Don't Speak Their Names

This was rejected for a horror anthology, so enjoy my failure.

I live in the middle of nowhere, in Appalachia. It’s so remote and isolated that it doesn’t even bear importance to this story, but you only need to know how far we are from anything modern society would deem ‘important.’

I’ve lived in this town my entire life and rarely needed to leave. We had a grocery store that also consisted of a video rental shop, but since the internet days, that became a fried chicken place instead. Our town has a gas station, a doctor’s office, and even a small branch of the county’s library. The general store here provides almost all necessities, and the local mechanic shop also doubles as an auto parts store. Why would we need to go anywhere else?

Well, this way of life has been fine and dandy, but there is a darker side that I must tell you. Some don’t leave because they like it here – most importantly, they hide here.