When the darkness calls E-Book

Tom Giesen

• Herausgeber: epubli
• Kategorie: Krimi
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 153

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2024

Beschreibung

A group of old friends meet after years for a hike in the German forests - an innocent adventure that quickly turns into a nightmare. When a storm forces them to seek shelter in a remote cabin, a chain of eerie events begins: strange whispers, dark secrets and the feeling of being watched. But the real horror doesn't just lie in the forest - it lives deep within themselves. In a spiral of violence, seduction and madness, the boundaries between reality and hallucination become blurred. Who will escape the shadows - and who will become part of them? A gripping psychological thriller about guilt, desire and the destructive power of darkness.

Leseprobe

Title: When the darkness calls

Author: Tom Giesen

Biography:

Tom Giesen was born in Hamburg in 1984 and grew up in a small town on the coast. He discovered his passion for stories and the dark side of human nature at an early age. He worked in various jobs before deciding to put his own experiences and fantasies into words. Giesen is self-taught and never studied literature, but acquired his writing skills through years of intensive reading and his own writing experiences.

With a penchant for psychological suspense and dark atmosphere, he began writing thrillers that deal with the depths of the human soul and sinister events.

Chapter 1: Invitation into the Unknown

Matthias "Matze" Berger sat on his worn-out sofa and stared at the crumpled piece of paper in his hand. The letter was short, the writing was old-fashioned and curved, almost elegant. But the message hit him like a punch:

"Hut 14, Hoher Schneeberg. Saturday, 8 p.m.

It's time to deal with the past. Come everyone.

You know why."

Matze crumpled up the letter, only to tear it open again and read it again. "You know why." Those four words had haunted him all day. Of course he knew why.

He spat into the empty beer can on the table and growled, "Fucking hell. Who the hell is playing games here?"

Next to him lay the remains of his lunch - a cold pizza, two half-empty beer bottles and an ashtray that was about to overflow. He took a long pull from one of the bottles, leaned back and stared at the stained ceiling of his tiny apartment in Mannheim.

That same evening, in an elegant old apartment in Frankfurt, Nina Seidel held the same letter in her hand. She had read it several times, but her perfectly manicured fingernails were still shaking slightly. She stood in front of her huge mirror in the bedroom and looked at her reflection: the elegant, cool lawyer who made no mistakes.

"Cabin 14... Anyone who thinks they can threaten me doesn't know me very well," she muttered, lighting a cigarette. Her tone was harsh, but her thoughts were racing.

"Shitties. All of them." She remembered the faces of her old friends. Matze, that proletarian who always smelled like a bum. Chris, who thought he was the biggest Casanova. And Sarah, who never dared to open her mouth. Tobias... the poor idiot who had already screwed up his life anyway.

“Why should I even go?” she asked herself out loud. But a voice in her head whispered:Because you were therethen. And because you have something to lose.

Meanwhile, Christian “Chris” Werner strolledthrough a noisy bar in Berlin, the letter in the pocket of his worn leather jacket. The music was blaring and the smell of sweat and cheap drinks hung in the air. He held a glass of whiskey in his hand, which he drained in one go before turning to the blonde waitress, who gave him a smile.

"Another double," he said, slapping a few bills on the counter. "Hurry up, sweetie, I'm in a hurry."

“Yeah, yeah, calm down, cowboy.” The waitress rolled her eyes, but Chris just grinned.

When the drink arrived, he downed it immediately. The letter was practically burning in his pocket. He had considered simply ignoring it. Why bother with old ghosts? But then he thought of Nina, of her long legs, which he had always secretly gawked at.

"Fuck it," he muttered, threw a few coins on the counter and left.

Sarah Hoffmann sat in her small bookstore in Stuttgart, surrounded by thick tomes and the smell of old paper. Her hands were shaking as she read the letterfolded it and carefully put it away in a drawer.

"This can't be true," she whispered. Her voice was shaky and tears were in her eyes. The memory of the accident was like a splinter in her head that she could never pull out.

