Horror Filled Short Stories

Treasure in the Woods

The hike is already taking a substantial amount of time and the detour we have to make doesn't aid in the process of trying to get out of the heat as soon as possible. Leave it to Hayden to lose something along the way, forcing us to retrace our steps in an attempt to find her bracelet. I, along with Marie, offer to search the woods that line our hiking trail. Despite my conscious advising me to not continue deeper into the woods, I can't help but sense an odd gravitational pull dragging me further into the woods.

I come to a standstill at a ragged carpet that's hidden by a cluster of vines that have began to grow atop the abandoned carpet. I strive to compress the carpet, but I gasp and take a couple steps backwards when I notice something hard pressing against the bottom of my foot. I shove the folded carpet that I've stumbled upon in order to unravel it and once I do I'm horrified.

The minute the carpet is no longer concealing something, a body of a middle aged woman is revealed. I make eye contact with her lifeless eyes and I immediately know something's erroneous. Suddenly all the memories that I've tried to mask and ignore come pouring in. I discern my body tense up and because of that I can't tear my eyes away from her own. I hear a distant commotion and I quickly realize it's the quintessential time to try and get the attention of my friends, but I'm still frozen in place as the events that took place only a few days prior to now play through my mind. My mind reaches reality once more and I'm left staring into her eyes that continue to sparkle with fear...the fear that I caused.

Arms wrap tightly around me and spin me in the opposite direction. I'm pulled lightly forward until I find the strength to advance back to our previous position on the hiking trail. I'm blinded by the flashing of red and blue lights and before I can even register what's going on, I'm bombarded with questions regarding the body found in the woods. Tears gather in the corner of my eyes as my vision begins to blur and before anyone can stop me I'm knocked out cold on the solid ground.

I wake up long before I'm able to open my eyes and without anything to distract me I'm left dwelling upon the events that occurred while hiking.

"Is she going to be ok?" I recognize the shaky voice of Hayden's and I surmise that she must feel horrible for basically being the cause of all this.

"She will definitely be fine," I make out an unfamiliar voice reassuring her of my well being, "She was just in shock, but she should wake up any minute now." I can't see Hayden, but I can imagine her nodding her head and retracting back in the comfort of her moms arms.

I eventually am capable of opening my eyes and I rapidly blink my eyes in an effort to get adjusted to the bright lights. I'm instantly surrounded by my mom, Hayden, and Marie once they perceive that I'm beginning to wake up. My eyebrows crinkle and my mom conveys this action as a sign of confusion and she quickly seeks out an explanation as to what's occurring. I shake my head with great posthaste in an endeavor to push the voices out of my head that are yelling for me to confess to my crime.

"I need to talk to an officer or someone," I croak out while tears descend from my eyes. My mom raises her eyebrows in astonishment, but nods her head in agreement and leaves me alone with Hayden and Marie while she goes off in search of an officer.

My mom returns with an officer at her heels and he's clearly eager to speak with me. Once they reach the room, my mom motions for the other 2 girls to exit the room along with her and the officer gently closes the door behind her.

"Hi Tara, I'm Officer Braxton," he ceases talking mid sentence in order to shake my hand, "Your mom told me that you're requesting to talk to an officer." I nod my head and lick my chapped lips as i prepare to give my confession. I also make an effort to hoist myself up and along with help from Officer Braxton I manage to sit straight up on the hospital bed.

I stare at the knitted sheets splayed across my lower half and the image of the symmetrical pattern sticks in my mind as I take a deep breath. I clear my throat before looking up to the officer above me, "I killed Cara Thompson, the dead body found in the woods."

I continue to explain what I did to a shocked officer and the only thing left for him to say to me is my rights as he holds the medal cuffs against my wrists. I wince as the clasping of the cuffs squeeze my wrists and I can only imagine the marks that will be left behind.

I feel the eyes of family members and friends bore into me as I'm escorted out and all I can do is hang my head in shame. I hear my mother sniffle and I hear a rustle of a tissue being wadded up as I pass by her and I know she must be hurt that her only daughter is a killer. However, I can't seem to feel any remorse for what I've done.