Revealing Glances: Unsettling Short Stories & Their Making

The Basket Stripper

I cursed all three of them as I ran between the trees for nearly twenty minutes before I turned around. I figured maybe Matthew went back to camp after calming down. Besides, it wasn't safe to leave a fire unattended.

I remember so clearly how the crunch of leaves under my feet turned into a squelch. I pointed my light down … and saw guts. Like, literal guts. My foot was squashing a tattered tube of bloody intestines.

At first, I thought it was some animal's leftovers and my heart went wild as I began to run, afraid that wolves or whatever were close. I was panting, and I remember so clearly how the strange smell of iron took over the fresh smell of trees.

And then my light hit a patch of blond hair draped over a branch.

Just the scalp with hair.

Hair as blond as mine. Or Dylan's.

I stopped to stare, confused as hell and not even processing what I was seeing as my skin prickled with cold sweat. I think I'd have stared forever if I didn't hear creaking behind me that sounded just like rusted metal.

I whipped around with my light … and I almost threw up when I saw glistening red blotches coating the trees.

My pulse thudded in my ears like a jackhammer and I backed away, and I screamed when I bumped into a tree and a wet blob dropped on the top of my head.

I flung it off and recognized the piece of bloody flesh as Saira's pierced ear, but before I could scream again, something tackled me to the ground and knocked my breath out.

I struggled against the crushing weight and screamed under a clammy flab pressed over my mouth until I heard Matthew hissing at me to shut up. He told me he saw the Basket Stripper killing Dylan and Saira and said we should be quiet because it was hunting and it picks up on vibrations.

That just freaked me out more. I didn't know anything about Matthew other than that he was the weird kid next door who believed everything his parents told him, and I'd just found out he came all this way for the promise that I'd ask him out. He had a thing for me and what did I do? Reject him and embarrass him.

My mind went crazy right then as I saw Matthew as a homicidal incel who'd snapped and killed my brother and friend and was blaming it on his stupid monster. I mean, he'd have to be seriously deranged to cause that much gore but I was ready to believe that before believing in a damned Basket Stripper.

I kept screaming and struggling beneath him and he began panicking, his sweat dripping in my eyes as he tried to keep me quiet. He almost suffocated me as he slid his hand over my nose and I grabbed the nearest rock and bashed it against his head.

He fell off of me with a groan and I jumped up, wheezing as I searched for my phone. I couldn't find it so I broke into a run, hoping to get to Dylan's car before Matthew got up and ran after me.

After running for a few minutes I realized I was lost. I had no idea where camp was or what direction I was even headed. It didn't smell like blood anymore but that didn't ease my mind because at the time I thought Matthew was still after me.

I tried to look through the leaves to see the stars so I could orient myself, but then I heard that creaking again. It was coming from the left so I turned right and ran, my pulse racing as I imagined what kind of weapon Matthew had that sounded like that.

Running in blind fear without a light, I kept stumbling over rocks and crashing into branches until a nauseating crack sent me falling to the ground as my now broken foot got caught between two roots.

The pain shot through my body and squeezed my heart and I put my hand over my mouth to stop myself from screaming. My foot was stuck bad and I could even feel the bone sticking out as I failed to pull it free.