“We are lost.”
“No. We are almost there.”
“We are in the middle of the woods! I am pretty sure your sister is not holding her baby shower here, Hana!”, cried Rebecca.
“Becca, just trust me once. I’ll get us there. Dammit, if only this piece of shit GPS didn’t fritz out on us! Are you getting any reception yet?”, Hana asked.
“Seriously? Bitch I’d have us there by now if I had any internet. There are 0 bars available right now.”, Rebecca replied, shaking her phone for emphasis.
Hana looked down at her phone, feeling annoyed at the No Signal message.
“Can’t even call anyone.”, she thought huffing in irritation.
It was dark outside. The only source of visibility coming from the headlights of their car.
“Seriously couldn’t she hold this thing in the morning or afternoon like a normal person?”, Hana cried out in annoyance.
“You couldn’t have made it. You’d be swamped in meetings.”, pointed out Rebecca as she played around with the radio dials agitated.
“Hey! Stop that. I swear you can’t sit still for a minute.”, muttered Hana batting at Rebecca’s hand in annoyance.
“God chill Hana. At least I don’t pitch a fit at everything. I just wanted to hear some music.”, laughed Becca as she tried to find a radio station.
Suddenly the radio crackled to life.
“ATTENTION! This is an emergency broadcast! ATTENTION!”
“What the fuck is…”
“Hush! Listen!”, hissed Hana, pushing Rebecca hand away from the dials.
“Citizens there has been a breakout at the Woodchuck Asylum! Most of the patients have been safely apprehended. But three are still at large. Please, residents living nearby or in the area, stay safe. Keep your doors locked and secure your windows.”
The broadcast ended.
“What? What was that?!”, cried Rebecca. “Hana where are we right now?!”, she continued in a panic.
“Woodchuck. It’s close to the woods. We are nearby.”, she whispered, her face pale and fingers gripping the wheel tightly.
“Ok. Ok. Let’s stay calm. No biggie. We are in the car. Let’s just check our windows and the door lock.”, Rebecca replied airily and tightened the windows in a jerky motion, trying to focus on the task and be calm.
They drove in silence for a while. Looking outside from time to time uneasily. Even the trees stood still, as though watching them.
“Shit!”
“What?! What’s wrong”, cried Rebecca.
The car stuttered to a stop.
“That’s what’s wrong.”, said Hana as she took off her seat belt and fished around in the car compartment for her flashlight. Switching it on, she turned it towards Rebecca. She sat there, her face looking ashen.
“Calm down, its alright, the radiator probably overheated, is all. I’ll just pour some water in, and we’ll be done.”, soothed Hana. She grabbed the water bottle from the cup holder and stepped out.
Turning the flashlight around she saw the road was pretty much deserted. No one around for miles. She popped opened hood and leapt back as steam rose out.
“Fuck, shit. Just our luck.”, she waited for the steam to dissipate and poured in the water. It wasn’t enough. Suddenly a rustle sounded, she leapt around in fear and bit back a scream. Turning around she looked, there was nothing.
“You done?”, asked Rebecca, leaning out the window.
“What? Uh…no. We need more water.”, she shook the empty bottle for emphasis.
“We don’t have more! That’s it, I am calling 911.”
“What? Becca are you insane? We are in the woods, there is no signal! I am sure there’s water nearby.”, Hana said as she closed the hood and walked towards Becca.
“Listen I’ll just go down that clearing there and have a look around. If there’s nothing I’ll come back and then we try again to call 911”, she negotiated with Becca, pointing the beam towards a worn looking path.
“Fine but please hurry Hana. I am scared.”, Rebecca whispered hugging Hana.
“Ten minutes. Promise.”, Hana hugged her back and walked away.
_________________
Rebecca double checked the windows and doors, making sure they were properly locked. She looked at the faint light of the flashlight till it winked out of sight as Hana turned into the clearing.
“Okay I can do this. 10 minutes is nothing. I can do this.” She kept repeating as she squinted into the dark trying to make sense of what’s outside.
Pitch black. As far as eye could see. It looked as though staring into a gaping maw that was prepared to consume all in its path.
THUMP a noise sounded close by.
“Wha…what was that?”, Rebecca whispered and looked around. Nothing, she could see nothing.
SCRRREEEECCHHHH!!!
Rebecca whipped her head trying to find the source of the noise. It seemed as though someone was raking their nails across the car. She huddled close to her phone are tried to see if there was a signal. No bars. She restarted her phone again in frustration.
KNOCK. KNOCK.
A bone deep chill stole over Rebecca’s body as two steady knocks sounded over her window. “Hana! Is that you? This is not funny!”, she cried out. Now openly sobbing she looked at her phone screen, laughing hysterically when she finally got a signal.
Her fingers shook as she dialed 911.
