Shortcut to Knife's End
Ella rolled her eyes as her mom launched into a scathing diatribe. Every once in a while her mom would do this, mainly when she had just taken the shortcut home.
�How dare you!!!!! You know how I feel about you taking that shortcut. There�s who knows what hiding in those woods! Heaven knows that there are enough weirdoes out there!�
�Mom, chill. There�s a thing called my cell phone and 911. Anyway, what axe-murderer in their right mind would come to Greentown. It�s the most boring, commonplace town on the face of the Earth!�
With that last word, she stormed out of the house, taking her purse with her. She knew that if she didn�t leave then that she would never get the last word in. Anyway, Halloween was in one day, and she still needed the final touches to her costume. Boy, was snotty I-have-everything-you-do-and-more Elisa Parker going to envy her!
The next day Ella went out at 7:00pm. As she left her mom yelled out some gobbledygook about a man with a knife roaming the countryside and for her to stay out of the woods. Yadda, yadda, yadda, she thought to herself. Her mom was a paranoid freak; she found that smiling and nodding worked well in cases like this. Anyway, no half-baked story about a man with a knife would spoil her plans. After going trick-or-treating with her best bud Alexis, she was going to go the Elisa�s party and wow everyone with her costume. After all, how many people wore vampire bat costumes made out of real bat?
After a while, she and Alexis reached a stretch of houses near the woods. She checked her watch. Oh no, she thought. She was going to be late for Elisa�s party! She quickly bade goodbye and goodnight to Alexis and scurried off. But how to make best time to Elisa�s house? It was at least 10 minutes away by the long way. She scans her surroundings and sees the woods. She eyes them cautiously, wondering if she should take the shortcut. After all, there was 7 minutes �till the party and the shortcut would only take 5. A quick glance at her watch quelled her qualms and she set off to take the old path.
She walked through the thickset trees. Haven Woods was actually very small widthwise, but if she strayed from the path, she�d get lost. Suddenly, she stopped. The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end. She thought she had heard the crack of a twig. No, she told herself. I was simply imagining things. With that small reassurance, she set of again, struggling slightly, encumbered by her bat�s wings. Stupid wings, she told herself. About a minute later, she stopped again. Ok, this time she had distinctly heard the rustle of leaves. She stood there, quivering. Maybe�maybe my friends are playing a joke on me, she half-hoped half-thought.
�OK guys, very funny! Now stop stalking me and come out where I can see you!�
No reply.
�It�s not funny anymore guys! C�mon, cut it out! Alexis, Sarah, Simone? Come on say something.�
There was a soft rustling again, and she saw a faint silhouette in the moonlight. Was it her imagination, or did she see a glint of steel? The shape took a step, and Ella broke into a run.
She ran hard, her heart pounding, leaves cracking noisily under her weight. She didn�t care; silence was no longer her objective, only escaping this demon of the night mattered now. In her head, she said a litany- why didn�t I listen to mom? Suddenly, a figure jumped out of the bushes. Ella screamed. The figure held her from behind, a hand slowly reached up. It was holding a knife. She whimpered as the cold blade touched the skin of her neck. She heard a whispered voice say, �Scream, scream to your heart�s content�. So she did so as the knife drew swiftly across her neck, her blood flowing, her vision fading to black. She screamed, but no one heard her.
