Dead Man's Curve The End

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Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

And now the finale to Dead Man's Curve

       The arm pulled her up and out through the window. Joyce's dad turned and in a flash stood crunching on broken glass. 

"Joyce."

The banging started to stop, and he watched as the horde started to head back towards the road with one of the ghouls dragging Joyce by the waist. 

"Joyce! I'm coming."

Joyce's dad kick the remaining shards of glass out of the window, but the ghouls were still gathered on the front porch. 

“I can't get out.”

Joyce's screams got farther away and soon the knocking stop. Joyce's dad looked out and saw the horde begin to follow Joyce's voice. 

“Nows your chance. Go and I'll be right behind you.” Mr. Rob said.

Joyce' dad tightened his jaw and leapt through the window. Mr. Rob and the other troops started pushing the table and books away from the door until it was clear enough to open. David still stood motionless in the middle of the trading post. He watched Mr. Rod run out into the night followed by Freddy, Richie and Will. 

“Wait.”

David shuffled across the floor towards the open door. A figured moved outside on the patio and David stopped. 

“Mr. Rob?”

He took another step forward before the figure appeared in the doorway. Shivers ran through David’s body as he saw the burned remains of the man's face. The man turned to fit through the door swinging his eyeball back and forth hanging by his chin from the long vein still attached to the socket.

David tried to step back, but fell hard on his backside. The ghoul turned its head to look at him with its good eye half covered by melted skin off its forehead. A shrill scream rang out across the camp. The ghoul pivoted and twisted itself around flinging its eyeball all over the place towards the sound. It stood bobbing back and forth straining to see then limped off towards the scream's direction. 

David watched it stumble off towards the hill then gasped for air. He put his hands down to lift himself up, but felt a wet puddle of liquid then looked down over his urine soaked pants. He jumped up and stomped on the puddle before taking off out of the trading post. 

Joyce kicked and screamed, scratched and pulled, but the ghoul held her tight under its arm. She looked up to see shards of glass sticking in its face and a long gash across its neck. The ghoul turned its head and she saw a larger piece of glass fall out from behind its ear. Blood began pouring out of the wound splashing onto Joyce. She screamed once more and began her regiment of kicks and punches to break free. 

The horde swarmed around them in a tight formation, walking past the hill to the camp site towards the tree line by the camp's entrance that led to the road. They were moving much faster than before, but Joyce's dad was behind them trying to break through. 

"Joyce."

She could hear the voice of her father, but they began moaning in a unison chorus, "Dead man's curve. Dead man's curve", squeezing themselves closer and closer towards her until she almost couldn't breath. 

They went through the trees trudging through long grass until they stepped onto the road. A small group stayed surrounded around Joyce while the others marched onward in a singe file towards the curve in the road. 

"Dead man's curve. Dead man's curve."

Joyce continued fighting to get away as the surrounding ghouls flesh began to peel at the edges, blood bubbled from open sores spurting down on Joyce. She flailed her body to get loose, yet another one of them grabbed her legs to hold her still. She tried to kick it away, but felt her foot get stuck between its exposed organs from a wide rectangle cut across its chest down to the hip.

"Daddy!" 

Her father ran through the line of grotesque bodies calling her name when he felt a weight latch onto his leg and cause him to fall on the road. He looked down and saw a child digging its nails into him. Its face sunken in between the nose and eyes with sharp points of cracked skull tearing the skin around its cheeks. 

Joyce's dad grabbed the hands and pulled them off, but more ghouls started to surround him. One leaned over and an eyeball hanging out of the socket dangled close to his face. 

Mr. Rob came charging in and knocked a number of them down. Joyce's dad stood up still holding the child's hands and let go dropping it to the ground. He took a last look and felt empathy for the child.

"Where's Joyce?" Mr. Rob asked. 

"She's up in the front."

"We won't make it going in this mess. Cut through the trees to get around them."

They both climbed up the short hill into the trees.  

Joyce pulled at the ghoul's arm until the bone cracked and fell off dropping her to the ground. Her palms skidded across the pavement as the other one still had her legs and dragged her down the road. 

"Dead man's curve, dead man's curve."

She kicked her legs back and freed herself from the ghoul. The small horde surrounding her started to close in, but one of them was missing a leg and she darted through the hole on all fours. She stood to run then froze as a bright on coming light came straight at her.

Tires squealed and Joyce jumped to the other side of the road landing hard on her hip. The car swerved, but was traveling too fast around the curve and drove off the road CRASH! Straight into a tree. 

Joyce sat up to see the front of the car demolished, yellow blinking lights filling the darkness every half a second, the faint sound of music playing in the air. 

"Joyce!"  

She looked over and saw her dad followed by Mr. Rob. She got up and limped towards them feeling the pain in her hip where she landed on the hard concrete road. 

"Dad."

