Green Hill Zone

This story is part 2 of The Final Level, an 8 part series that started in Mushroom Kingdom.


Green Hill Zone

Mark Lopez blinked. He rubbed his eyes and blinked again, but nothing changed. There was no mistaking what he saw before him. The brightly colored tropical setting was familiar, as were the golden rings scattered over the landscape. Somehow, someway, he was in his favorite video game of all time.

It was Green Hill Zone from Sonic The Hedgehog.

Act One if he wasn’t mistaken. He had no idea how he got there. The last thing he remembered was walking out of the theater with Jill. They had been at the movies. The Spiderfall Chronicles. Good movie. Not as good as the books, but still good. Of course they had to cram six books and several months of story into a two-hour movie, so there was a lot of stuff they had to cut out, but in the end, it was good.

As hey walked down the street to a near by coffee shop, the conversation changed to their friend Peter Davidson. Jill was concerned about him. Since Helen’s death he had spent all his time working on that game he was making. She wondered why he didn’t grieve for her like the rest of her friends had. Mark just laughed. He had known Peter for a long time and knew that this is how he deals with things. He buries himself in his work for a while, even the death of his girlfriend. In a week or two he would go through the grieving process just like they all had.

And so they walked in silence for a bit. He remembered walking own the street, seeing people walk by, cars pass, avoiding the piece of gum on the sidewalk. Then he blinked and the next thing he saw was the Green Hill Zone. Mark looked around, wondering where all the enemies were. He remembered there being plenty of Badniks, even in the early levels of the game when it was relatively easy, but he didn’t see anything.

Shrugging, Mark began walking, hoping he could find out what was going on. As he went, he realized he was going faster and faster. Soon he was running faster then he ever had before. He hadn’t made a conscious effort to run, he just was.

The landscape flew by around him, his feet a blur. As he flew through the level, Mark marveled at the speed he was traveling at. He figured he was running at about 150 miles per hour and accelerating. He remembered reading that Sonic’s top speed was over 750 miles per hour and wondered if he would go that fast.

Mark jumped over a pit and continued to run, his feet a blur beneath him. He looked up in time to see the wall and his eyes grew wide with fear as he saw the razor sharp spikes. He didn’t remember anything like that in this level. He tried to slow down but he couldn’t. The spikes grew bigger as the sped closer. They were to high to jump over and no matter what he tried, he couldn’t stop. He once again wondered how he got here as he felt the spikes pierce his skin.



Jill screamed as Mark fell to the ground, several wounds opening up, staining the sidewalk red with blood. Some onlookers stared, others ran for help. If any had tired to help, they would have seen something odd on his forehead. Something that had terrified Pine Creek for over a year. Something carved into his skin.

The Ullrich family crest.

Mushroom Kingdom

This story is part 1 of Final Level, an 8 part series. it is a sequel to Pine Creak Murders


Mushroom Kingdom

Helen Parker opened her eyes and couldn’t believe what she saw. She was in a land she knew well from her childhood. A land she would recognize anywhere. Despite it was in 3D, there was no denying where she was.

She was in the Mushroom Kingdom.

World 1-1 of the first Super Mario Brothers game to be exact. She had played the game so many times when she was younger. She could probably play this level blind folded.

As she looked around the brightly colored 8-bit world, she tried to think of how she got here. The last thing she remembered was being stabbed. As she fell to the ground, holding the wound in her stomach, she recognized the face of her attacker as her boyfriend knocked its hood off. It was Wendy Landis, someone she worked at the bank with. She remembered hearing screams as Peter called 911 and him holding her, telling her to hang in there as everything faded to black.

She didn’t know how she ended up in the Mushroom Kingdom, but figured it must be a dream. And while she didn’t know much about dreams, Helen figured she might as well see where it went. She knew enough to know that even if she fell down a pit, she would wake up before she hit the bottom.

She jumped on top of the first Goomba she saw, feeling it flatten beneath her feet. She jumped up and hit a question mark block with her fist. It hurt a bit, but she heard e familiar “ding” and was rewarded with a coin.

Helen continued through the level, stomping on enemies and gathering coins. She was a bit disappointed that none of the power ups she found had an effect on her, but she was having too much fun to worry about it too much.

