Harlan County Horrors Read Online Free Page A

off her feet and
twirled her around. When he set her down again, she reached up and
touched his face.
    “ Babe, I’ve missed you so much.”
    His
grin faded. “Missed me? What do you mean? I ain’t been
gone.”
    Priscilla couldn’t hold back the tears any longer. She turned
her head away, hoping he wouldn’t notice.
    “ Hey, look at me, princess. Tell me what’s wrong.”
    She
could barely speak. “I needed to see you. I thought it would make
things right, but nothing will ever be okay again.”
    “ Now, that’s just foolish talk.” Bobby Lee bent over and began
kissing her face, her mouth, her eyelashes.
    Remember, child—the truth is in your tears.
    Priscilla gasped and jerked away from Bobby Lee, but when she
stared into his eyes, she knew it was too late.
    His
face wore a puzzled frown, as though he were trying to resurrect an
unpleasant memory. He grabbed hold of her arms.
    “ Pris, tell me it isn’t true—what I remember, it can’t be
true.”
    She
held her breath, unable to utter a sound.
    He
shook her hard. “Priscilla, answer me.”
    “ Please, stop. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”
    She
tried to back away from him, but his hands gripped her wrists,
causing her to cry out in pain.
    “ You pushed me, Pris. You made me fall into that mountain
break. You made my nightmare come true.”
    His
eyes burned with so much anger and betrayal that it made her
flinch.
    “ No, please understand—I didn’t know what I was doing. I was
so hurt, so mad…I wasn’t thinking straight. I saw Kara kissing you
that morning and then when we were here together later that day,
you lied to me about where you’d been. I thought you were going to
call off the wedding.”
    Pris collapsed to her knees, sobs wracking her body. “I wish I
could go back and change everything, but I can’t. Please, please
forgive me.”
    He
abruptly let go of her. “Why are you bleeding? What magic have you
done?”
    She
shook her head, not wanting to answer. “I had to do it. I had to
say goodbye.”
    Bobby Lee suddenly staggered backward and let out a pitiful
wail. “What’s happenin’? It hurts…I hurt all over.”
    Pris looked up and saw that the moon had begun its descent in
the western sky. Bobby Lee would soon return to his
grave.
    She
stood and approached him slowly. “Shhhh, the pain won’t last long.
I promise it’ll all be over soon.”
    “ No, I can’t be dead. Help me stay, Pris. Use your magic
again.”
    “ I
can’t, baby. I’m so sorry.”
    He
clutched his head and moaned. “Nooooooo.”
    “ I’ll love you forever,” she whispered.
    Bobby Lee’s skin began to glow in the intense moonlight. His
wounds were reappearing—he was changing back into a
corpse.
    Priscilla covered her ears as his screams rent the air. Why
did he have to suffer? It wasn’t right.
    Bobby Lee teetered on the edge of the rift, struggling against
an invisible force that was trying to pull him back into his
grave.
    “ Prisssssssss. For God’s sake, help me.”
    His
face reflected so much terror that she couldn’t bear it, and she
knew there was only one way to end his torment.
    Pris ran over to Bobby Lee and gave his chest a violent push.
His feet slid backward into the gaping hole and he fell forward,
latching onto the hem of her dress and pulling her to the
ground.
    “ No! Please, don’t do this.”
    She
kicked and screamed and managed to break free, but before she could
scramble out of his reach, Bobby Lee grabbed a fistful of her long
hair and dragged her over to the edge of the chasm. A bone-chilling
numbness spread quickly throughout her body, and Priscilla stopped
struggling. Her lover’s dead eyes stared into hers, and his swollen
lips curved into a grotesque smile.
    “ I
forgive you, princess.”
    The
earth began to tremble and Priscilla closed her eyes. Bobby Lee
held her in a desperate embrace as the power of moonlight claimed
their bodies, entombing them forever in the darkness of his
grave.

“ Hiding Mountain: Our