Sam and Colby: The House

40

The map took two and a half hours to follow. It led us through the cemetery into the woods, leaving us a little confused and at a loss for maintaining our sense of direction due to the dense vegetation.

"This is like a fucking horror move," said Corey.

"It's going to get dark in like an hour and it'll take us three to find our way back," said Jake.

"Fuck," Corey whispered.

"Well, we've made it this far," said Sam. "No point in leaving now."

"Where to now?" I asked Colby.

"Uh, nowhere. This is where it ends," he said.

"What? Two miles deep into the fucking woods?" asked Corey.

"I don't see anything special about this place," Jake said. We all took a look around. It looked like any other patch of forest, the ground coated in brown and red leaves that had fallen off the trees since it was mid-autumn and the trees around us in a skeletal state, completely bare and brittle. A shiver ran down my spine. This really was like a horror movie.

"Can I see the map?" asked Sam. Colby handed him his phone and Sam studied it for a minute.

"Yeah, looks like we're in the right spot," Sam confirmed.

"If there was something out here, then he had to leave it in like the fifties. Maybe someone came along and found it," suggested Corey.

"In the middle of the woods? I don't know, brother. Seems like a pretty slim chance," said Jake.

"Yeah, I agree with Jake. I mean, you might be right but it's more than likely that he hid whatever this leads to so that no one will find it," said to Corey.

"Then why did he make a map?" asked Corey.

"It's a pretty complex location. He probably made it for himself," said Sam. "And he clearly put quite a bit of effort into hiding it."

"Well how the fuck are we supposed to find it, then?" asked Corey.

"We don't even know what we're looking for," said Jake.

"You did a lot of research. Is there anything of Gein's that the police tried to find but couldn't? Any missing pieces to this puzzle?" asked Colby. I thought for a moment.

"There was a journal of his that he found, but it starts in the middle of an entry so they think there was a first one he filled up. Oh, there's his car, too. A 1949 Ford sedan, I think. It was last seen in 1956. It's mint green, but has to be pretty rusted by now," I said.

"How would he have put a car out here?" asked Jake.

"Dude did a lot of crazy shit. I wouldn't be surprised in the slightest if he'd found a way to get a car out here. Plus it's been, like, over 70 years since it was last seen. These woods might have been less dense at that time," said Sam.

"Hm. That's a good point," said Colby.

"So you think it's a car he hid out here?" asked Jake.

"It'd be easier to look for a car than a diary," said Corey.

"Let's fan out a little and look around. There's a bunch of bushes out here, which is a little weird for a forest, but maybe that's just what the climate is like here. Maybe he disguised it as one," said Colby.

"Okay, yeah. I'll go with Jake and Corey if you guys want to go together," said Sam.

"Sounds good," said Colby. Sam and the other guys went one way, leaving Colby and me to go the other.

"And don't lose each other. We don't need a repeat of Witches' Forest," Corey called after us.

"Hah, funny. He thinks I'm going to lose you," said Colby. "You're never going to get rid of me."

"Good. That's the plan," I said, kissing him on the cheek.

"Mine, too," he said, wrapping me into a hug.

"Alright, I brought flashlights but it'll be easier to look in the daylight so let's get on it," I said.

"Yes ma'am," Colby said. I took my hand in his and we stared walking. We went up to each bush and kicked or sifted through it to make sure nothing was hidden inside of them. We were only looking for about ten minutes before we heard an incredibly loud scream. Colby immediately turned and started sprinting in the direction it had come from, pulling me onto his back so he could carry me and still run without separating us.

"Baby, slow down!" I yelled.

"No! That was Sam!" he yelled back.