Creepypasta: Last Regrets

Creepypasta: Last Regrets

“A trial of courage.” Heh. Of all the things you could have been forced to do in order to be accepted as part of the popular crowd.

The phrase itself seems meaningless to you as you advance towards the Heinz family tomb, flashlight trained on the nameplate. Tombs are a common sight in Alpenview, seeing as how the loose earth makes digging graves impractical. A buried casket would shift and eventually be wrenched open by the natural movement of the soil.

You never should have mentioned to your “friends” the rumour you heard that the seal to this tomb had long since been rusted apart, likely as a result of shoddy craftsmanship. Not like anyone would ever notice or complain about the substandard work that went into the construction of this particular tomb.

After all, the whole Heinz family, comprising both parents and all four children, is entombed in there. Their entire household died in a conflagration of a house fire.

As you examine the wrought iron entry to the structure itself you hear footsteps. Shit. If you’re caught in the cemetery at this hour you’ll have to do some fast talking. So it is with some nervousness when you spin around and see that the witness to your shady activity is none other than the cemetery groundskeeper.

She is an elderly woman with silver hair and an unusually upright walk for someone of her age. Her clothing is on the heavy side, likely because of the unusually chilly September weather. It relieves you that she doesn’t seem angered or even alarmed, although you wonder how you’ll possibly be able to convince her not to make you leave.

“Out for a walk? It’s a peaceable night for a stroll in the cemetery. Sometimes I come out here at this time too, just to clear my head. Tonight, for instance” she chuckles.

“Uh, yeah, I was just-“

“Planning on making a visit to the Heinz family?” she asks, furrowing her wrinkled brow.

“Well, no, not exactly” you say, although your lie is so obvious you immediately wonder why you even tried.

“No need to be untruthful. I’m not going to stop you” she shrugs.

“But I-wait, what?!” you gasp.

“You heard me.”

“Thank you, Miss…uh…” It is with some embarrassment you realize you don’t even know her name.

“My name isn’t important. Have fun in there.” Even given the circumstances it seems a very odd thing to say. But you aren’t one to question good fortune.

You wait until the groundskeeper’s continued stroll takes her a few dozen feet away, because it still feels embarrassing to be seen breaking into the tomb, even with permission. With a rasping grunt you force the gate open and duck inside, shutting it firmly behind you.

In the interior of the tomb everything seems perfectly still. The coffins are positioned side by side, and judging by the sizes of them, both Heinz parents’ caskets are leaning upright on the far wall with two of the smaller children’s coffins flanking each on either side. Briefly you consider saying an apology aloud for desecrating their family’s burial place but you realize how pointless that would be. The Heinz family is dead, and if they didn’t complain about the sorry state of their family tomb they won’t complain about you breaking in. With a heavy heart, you let out a heaving sigh and sit down against the wall opposite the parents’ caskets.

And then your flashlight goes out. Damn that Energizer bunny.

Just as you are feeling very glad that you aren’t afraid of the dark you hear a barely perceptible creak followed by a series of clattering bangs. At first you wonder what the Hell is going on, until your eyes adjust to the gloom and you see with no small degree of horror what is occurring. The caskets have been forced open from inside.

You half-expect zombies or vampires to emerge, but instead you are treated to something infinitely worse. Silver-grey creatures with four legs and gaping, babbling mouth on their chests emerge from the coffins. They seem to crawl about randomly until one of the larger ones notices you. It stands still, facing you down, as it lowers its head and opens another mouth on the back of its horse-like neck. You barely even notice that there are only five of them despite there being six caskets as you try to force your legs to scramble backwards to the tomb’s entrance.

Just when you think this nightmare can’t become any worse you are proved wrong when the creature’s newly formed mouth begins shrieking mindlessly in an adult male’s voice. You barely have time to process any of this when you pry the gate open, sprint up the steps to the surface of the cemetery outside, and nearly bowl over the groundskeeper who had evidently been expecting you there.

“Listen! There’s something in there!” you scream. “The Heinz family, they’re all monst-“

“That wasn’t the Heinz family. What you saw in there were their regrets” she replies calmly.

“What?!” None of this is making sense to you.

“When a group of people dies tragically they typically leave behind a good deal of unfinished business. The Heinz family made it to the afterlife, fortunately, but what you saw is what they left behind.”

“How do you know all this?” you ask in an astounded tone.

“Did you note how there were only five of the beasts despite there being six members of the Heinz family?” she asks calmly.

“Yes, wait…but…I still don’t understand” you say numbly.

“The youngest of the Heinz family was but an infant. She had no regrets, only the naïve faith that all newborns bear. I am not Regret, I am her Hope. I watch over this place in her memory.”