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Post by Eyes on Jun 11, 2016 8:30:36 GMT -5
The very first book in the Literary Mosaic series to not feature Adolf Gunnarson... but it's a chilling mystery nonetheless! Here's a basic plot summary: During a raging blizzard, a couple living in an isolated cabin receive a strange phone call telling of the death of a man they've never even heard of. And with the blinding snow, it'll be a hard to find anything out...Ready? Here we go:
Literary Mosaic 4
Blizzard of the Forgotten George and Ethel Smith lived alone in a cottage near Dartmoor. The two had been there for a long time. They were essentially cut off from the rest of the world, due to the moor, which no one but they knew how to travel over (which they needed to do for groceries), and though they did not get visitors very often, they seemed to be satisfied with life.
Our story begins during one of the worst winters Dartmoor had ever seen. A raging blizzard had truly cut them of from everything. They didn't mind though. A stocked-up pantry, a fire in the fireplace, some hot cocoa, and a good book were all that was needed to keep them satisfied.
One evening during that winter, they were reading together, when the phone rang.
"I'll get it," said Ethel. She picked up the phone. "Hello?"
No one answered, but she heard a buzzing noise in the background.
"Hello?" she said again, but the buzzing noise went on. She was about to hang up, when she heard some chilling words:
"Captain Trevelyan is dead..."
Then the line cut off.
Ethel was thoroughly frightened while she related it to her husband.
"Who," he asked, "is Captain Trevelyan?"
"I haven't the slightest idea," she replied.
They looked out at the blinding snow. The blizzard was getting worse.
George stood up. "I'm going to go to Exhampton and see if they know anything about this 'Captain Trevelyan' fellow."
"In this weather?"
"I think I'll be able to make it. It's only six miles anyway."
"But the moor..."
"Don't you worry. I promise I'll be back."
And then he set off.... |
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Post by frankthetriviaman on Jun 11, 2016 9:24:50 GMT -5
As he made his way to his car, he had to fight the wind just to open the door.
He got in, and tried turning the key. The starter would go, but the engine would not start. After 3 or 4 tries, he was convinced his car would not start.
"Oh, bugger" he said to himself in frustration. "What do I do now?"
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Post by Eyes on Jun 11, 2016 9:32:00 GMT -5
He decided the best way would be to walk. He would have to be very careful, because one wrong set in the moor, and he was done for.
He put on some snow boots, and started on his way, trying to fight through the raging winds and blinding snow.
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Post by frankthetriviaman on Jun 11, 2016 9:38:25 GMT -5
His only navigatiinal clue was that the small, unremarkable road that went from his house to the rest of the world was essentially a clearing, with some trees on either side. "Just follow the clearing" he thought to himself. The road would stand out that way. Therefore, he reasoned that as long as there were trees on either side, he was going in the right direction.
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Post by Eyes on Jun 11, 2016 9:42:14 GMT -5
He knew also that he shouldn't step into the stream that ran through the clearing, as it would undoubtedly be frozen over now, and he didn't need to fall in this weather.
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Post by frankthetriviaman on Jun 11, 2016 10:03:34 GMT -5
With everything covered in snow though, everything looked like a white blanket on the ground.
"If the stream is frozen over... Oh dear, I hope no one else travels up this road." He said to himself.
Luck was on his side for the moment though; in just 20 minutes, he managed to travel the first mile.
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Post by Eyes on Jun 11, 2016 10:28:28 GMT -5
He didn't know this though; he still struggled on to Exhampton, hoping to get there within the next few hours.
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Post by frankthetriviaman on Jun 11, 2016 10:50:46 GMT -5
He kept walking through the storm. All the way, he couldn't shake this feeling that he was not alone. Every now and then, he'd look through the snow, and he could swear he saw figures in the distance. Not necessarily following him, but also fighting through the storm in the same direction.
"Bother this storm; making me see things that are not there" he said to himself.
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Post by Eyes on Jun 11, 2016 10:57:02 GMT -5
Then he heard something he knew was real - the howl of a wolf.
"Oh, this is not the time for something like this," he thought to himself, and he hurried on.
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Post by frankthetriviaman on Jun 11, 2016 11:26:26 GMT -5
As he powered on, he saw something that made him realize where he was. On top of a hill was an old mansion that was in serious disrepair; a fire has ravaged it years prior.
