The Disappearing Act

“We should totally take a shortcut through the woods,” Ariel giggled coming to an abrupt halt as she turned to face us with a challenging smirk playing on her lips. With the light from the streetlights you could see her defined sky blue eyes, and long blonde highlighted hair lying limp on her shoulders.                                                  “Isn't it the same distance as it would be if we were to walk four blocks downtown?” I questioned while I stuffed my hands in my coat pockets as an ineffective way to contain as much body heat as possible, also hoping to block them from the biting wind.                       “No,” Ariel persisted.                                                                                         “B-b-but I-its d-d-dark and, and we don't have any lights,” Sabrina stuttered shyly scuffing the cement under her worn Grey running shoes. As strands of her auburn curls fell from the ponytail she was wearing, highlighting her high cheek bones and clover green eyes                                                                                                                   “Don't be chicken, that movie didn't scare you too much did it?” Ariel mocked skipping ahead of us and into the discreetly dark forest.                                                                                             “Of coarse not, I just don't want to trip and get a sliver,” Defended Sabrina, as she walked ahead of me to keep up with Ariel.

“This is really creepy, we should turn around and take the long way,” I stated, annoyed that I had been pressured into this in the first place.                                                                                           “Stop you’re winning, the clearing is up ahead so you “Scaredy Cats” can get back on the s-” Ariel stopped all of a sudden as a curious expression made its way onto her face. There was a woman in the clearing up ahead with long black dirty hair covering her face; she was wearing a long black cloak that looked like it was from the middle ages.                                               “It's coming towards us,” Sabrina whisper yelled looking worried and not really knowing what to do. By now the women was two feet away from us and you could almost see her face through her hair.

“Am I pretty?” she whispered in a low voice that had it not been for the silence you might not have heard. This was the voice that caused a series of shivers to run down my spine.                                                  After a second of no one speaking she flung her head back and screamed, “AM I PRETTY?”                                                                              

The first thing I noticed was that her lips were cut from ear to ear with black thread holding them together, and that her eyes were rolled back. Out of pure terror Sabrina yelled out, “yes,” at the same time that Ariel shouted, “No.” I however was left frozen in pure dread as I stared back at the horrific creature in front of me.

That was when we started to run, I don't think I have ever run as hard as I did at that moment. The thing that stopped me cold was the sound of Ariel’s ear piercing scream. As I slowly almost reluctantly turned around afraid of what I might see, I inhaled sharply. Ariel stood there staring back at me her eyes wild and searching frantic for some kind of escape. Her mouth hanging open as she fell limp to the ground, the figure stepped out from behind her producing a knife dripping with blood. In a split second, as if a switch were flipped, they vanished.

I looked around distraught for an answer and began to walk towards the spot that Ariel and the lady where only seconds ago when I heard it. The distinct sound of tearing flesh, I screamed and began to weep uncontrollably. Whipping around to watch in horror as the figure shredded a line from one side of Sabrina’s face to the other eventually connecting at the mouth. That was when Sabrina went to yell or scream for help but it just came out gurgled as blood ran down her lips to join the now growing puddle of dark liquid on the piney earth below her.

I began to run again in the other direction, no longer feeling the pain in my muscles or fatigue ready to overtake me at any minute. Forgetting it as I became ruled by bone chilling fear, I turned a corner and saw the familiar rose bushes that blossom every year on my street. As I ran down the street not daring to look back I ran up the walkway and onto my porch. Alas I whipped around my breath coming out in short, breathless, pants as my eyes roamed over the empty drives and eerily silent streets. I tried to come up with a plausible explanation but it slowly began to settle in, nothing was there.