Puzzling Events Of A Deranged World

shortcut

Zach tapped away at his phone as he plugged his headphones into his ears. The walk home was long and the music took his mind off the fact that it was nearing midnight. Even from a young age Zach had never been fond of the dark. The feeling of powerlessness it gave him overwhelmed him in his youth and left him with a lingering fear which affected even the simplest of tasks such as putting out the trash or walking his dog after a certain time. Usually he wouldn't dare go out at this hour, but his burnt out car seemed to have made that decision for him by very helpfully running out of gas 11 miles away from his house. He stabbed at the play button on his phone. Truth be told, he didn't even much like this particular song that played. The vocals where too scratchy, the best was crudely made. But he couldn't take it anymore. The silence made him feel overwhelmed, bringing back the shipload of fear he had felt as a child due to this otherworldly phenomenon known as "11:45". He knew if his mother was here she would have scolded him the moment he even thought about putting in his headphones. "What, you have a death wish or something?" she would have said, overreacting as she often did. The way she saw the world perplexed Zach even after she had passed. The constant paranoia she felt that everyone and everything in this world was out to get her. This was something he tried his best not to emulate. Except for right now. In this moment, it felt like every inch of darkness was staring at him waiting to pounce. He focused on the music that blocked his ears but could not escape the fear he felt being around so much darkness. Until something caught his eye. Something that shined, something that glimmered in the distance. Something that filled him with a sense of relief that could not be measured in words. A small green sign that read "shortcut".

Zach breathed a sigh of relief, it did however strike him as slightly odd as he had never seen a shortcut sign. But in this moment he couldn't care less. Anything to make his long journey home that little bit shorter and more bearable for him. Zach looked in the direction the sign beckoned him towards. It was a welcoming dirt path, adorned with thistles he would do well to avoid. Zach stopped for a moment, considering whether or not this was a good idea. He couldn't even be certain that this shortcut sign was leading back to his house. "If only someone would pick the damn phone up" he thought, frustrated that nobody was available to make his night easier. As much as he wanted to, he couldn't risk making his night any more difficult than it already was. Zach stepped backwards, and continued walking along the road he was already on. He changed the song, hoping it might motivate him to keep going instead of simply sleeping in the dirt until morning. It was much too cold to do that as it was. The frost would have him would he dare to fall asleep out here. If the frost didn't take him, one of the animals and beasts that called this country road home certainly would. Zach stomped on, wondering if he shouldn't have taken the shortcut when it came. It was too late now in any case, and he dared to look back in his paranoid state. Then, out of the corner of his eye, appearing as if by magic, a familiar rectangular, green sign displaying the word "shortcut".

Zach stopped, confused as he looked around. He was definitely not in the same spot as before but the same dirt road and thistles had seemingly jumped ahead of him, unwilling to let him go. "Why is there two shortcuts?" Zach asked himself out loud. Since they where not marked as leading to anywhere in particular, the presumably lead to the same place. So why would there need to be two of them? Was there more? How many dirt roads with a thistle arch could there be in the same place? Especially with an identifiable sign. Maybe this was his sign. A sign to take the shortcut home and cut his phobia exposing journey short. Zach stepped onto the dirt path, feeling slightly confident about the decision.

Zach walked through the bristley arch, trying to block out the strange lingering feeling that followed him down the dirt path. "I'll be home soon" he told himself, unsure if he was actually telling himself the truth or just what he wanted to believe. He contemplated taking his earphones out for safety, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. That'd probably cause him to break down instantly. He was already teetering on the edge, he couldn't afford to fall off of it.