Terror pulsed through my veins as I crashed through the woods. Branches snapped as they scraped my face, and a tangle of underbrush sprang up to trip me. I existed only for one purpose: escape.
The phone had rang that night. I remember groggily reaching for it as The 5th Wheel reruns played in the background, the TV cycling on since I had fallen asleep earlier. My father was out on a date, and I was home alone. Oh, not alone I guess…Grandma was staying with us as well. But she was fast asleep upstairs, not answering the phone, leaving the task to me.
“Are you ready to die?” The voice had growled.
“Shut up, Luke. That’s not funny, man. I just got done watching Blair Witch on Spike. You coming over or what?” I walked to the fridge to find something to eat. Cold pizza? Nah. If Luke was coming over, we could use my dad’s card and just order some fresh ones.
“Are you ready to die? 2 minutes.” And the caller hung up. The dialtone buzzed in my ear.
“What a retard.” I had mumbled, and felt my phone buzz. A text read 120 seconds. Unknown number. I got a bit flushed. I remembered Luke was somewhere…something didn’t click. My brain was scrambling. Who was playing this prank? Another text. 90 seconds.
I ran to the back door and turned on the porch lights. Sitting on the porch were a pair of hiking boots, a flashlight, and some fresh, balled up socks. I slid the door open and stepped outside. Another text. One minute, bitch.
My heart started racing. A voice to my left said calmly, “Shoes and footwear.” I whipped around to face whoever was speaking. It came from the shadows and I couldn’t see anything. It repeated, more pressing and urgent, “Shoes and footwear.”
Before I could step towards the voice, the alarm rang through my house and the front door burst open. A figure in a black cloak glided towards me, and I slammed the back door, scooped up the boots, and took off towards the woods. I couldn’t explain how I knew it was real, but I just did. Was it the butcher knife glinting from the figure’s hand?
So here I was, crashing through the woods. I could just make out a sound, like a gallop, beside me. I tried to make out the shape of a large horse through the trees in the moonlight. Was it…wearing sunglasses? It couldn’t be. My heart skipped. What was happening? Was this a dream?
In the same voice as I heard from the porch, it yelled out to me. “Who Wants Tyler Dead? A Cozy Mystery.” I couldn’t slow down. I tossed aside the boots and just then, tripped on a large root. The cloaked figure sprang towards me, and I kicked outwards, catching the killer’s neck under my heel. The horse stood, 3 yards away and craning eagerly to see what was happening in my struggle.
Horse_ebooks whispered over our fighting bodies, “Add the mystery of the kid’s missing mother, the suspicious actions of the grandmother, and the puzzling attention of a fellow…” and trailed off as I smashed the would-be killer’s nose through his dark mask and sprang to my feet.
Again, I was thundering through the forest, skidding over slick patches of leaves and narrowly missing stumps in the dark. Horse_ebooks cantered and swerved alongside me, weaving closer and frothing in anticipation from his muzzle. He threw his head back to fix his slipping RayBans and called out, “It’s by understanding: 1) What you are dealing with - Understanding the medium is vital when you have to be successful and—”
Just as the horse spoke, I felt a tug on my shirt and the collar of my polo yanked at my throat. I couldn’t die, not like this. Not with Horse_ebooks watching eagerly, shouting at me from the sidelines of my demise. That’s when I saw it—the stars and moon wavering in the inky black ripples of the stream.
Would it work? Could I use my superior swimming skills to escape? I wriggled out of my shirt and ducked towards the rocky overhang.
Horse_ebooks trotted behind me, and whispered, “When Tyler claims someone pushed him into a river, she doubts—” And I couldn’t hear the rest as I plunged under the surface.
