery, places where you could tell the firefighters had attempted to stop the blaze but were unsuccessful and then the final trench line where the firefighters’ attempts had finally paid off and the fire had stopped. Sure enough like clockwork as I continued to stare the screaming started to slowly filter in still sounding distant, but there was somethin different about it this time. Something that made my blood run cold. Before the screaming had been just that, a mx of yelling and wailing, but now, there was another noise this time. “help…please someone help” . I stood stock still frozen in place rooted to my spot as I stared up in horror. This could not wait till next week. I had to do something about it now. It took me a sec to regain my composure enough to jog back home and enter my car. After that it was only a 20 minute drive to the emergency room.
The look on the receptionist’s face as i told her my reason for visiting today was “i’m hearing things”, well lets just say i couldn’t blame her, regardless she checked me in and told me to take a seat. I did so by distracting myself by watching the tv in the waiting room. “Mr.Estrada ‘’ the voice of the nurse echoed out over the waiting room a while later
I was led to a small room and told to wait on the bed. It was only a matter of a few minutes for a doctor to walk in, he was well dressed in a suit and tie, I could tell this was not one of the main doctors, possibly a physiatrist. “Well son what brings you in today” he said in a southern drawl as he looked down on his laptop “yeah doc i don’t know how to put this but i’ve been, i’m hearing things’‘Ii said a bit embarrassed as even I was aware how that sounded. The doctor did not lift his head only letting out a soft “hm” “when would you say this started son” I took a moment to contemplate the question “well it actually started just yesterday doc, um was just at work when I took my fifteen minute break. I was outside and watching the hill, you know the one that burned recently. Well as i was watching the fire I heard screaming coming from the hill but in my head. It’s hard to describe, I could tell that the screaming was far away, but like in my head.” I looked up at the doctor as I finished my explanation, he was looking at me with a single raised eyebrow “rriigghhttt, you know son this is a safe place you can tell me if you are, ahem using certain substances” I frantically shook my head “doctor i promise i’m not on drugs, my grandfather was a heavy user and died because of it I don’t want to repeat his mistakes” the doctor nodded in understanding “well son were going to run some tests on you to make sure everything is okay.
For the next 2 hours I had multiple scans done on me, or more accurately my brain. I was a bit scared of the results, what if it was a tumor or I had some rare disease. The doctor returned holding a small packet of papers. “Well son your scans all came up clean, I think this is a textbook case of burnout, you looked stressed boy. I’m going to write you a note. I want you to give it to your boss. Take the next few days off if you can. ‘’ I took the note and thanked the doctor. I left the hospital feeling a little uneasy, was that it? Was i really just stressed out, it sounded so simple an explanation and yet it made sense, I guess. I drove home feeling still feeling a little uncertain but getting better I pointedly avoided looking at the hill.
Rocky was on me as soon as I walked through the door. “hey boy did you miss me ‘’ I pet the slobbery pooch until he got off me and I set to getting some lunch ready. The remainder of the day went by actually kind of peacefully though there was still an uneasy feeling in the back of my mind. After my shower I decided to play some video games. So I loaded up my favorite FPS, I quickly chose my character and got to shooting. I was having a blast, literally, as my shotgun mowed down waves of enemies when I made it to a boss arena. The music picked up in intensity as a massive robotic monster fused with what looked to be a pig spawned in. I got ready for the fight but the thing moved faster than I expected and it soon closed the distance. The monster opened its giant maw and breathed a massive cone of fire down onto my player character. as the fire impacted my character i felt myself become engulfed in an unbearable heat, immediately my head was filled with a cacophony of screams as I felt myself burning I screamed and writhed on my bed as I felt my flesh peeling off my bones, I could see my skin give way to ligaments to muscle and flesh all the way down to the bone that was already turning a dark color as the fire that engulfed me melted me.
I sat up in bed sweating profusely, I looked around the room, it was my bedroom just as I had left it. I looked up to the tv screen to see a “you died”..it had been a nightmare, I guess I had fallen asleep while playing video games. I let out a bit of a manic chuckle as the relife seeped into me, I plopped back onto the bed only to jolt back up with a yelp as I felt a searing pain in my arm. I looked to see where the pain was coming from, what I saw horrified me. There on my arm was a massive burn mark, the skin around the edges had turned hard and pulled taught but the rest was pink and raw, some of it having bubbled up as if I had stuck my arm on a lit stovetop. I ran to the kitchen and plunged my arm under the faucet with cold water, after a few seconds of pain the burning disappeared and was replaced with the soothing feeling of the cold water.
