The Hitch Hiker

Kaylin lifted her head from the car's window sill. For a moment she had forgotten where she was, but then soon remembered that her and her four friends were on a road trip with her Aunt Mary and Uncle John. She looked around in hopes to see their car. Nope, no sign of them… still. She sat up and rubbed her eyes and looked around the van. Natalie was sleeping, and so was Joey. James was driving, and Eric was in the passenger's seat.

James and Joey had been dating for about four months now. Kaylin found it amazing that Joey, the beautiful brunette with her long, dark hair and dark eyes and bronzed skin would ever be caught dead even speaking to James, the light brown haired, and green eyed soccer champion. He's not ugly, but not the type that a cheerleader would be dating.

Eric and Kaylin had been dating for about seven months. Eric is tall, with shaggy blonde hair, and mysterious brown eyes, and dark skinned. Kaylin was more on the shorter side, with long blonde hair and blue eyes. Eric was on the football team and Kaylin with her painter's scholarship. Another weird match. Kaylin still had a hard time believing that Eric had chosen her over Joey.

And then there's Natalie- the outspoken Natalie, with her beautiful flowing red locks, and brown eyes. She had always been the one to speak her mind about everything… literally. She didn't normally have a boyfriend, but recently had been with Kaylin's ex, Martin. Martin was invited, but decided not to go. The jerk.

James looked in the backseat and found Kaylin awake.

"Well, one of the sleeping beauties is awake!" he exclaimed. Kaylin stretched her arms, and grabbed her pillow.

"Have you seen Mary or John yet?" Kaylin asked wearily.

"Not yet, they must have gotten pretty far ahead of us. I guess it can be a good thing too, with that baby hollerin' all the time." Eric said. Kaylin chuckled. She laid her head back down on her pillow and let her thoughts drift. But they all came back to Aunt Mary and Uncle John. Where were they?

Eric glanced in the back of the van at his beautiful girlfriend. How he managed to catch and keep a girl like her, he would never know. All he knew was that he did it, and that's all that mattered now.

Kaylin looked up at him and smiled. Even the slightest glance from her still made his heart race. He reached back and grabbed her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. One day he was going to take her for his wife. One day soon…

"Hey man, can you get the other girls up? We're coming up to a gas station. If they want a drink or anything, now is the time to get it." James said to Eric.

Kaylin tapped Natalie lightly, and did the same to Joey. Natalie quickly sat up and stretched, while Joey only opened her eyes. Kaylin was eager to get out of the car and stretch her legs.

As James and Joey sat outside waiting for the gas, Kaylin, Eric, and Natalie went inside the gas station. Kaylin didn't expect a decent smell, but this was unbearable. She had never smelt anything so vile in her life. She walked over to what looked like a refrigerator- She expected to find a can of pop or something along the lines of that. She opened the refrigerator, in hopes to find something to drink, but instead only found a big slab of uncooked meat with all sorts of flies and other flying insects swarming around it. Kaylin felt her stomach get nauseous as she backed away from her discovery.

Eric glanced over at Kaylin, and saw she was upset. He walked over to her and put his arms around her waist and pulled her close.

"Are you alright?" he whispered in her ear. She turned around so that she was facing him.

"Eric, this place gives me the creeps. Let's get the gas and go." Eric tucked her hair behind her ear.

"Look, we'll be out of here in no time. I promise." As he spoke, James walked in and called for Eric. They spoke in hushed tones, too quiet for any of the girls to hear.

"What's up man?" Eric asked. James wiped the beads of sweat from his forehead.

"My car broke down. I've tried everything to get it running again, but it's not working. Can you see what you can do? I know you don't know much about cars, but it couldn't hurt to try, right?"

"Right. I'll see if I know what it is." The two boys exited the shop. Right as they left, a lady appeared at the counter. She was a plump lady, with short, curly hair and 60's style glasses. Everything about this town made Kaylin shiver.


Eric walked back into the store and asked the lady at the counter to use the phone. As the phone rang, he glanced over at Kaylin, who was talking with Natalie and Joey. James was outside looking around. What there was to look at, he didn't know, but it was just like James to do that.

James stood outside the store. He had hoped Joey would come with him, but figured she wouldn't. Kaylin was crying, and Joey was always there for her when she was upset. He wondered why she was crying, but didn't dare to ask. Girls cry over the dumbest things, and he didn't want to get into this kind of drama. It was curious though, because Kaylin was always the one comforting the other girls. He had only seen Kaylin cry once, and that was when her mother died…

His thoughts were soon interrupted when he reached a "car graveyard". He looked around. His heart skipped a jump, when he spotted Kaylin's aunt and uncle's car. He raced over to it, and found the tires taken off of it, and the windows broken. What he didn't find, was the bodies. Maybe they had car trouble and the sheriff took them back? Yeah, that had to be it. But James knew that wasn't it. How was he going to tell Kaylin? Maybe that was why she was crying.

