Wrong Turns
The engine turned over for what felt like the hundredth time.
“Trrrgh. Trrrrrgh.”
Dry knuckles gripped the keys until her fingers turned white and she finally relented getting the old gal to start. Berta was through…at least until she found a fuel source. Leaning back against the driver’s seat, the 4 door Chevy Silverado sat at the threshold outside this godforsaken wasteland. Despite the lack of fuel, there was plenty of gunk and guts splattered across the hood and windows of the vehicle. She thought, for good measure, her heart would stop several times. It had been unlike anything she had ever seen before in her life.
First she had managed to get herself mixed up in the thick fog on the way home and the next thing she knew she felt like she was in the Eight-Legged Freaks movie and her entire truck was being swarmed by spiders. For the better part of 25 minutes, she witnessed herself barreling through one arachnid after the other. She was recovering from the cold sheen of sweat and the hammering of her heart in her chest before finally turning the windshield wipers on to clear off any of the green splatter on her windows. The solution smeared against the glass but the cleaner eventually wiped it away. It was all quiet now. The bright headlights ended up blinding and scaring off most of the monsters, but her heart was still pounding in her chest.
“Ugh…” Her fingers ran through frizzy red curls in exasperation. The semi-automatic shotgun at her side sat, loaded and within arm’s reach and she didn’t hesitate to grab for it. She checked the ammunition she had left before fumbling under the seat for her lock box. Taking it out she realized she only had half a case left of bullets and sighed in frustration. “…All right. Keep it together. Conserve your ammo. Treat this like a horror survival game. You’ve got this.” The redhead uttered in assurance to herself, gripping the gun tightly before looking up through the windows to assess her surroundings.
The lack of webbing in the area signaled the end of the arachnid trail. The rest of it was all tangled around parts of the vehicle. There had to be a way out of this mess, but it would all come down to what lie ahead for her. Maybe there was a gas station…maybe there were zombies next. She wasn’t sure. All Keegan Phelps knew was she had to get out of this forest before more of those things came back.
The horizon looked more promising than the path into the forest. Taking a deep breath. She placed the remaining ammunition in her L.L. Bean messenger bag and cocked the rifle. Once she was absolutely certain she made the decision to leave the car, Keegan opened the truck door and instinctively locked it in the case of someone coming to try and break in. Though…she hated to leave Berta behind. It was the only thing she was certain she felt safe in.
Taking a deep breath, she pulled her hair back into the scrunchie on her wrist and tied her boots up tightly before starting her trek ahead. Green eyes tried to focus on what was ahead of her and every 10 minutes she would mark her place so she would remember the way back to the truck.
Her feet crunched under leaves and debris while the sun began to set lower on the horizon. One thing she knew, this definitely was no Wonderland and she didn’t feel like Dorothy in Oz right now. “More like Heather Mason in Silent Hill. ..Where the hell did I end up?“
@kingofvigorousspring








