HAPPYVILE

FEBRUARY 2010

After having finished having dinner at a restaurant, Mike and Cindy decided to drive up to Lover’s Lane to relax and enjoy each other’s company. Mike was very tall and muscly, having spent most of his high school playing football. He wore his lettermen jacket and was dressed in blue jeans and a white shirt. Cindy was of average height and was dressed in blue jeans and a light blue shirt, with a dark blue jacket on. It was around 9:00 pm as the couple drove through the woods, looking for a place to park.

“Huh, it is emptier than I expected” Cindy said, noticing the lack of parked cars or signs of other people

“Well after the police warning, I think people aren’t taking their chances anymore” Mike replied, keeping his eyes focused on the path ahead

“What?”

“Oh, you haven’t heard?” Mike said, trying to hide his smirk

“No, what?” Cindy asked, becoming a bit scared now

“Well ahem” Mike said, dramatically clearing his throat. “A few weeks ago, this lovely couple went for a night drive here and they decided to park deeper into the woods, to have total privacy. After no one had heard or seen from them in days, the police went to investigate and what they found what horrible”

“What, what did they find?” Cindy asked, now completely invested

“They found the couple in their car. The wheels were slashed and the windows shattered. In the car were the couple, excepted now brutally mutilated. I’m talking their skin slashed, guts ripped out, eyes popped out, blood everywhere”

“That sounds disgusting”

“Oh it is. The cops physically gagged when they got close and the stench hit them. After that the police put a warning to everyone not to go here”

“Is this real?”

“Oh totally” Mike said, trying to hide his smirk

“Fuck you” Cindy said when she realized he was making this up

As the couple began driving deeper into the woods, Cindy started to begin feeling uneasy.

“Where are we going?” Cindy asked

“Deep into the woods” Mike calmly replied

“Why not just park here?”

“I don’t want to be interrupted like last time. Cops are always looking to ruin a good time. Plus don’t you want to be on the news?”

“Not funny”

“It was funny to me” Mike chuckled to himself as Cindy fumed.

After a few more minutes of driving, Mike finally stopped the car in a clear space. Aside from the path leading outwards, all that surrounded them was trees, grass and logs for miles. As the car stopped running, the headlights began fading, slowly incasing them in darkness. The two sat in silence, appreciating the moment before it was broken by Mike’s phone ringing. As Mike pulled it out to decline the call Cindy noticed Will was the caller.

“Are you for real? I thought you were done with that shit” Cindy said, getting angry

“Not this again” Mike said in annoyance

“Yes this again. You promised me you stopped drinking. I know you aren’t close pals with him unless you were planning on getting drunk”

“It’s just a few drinks” Mike tried to rationalize

“Just a few drinks? Remember that pole you smashed into? Or that cop you fought when he pulled you over?” Cindy said, her voice starting to get angrier

“How could I forget when you keep reminding me”

“Mike I care about you, but this shit has to stop for real. It’s getting embarrassing how many times I have to pick you up from that fucking place”

“Can we not do this now? I want to enjoy the moment”

“No, we are going to do this now. My god, I can’t believe you”

“Fuck this” Mike said as he took the keys out of the car and began exiting the car

“Where the fuck are you going?”

“To have a smoke” Mike said as he began walking

“Since when the fuck did you start smoking again?

“I never stopped” Mike shouted as he continued going deeper into the forest.

Cindy remained sitting in the car, extremely annoyed that Mike is back to drinking again after promising that he’d stop. But this was the 6th time now and Cindy was more disappointed than angry. After a more minutes passed, Cindy texted Mike.

“CINDY: Hey”

Cindy put her phone down and waited for his reply. Almost immediately a ding came, which was odd because Mike normally takes a while to reply

“MIKE: Hey. Come here, I want to show you something”

“CINDY: What no, it’s cold AF out there. Come back”

“MIKE: Please come here, I want to show you something”

Now Cindy was beginning to grow suspicious. Mike doesn’t text back fast or make vague statements like that

“CINDY: What do you want to show me?”

“MIKE: It’s a surprise, come here so I can show you”

“CINDY: Mike I swear if this is a stupid prank I will take the keys and leave you here”

“MIKE: No sweetie I swear, please come”

This immediately set off red flags for Cindy. They never used names for each other, much less ‘sweetie’.

“MIKE: Please come here, honey. I want to show you something”

Cindy put the phone down, now she knew something was wrong. It wasn’t until the phone was put down did Cindy realise she was having a strange feeling, the kind you get when you know you’re being watched. Cindy quickly locked all car doors before sitting back down and scanning the surroundings. The woods were still silent as the night and Cindy could only see the immediate trees through the darkness. Soon, another ding came from her phone but she ignored it, still focusing on the woods. Another ding came from her phone, then another and another. Cindy finally looked at her phone.