James turned around and went back to the shop, shaking like a leaf. They couldn't be dead. They had the atlas, and they knew where we were, and god, they had to be alive.

Eric saw James coming back to the shop. He had been sitting on this box waiting for him to come back. As James got closer, Eric could tell something was wrong. He got up and walked over to him.

"What's wrong, man?" James kept walking straight ahead. He didn't even flinch.

"James, what happened? Where did you go?" James still didn't listen, just walked into the store. Kaylin looked up. She expected him to go to Joey, but he came straight to her.

"Kaylin, I think you need to see something." Kaylin's heart raced. She had never seen him like this. She glanced over at Eric, in hopes he knew what was going on. She searched his face, and saw that he was as oblivious as the rest of them. She got up, and followed him. The others followed them too.

Natalie rolled her eyes. James was probably over reacting. He did have a tendency to do that. But she didn't say anything for Kaylin's sake.

Joey glanced at Natalie, and saw her roll her eyes. How could she be so hostile at a time like this? She was so inconsiderate of others sometimes, it made Joey sick. She caught up with Kaylin. She could see the fear in her eyes. If this was some kind of joke, James was going to be in a lot of trouble.

They finally reached the car. Eric's eyes grew wide, and Joey gasped. Kaylin stopped, and tears gathered in her eyes. Kaylin ran over to the car and checked in it to see if they were in there. She looked in the passenger's seat and though she didn't find a body, she found something worst. Her stomach did a flip flop as she backed away from the car. Her legs turned to noodles as she dropped to the floor.

Eric ran to her and caught her fall. She dropped to her knees and wept. Eric held her, and he felt her whole body shake with sobs.

Natalie walked over to see what grossed Kaylin out so much. She looked into the car and on the passenger's seat and found a severed arm in a pool of blood. She backed away from the car and grabbed James.

"Why did you have to show her this? Look at her, she's devastated." James shook free from her grip, and went over to Joey. She didn't know or see what was in the car, but she had a feeling she didn't want to. Judging by the long, deep, slash in the roof of the car, the broken windows, and the bloody hand marks on the windshield, her aunt and uncle weren't alive. She wanted to leave as soon as possible.

The walk back to the shop seemed longer than the walk on the way there. Kaylin was a wreck, Eric and Natalie were racing to try to comfort her, James was trying to comfort Joey, and they had no clue where they were.

"Eric, you're going to have to call the sheriff again, and give him a murder report." Kaylin said softly. Eric knew this. He wondered if the sheriff had already come. It had been at least two hours since he called him. Where was he?


"Eric, it's been three hours since you first called the sheriff. Where is he?" Joey said. Eric looked among his friends. They were all scared and worried, and just wanted to get home. The only problem was they were stranded in this forsaken place. He massaged his head.

Kaylin got up and walked to the road and stared out at the emptiness of Texas. She didn't know exactly where they were, but she never wanted to see it again. Who would kill an innocent child? Who would kill my aunt and uncle? She thought of her baby cousin, Amy. Precious Amy. She would never get to grow up, and would never get to know what it's like to love someone.

As she thought, her thoughts shifted to Eric. They had known each other for about ten years now, and only started dating seven months ago. She wondered if they would ever get married, and have children of their own.

She heard footsteps behind her. She turned around and saw Natalie behind her. She faced ahead again. Natalie came up and stood with her. They didn't speak for a long time.

"Should we just go to the sheriff's home and get him?" she asked Kaylin. Kaylin nodded her head as they turned to head back to the shop. Kaylin told the rest that she and Natalie were going to go to the sheriff's house.

"No, no you guys aren't going alone." Eric protested.

"Fine, Natalie, you stay here. James, you come with me." Kaylin said. Eric jumped in again.

"No, I'll go with you."

"Fine, then how about someone else goes?" Eric knew what she was doing. He didn't understand why, but she was trying to get away from him. But he agreed that someone else went. Natalie and James volunteered to go. Now the only thing they could do was wait.


Natalie followed the plump lady's directions exactly. She and James had walked almost entirely in silence. Finally, they approached the mansion the lady had explained. Natalie walked up to the door and knocked. There was no answer for a long time. She knocked again. No answer.

"Hello?" she called into the house.

"I don't think anybody's home." James said.

