Readers vote on where this story goes next! Welcome to Briarwich. A sleepy coastal town with a dark history. You are Morgan, a college student on a boating trip with your four best friends. When you and your friends become stranded in Briarwich, you...
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What ever happened to never splitting up the party in a horror movie?
Your head swivels back and forth between your four friends who have all taken off in different directions. Among the chaos and death, you only have seconds to decide who to follow, or risk being left behind.
"Aw, hell," you growl as you take off in a sprint across the uneven lawn.
You make a bee-line for Natalie, leaping over a villager thrashing on the ground. You've never been much of a runner. Shockingly, sitting in the art classroom all day and forgoing other extracurricular activities has not trained you for this day. Under normal circumstances, long and lean Natalie would have left you in her dust, but long skirts and boots are not exactly meant for strenuous physical activity. Her constant struggle to keep the fabric bunched up around her knees so she can run allows you to close the gap between you before she reaches the edge of the trees.
"Natalie, wait!" you gasp. Your lungs are on fire, and the wool slacks are making you sweat in crevices you did not even know existed.
Natalie's head whips around at the sound of her name. She points to the line of apple trees, where you see a dark figure running down one of the evenly spaced rows, "Come on, this way!"
"Natalie!" you call again, trying to get her to stop, but she is not listening.
As you cross the invisible barrier between the orchard and the farm house, marked by a crisp line of shadow created by the dense canopy, you feel a shiver shoot down your spine that's violent enough to almost make you yelp. The sensation is not unlike being zapped with a mild electric shock. It makes the muscles in your legs, back and arms clench involuntarily for a moment; long enough to threaten your tenuous balance while running full speed. The sensation passes as quickly as it came, leaving behind a tingling sensation along the back of your scalp.
If Natalie felt the shock, she gives no outward signs. She's moving forward with a single minded determination, and will no doubt leave you behind if you cannot keep up.
As you steal a glance over your shoulder, you can't help but think that the farm and the festivities seem miles away, even though it cannot be more than a few yards distant. The screaming and crying seem much more muted than you would expect. It makes you feel cut off from the rest of the world, like shutting a door. The logical part of your brain tells you that it is just the overgrown plant life creating natural sound proofing, but you are beginning to suspect that something else is at play here.
"Natalie, Natalie!" you growl. You grab for her sleeve and force her to slow to a brisk walk, "Will you stop for just a second, please?"
At your behest, Natalie slows and takes a brief second to catch her breath before speaking, "There was someone watching the festival from the trees. A woman, I think. I don't know. It was hard to tell with the shadows, but I think she had blonde hair. She took off once people started to..."