About half way through the level, she stopped and looked around. As she did, she felt the ground beneath her Helen looked around and saw why; a giant version of Bowser was heading her way, destroying everything in his path. But what was he doing here? Bowser wasn’t supposed to show up until world 1-4 and he wasn’t nearly this big. This Bowser reminded her of a small Godzilla.

She ran as he gave chase. She saw the flag pole getting closer, knowing that she was close to the end, hoping she could seek shelter in the castle.

At the top of the stairs she jumped for the flagpole but missed, landing between the stairs and a large wall. It was too big to jump out of.

Panicked she tried desperately to find some way out. This wasn’t part of the level. She had played this level millions of times and there was nothing like this here.
Before she could do anything else, she saw a shadow fall over her. Helen looked up ad saw Bowser standing at the top of the stairs. He fell down towards her and she barely avoided him. He was smaller now, but just as fearsome.

Bowser swatted at her, knocking Helen against the stairs. As she lay on the ground she saw him jump into the air, flames escaping from his closed mouth. The last thing she saw was him plummeting towards her.



The nurse checking on Helen screamed as her body shook as if a heavy weight had been dropped on her. As her head hit the pillow, blood sprayed out of her mouth and she flat lined.

Other nurses ran into the room and the three were horrified as they watched a symbol appear to be burned onto Helen’s forehead.

The symbol was one they all recognized.

It was the Ullrich family crest.

Justice At Dusk

This story is part 6 of The Pine Creek Murders, a 6 part series that started in The Girl In The House



Justice At Dusk

Peter Davidson and Helen Parker walked nervously down the road. Not because the dieing light of the setting sun was made darker by the overcast sky. Not because of the numerous murders that had occurred over the past year. Because of the house in front of them.

The Ullrich house.

Like everyone else in Pine Creek, they knew the history of this house. They knew about the murders that Erik Ullrich had committed fifty years ago. They knew about how Lance Landis had died here two years ago. And of course they knew about the curse of Lyne Ullrich. Which is why they were there tonight.

The night before they had been at a party with some friends, and after a large amount of drinking, they had accepted a dare. Since Landis had died a year ago, then maybe tonight was the anniversary of Lyne’s death, and they were going to find out. To try to see if the house was really haunted, or at least if the curse was real.

So as the sun set in the west, they walked towards the house, the long shadows making it look even eerier. Both slowed their pace, slowly walking towards the house. When they were with in a hundred feet, they stopped. Someone, or something, was kneeling in the doorway.

Peter motioned that they should turn around, that they should leave, but before they could Helen sneezed. The black mass in the doorway turned, stood, and began to walk towards them.

It was a humanoid figure. In the dieing light, they couldn’t tell if the face was hidden some how, or if it had no face. It reminded Helen of the Nazgul from Lord Of The Rings, and she stood motionless with fright.

The figure walked closer. In the distance she could hear Peter yelling for her to run, but she couldn’t. All that ran through her mind was the thought that this was Lyne Ullrich, and that she was going to die. She was so terrified that she didn’t even cry out as she felt the cold metal of a knife blade plunge into her stomach.
She fell as the figure pulled its knife free. Her hands moved to the wound and she saw blood on them. As she stared at her hand, Peter ran towards her, tackling the figure, knocking the knife from its hand. They wrestled on the ground, trying to gain an advantage, trying to get their hands n the knife to end the battle. As they fought the figure’s hood fell back, and long red hair poured out as Peter found himself looking into the crazed face of Wendy Landis.

They stared at each other for several moments. After a moment she stood, stating that she knew him, her voice deeper then normal and distant sounding, almost like it wasn’t her’s. As Peter move towards the knife, she turned and looked towards the door, calling Lance’s name. As Peter watched, she moved towards the door and he appeared in the doorway, walking onto the porch.

Wendy walked towards him, crying, saying that she had done it all for him. And as she walked onto the porch, he stepped aside. Behind him was a young woman wearing a red dress in an older style. Wendy looked at her in shock as the woman grabbed her, pulling her into the house, the door closing behind them. Peter could hear her screaming in terror from inside the house as he took out his cell phone and dialed 911.



