The Glassy, Burning Floor of Hell by Brian Evenson

Author:Brian Evenson
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi, pdf
Publisher: Coffee House Press
Published: 2021-09-15T00:00:00+00:00

The Devil’s Hand

In late January Carlton received a letter from his friend Alton Smythe asking if he would care to visit. He was, Smythe wrote, away from London and alone at his estate. His wife and daughter had left shortly after the new year to return to the city, taking both servants with them, leaving him to his own devices. At first, his letter claimed, he had welcomed the isolation, but now, several weeks later, he longed for companionship. So much so, he wrote, that I have walked several miles through muck to the village so as to post this letter.

It is of no use to write back, he continued, for I am not likely to see your letter for several weeks at least. I have no intention of repeating the trek to the miserable albeit picturesque village any time soon. Thus, any correspondence will simply await me there, unclaimed. If you choose to come, and I hope you shall so choose, simply come. I shall be glad to see you.

He included in the letter instructions for where to transfer trains, as well as a crude map that would, in theory, lead Carlton from the branch line stop through the village and, eventually, to Smythe’s estate.

…

The letter arrived at an auspicious moment when Carlton, like Smythe, was at loose ends. Upon receipt of it, he immediately packed his bag and boarded the evening train. Only once he was aboard and the train in motion did he learn from the conductor that the branch line train to which he intended to transfer only ran early in the day. He would have to spend the night twenty miles shy of Smythe’s estate, then take the branch line train the remainder of the way the following morning.

The compartment he had chosen to occupy when he left London was, except for Carlton himself, empty. Each time the train stopped, he expected to be joined by someone else, but though the platform was often crowded and he could hear the sounds of heavy footsteps as individuals boarded and jostled their way down the corridor, nobody opened the compartment door, let alone entered. In his haste to leave, Carlton had not thought to bring an annual or a newspaper, and so he sat, bored, staring out the window at the surrounding countryside until night fell fully and the window became a square of darkness. Eventually, almost without being aware of it, he fell asleep.

When he awoke the Pintsch lamp in the ceiling had come on. There was someone else in the compartment with him, a man still clad in his coat. The man had his legs crossed at the knees, his two bony hands resting clasped atop the higher knee. One of the man’s thumbs, Carlton noticed, was missing, sheared off neatly at the base. His face was thin and pale, of an almost waxen appearance, his mouth cruel. His eyes, too, struck Carlton as sharp and cruel. The man seemed to regard him keenly. As Carlton regained his senses, the man made no effort to look away.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.