Quinkan

Quinkan

Deep in the Australian outback a group of friends sit huddled around a campfire. The sun has set some time ago and now darkness covers the land, their fire but a small island of light in an endless sea of black.

“The Koori don’t like the night, they say the Quinkan come out when it’s dark” whispers Hazza.

“Aw # off mate, you and your ghost stories.” Scottie replies laughing, “’Quin can’ come suck on me sav if he wants.” He emphasizes this with a large swig of beer.

“What the hell is a Quinkan?” asks Annie, she has always loved ghost stories.

“Don’t encourage him!” Linda says as she leans over to get a beer from the eski, “He will end up scaring the # out of you. Don’t you remember what happened last time?” Last summer they had camped out near Ayers Rock and Annie had ended up in tears after an especially creepy tale, locking herself in the car and not coming out until morning.

“Well that was the tap tap story and you know that terrifies me.” She replies sheepishly. “Anyway the car is like a day’s hike from here so it’s not like I will do it again. Let’s hear about these Quinkan!”

Hazza puts a finger to his lips, “Shhhhhh, don’t shout their name, that is one thing I know, in fact the Koori won’t even utter their name after dark, they say it makes them come.”

“Yeah right.” Scoffs Scottie, but now he seems interested, “Do continue oh great story teller.”

“The Quinkan are said to be evil spirits that inhabit the cracks between rocks, caves and other such dark places, waiting, watching. At night they move onto the land, moving like kangaroos they hop from place to place. They can supposedly move half a mile with each hop, moving quickly through the night in search of people alone or in small groups.”

Hazza pauses for dramatic effect then continues, “They have small fat bodies and long arms and legs and will do there best to separate a person from the group, once alone they will snatch the person up and bound off into the night. The poor soul they take will never be seen again, gone to suffer torment in some dark place, deep within the rock.”

The friends remain silent for a time, then… “Quinkan! Quinkan! Quinkan!” Scottie shouts at the top of his lungs, “Come out, come out where ever you are, you stumpy little kangaroo #s! Quinkan! Quinkan!”

Annie yells, “Shut up Hazza! We’re in the middle of nowhere, it’s dark and you are calling evil spirits.”

Scottie laughs, “Just a bull# fairy…”

Then somewhere out in the darkness, just beyond the firelight, a sound: THUD.

The friends, silenced, look at each other.

Then THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD. The sounds coming from all directions, surrounding them.

Annie screams, “What the hell was that?” Heart beating fast she looks to her friends.

“It’s probably just a big roo, there are heeps of them out this way.” Scottie answers quietly. The bravado has all but disappeared from his voice and he now looks around warily.

“Well if they are roos there are a lot of them and why have the just stopped all around us?” asks Linda.

“Listen to them run now!” Scottie shouts as he picks up a burning stick and hurls it into the darkness. The stick describes a burning arc illuminating for a time an area beyond their campfire. Silence.

“Ah probably nothin’, ya hear all sorts of strange # out in the desert at night.” Says Hazza as he gestures to Linda, “Can you pass me a beer mate?”

As Linda moves to get a beer the stick previously thrown by Scottie returns and lands slap bang in the middle of the fire scattering sparks and hot coals everywhere.

Scottie Jumps up and shouts, “Alright, who’s out there #ing around! Come out and show yourself ya pussies, come on! Where’s that damn torch?”

“It’s over there in the tent.” Replies Hazza, “But I dunno man, you know the story, they like to split people up, they like to get you alone…”

“There’s no such #ing thing I told you, it’s just some bull# artist out there playing games with us. I’m going to get the torch!”

Annie grabs Scottie’s arm, “Please don’t go, we are safer here together.” There are tears in her eyes and the hand on his arm is shaking, “Please!”

Scottie shrugs off her arm and then jumps up and walks towards the tent which is just outside the firelight, “I’ll show these #ers!” he shouts, “they want to have some fun well I will give them some f…” His voice is cut off abruptly and he starts screaming, a long wailing scream fading far into the distance.

