Tavern of Terror Vol. 1: Short Horror Stories Anthology by unknow

Author:unknow
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Scare Street
Published: 2022-07-04T05:00:00+00:00

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Off-Trail

By Kevin Saito

Now…

“Come on, a little bit further,” Jonas gasped. “We need to keep going. The main trail is just a little bit further.”

“You said that hours ago,” Cora replied, her voice thick with fatigue.

His lungs burned as hot as the muscles in his legs, and he was beyond exhausted. But he pushed himself forward. Jonas knew if they didn’t keep moving, they were going to die—just like the others. And he had no intention of dying out here in the middle of nowhere. He was determined that he would get out of the damn forest and back to safety. He was determined to get away from those—things.

Jonas looked behind him to see Cora and Max struggling to keep up with him on the incline of the trail. They both looked wrung out. They had dark circles beneath their bloodshot eyes, they were filthy. Their faces, arms, and legs were spiderwebbed with cuts and scratches, wounds earned from their panicked flight through the thick bushes and branches of the forest.

“We need to stop for a minute,” Max said. “We need to rest.”

Cora nodded. “Just for a minute. We just need to sit down for a minute.”

“We have to keep going. If we stop, those things are going to find us,” Jonas said. “And if they find us, they’re going to drag us away and kill us just like they did to the others.”

“If we keep going like this we’re going to drop dead from exhaustion,” Max argued. “So really, what’s the difference?”

Jonas grumbled under his breath but knew Max was right. They’d been running for—he didn’t even know how long—and he really did feel like he was on the verge of keeling over. The fear-fueled adrenaline had kept him going for a while. But that had burned out long ago. It was only his sheer determination to not die out here in the woods that had pushed him further. Even that determination was waning though, and Jonas felt close to falling over himself.

“Fine,” he said. “Fifteen minutes. If you guys aren’t ready to go then, I’m going to leave without you.”

“Gee, you’re such a good friend,” Max replied.

“I’m not tryin’ to die out here, dude,” Jonas fired back.

“Shut up. Both of you,” Cora said. “We’re not going to do this. Nobody is leaving anybody else out here and we’re staying as long as we need to. We’re not going to come apart and turn on each other like this.”

“Fine,” Jonas said. “We’ll stop here to rest.”

They stopped in a small clearing ringed by massive tree trunks. Jonas leaned back against the tree. It was as if the break in physical exertion signaled his brain it was time to ramp up the mental activity. He couldn’t stop the wave of thoughts that washed over him, nor the emotions that came with them.

As he thought about everything that had happened and the friends he’d lost, the tears streamed down his face. All he could see in his mind’s eye was the blood and the red, glowing eyes.

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