A customer came in and wanted to ask her for a book, but she fobbed him off. "We're closing in five minutes," she said brusquely, even though it was only 4 p.m.

When the customer left, she sat down on her old wooden chair and stared into space. She knew she had no choice.

On Saturday evening, all five were on their way.

The road to the Hoher Schneeberg was narrow and winding, and the winter had covered it with a thick layer of snow and ice. Matze cursed as his rickety VW Golf skidded.

"Damn car!" he yelled, hitting the steering wheel. "If I die here, it's your fault, you wankers!"

Nina sat tensely in her black Audi andturned up the heating. "Typical Black Forest," she muttered. "Damn cold, damn roads. If I freeze to death, I'll sue someone."

Chris arrived first. The cabin was larger than he expected -a gloomy building made of dark wood, covered in a heavy blanket of snow. The chimney was smoking and a faint light could be seen through the windows.

"Great," he said, lighting a cigarette. "It looks like the set for a cheap horror movie."

He opened the creaking door and stepped in. The room smelled of wood, old smoke and something unpleasant that he couldn't immediately identify.

"Hello?" he called. No answer.

Then he heard footsteps behind him. When he turned around, Matze was standing in the doorway, his jacket covered in slush.

"Well, look at that," said Matze, sniffing. "The fine Mr. Werner. Haven't you drunk yourself to death yet?"

Chris grinned broadly. "And you still stink like a garbage dump, am I right?"

"Fuck you."

“Yeah, yeah, you too, Matze.”

It was as if the 20 years had never existed. And that was just the beginning.

Chapter 2: Arrival in Hell

Chris had just dropped into a worn armchair in the corner of the hut, cigarette casually between his fingers, when Matze clumsily took off his wet boots and sat down with a thud on an old wooden box.

“Tell me, is this a flophouse or a ghost train?” asked Matze, slamming his boots on the ground, causing the mud to splash.

"It's nice that you asked, Matze. I thought this was your living room," Chris countered, taking a deep drag on his cigarette.

“Shut up, you snob.”

Chris just grinned. He enjoyed provoking Matze. The guy had always lost his temper easily, and it had been no different back then at school.

The door creaked again and Nina entered. She immediately took off the black leather gloves she was wearing up to her elbows and looked around.

"Great," she said dryly, brushing the snow from the heels of her boots. "I would havemust know that if I meet you I will end up in hell."

"Oh, look, the lawyer," Matze greeted her with a crooked grin. "Well, did you manage to tear yourself away from your office chair? Or does your chauffeur have the day off?"

"Save the bullshit, Matze," Nina snapped back, throwing her coat over a chair. "You can't even afford a decent haircut, so don't act like you can impress me."

Chris leaned back and laughed. "There she is again, our Nina. As cold as a refrigerator. No wonder no one stays with you for more than three weeks."

"I would say something about that," Nina countered with a mocking smile, "but you're probably too drunk to understand."

Matze snorted. "You're all just as shitty as you used to be. No wonder we never got anything done."

“Says the guy who’s been hanging out in the same village pub for twenty years,” Nina shot back.

Before Matze could answer, the door slammed open again. A stocky, bearded man entered, wearing snowhis jacket and the face of a walking corpse. It was Tobias.

“Enjoy your meal,” he grumbled and closed the door behind him with a loud bang.

"Well, if that isn't our favorite cop," said Chris. "Or ex-cop, or what do you call it when you get kicked out?"

"Fuck you, Chris." Tobias stomped in and put a plastic bag of cheap canned beer on the table. "I don't have a shitty job like you where I have to rip people off to get money."

Chris grinned. "Jealous? If you had kept your hands off the bottle, you might still be in uniform."

Tobias' eyes flashed dangerously, but before he could say anything, Sarah came in.

She looked as if she had hugged every tree on the way to the cabin. Her cheeks were red from the cold wind, her thick winter jacket was covered in snow stains. She held the door half open, as if she was afraid to go in.

“Oh, great,” murmured Chris, “now all we need is the kitten.”

