Scary Stories and Urban Legends

Follow The Arrows (Part 1)

One evening, I met my friends, Jeff and Dave in a bar for a few drinks. When I went to the bathroom and walked into one of the stalls, I happened to notice some writing on the door.

It read: "Follow The Arrows". 

I look around, but I looked around, but I didn't see any arrows, so I didn't think much more about it. However, two hours later, I had to use the restroom again. As I walked through the door, I accidentally bumped into the light switch with my shoulder and the room went completely dark. That's when I noticed it. 

On the ceiling, above my head, there was a trail of glow-in-the-dark arrows. They looked like they had been there for quite a while. I was intrigued. I wanted to follow the arrows and find out where they led.

I went back to the table and told Jeff and Dave what I had discovered. They were curious too. We decided to investigate. I went home and got a black light. It's kind of like a small flashlight, but it illuminates things that are invisible to the naked eye.

When I returned to the bar, it was almost closing time. Dave and Jeff were waiting for me, their faces full of excitement. I went to the bathroom and tested my black light on some of the painted arrows. It worked like a charm. They glowed brightly.

We followed the trail of arrows as they led from the toilet, across the of the bar, and out onto the street. With my black light, I searched around for invisible arrows on the ground. I found one. I followed the arrow, keeping my black light inches from the ground, waving it back and forth as Dave and Jeff followed close behind.

A few feet away, I found another arrow. Then another, and another still. I was following these arrows down a side walk for about 2 blocks. We started wondering where in the world these arrows were taking us. 

Finally, I got to an arrow pointing us in a new direction... it was a driveway leading to an empty lot that was surrounded by a tall metal fence. We couldn't see what was inside. The arrows led up to the gate.

Jeff pulled on the gate, but it was locked. We decided to jump over the fence. Jeff went first, getting a firm handhold at the top them pulling himself over. I put the black light in my pocket and took a running leap at the gate. Dave gave me a helping hand, pushing mu legs from underneath until I tumbled over the fence. Then, Dave followed, hauling himself over the tall fence with surprising ease.

We found ourselves in what looked like an old parking lot. Weeds sprang from cracks in the broken concrete. I pulled out the black light and quickly found another arrow. We followed the new trail slowly, and it led us to a small shack in the middle of the parking lot.

"I know what this is," said Dave. "It used to be a drive-in movie theater. I think that's the concession stand over there."

As we approached the building, we saw that it was boarded up. There was some faded lettering on the wall that read "Popcorn." 

Dave shrugged. "So what? The arrows lure people to buy popcorn?"

We walked around the building until we came to a door in the back. It was secured by an old combination padlock. My black light picked up something scrawled on the door in glowing paint. I was a series of number.

" 1 3 5 6."

Jeff entered the numbers in the combination lock and pulled it open with an ominous creak. Jeff  peeked inside.

"I can't see anything," he said.

I peeked inside the door, shining my black light. It was useless. I cursed myself for not bringing a real flashlight. Just as I was about to suggest we head back home and return another day, I heard a click and a dim light illuminated the whole building. Dave had found the light switch.