"The old Eldbridge place; ok, I'm halfway there" he said to himself, now having a rough idea of where he was.
As he kept walking, he could not help but think to himself, "the wolf howl, the ghostly figures.... No, that's rediculous; ghosts are not real" he said to himself.
He hadn't forgotten. Another family long ago had lived in this area. The Wolff family, parents Wilbert and Rosa, plus their five sons and two daughters. Wilbur lost his wife and children to the Spanish flu epidemic, then days later "died of grief" himself. Some suspected foul play, because their house was secluded like the Eldbridge place, but it was never proven. Locals say that their ghosts still haunt the countryside, but most dismiss it as urban myth.
"I'm sure the Wolff's will pay me no bother" he said to himself. He powered on through the storm as he heard the wolf again.
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Post by Eyes on Jun 11, 2016 11:31:15 GMT -5
As he walked on, he saw an old looking house... but he couldn't recall seeing it before.
"That's odd," he said. "The lights are on... maybe I can go in just to get out of the cold."
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Post by frankthetriviaman on Jun 11, 2016 11:35:12 GMT -5
As he came to the door, he went to knock.
"It is a storm; but I shouldn't just barge in; last thing I need is to be mistaken for a German saboteur" he said to himself.
He prepared to knock.
"Hello? Anyone home? Please, could I just come in a few minutes? My car is broken down and I don't want to get lost" he called out.
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Post by Eyes on Jun 11, 2016 11:59:04 GMT -5
(This takes place in the 1930s, Frank, forgot to mention that.)
From inside he heard a bell toll, and ominous chanting. The door suddenly opened by itself....
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Post by frankthetriviaman on Jun 11, 2016 12:11:56 GMT -5
(Oh; sorry; thought it was still the war)
He walked inside and into the foyer. He did not see anyone around, and was confused.
"I...I won't stay long! I just want to rest a little and then I will be on my way" he said, believing someone had heard him.
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Post by Eyes on Jun 11, 2016 12:32:22 GMT -5
Then, he saw a fire in the fireplace suddenly appear. Then a voice spoke softly as the lights dimmed. " We've been expecting you..." *** Ethel was concerned when her husband never came home. |
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Post by frankthetriviaman on Jun 11, 2016 13:02:51 GMT -5
"He should have been back by now" she said to herself. She looked out the window; the snow was still falling but not as hard.
"Well, at least the storm is dying down; maybe he was just waiting for a break in it so he could travel safer" she reasoned. There wasn't anything to worry about for now, she thought. But there was a strange feeling she could not shake off.
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Post by Eyes on Jun 11, 2016 16:34:57 GMT -5
So she waited... and waited... and still, hours later, he still hadn't returned.
"Hmm... I think I'll go looking for him," she thought, and so she set off.
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Post by frankthetriviaman on Jun 11, 2016 16:53:33 GMT -5
Following the same path her husband had taken, she proceeded down that road, through the clearing. Eventually, she came to the old Eldbridge place, just like where her husband had come to hours earlier.
"Well, I'm halfway there. I wonder... could he have tried to take shelter in the Eldbridge place? It's still solid for the most part; perhaps he went in there for shelter."
So she started to make her way up the hill towards the abandoned home.
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Post by Eyes on Jun 11, 2016 16:58:40 GMT -5
But no one was there.
Continuing on the road, she saw the place that her husband had seen - the house that they'd never seen before.
"That's strange, I've never seen this before. Could George have entered it?" So she went inside....
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Post by frankthetriviaman on Jun 11, 2016 17:05:21 GMT -5
Inside the foyer, she tried to make sense of where she was. All she could tell was that it was clean, meaning that if this place was abandoned, it had not been for long, and the fact that the air felt warm meant the nearby fireplace had recently been used, and someone had been here.
"Oh dear; where could George be?" She thought. Then, in the middle of the floor, she saw a dark brown hat. She picked it up, and inside saw the initials "G.S" that she had sewn in for her husband.
"Oh my goodness! George! He was here!" She exclaimed. Around the foyer, she could see several ways to go. One door went back outside... she was not about to leave without her husband. One door went to a library, another went to a dining room. There was a staircase that went upstairs, and there was a door that appeared to lead to a closet.
"Where should I start?" She asked herself.
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