Both girls scream and jump onto Hazza, “omygod, omygod, omygod.” Annie repeats over and over again. Linda is breathing fast and Hazza is turning his head in all directions, “What the #? What that #? What the # just happened.” He then shouts, “Scottie, Scottie where the hell are you, stop messing around, Scottie, Scottie, Sco…” Linda grabs his arm, “Scottie is gone man, the #ing Quinkan took him, and it’s all your #ing fault, you and that stupid #ing story!” She is shaking him now, “what are we gonna do, what, what?”

Hazza pushes her back, ”Calm down, we gotta keep calm, if we stick together they won’t touch us, you know the story, they only take you when you are alone, we gotta stick together.” The three of them become silent each staring out into the night.

The night stares back.

Somewhere out in the darkness Scottie screams, “Help me, oh god it hurts, please you have to help me, Hazza help me, please they are hurting me!”
Those at the fire look at each other, “We have to help him,” Whispers Linda, “he’s out there all alone. Scottie hold on, we are coming, just hold on!” she shouts.

“Like the # we are!” says Hazza, “it’s a trap, they just want to get us out there in the dark so they can pick us off one by one, there is no way I am going out there”

Scottie screams again, the agony in his voice plain to hear, “they have bitten off my fingers, please help me, Linda please, Hazza you have to help me, oh god it hurts.”

“#, #!” shouts Hazza, “leave him be you #ers, leave us alone!” Hazza is crying, something snaps inside of him and he jumps up, grabs a beer bottle and smashes it keeping hold of a jagged piece he launches himself into the darkness, “Hold on mate, I’m on my way, keep shouting, I’m coming”

“Quick we have got to stick together!” Linda screams as she follows Hazza at the same time trying to grab Annie’s hand. Annie sits frozen, she cannot move, she is bound in fear and can only watch as Linda disappears into the darkness.

For a time she hears the running footsteps of her friends, then silence, “Linda!” she shouts, “Hazza!” she screams, “Please don’t leave me alone, please answer me!” Silence.

The fire now wanes and the darkness moves closer. Just beyond the light she sees movement, shadowy figures moving in. Annie closes her eyes, waiting for the end. Something lands close, yet she does not open her eyes, only whimpers as more things land on the ground around her.

Epilogue

Another time, another place, deep in the Australian outback a group of friends sit huddled around a campfire. Once again the sun has set and darkness covers the land, their fire but a small island of light in an endless sea of black.

“The Koori don’t like the night, they say the Quinkan come out when it’s dark…” one begins, but before he can continue his mate cuts him off, “that’s old man, everyone’s heard the Quinkan story, the one where all those kids went missing, ‘cept for that one girl they found, half crazy and too scared to open her eyes.”

Another mate cuts in, “And what about all the severed fingers found laying on the ground around her. Quinkan! Quinkan! Quinkan!”

Dear Reader,

This is my first attempt at a short story so please excuse any errors and roll on the critique!

Wow, this story is amazing haha! The dialogue was as good as dialogue gets. I can't believe this is your first time writing fiction?!

Originally posted by CaptainNemo
Wow, this story is amazing haha! The dialogue was as good as dialogue gets. I can't believe this is your first time writing fiction?!

Let me be the one to say wow! You just made my day lol, and yes my first story - well since Highschool English class I guess, but then it was something I wasn't really interested in - makes a lot of difference when you are having fun!

I do read a lot though, like sometimes a couple of thickies a week so maybe I picked something up... anyway I have the bug now, writing... it's wonderful!

Captain, I'm really glad you enjoyed the story

reply to post by ParAvion


Yeah no problem, I hope you post some more in the future. Also, if you can I'll be posting my own short story in a bit, I'd like you to check it out.

Originally posted by CaptainNemo
Yeah no problem, I hope you post some more in the future. Also, if you can I'll be posting my own short story in a bit, I'd like you to check it out.

I'm pretty much a newbie to writing so I am not sure how much use I will be as a critic, but I will be sure to read your story and let you know how I feel about it.