Three years later

A black 1972 ford Mustang pulled to a stop and Alex Jager stepped out, looking up at the house. Who knew five years ago the terror, the bloodshed, the sadness this place would cause. At first it was all blamed on Wendy Landis, who’s broken body was found near where her husbands had been found a year earlier. The cause of death was the same; internal injuries sustained by falling down the steps.

Why she had killed seven people, no one knew. Psychologists said that it was out of grief over her husband’s death, and pointed to the fact that all but one of her victims had been couples in love.

But Alex knew better. He knew that there was more to why she had killed, and he had spent the last three years trying to stop it. But at last it was over.

He got into his car and drove away. If he had looked into the rearview mirror, he would have seen a woman screaming for help. Beside him was a man, smiling, and behind them both, was a woman in a red dress.

The Caller Part 2

The Caller

Part 2

“Peter Marko, you have been found guilty of the intentional murders of four people two weeks ago, and are being held on the suspicion that you were responsible for as many as ten additional deaths in the this area over the past year. You have also been accused of the deaths of six others in three different states, for which you will stand trial at a future date. For the crimes you have committed here in Pine Creek, you will spend at least the next three months in Darkmoore Asylum For The Criminally Insane before being transferred to the federal penitentiary on Lawhead Island, where you will spend at least four consecutive life sentences with out the possibility of parole. Do you have anything to say before court is adjourned?”

Marko thought for a moment before answering, his face baring the same smile it had through out his trial. “Yeah. It was fun.”

“Fun?” Judge Banks asked in shock.

“Yeah. Fun. The thrill of the hunt, the feeling you get following the kill. Better do the world a favor and have me executed, because otherwise I’m going to get out and do it all over again.”

Banks looked at Marko with contempt in his eyes. “Peter Marko, I hope you like black and white, because you are going to be wearing prison stripes for a very long time. Court is adjourned, and may God have mercy on your soul.”

Terror In The Night

This story is part 5 of The Pine Creek Murders, a 6 part series that started in The Girl In The House



Terror In The Night

David Webb swore to himself. They were lost. Their romantic weekend getaway ha started out bad, and it had only gotten worse. After a late start, He tried to make up some time by taking a back road through the Pine Barrens. Then his car broke down. With no cell phone signal, their only choice was to walk back to town. And the fastest way to do that was through the Barrens.

Although she complained a bit first, Ashley Morgan quietly followed him. There was no point in arguing over how he should have gotten his leaking radiator fixed before they left, or how they shouldn’t have taken a “shortcut.” They could do that later. As much as she hated being in the Barrens late at night, it made sense to walk through them instead of following the road. The shortest path between two points was a straight line, and this was the quickest way to get back to Pine Creek.

David smiled as they entered a clearing. They still had a ways to go, but at least he knew were they were. They had reached Lovers Lookout. He could tell Ashley was afraid, and he didn’t blame her. After all, it was here that two people had been brutally killed eight months ago.

Officially, the cause of death was mauling by a wild animal. Back in the day, the locals would have blamed it on the Jersey Devil, a creature that supposedly lived in the Barrens. But that was before six other people had been killed, and the rumors started spreading that Old Man Ullrich had returned from the dead to kill. Even though most of the murders had been in or near the city, the deaths of Will Tennet and Carole Piper nine months ago, as well as the death of Johnny Hendrix three and a half weeks ago were blamed on Ullrich. The fact that Ullrich’s first victims were killed near Hendrix’s house didn’t help any either.

The legend said that Ullrich had killed his family in their home, but the truth was that his oldest son, Jason, as well as his brother-in-law Lars Hetfield had been killed near Hetfield’s cabin in the Barrens. They had been spending the day hunting and were relaxing when Ullrich snapped. He grabbed his shotgun and shot Hetfield in the stomach at point blank range. Jason ran, and Ullrich chassed him through he Barrens. His first shot wounded Jason, hitting him in the leg. The second one was to the back. Jason fell, and his father stood over him before finishing off his son. After he killed Jason, he took the boy’s knife and carved the family crest, the same symbol he would later brand the rest of his family with, into their foreheads. No one knows how much time passed between their deaths and the deaths of the rest of the Ullrich family. The cabin would eventually be demolished and a house built on the sight, a house that was eventually purchased by Johny Hendrix.