"There has to be someone home. I'm not staying here!" Natalie said as she stepped inside the house. James grabbed her arm.

"What do you think you're doing? That's breaking and entering. You could go to jail for something like that!" She squirmed out of his grip.

"I don't care, I just want to go home!" she walked into the house. James followed. She stared at him.

"Well, I need to make sure you don't do anything else stupid." He said. She rolled her eyes.

"Hello? Is anyone home?"

Thomas looked up. He heard footsteps and people calling. What did the want? He wondered where Uncle Monty was. Normally he would have either called on him to deal with them, or he'd run them off himself.

At first he thought he was doing something wrong-taking the identity of someone else. Stealing their complexion. But if his family didn't care, then how could it be bad?

He could still hear the voices. Still no Uncle Monty. Where was that no legged wonder? Thomas looked over at his chainsaw. That was his best friend. It made him handsome. It made people fear him.

He finished the stitch on his face, and looked in the mirror- perfect. He was presentable. He got out of his chair and picked up his chainsaw. If Uncle Monty wouldn't take care of them, then he would.

Natalie walked into one of the rooms. James followed her in. Natalie let out a small scream as she covered her mouth and turned and walked out of the room. James peered in the room and knew why. There were animal skins and remains everywhere. Hanging from the ceiling was bloody nylons, and rabbit skins. On the tables there were bowls of blood and knives everywhere. James backed out of the room. He turned and saw Natalie standing at the bottom of the stairs looking at the wall. He looked over her shoulder and saw what appeared to be a peep hole.

"Natalie, I think it's time to go."

"I agree." Just as they turned around, the door behind them opened. They swung around, terrified at what they saw.

"James, run!" Natalie screamed. The man with the chainsaw chased after them. James grabbed Natalie's wrist. They ran out the front door. Natalie's chest beat hard with exhaustion, as she ran. James let go of her wrist, and fell to the ground.

"James! Get up!" she yelled. She turned around to get him.

"GO! Natalie get out of here!" James hollered after her. She saw that the man was getting closer. Out of fear, she ran and left James. she was too scared to look back.


Lifted himself from the ground, but it was too late. As he got up, he felt a hard stinging in his back. He screamed and cursed with pain. He felt the chainsaw be pulled from his back. Once again, he fell to the ground. He tried to lift himself up again, and as he tried, he felt the man punch him across the face. He felt hands on his shoulders pick him up hastily. Then, blackness swept over him.

When James awoke, he was in a different place. He could feel the pain gnawing at his back. He winced in pain. He looked around him. His eyes were heavy. Where was he? What happened?

He remembered him and Natalie walking through the house… the room… the peep hole… the man with the chainsaw. He tried to get up, and as he did, he realized his hands were bound tightly with what seemed like a wire. He was in a bath tub. Odd.

Water was dripping all around him, and his clothes were damp. He looked over and saw someone chained to a wall. It couldn't be… it was. It was Uncle John. Was he still alive? He couldn't be- his arm was severed off, and his eye was blackened, and James saw no motion in his chest. James tried to speak, but it only came out in blubber words. Tears filled his eyes, as he now knew how he was going to die. He just wondered how much longer he was going to have to deal with this pain and heart ache.

His thoughts were interrupted when he heard the cellar door open. He tried to turn to see if maybe it was someone who was going to help him. But no, it was the mad man who had the chainsaw. Fear swept through James as he screamed through his bite. He didn't know what good it would do, but he still yelled. The man bent James over, and deepened the wound on his back. James yelled and screamed and cursed, but the man kept twisting the knife. When he was finished, he put salt in it. James yelled out in pain, and hot tears rolled down his cheeks. The last thing that went through his mind was his sister. He was all his sister had- but no more. He hoped she would never meet such an end.


Natalie ran for her life. Tears streamed down her face. She had made it far enough that she couldn't hear the screams of her dear friend. She felt her heart would pop out of her chest. She gasped for breath. She glanced behind her, in case he was coming.

She started running again, this time toward her friends. It was barely daylight anymore. The darkness was covering her. She didn't know how they expected to escape, but she didn't care. She just needed to warn them.

Eric glanced into the street. Someone was running toward them. He squinted. It was Natalie… only Natalie. He got up and walked over to her. As she got closer, he could tell she was crying. She ran straight into him, almost knocking him over. She kept yelling something that none of them could make out. Eric stood her up and grabbed her shoulders and made her face him.

Kaylin and Joey ran over to see what was up with Natalie. Eric was already trying to comfort her.

"Shh… Shh… settle down, Natalie. It's ok." Eric said in a soothing voice. Natalie wrapped her arms around him, and he embraced her. After a long time, Natalie had settled down enough that they could understand her. but she spoke in broken terms.