After i wrapped up my arm after treating it I went to the couch in the living room to gather my thoughts. What was that, it was a nightmare was the simple answer but then how do you explain my arm? I sat on the couch wracking my brain but no matter how hard I tried I couldn’t explain this away, my arm was legitimately burnt, how is this happening what is happening. These thoughts continued to blitz around my brain as i sat on the couch. I sat there for so long that i drifted off once more still tired as it was still very late. I was standing on the hill, its charred surface crunching beneath my feet. The sky was cloudy looking up; it appeared as though the gray clouds swirled infinitely above me. I looked around at the burned landscape around me “hhhheeeelllppp” a woman’s cry sounded out from everywhere around me, echoing ominously, “HHEEEELLLPPPP” my head was darting around every direction, trying to see the source of the voice before it got closer to me. I didn’t have to look long as I noticed a figure in the distance, shrouded in smoke. I could just make out the shadow of a woman, she was standing straight up and stock still. That quickly changed as the figure twitched suddenly, a spiderweb of glowing veins lit up throughout its body as it did. It’s almost as if its veins were filled with glowing fire. I know i should have run but I couldn’t move my body, the figure twitched again once more sending fire through its veins, the twitching was getting faster turning into jerky movements as the figure shambled towards me “hhheeeeeeellllppp, hhheeeeelllllpppp HHHHEEEEELLLLLPPP” the figure was in front of me reaching out a charred arm towards me, the skin having been burnt pitch black.
I jerked awake again, breathing heavily. This was the final straw, I had had enough. So I did the only thing I could think of. I strapped on my boots, packed a backpack and hopped in my car. It was only a half hour drive to the trailhead and in that time I had contemplated my next course of actions. I was going to hike out to the burnt area in the hill. I was clearly making myself paranoid and the only way to fix it would be to show myself that there was nothing wrong with the hill. I pulled into the small parking area and got to getting ready. After a minute or two I was ready and walking up the trail towards the burnt hill. I was already feeling alot better, I had feared that the screaming would be louder the closer I was, but the horrid sound was blissfully absent, my mind was quiet and at peace, I took in a deep breath filling my lungs with the fresh air enjoying how it made me feel lighter. I kept walking, listening to the occasional bird song. Soon enough I could make out the charred and blackened hillside in the distance. I paused expecting to hear the screaming, but nothing happened. I breathed a sigh of relief as I kept going, but as I got closer I couldn’t help but feel uneasy. I was just being paranoid though, besides I had to do this, i hadn’t gotten a goodnight sleep in days.
I soon made it to the burned part of the hill. I could still smell the soot in the air but it wasn’t that bad, the worst of it having been carried away by the wind a day or two ago. I kept walking along the burnt hillside looking around nervously somehow expecting to be rushed by some monster, but nothing happened. The only noise I could hear was the crunching of burnt ground beneath my boots, my own breath, and the occasional bird song. The further I walked the more the uneasy feeling left my gut. There was no screaming or other horrible apparitions; everything was normal. “See Alex, you were just being paranoid, the doc was right, I just need to relax. I’ll go visit mom and dad for the week that should help me destress” with plans made and my heart feeling much lighter I turned around to head back. The sight that greeted me instantly removed all of the good feeling I had just felt. In front of me was a vast expanse of burnt hillside, as far as the eye could see was just soot black hills stretching on for what looked like eternity. I looked down the hill where the town should have been only to see the same thing, ash black descending down forever. This couldn’t be right. I had only been walking on the burnt section for less than half an hour. Everywhere I turned there was only the vast expanse of burnt hillside. Looking to the sky showed that it was gray, and shrouded in smoke or fog. This miasma descended to the floor making the distance hard to see and filing the area with its gloom.
My breathing quickened as I frantically looked in every direction, it was no use as visibility was low. What the fuck was happening this had to be a hallucination, a dream, yes a dream I fell asleep at the head of a tree and this had to be just a dream, “hhhheeeeeellllllpppppppp”. I froze in my tracks shaking violently as the distant scream rang out. It wasn’t in my head, it wasn’t imagined, it was loud and clear and came from somewhere off in the distance “aaaaaaaagggggghhh” the agonized scream of man could be heard from another direction his scream hoarse from burned vocal cords, you could hear the pain in his wailing.“aaaaahhhhhhh” “wwwwwhhhhhyyyyy” “iiitttttt bbbbbbuuuuuuuurrrrrrrnnnnnnssssssss”. The screams where everywhere coming from every direction filling my head with their deafening noise. I had to run to get out of here, I took off in a full sprint downhill, I would eventually reach the base and maybe the town or a road or something. I kept running and running as the screams continued seeming to get closer and louder with every step i took “eeeeeeaaaaaaggggggh” a babies agonized crying “aaaaaaaaaaaaauuuuggggghh” a woman’s wailing “rrrrrrreeeeaaaaaaggggggghhh” the scream of a man burning alive. They all dance in my head mixing into a mess of noise and pain. As i was running downhill gravity unfortunately decided to make its presence known as i fumbled and began to trip and roll down the hill a few short ways.
