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    Bone Pile
    Bone Pile
    Bone Pile
    Ebook90 pages42 minutes

    Bone Pile

    By Riley Hill

    ()

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    About this ebook

    Bury your face in the red sand, your eyes in the clear sky. The American Southwest shines with sunlight, clean air, and free range. Bone Pile, the mutated twin to Riley Hill’s Burn Pile, digs us out of the darkness to the light of day, where nothing can go wrong. Unless you’re down wind.

    These five tales of terror, dark humor, and horror uncover what lurks in the open, in broad daylight.

    THEY COME TO SEE GRAVES. Desert towns sometimes employ artificial means to survive.

    MORE IN BISBEE . Deserts have a way of stripping bare the reality of how close we are to help when we need it.

    SURVIVOR. The desert offers a home to those who choose to live alone.

    PICACHO PEAK. Simple words and actions stir hidden forces.

    DUST TO DUST. No matter who you are, the desert has a way of bringing you home. To justice.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHouse of Lit
    Release dateDec 31, 2014
    ISBN9781310785771
    Bone Pile
    Author

    Riley Hill

    Riley Hill lurks in the backwoods shadows where wild moods set the tone for her tales of mystery, science-fiction, and metaphysical adventures. She adamantly denies being an alien or a walk-in, but refuses to answer questions about being a mutant. At times you may see her sitting atop a large boulder in the Arizona desert, in the hollow of a tree in Oregon, or submerged to her waist in the Mediterranean sea. But you’ll never catch her on a space ship. At least in daylight.She shares a birthday with Stephen King.Visit Riley! http://AuthorRileyHill.com

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      Book preview

      Bone Pile - Riley Hill

      Bone Pile

      by

      Riley Hill

      © 2012, 2014 Riley Hill

      All Rights Reserved

      Smashwords Edition

      Cover Design by

      Marlin Stark

      Formatted for this medium by

      House of Lit

      Smashwords Edition License Notes

      This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be resold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the work of this author.

      These tales are original works of fiction. Although real places are referenced, no incidents or people are anything other than figments of the author’s imagination.

      Reproduction of these tales in any form, including electronic media by online libraries, is expressly forbidden without the author’s written permission. She may be reached at authorrileyhill@gmail.com

      Photos:

      La Catrinas © Tomas Castelazo, www.tomascastelazo.com / Wikimedia Commons/ CC-BY-SA-3.0. This image has been altered from the original and may be freely redistributed under the same terms as the original.

      Picachu Peak © John Hunnicutt II/ Wikimedia Commons/ CC-BY-SA-3.0. This image has been altered from the original and may be freely redistributed under the same terms as the original.

      for Carl

      CONTENTS

      They Come to See Graves

      More in Bisbee

      Survivor

      Picacho Peak

      Dust to Dust

      The Story Behind the Stories

      About the Author

      Riley’s Other Books

      They Come to See Graves

      It was in the darkness before the dawn that Judith touched Mary Beth’s arm, hidden beneath her red satin sleeve, and prodded her into wakefulness.

      Dear, put on your housecoat, she whispered. You’ve got to come and see this.

      "Ungh," said Mary Beth, but excitement at the promised revelation added energy to her body, warm and snug. Her hair was a bustle of curls, dying auburn in the dimuted candlelight, and her face was cream with satin eyelashes and claret lips. Again, as usual, she had failed to remove her makeup. In the flame, her skin glowed yellow, though in daylight it was peach.

      Mary Beth slipped from the bear fur coverlet, and into her housecoat and slippers, then angled her slight form between the twin chests of drawers, vanity and two beds in the ladies’ boudoir. The luxurious ten-by-ten foot room was too spacious for only one of the ladies of the evening, so when a gentlemen came in, one of them had to leave. The other would adorn lace stockings (sometimes the girls had to share stockings if a pair had been torn), garter belt, and corset to await the paramour.

      In spite of Judith’s hand cupping the flame, the light might awaken Madeline, the lady who shared the room, if she could be roused from beneath her haze and laze of sherry. They didn’t want to explain or invite her on this late-night excursion, though, so they didn’t speak again until they were in the hallway.

      Deep shadows in the Bird Cage Theater hallway lurked near each door—like cowboys waiting to ambush them. Mary Beth paused for a moment and held the back of her neck.

      What is it, dear?

      Such a strange dream I was having as you awakened me, whispered Mary Beth.

      What was it?

      Mary Beth rubbed her neck again. I can’t tell for certain, but there seemed to be a rarity grown from the back of my scalp, that left me quite bewildered.

      A rarity? Perhaps an illusion from your being . . . with child?

      Hush, darling. Should someone hear I would be out of the house with nowhere to go! The panic, even in her whisper, was unmistakable to Judith.

      Then, what was the rarity?

      Let’s leave here and I’ll tell you more.

      They continued their tiptoe through the passageways, up the narrow steps, to a door used only by after-hours gentlemen, and outside the building into the chill of the night.

      Oh, we should have brought shawls! What was I thinking? Judith said.

      Let’s hurry, then, to the warmth of the fire inside town hall.

      We won’t get too close to the fire; the meeting is there, I am sure, Judith replied. But let’s walk quickly anyway, so we can heat our bodies. The women sped up, darting into shadows alongside the backs of buildings. The only sounds heard were the shuffling of their slippers on the earth as they sought to avoid horse manure.

      I have been cold since I arrived in this town, said Mary Beth with disdain.

      How could that be? The heat here is miserable in the daytime.

      I’m unsure. Perhaps it has to do with this child, who I fear will never come—or if he does, will come too late.

      What do you mean ‘too late’?

      Mary Beth paused again, glanced at the moon, which itself looked pregnant in the clarity of the velvet sky.

      Judith, stopped and touched her friend’s arm. Please tell me what you mean.

      It is this dream. And the rarity. Sometimes, and I know this will sound odd, it feels as though the back of my head opens. And if I am asleep, and just awake enough to remember, I can see into this place out the back of my head. It is just as large as this place—a world, to be sure—but it is light, very light. I only but glimpse it, and realize I’m seeing it, and my head ‘shuts,’ and it is gone again.

      Judith stared at her friend in the predawn light. It sounds bewitched or some such. What do you see in this place? No, don’t tell me. This could be a thing of demons or devils. She looked around the alley and crossed herself.

      No, I assure you. I never see exactly what or who is there, although I do sense others. But the light is pure.

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