He ran out to meet her and wrapped his arms around her. 

"Are you hurt?"

She tried to speak, but only tears came out. The passenger side door opened and a man fell to the ground.

"Help me."

Mr. Rob rushed forward. 

"Sir, don't try to move. We are here, we can help you."

He took one more step and stopped. 

"Dead man's curve. Dead man's curve."

The ghouls were all there, swarmed around the man chanting in unison. 

"Dead man's curve. Dead man's curve."

The man screamed as they picked him up off the ground. 

"No. No. Where are you taking me? Help. Help me!"

"Dead man's curve. Dead man's curve."

They carried the man off into the woods and soon everything went silent except for the faint music coming from the car radio. 

"That's the song." Joyce said. 

Her dad looked down at her.

"What song?"

"The song I heard, when I woke you up about the car. That's the same car."

"Stay here."

Joyce's dad walked to the end of the car. He waved his hand for Mr. Rob to follow him over. At first he didn't move, but finally took a few steps forward. Joyce followed a little bit behind until she reached the end of the car. The sound of crunching leaves came from behind them.

"Stay back."

The other scouts; Freddy, Will, Richie and David following behind them came out out of the darkness.

"What was that?" Richie asked.

The rest of the scouts followed with questions and stories of what they had just witnessed.

"Everyone quiet. I told you guys to wait under the light. Those things may still be out there." Mr. Rob said.

They all went silent looking around in every direction. Joyce wanted to say something, but couldn't speak until she saw a movement inside the car.

“There.” 

Dad and Mr. Rob looked and began to move with caution towards the car. The scouts all watched as they made it to the passenger door and FLOP! They all jumped in fright as the man fell onto the ground.

"What? How did he--"

Joyce's dad squatted down next him and put his hand on his neck.

"He's dead." 

Joyce swung around and glanced down the long stretch of dark road past the camp entrance, then back towards the dramatic curve in front of her half lit by a streetlight high in the air. Three square signs with black arrows against a yellow background all pointed in odd directions from their metal posts being bent and re-bent back into position. The line of trees behind them had missing bark, deep scars in the trunk and burns around their trunks. Some smaller ones were broken in the middle with limbs and branches scattered all about. Deep ridges where the grass grew lower than the rest revealed tire tracks that lead straight towards them. 

She wrapped her arms around herself, cold from the horrific encounter they had experienced, and a sudden understanding of the events, she whispered under her breath, "Dead man's curve. Dead man's curve."

The End

Dead Man's Curve Part 3

Click to Read:

Dead Man's Curve Part 1

Dead Man's Curve Part 2

And now, 

Part 3

"Is there a key hiding under a rug or something somewhere?"

They looked around the porch in the mailbox, under the steps, they lifted the rug that said Welcome, but there was nothing. 

"They're coming." David said.

Members of the horde were picking themselves up off the ground and continued coming towards the scouts.

"Over here." Richie said. 

They looked over and saw him standing in front of the window. He jammed his pocket knife underneath and raised it up enough that he could squeeze his hand between the small opening to lift it up. Mr. Rob put his hand inside and helped Richie push it all the way open.  

"Inside everyone." Mr. Rob said. 

Richie climbed in first, followed by Will then Freddy.

"Joyce, go."

She put her knee up on the ledge and fell face first through the window. She twisted her body landing shoulder first onto the hardwood floor. David was lowered down by Joyce's Dad next to her. He followed stretching his long leg through the window and bending his torso underneath to clear his head and saw Joyce on the floor. 

"What happened?" Dad asked.

"I fell on my arm."

Her dad helped her up while she rubbed her shoulder. He took a look at her and only saw a small bruise forming where she landed. 

"You'll be all right."

Mr. Rob came through the window and did an immediate turn to shut it and flip the lock.

"Everyone into the middle." 

The troop gathered in the center of the large room near a long rack of camp souvenirs. It was dark inside the trading post with no way to tell if the horde was coming or not. 

"Are they gone?" Will asked. 

They continued to stand together in silence, listening for a sound. Joyce hugged her dad around his hip, David hugged him on the other side. Mr. Rob stepped forward trying to listen from behind the door. 

"Maybe they--"

BOOM! BOOM! And another BOOM! Then more BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! Rumbled against the door and walls. 

"Secure the door. Grab everything you can and put it in front of it." Mr. Rob said.

Joyce's dad followed his instructions and went for a table full of folded camp T-shirts. He slid it across the floor in front of the door. Mr. Rod grabbed a deer head off the wall and wedged it underneath the table. Freddy and Richie began taking books off the shelves and threw them on or under the table. 

The banging kept getting louder and louder, never stopping. David was still paralyzed with fear while Will started helping throw the books. Joyce saw a box full of walking sticks by the window she thought would be able to hold the door shut. She ran over to take one, SMASH! Window glass flew in all directions as an arm came crashing in and wrapped itself around Joyce.

