September 1993
Metallic scritching ran along the length of the car like limp nails on a chalkboard. Shrubs and low-hanging branches dragged against the old Subaru. Moths swarmed the dim yellowed headlights. They cast jumbled shadows through the trees as the car bounced over stones and ruts on the uneven path.
“Is this even a road anymore?” Eric asked. His massive frame hunched around the steering wheel as if to duck beneath the foliage. The driver seat was set back as far as it could go to clear the length necessary for his legs to use the pedals. He squinted at the dense undergrowth crowding what had once been a gravel road.
“This should be the main entrance.” Matt quickly unfolded the crumpled map in his lap. He jerked his head to clear the flop of dark blonde hair from his vision. “We turned off Route 3, right?” He clicked on his heavy-duty flashlight to retrace the red and blue lines that spanned the page like rooted veins. Chipped black paint coated his nails.
A long, overly dramatic, agonized groan sounded from the backseat.
“I swear to god Matt if you get us lost in this creepy-ass woods,” Josh said while detangling the curls at the front of his head, “I’ll tell your mom.” He was too preoccupied with the claustrophobia vibrating in his bones to come up with a real jab. The lack of legroom behind Eric had forced him to sit in the middle seat. His restless bouncing knee raised Vic’s blood pressure every time it brushed up against him.
Vic used the crank on the door to crack open the window before lighting up a cigarette. The oppressive odor filled the car as he exhaled. The smoke lingered near the ceiling before drifting out into the dark forest.
“Yea, and what’s she gonna do? Take away his dad again?” Vic asked. The hair on the back of Matt’s neck stood on end.
“My dad leaves one time and it’s all any’a you assholes can joke about!” The map crinkled between his clenched fingers.
“Sorry man, next time-” the laugh Josh had held in escaped as a snort, ”-next time we’ll take it seriously.”
“You two wanna be in charge of the map?!” Matt crushed the map into a ball and tossed it into the backseat. Josh batted at it like a pissed-off cat, sending it flying up into the windshield.
“Josh can barely read, you really want him navigating?” Vic asked.
“Yea!” Josh agreed. “Wait-”
“-I’m sure Allison would be real cool about it if we got back late,” Eric mumbled.
“That's way worse than telling your mom.” Josh held his head in his hands, wishing he could go back in time to deliver the superior jab.
“When do you move in with Allison again?” Vic asked. He managed not to let disdain bleed into his tone.
Matt sighed heavily. “Next month.” He picked at the remaining paint on his thumbnail. “These roads are ancient. It ain’t my fault if the map’s wrong.”
The dense shrubbery parted. The headlights stretched out into a dark clearing of waist-high grass. A chain gate hung across the road, blocking their path. Familiar warning signage swayed from it.
No Trespassing: Private Property.
“Looks like we’re in the right place.” Eric eased on the brake. The ceiling light flicked on as a door clunked open.
“I got it,” Vic said, already one foot out of the car. The door shut with a thunk that echoed off of the distant trees surrounding them. The sound faded into a chorus of frogs and bats competing for insects.
Vic took another drag off of his cigarette. He didn’t usually volunteer to be the first one out of the car, but the long drive had been tense. He needed to step away before he said something he’d regret.
Without his flashlight on him, he could only see about ten feet in any direction from the headlights. The woods were made of indistinct outlines that shifted in the breeze. At least being in the middle of nowhere was reassuring. Unlike most of the places they went, the only thing he had to worry about out here were animals.
Grasshoppers leaped out of the way as he stomped through the tall grass. He ignored the ones that clung to the ends of his long dark hair. They wouldn't bite without a reason and he couldn’t blame them for mistaking the texture as coarse grass.
The chain was easily unlatched from the metal post. Years of rust fused the links stiffly into a bowed shape that fell to the ground as one piece. He waved Eric through. Darkness followed close behind the tail lights.
Vic jumped back in the car as it crept forward. A primordial panic forced him to retract his legs into the safety of the vehicle at lightning speed. He dropped his cigarette in the process and took in a sharp breath at the thought of putting another burn in Eric’s seats.
“Who was that little girl behind you?” Josh asked as Vic shut the door. A stupid lopsided grin stretched across his face. Vic glared at him as goosebumps bloomed up his arms.
“If you scare Vic now he won’t leave the car again,” Eric warned.
“Ok, Mom-” The car lurched as it climbed a curb. The graveled crunch of the tires ended as they landed on pavement. A craggy, unpainted, street veered out of view to the left. The headlights landed on the corpse of a wooden sign half consumed by vines.
Buttercup Meadow Neighborhood.
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