“Hello, 911. What’s your emergency?”
“Please. We are stuck. My friend went to get water. We are in the woods. Someone is out there!”, Rebecca rambled in a panic.
“Ma’am? I need you to calm down. Please tell us your location.”, the operator instructed calmly.
“Location? I don’t know! The woods! We got stuck in the woods! The car stopped working.”
“Ok. Do you recall anything on the way? Any signs?”, the operator tried again.
“Signs…yes! The asylum! It was nearby Hana said…”, whispered Rebecca looking around frantically.
“The asylum where the breakout occurred? Ma’am? Hello, are you on the line?” the operator called out.
Rebecca wasn’t listening, she stared in horror as a flashlight rolled towards the car. Hana’s flashlight thought Rebecca dully. The car shook violently once, and a series of thumps sounded above the car.
THUMP! THUMP! THUMP!
Rebecca started to cry loudly.
“Ma’am!!! Are you there?! We are tracing the phone. Please, be on the line!”, the sound of the operator calmed Rebecca slightly. She grasped the phone tightly, her last lifeline.
“Yes. Yes, I am! Someone is one top of the car, I think. Please hurry.”
“The officers are almost there ma’am. Stay inside the car.”, the operator continued.
The thumping continued; with each thump the car shook slightly. Rebecca whimpered in fear.
Suddenly the noise of the siren cut through the air. Blue and white light washed over the area. Two police cars and an ambulance came into view. Rebecca sobbed in relief.
Four officers got down from the cars and three of the officers pointed their gun at the car.
“They are here!”, Rebecca cried into the phone.
“Good. Follow their instructions.”, said the operator and disconnected the call.
One of the officers carefully made his way towards the car and gestured to roll down the window. Rebecca rolled it down slightly.
“Ma’am, I need you to open the door and step out of the car and come towards us quickly. Don’t look back and come here quickly.”, he instructed. His face was grim.
The other three officers seemed to be oddly focused on the car, specifically above it. The thumping continued.
“Ma’am, now. Step out now!”, the officer yelled.
Rebecca flew into action, threw herself out of the car and ran towards the officer.
“Are you okay?”, he asked stepping in front of her quickly. The thumping was loud now. Curious, Rebecca began to look back at the car.
“Ma’am no…!”
Too late.
On top of the car was a man, or what looked like one anyways. He wore a hospital gown. His hair disheveled. He was crouching on top of the car, banging away at the roof. Something was held between his hand. He held it up high. Hana’s head.
Rebecca looked on in shock. The man grinned at her, delighted, and laughed. His teeth caked in blood as he bit into the head.
The officer pulled her away towards the waiting ambulance.
“Ten minutes. She promised”, whispered Rebecca as the thumping continued.
______________________
Twigs scratched across my face as trudged through the clearing. I was thirsty, exhausted, and just wanted to get in my bed and sleep for days.
The flashlight illuminated the clearing in a dull glow. The woods seemed eerie in their darkness, the trees tall and curving towards me, sudden rustles punctuated the otherwise loud silence.
Shaking my head. I tried to rid myself of the creepy thoughts and focus on my task, water. I had to find the water and get back to Rebecca.
My shitty car had broken down in the woods, it had heated up. I promised to fill the bottle and get back as soon as I can.
“God, I hope they caught those escapees from the asylum. It isn’t too far from here.”, I muttered, trying to shake away the feeling of uneasiness from my body.
I felt watched. Shadowed almost.
“I’m losing my mind.”, I laughed.
The feeling of uneasiness mounted. It felt like a rock settling in the pit of my stomach.
“Some quests are better abandoned”, I thought and turned.
There. I spotted it… no him. From the corner of my eye. A few paces to my left, crouching behind the large tree. His shadow illuminated slightly by my flashlight.
I started to freeze.
No. No. Not now. I have to keep moving.
Trying to act normal, I kept my pace up.
I heard a rustle. He was moving too.
I felt like crying. Why was this happening?!
I felt furious at myself. Stupid girl why did you get down from the car?!
I kept walking. The flashlight cutting a swathe through the darkness. A steady crunch sounded behind me. My stalker kept up behind me.
The clearing was coming to an end. OK, Hana you can do this, I kept chanting in my head.
I could hear a grunting sort of noise. Like he was breathing heavily.
How close is he?!
I felt cold.
How close is he?
Panic took over. Adrenaline shot through my body.
I put a sudden burst of speed and ran. My heart thundered in my chest.
The light from the flashlight bounced around wildly, illuminating random parts of the woods.
There! I can see it! The car. Rebecca.
I heard a loud crunch.
I looked back.
It felt like slow motion almost. The flashlight flew out of my hands as I tripped, and the light shone on his face.
It was the last thing I saw, a Cheshire cat like grin.
______________________
