Page 60 – Melissa

You have to know who it is. Besides, if you can distract the beast for a moment, Darren might be able to make it to the car and escape with you.

You grab a loose fireplace log and try to steady your breathing. Mustering all of the courage in your body, you hurl the log to your left, down the lake shore. The skeletal beast takes the bait and charges after the log.

At the same moment, you break right and blitz to the pile of debris. You rip through the leaves and branches, hoping with every ounce of your being that you won’t find Darren’s head.

Your hand brushes against wet, matted hair. Even surrounded by sticks and covered in sticky blood, Heidi’s silky smooth shampoo is unmistakable. That bitch always had better hair than you.

You lift the head up by the scalp and stare into Heidi’s lifeless eyes one last time. “Got what you deserved, slut,” you taunt the trophy before dropping it back to the broken sticks.

The skeleton bellows and realizes the trick. It turns and takes off, coming right for you with a lifeless expression born of pure malice.

“Shit,” you curse, setting your feet to motion once again. You make a break for the house. Darren is likely still alive. With any luck, you can rescue him and get to the car. He’ll be so grateful, you fantasize, he will probably sle- the fantasy is cut short by a burst of flames from the skeleton’s mouth.

“My god,” you shout furiously, “it breathes fire too?” The flames lick up your legs and set the stick pile ablaze.

You sprint for the basement door. You can’t see any fire inside the basement, but you also don’t see any movement. Maybe Andre and Darren are already dead. Either way, you have to find out.

A groan pulls your attention to the crumbled staircase. Andre knocks a broken plank off of his chest and struggles to his feet. “Where’s Darren?” you scream, searching the burning rubble frantically.

“I don’t know!” Andre yells back. “What the hell happened?”

Your eyes drift to a huge blood splatter on the wall and Heidi’s lifeless, headless corpse. “The skeleton thing killed Heidi and now Darren is missing!” You scream into Andre’s face.

“What are we going to do?” Andre sobs, trying to hold back his tears.

“We have to run!” You make the decision and bolt out of the basement door. The skeleton is almost upon you and lets loose another gout of punishing flames at your back. Andre yelps in pain, but he is right behind you.

You sprint around the side of the house. Sucking in the heated air makes your lungs burn, but reaching the car is the only thing that matters. Somehow, despite his weight, Andre passes you on the steep hill and reaches the top. His shirt smolders and wisps of smoke curl up from his hair. On the steep, grassy hill, the skeleton stumbles and has to use its sword like a cane to make any progress.

There it is. Sitting like a bowl of icy water in the middle of a desert, the station wagon waits for you, eager to make an escape. Andre slams both hands down on the hood and doubles over to gasp for air.

“Come on,” you howl like the mad woman you are, “we have to get out of this place!” Andre rolls across the hood of the old car and rips furiously at the handle.

You jam your hand as deeply into your pocket as it will go. “Fuck my life…” you mutter. Andre can tell by the desperate look in your eyes that something is horribly wrong.

“No…” the fat boy stammers, still panting and out of breath. “You don’t have the keys?”

Just then the skeleton ascends the grassy hill and roars, bellowing a great line of fire directly at your face. Instinctively, you duck and scramble on your hands and knees toward the back of the car. The front wheels catch on fire and the beast screams with glee.

With one huge swing of its sword, the skeletal warlord easily destroys your last hope. The sharp metal edge of the weapon carves through the station wagon’s engine block like a lightsaber.

Steam hisses from the car and the front left tire blows out with a hideous shriek. You’re stuck here. Forever.

What do you do?

To slump down against the car in utter defeat and wait for the bloody end, turn to page 88.

To harden your resolve and sprint through the front door of the house, turn to page 102.