“MIKE: Baby please come”

“MIKE: You need to see this”

“MIKE: Come here now”

The messages no longer were friendly as before, but instead more demanding

“MIKE: File attachment”

Cindy was a bit hesitant to open this file attachment, but reluctantly did so and what she saw scared her. It was a picture of her in the passenger’s seat, looking at her phone. Cindy was absolutely terrified now, her fears were now confirmed that something happened to Mike. Cindy noticed the angle and began working the courage to look up. As her eyes focused on the ground, they slowly began making their way up until it hit the trees and then, she saw it. A figure in the shadows was standing there. Aside from the figure, Cindy couldn’t make out any features of the mysterious person. Another ding came from her phone and Cindy looked down to see the message.

“MIKE: I see you, please come so I can show you this thing”

Cindy began immediately calling the police, but she had no cell service. The mysterious figure began walking up to Cindy and she was finally able to make out its features. The figure turned out to be a woman in a wedding dress, with red stains all over it, wearing a mask over her face. As the woman got closer, Cindy noticed that the mask was of another person’s face. Cindy quickly made sure the doors were locked.

The woman was now at the door’s window, staring at Cindy. Cindy now noticed that the mask she was wearing was not a mask, but instead someone’s actual face. Cindy’s skin began to crawl as noticed this. The woman never broke eye contact with Cindy, staring deep into her soul. The woman in the wedding dress lifted her arm, brandishing a butcher’s knife. She began tapping on the window, making Cindy unnerved. The woman then began scratching the window, making a shrieking sound as Cindy tried to cover the noise with her hands. The woman tried pulling the door open, but it was locked. Cindy began preparing her arms, ready to fight if needed. The woman took a few steps back and slashed the knife into the window, but all it did was just scratch the window. Cindy flinched in fear as she moved back instinctively. The woman tried hitting the window again, but like all it did was scratch the window some more. Cindy began to weigh her options. Either she stay and die or try and get the keys from Mike. As the woman was preparing to strike the window again, Cindy disengaged the lock and kicked the door open, knocking it into the woman as she was pushed back.

Cindy immediately out of the car and began running in the direction Mike ran as she heard the woman get up and start giving chase. Cindy ran through the woods, jumping over logs and after a few minutes of running, she turned and noticed the woman was no longer behind her. Cindy began slowly walking, careful not to crush any branches or leaves. After a few moments of dead silence, she began to hear someone wheezing and slowly walked over to find Mike, slumped against a tree holding his chest

“Mike” Cindy whispered as she slowly began walking to him

“Oh god, help” Mike managed to get out, breathing heavily

“What happened?” Cindy ask as she helped Mike get up

“That fucking bitch stabbed me, before stealing my phone and running off” Mike struggled to say, as he was slowly falling to the ground

“Yeah I got the texts. I knew it wasn’t you. You got your keys on you?”

“Yep” Mike said, reaching in and pulling them out

As the two continued limping, Cindy’s phone went off with a ding

“MIKE: Honey wait up”

“CINDY: Fuck off”

As soon as Cindy replied, they heard a ding behind them and quickly turned around, seeing the woman standing a few feet from them, holding a knife in one hand and the phone in the other. They all stood in silence, staring each other with only the rapid breathing of Mike breaking the silence. The woman dropped the phone and began running at the couple. Mike put his keys into Cindy’s hand and pushed her away as he began running towards the woman. Cindy was about to go back for him, but stopped when she saw how fast she was running. Mike tackled the woman to the ground, but she quickly kicked him off and began strangling him. Cindy turned and continued running, not stopping until she got to the car. She jammed the key into the lock and opened it, before flinging the door open and getting inside the driver’s seat. She put the key into the ignition and hastily turned the key, making the engine sputter. Cindy tired again and again, each time the engine sputtering longer and longer. Cindy heard footsteps and looked up to see Mike rushing to the car, now his whole body covered in blood as he was holding his throat. Cindy opened all the doors as Mike got into the backseat. Mike laid in the backseat and waved his way, signaling Cindy to begin driving. As she continued driving, the only sound she could hear was Mike wheezing in pain, holding his throat.

“Hold on, we’re going to get you to a hospital first then I’m getting the cops” Cindy said, not taking her eyes off the road as she began speeding down the path, before finally pulling out of the forest and turning onto the road.

After a few minutes of silence, Cindy looked back and saw Mike, no longer wheezing but silently breathing.

“Mike, hold on we’re almost-“ Cindy was cut off as the tip of the butcher’s knife came through her throat. Cindy was still clutching the steering wheel and her feet on the pedal as Mike poked his head to her line of sight. Up close, Cindy was able to see that it wasn’t ‘Mike’ but instead the woman, who was wearing Mike’s face, as well as his jacket and pants. The woman twisted the knife, making Cindy wince before removing it. The car began veering off the road, before crashing through the guard railing and crashing into a ditch.

A few hours later, an ambulance team arrived at the scene of the crash and they couldn’t find Cindy or the woman. All they instead found was Mike’s pants and jacket, and Cindy’s clothing covered in glass and blood. Tracking the tire treads back to the forest, the cops conducted a man hunt and managed to locate the couple, who were naked and skinned alive, their bodies slumped against the tree.