David shook his head, clearing his mind. The Ulrich murders had been a source of fascination for him for years, but walking through the Barrens this late at night was a bad time to think about it. If both of them were scared, they would ever get out of here.

Ashley grabbed David’s arm as they heard a twig snap somewhere behind them. He laughed, hoping she wouldn’t realize that it scared him too. He said it was just a rabbit or something, but he wondered if it was he Jersey Devil, or Old Man Ulrich.

As they walked, pushing branches out of their way, they saw the moonlight reflecting off something metallic. He knelt down to see what it was and found a knife. A hunting knife.

Its blade was covered in rust. It was amazing that the moonlight had found some space that wasn’t covered.  He picked it up and saw that etched into the blade, just above the hilt, were initials.

J.U.

David let the knife fall. Urban legend said that they had never found the knife that Old Man Ullrich had used to carve the family crest into the foreheads of his son and brother-in-law. That if this was it. What if, Twenty-Five years ago, Erik Ullrich may have been holding this knife.

He heard Ashley gasp as he stood. David turned towards her and saw an expression of shock on her face as she looked down. He followed her gaze and watched as her white shirt turned red

David caught her as she fell, his hand hitting the knife sticking out of her back. He looked into her eyes as the life slipped from her body, not noticing the black shape behind him as it knelt to pick up the knife he had found. Not feeling it when the knife, still surprisingly sharp, sliced into his neck, severing his jugular.

David fell to the ground as his blood flowed out of him. As he lay dieing, the last thing he saw before everything went black was Ashley looking back at him.

The Caller Part 1

The Caller

Part 1

Peter Marko smiled as he looked out the window, seeing the cop cars covering the lawn. It was about time they caught him. He was actually surprised it took them this long. He had been a murderous rampage through out New England, and the police had chassed him into New Jersey’s Pine Barrens, near Pine Creek, a city that had had it’s share of tragedy over the last year. He had been here several times over the past year, and he thought that if he could get into the Barrens, he might be able to escape. But when he couldn’t lose the local cops, he figured he might as well go out with a bang.

Literally.

As Marko ran through the Barrens, he found a clearing in the trees, and this house. On the outside porch he saw Tim and Jill making out. One carefully placed shot killed both of them as they kissed. As Marko walked into the house, he took a moment to admire his work. He was quite proud of that shot. He had killed a lot of people, some with guns, some with knives, some other ways. But this was the first time he was actually proud of the kill.

Walking into the house, he saw George and Angie sitting on the couch, watching a movie with the volume turned up. The first shot killed George, but the second missed Angie, who moved to the floor when he fired.  But she couldn’t get away. He hit her in the back of the head, knocking her out.

After barricading the back door, he tied her to a chair in front of the picture window, facing the front of the house as the first cop car pulled into the driveway. Soon, four more showed up.

After opening the window so he could hear what they were saying, Marko walked over to Angie, pressing his gun against her head. As the police did their normal hostage negotiation speech, he smiled. And after a moment, he yelled that he was coming out.

As three officers walked to the door to arrest him, Marko pulled the trigger, covering the window with blood before he dropped the gun. He walked out the door, his hands held high, smiling as the cops tackled him before slapping on a pair of handcuffs.

Legend Of The Watchajambe

Legend Of The Wachajambe

Johnny was a chemist’s son
Johnny is no more.
But what killed Johnny was not
H2SO4.

Johnny drove into the yard
Crept into the house.
Moving silent, not a noise
Quite as a mouse.

He walked into the living room
Saw a fearful sight.
Standing there, plain as day
A creature of the night.

With pointy ears, pointy teeth
And sharp pointy claws,
He knew the thing by the tree
Was not Santa Clause.

It looked up, an evil grin
Spread across its snout.
His blood froze, mouth open
In a silent shout.

It turned towards him, eyes grew wide
As it licked its teeth
Seeing him as just a meal
Just some food to eat.

He turned and ran, it gave chase
Slashing at the air.
Running all throughout the house
Knocking over chairs.

It cornered him in a hall,
Slowly it advanced.
Johnny stood there, shook with fear
As he breathed his last.

When they found him the next day,
Torn limb from limb,
There was barely body left
Sent to next of kin.

And still it roams, prowling nights
Seeking you and me.
Heed my tale, fear the legend
Of the Wachajambe.