Sarah pushed up her glasses and tried to smileto accomplish. "Hello. Nice to see you."

"Nice to see you?" Nina laughed mockingly. "We're sitting here in this goddamn dump and you come in like it's a coffee party. Typical."

Sarah blushed and closed the door behind her. She took off her gloves and stared nervously at her shoes.

"Just like before," said Matze, letting out a dirty laugh. "Still the same old grey mouse, eh?"

Sarah looked up and for a moment it seemed as if she wanted to say something. But then she just shook her head and sat down in the corner without saying a word.

The group was now standing around the old wooden table in the middle of the room. Chris had opened the first beer can, Matze had followed him, and Tobias had already stacked three empty cans next to him. Nina was holding a glass of red wine that she had poured from her own bottle. Sarah was sipping a tea that she had made herself from the hut's kitchen.

“So,” Nina began, her voice icy, “which of you idiots organized this?”

“It wasn’t my idea,” said Matze, raising his hands."I don't even have a computer."

“I should have guessed,” Nina murmured.

"What is this shit about?" asked Tobias, leaning back heavily. "This isn't a coincidence. Someone wanted to lure us here."

"I have no idea who that was," Chris said, taking a sip. "But if it's one of you, you're in for a treat. I don't have time for childish stuff."

Sarah cleared her throat, her voice quiet. "Maybe... maybe we should just wait. Maybe someone will come."

"Wait?" Matze laughed out loud. "Shitty idea. If you're expecting someone to come in here with cake, you'll be sitting there for a long time."

Nina sighed. "This is completely stupid. We all know why we're here. It's about... back then."

Silence. The words hung in the air like smoke.

Matze slammed his beer can on the table. "I swear to you, if any of you tell on me or open your mouth, you'll get a punch in the face. Got it?"

"You're still acting like a big shot, aren't you?" Chris asked mockingly. "Like when you couldn't even carry a chair without falling on your face."

"Fuck you, Chris."

"Go ahead," grinned Chris and raised his glass. "But watch out, I'm faster than you think."

"Stop it!" Sarah's voice was suddenly sharp, almost panicked. Everyone stared at her, surprised by her outburst.

"Can't we... can't we just talk?"

"Talk?" Nina raised an eyebrow. "About what? About how we destroyed a life back then? Or about how we were all too cowardly to do anything about it?"

No one answered.

The wind howled outside and the temperature in the hut seemed to be dropping. There would be blood shed that night. They all knew that - even if they didn't want to say it.

Chapter 3: Glowing Shadows

Night had fallen over the cabin like a heavy curtain, and the crackling of the fireplace was the only sound that broke the oppressive silence. Tobias sat on a low stool away from the others, another beer in his hand. His eyes kept sliding to Sarah, who was sitting alone on the bench near the window. Her petite figure, framed by her thick wool sweater, seemed out of place between the rough atmosphere of the cabin and the mocking comments of the others.

"Hey, Sarah." Tobias' voice was rough, deep, and cut through the quiet murmur of the other conversations. "What are you doing over there? Don't you want to come over?"

Sarah raised her head, her cheeks still flushed, whether from the cold or the awkward tension that had been in the air since she arrived. "I... I'm okay here," she said quietly, almost shyly.

"Oh come on," Tobias urged, standing up. His massive figure moved clumsily but purposefully in her direction. "You're always so damn polite. Why not loosen up a bit? It's just us."

Sarah smiled uncertainly, but she didn't look away from his gaze as he sat down next to her, so close that she could feel his body. His smell - a mix of beer, tobacco and the cold winter air - enveloped her.

"I'm just... not that good at situations like this," she muttered, her fingers clenched around her cup of tea.

Tobias laughed deeply, an almost guttural sound. "No problem. You know, you were different back then too. Always the quiet one, always the sensible one. But I asked myself... are you different sometimes? When no one is watching?"

Sarah looked at him in surprise, her eyes wide behind her glasses. "What do you mean?"

He leaned closer, so close she could feel his breath on her cheek. "I mean, maybe you have another side. One that no one knows about. Not even those smug idiots over there."