"A m-man. He-"she sobbed. "He killed- he killed him!" Eric stared at her. She didn't say who he killed, but they all had an idea. Joey let out a pained sob, and Kaylin hugged her, as tears streamed down her own face.

"We have to go. We have to get out of here… We're all going to die. We're gonna die!" Natalie screamed. It was completely dark now. Eric put his hand over her mouth to muffle her screams.

"Kaylin, go see if the store's still open."

"Eric, I don't-"

"Kaylin, just do it!" she gave up on trying to reason with him, and got up and walked back to the store. She opened the door, and saw nobody at the counter. She walked over to where Eric had made the call earlier. She searched the wall for the phone. Nothing. She checked frantically, but found nothing. The lady must have taken it with her. But why?

Kaylin raced back to the car. She saw the sheriff's car there. Eric got up and ran to her. She ran into his arms, and he held her close.

"Please tell me that's the sheriff." She cried.

Eric held her close and rubbed his hand on her back.

"Yes, that's the sheriff. It's all going to be ok now." He kissed the top of her head.

They walked over to the sheriff. Natalie and Joey were sitting on the hood of their car, holding each other. The sheriff approached Eric and Kaylin.

"You the niece?" he asked her. She nodded her head.

"You the boyfriend?" he asked Eric. He nodded too.

"Sir, can you show me exactly where you saw the car?" the sheriff asked Eric.

"Yeah, it was over there a ways. There were other cars there too."

"No, I said show." Eric gave him a strange look.

"What, you some kind of retard? Show me where you saw it! How do you expect me to solve this if I ain't got no clue where and what happened? Now get in the car and show me where it is!"

"But sir, what about-"

"Get in the car!"

Eric did as he was told. Natalie walked over to the sheriff, hoping to be able to go with them.

"Sheriff, I don't want to stay here alone. Please, can we come with?"

"Fine, but only you. Keep all of 'em others o'er there. I'll come back for 'em later." He answered.

"Then never mind, I'll stay with them." She replied.

"Nah, you wanted to come, you're comin', now get in the car!" he yelled. She did, and glanced back at her other two friends. She mouthed be careful, before she got in the car.

Joey and Kaylin were in the middle of nowhere… alone.


Natalie sat in the back of the sheriff's car. She was shaking with fear. She looked over at Eric, who sat calmly. She could see the fear growing in his eyes. She now regretted her decision to leave. What if the man came back for her and found Joey and Kaylin instead? She shivered. She wondered why the sheriff wouldn't call for back up, or even let them come.

The car stopped at the other car's graveyard. The sheriff got out and opened the door. Eric got out, with Natalie following him. The sheriff let Eric pass, but shoved Natalie back in the car.

"And just where do you think you're going, missy?" he asked.

"With you guys." She replied.

"Ah no you don't, you're stayin' here." He shut the door behind him. Natalie slumped back down in her seat and folded her arms. She just wanted to go home.

Eric looked back at the sheriff's car. What was wrong with this man? The sheriff turned back to him, and approached him.

"Now, tell me which car it was that you found the bodies." The sheriff said.

"We didn't find the bodies. I told you that over the phone."

"Are you talking back, boy!" the sheriff yelled.

"No sir."

"I would like to hope not. Now where's the car?"

Eric walked over to the car. The blood was dried now, except for the pool around the severed arm. Eric pointed in the car and covered his mouth and turned away. The sheriff looked in and saw the trail leading out of the car. He looked from the trail back up at Eric. He stepped straight in front of Eric. He took a big breath in through his nose and exhaled. His eyes grew wide.

"Boy, have you been drinkin'?" he said loud enough for Natalie to hear.

"No sir- we haven't had anything to eat or drink since before noon-"

"Don't you lie to me boy!" the sheriff pulled out his gun and pointed it straight at Eric's head. "Don't you dare lie to me."

"Sir, we haven't-"the sheriff put down his gun and walked over to the car and opened the door.

"Get out of the car!" he screamed at Natalie. She did she was told.

He shoved her in the driver's seat of Aunt Mary and Uncle John's car.

"You sit here, and you don't move a muscle until I get back. Do you understand me?" She started to cry again. He grabbed her hair. "Do you hear me?" he repeated. She nodded her head. He grabbed Eric and shoved him in the police car, and drove away.

Natalie hugged her knees to her chest and sobbed. Now she was all alone… with no one at all.

Kaylin dried her tears and hopped off the car hood. Joey followed her.

"Joey, it's ok. We're going to make it out of here alive. Trust me." She hugged her tightly.