I came to a stop as my back hit a stump knocking the air out of me, I looked around tears in my eyes as the screaming was getting closer and oh so loud I couldn’t hear myself think. I scrambled to my feet and turned to keep running but was stopped by a figure in the distance, it was shrouded in gray, its features obscured by the fog. Then it screamed and the figure lit up like a glowing ember in a hearth, veins of fire running up and down its body. It was my nightmare all over again, but this was very real, the figure began to step closer and closer. I turned to my left ready to run only to see another one, this one closer screaming and glowing in that awful fire. I ran to my right but there were two more, these were close enough that I could make out their features. Their skin was charred black and cracked, their eyes two glowing sparks that seemed to flicker like a candle flame. The angry veins of fire ran up and down their bodies glowing bright everytime they let out one of their agonized wails, no matter where I turned I was surrounded. There charred bodies getting closer were closing off my choices for an exit, their burnt skin cracked and popped as if it was still flaming hot
I took my chance, seeing a gap rapidly closing. I ran for it. One of the figures grabbed my arm, immediately it exploded in pain as hot fire ran up and down my arm. I yanked my arm away screaming myself as I felt the skin fall off like wet paper. I kept running adrenaline carrying me ever faster but there were more figures, hundreds of them all closing in wailing in agony, glowing like embers. Where was i going to go i had to get away but the hill still appeared endless, “hheelllpp pllleeassseee” i saw one figure reaching out to me attached to another as they seemed to have melted together and fused into one. As I ran there were more of these fused ones. Some didn’t even look human, I jumped over a massive spider made of nothing but human legs. There was a blob with multiple torsos sticking out of it all working together to drag its mass towards me.I couldn’t stop. Then I reached it. A sheer drop. I couldn’t see the bottom,i turned to keep running only to see to my despair that i was cornered, the massive blob of melted flesh had dragged itself and was blocking my way off of the cliff, there were other figure crawling over it all screaming reaching out to me, i backed up feeling my foot slip dangerously i managed to catch myself. This was it, this was the end i had nowhere to go, except. I looked down the drop, it went down for what seemed eternity leading into a void. But what other choice did i have, i steeled myself ready to jump. The burning bodies getting closer their cries seemed to become more desperate as they seemed to realize what I was going to do. As the closest one reached me I jumped feeling the flesh peel off my bones as it grabbed my ankle but my weight was too much for its frail charred arm and I plummeted off of the cliff side.
I awoke some unknown amount of time later to the smell of sterile halls and the blinding lights of the hospital. The rhythmic beating of my heart monitor eventually waking me from my sleep. “Call the doctor, the patient is awake” I heard someone say in the room before they came over to me “Mr.Estrada, can you hear me how do you feel” the nurse asked me all i could manage was a pained moan. “Just stay still Doctor Lin will be here soon to attend you” sure enough the doctor came in not a few minutes later. They did some tests, took my vitals, and generally ensured that I was okay. “Mr.Estrada i’m glad to say you have made a full recovery but, and i do apologize, we had to take your a bit of your leg and your foot the burns were to severe” my heart jumped at that, sure enough my leg was in a cast and at the end there was a stump. I looked at my arm and that too was wrapped in gauze. “You actually sustained multiple 3d degree burns all over your body Mr.Estrada i think it’s safe to say you were lucky to survive” it was hard taking everything in.
it would turn out that as the doctor had said i had been covered in burns when they found me. I had been found in the burnt remains of a shack. The same shack that the man who had set the hill on fire once lived in. What followed was a month long police investigation because after all how did I get covered in burns on the top of a hill? The case ran cold being explained as I must have found a still very hot tree or patch of dirt. But I knew the truth, I knew what had actually happened, and yet I didn’t. I had no clue what I had experienced up on the hill but I knew this, whatever was up there was not to be messed with. I returned to my normal life, I got a new job, working from home. As for the screaming, it had stopped completely. I could look at the hill and hear nothing. But sometimes while lying in bed i pretend to not hear the occasional distant sound, of a fire burning…and a man screaming