“Tobias…” Her voice was a whisper, almost stifled by the sudden intimacy between them.

He raised a hand and brushed a stray strand of hair from her face, letting his fingers linger longer than necessary. "You don't always have to be good Sarah. Maybe it's time to have a little fun."

Sarah's heart beat faster and she looked away, but Tobias didn't let up.

"Do you remember back then?" he asked, his voice softer now. "You always looked at me with those big eyes. You thought I wouldn't notice, right?"

"I... I don't know what you're talking about," she stammered, but her shaking hands gave her away.

Tobias grinned, a crooked, rough grin. "Oh come on, Sarah. I'm not blind. And I'm not stupid either."

He put a hand on hers, large and rough, but not uncomfortable. "Maybe we should just do what we want. Without all the stupid rules, without all the thoughts of back then."

“Tobias, that’s not… that wouldn’t be right,” she said, but her voice sounded less convinced than she wanted.

"Right? What the hell is right here anymore?" He leaned forward, his lips so close to her ear that she almost flinched. "We're all fucked here, Sarah. Every one of us. So why not pretend, at least for a moment, that we're not?"

Sarah felt her defenses crumble. His closeness, his voice, the rough warmth of his hand – all of this suddenly felt dangerously good. She knew she should reject him, but the dark shadows of herpast whispered to her that she should just let go.

“Tobias…” She looked at him, her eyes shining.

He didn't answer. Instead, he pulled her closer, his hands firm and demanding. His lips found hers, bold and impatient, and she let him without thinking.

Time seemed to stand still as she forgot the tea, forgot the others, forgot everything except the heat between them. Tobias pushed her lightly against the windowsill and Sarah let out a quiet, surprised sound that only encouraged him even more.

"See?" he murmured against her lips. "I knew there was more to you."

“Tobias…” Her words were a quiet whimper, half resistance, half surrender.

"Shh," he said, his hands now under her sweater, rough and demanding, but not rude. "I'll show you how to forget. At least for tonight."

Outside, the wind continued to rage, while the others inside did not notice the silent escalation. ButThe tension in the cabin had changed, as if something dark and forbidden had taken hold. It was only the beginning.

Chapter 4: Blood Red Shadows

The morning was grey, cold and quiet. The fire in the fireplace had almost gone out and only the smoldering remains of the logs provided a faint light. The hut smelled of smoke, stale beer and the silent tension that had settled over the group like an invisible blanket overnight.

Matze was the first to wake up. With a grumbling curse, he rubbed his eyes and blindly reached for the half-empty beer can next to his sleeping bag. "Shitty night," he muttered and took a sip before grimacing.

"Warm. Awesome," he spat and threw the can across the room. It landed on the wall with a dull thud, but no one moved.

He let his gaze wander around the room and spotted Tobias lying on one of the old sofas, snoring, clutching an empty beer bottle. Nina was nowhere to be seen, probably outside or in the kitchen. And Sarah...

Matze stared at the empty seat next to Tobias. Sarah's jacket was hanging over the back of the chair, but shethere was no trace.

"Well, great," he muttered, standing up and stretching. His back cracked loudly and he cursed again. "As if the day wasn't starting off shitty enough."

Chris was the next to move. He was lying across a pile of old blankets, last night's cigarette still between his fingers. "Damn place," he muttered, sat up and glanced at Matze. "You look even worse than usual."

“Fuck you, Chris,” Matze grumbled before shuffling toward the kitchen.

Nina stood outside, a cigarette between her fingers and her eyes fixed on the grey forest. The snow had grown even deeper during the night and the bare trees looked like threatening shadows against the sky. She took a deep drag and blew the smoke out slowly.

"Cold morning for this shit, huh?"

Nina turned around and saw Chris standing in the doorway with his arms crossed in front of his chest.

“What do you want?” she asked coolly, while she put out the cigaretteexpressed.

"Just seeing if you're still playing the aloof ice princess."

"Go die, Chris."