The Shortcut

The minute you thought you could win,

that you were so sure you had everything done

and planned out. Everything was going so well.

That’s how this story started of course.

It was getting late as we were at the carnival

We lost our family; they were nowhere to be seen

If only we knew to be patient, to just wait, that everything

Would be fine. But teenagers aren’t like that, we couldn’t care less

About the choices we make. Off we went to find our house that laid

beyond the frightening and shadowy woods, beyond the treacherous construction,

next to the halloween store that had closed down a few weeks ago.

We thought we knew a shortcut, a quick way through the woods

But we feared we missed a turning, for we knew not where we stood.

Unfamiliar and oppressive, which way should we go?

Trees we’d never seen before, tracks we didn't know.

Darkness surrounding us, then a sound coming from behind

We could feel a shiver going down our spines, a feeling like none before.

Then we sensed someone following behind our trail, a trail which led to a path beyond before,

Closer and closer the figure approached us, we started to quicken our pace.

Startled, we looked behind, but saw nothing except pitch black darkness

Nature and its sounds embodying us, it must have been the wind, harmless

That eerie sound, the sound of someone moving closer in the distance.

It almost felt like a horror movie, but this time we were the victims.

There was a change in characters, we weren’t going to be killed or captured,

it shall be them to suffer in eternal pain and misery.

For they should know, not to mess with quick-witted teenagers who carry brilliant minds,

Minds of Stephen Hawking and Paul Allen. We had seen it all, read it all,

and knew how to survive when it was time to be tested.

Suddenly, there he was, a masked figure standing before us,

Still and tall as the large dusky trees that populated the entire area

Covered from head to toe, he stared right at us with his piercing eyes

Like a snake he stayed motionless, waiting to make a move,

ready to pounce at any chance he got. We were not his common prey, we were smarter,

stronger and unlike the rest we had assets.

For we were not going to take our gifts for granted,

we shall use them and with that we’ll make a run for it.

He tried to charge after us,

with all his stamina but we continued running with all the strength we had.

We didn’t stop until we were safe, safe from the dangers that had been brought upon us.

I found a wooden branch in the dimness, that would’ve knocked him down.

He reached for my shoulder, turning, I lunged for his gut with that branch.

This caused him to slump to the ground, and while he wallowed in pain,

we ran fast, faster than we’ve ever done before,

not daring to take a glimpse at the mess we left behind us.

In the distance, we caught a view of an abandoned warehouse,

a perfect escape plan. With the killer nowhere to be seen,

we rapidly ran towards it with the wind blowing through us with all its resistance.

There we devised a plan, a plan where we won and avenged all those who never made it.

Patiently we waited, as he did before, we waited for our prey,

We waited for him to appear and then the real excitement and games would’ve begun.

Prepared and ready to our plan in motion,

And after what we anticipated to be eons, he arrived.

Just as we intended he fell right into our trap.

He searched from window to window, in hopes to find us there.

What he didn’t know is that we found resources,

A crossbow, being the champion my sister was,

she shot him and going from there we continued.

The unknown killer slightly unconscious on the floor, we dragged him onto a chair,

He soon regained consciousness, swaying from side to side attempting to get out from his current position.

We asked him, “This is what you must do to successfully escape.”

A game of five questions which you must answer correctly.

A sick smile painted across his face as we threatened his life.

We kept a straight face as we commenced the game and with that we operated the blade.

The blade ready to strike, redeemed from its bluntness and ready to slice.

The first question we asked, was the most basic one, the most known, the most popular,

“Who was the killer in Friday the 13th?” We patiently waited for a reply, and nothing.

This is not what we expected to occur.

We asked the same question again, there must’ve been something he was hiding,

And again we asked him, silence, absolute silence.

Finally he spoke, but it's not what we were expecting...

Not what we expected at all, it was way beyond our minds.

It completely took us by surprise, you would think he didn’t know the answer,

That he wanted us to ask a different question but,

instead the killer unmasked himself. He wasn’t a MAN,

he was a WOMAN. I mean, SHE WAS A WOMAN!

Who would have ever known! And she spoke, started telling us her backstory.

More stereotypical horror movie junk, started talking about how she had a mental disorder.

These types of scenes cause the victim to feel bad and for a while we could see,

See why all those victims fell for their traps, she was convincing,

But we saw through her lies, we were not going to be fooled and with that we fought back.

We released the machine into power,

the sharp thick blades were ready to shred her apart,

bone by bone, body part by body part.

We asked her the question one last time, gave one last chance.

When she failed to reply once again, we left early in advance.

This way we would not get caught, this way we would get away with everything.

We would survive, we would win, and we would prosper in our lives!

We glanced one last time at the killer, but the rope was untied. SHE WAS GONE!

We suddenly looked around trying to locate where she had gone.

Alas, there was a loud and intense banging on the door.

Hesitant, we started questioning whether we should see who it is,

Could it be her? Another common scene from typical horror movies.

Like we said before, we were different and much more clever.

The banging got louder and louder until we couldn’t resist.

Temptation killing us, we raced towards the door.

Fear, a common feeling, as we walked towards the hatch of the door,

The sound of continuous banging on the door arose!

Tension as we reached it, the sound of thunder and sparks of lightning coming from windows,

Rain starting to shower amongst the dark and gloomy sky, it was after midnight.

We gently unlocked the hatch, and slowly opened the door,

Our mouths wide open as they hit the floor.

Who knew a shortcut would’ve been such a horrific mistake, this was not what we called for.