"Daddy!"

Dead Man's Curve Part 2

Read Dead Man's Curve Part 1

Now for 

Part 2

The crunching of metal and shattering of glass rang out over the camp site. The blaring of a horn sounded and -

CRASH!

Then -

CRASH!

And another -

CRASH!

Joyce flew out of her tent. This time her dad was struggling to get out, Mr. Rob unzipped his tent. The muffled voices of the boys groaned in their tents as they woke up in a panic. Soon everyone was centered around the smoldering fire. 

All our voices merged into one as we asked about the noise until Mr. Rob spoke up. 

"Everyone calm down. Me and Mr. Stephen will go check it out. You kids just stay here and wait for us to get back. Ok, just wait here."

They both took off with their flashlights through the trees. From the camp, Joyce could see bright headlights lighting up the woods and flashing yellow lights like she had seen before, except now it was much brighter. The other boys, now awake and with their coats on, walked towards the lights. 

"We're suppose to stay here." Joyce said. 

"I just want to see." Freddy said. 

The other boys followed in agreement. Joyce was hesitant, but followed along with them.

"Just to the tree line." she said. 

"Ok." 

Will stopped at the first tree and the rest lined up next to him. Joyce stood over Richie's shoulder. 

"Do you see your dad?" Richie asked. 

"No. Do you?"

"I think that's him, there."

He pointed to a shadow down by the road. 

"Dad!" 

The shadow crept up the hill crunching on dead leaves, twigs and sticks up towards them. 

"Dad, what's happening?"

The children focused on the figure until it stood in front of them. It leaned down into the light and they saw the  out of a hole between two ripped open pieces of skin across his forehead dark red blood oozing down his face. 

  The children screamed in unison that echoed off the trees and rattled their eardrums as the bloodied man reached out towards them. They ran back towards the middle of the campsite by the dying the fire. 

Will jumped through the front of his tent, then returned with a powerful D battery flashlight. He clicked it On and raised the light beam onto the man's face. Blood continued to flow out of his injury all the way down his neck and soaking into his shirt. 

The leaves rustled and Will shined his light towards it. A second man and a woman came out from the trees behind the first man. Each with similar deep cuts across their face, each spilling dark blood down their shirts and onto the ground. The woman walked forward at a crooked angle to point her eyes in the direction of the children. Will shined the light into her face and she turned away, but they all saw the bone sticking straight out of her neck. 

The couple pushed past the first man into the camp. Through the trees more men, women and children came walking out. All bloodied with some missing limbs, some dragging broken legs across the ground, but all of them charging towards the campsite where the scouts stood petrified in front of the oncoming horror. 

More leaves rustled in the trees and through the horde of ghouls the two scout leaders came running. 

"Dad." Joyce shouted. 

She jumped into his arms. 

"Everyone alright?" Mr. Rob asked. 

He counted the scouts and wrapped his arms around Will, Freddy and Richie as they ran to his side. David stood motionless, still staring at the growing number of bleeding and broken bodies continuing their descent onto the camp. 

Joyce's dad sat her down to one side and reached out for David.

"Let's go. Go! Go! Go!"

Mr. Rob pushed Joyce and the children forward to put them in motion. Mr. Stephen wrapped up David and followed them down the hill. Freddy took the lead as his long legs carried him down the hill faster than everyone else. The horde stomped through the camp knocking tents and supplies all over the ground. Joyce didn't dare turn around for fear they would be right behind her. 

Freddy stopped at the bottom of the hill under the tall lamp post. 

"Which way? Where do we go?"

Mr. Rob pointed to a wood cabin a short distance away. 

"There. The trading post. Go there."

Freddy took off as the rest of the scouts reached the bottom continuing to run as fast as they could. Joyce's dad still carried David in his arms with his head resting on his shoulder who then screamed a high-pitched squeal. Joyce told herself not to look, but her head turned before she could stop herself. The horde began falling and tripping over each other, hitting the ground and started rolling down the hill after them.

Freddy pulled on the door. 

"It's locked." 

Mr. Rob and the other scouts arrived at the trading post. They all pounded and pulled at the door trying to get it open. Joyce's dad sat David on the ground and began searching for a way inside.

To be continued...

Dead Man's Curve Part 1

Dead Man's Curve

by 

Joshua J. Wood

1

Joyce laid in her tent following the stitching up and down the grey walls. She had picked it out because of its green color, but that was all on the outside. On the inside was all grey, no green, just grey. And each of those grey lines of stitching formed triangles, so instead of counting sheep, she counted triangles to fall asleep.

The wind blew and rustled the leaves right outside where she laid her head. Camping is the only reason she wanted to be in the Cub Scouts. Her and her dad, who was already snoring in his tent next door, had gone camping together a lot. Then, when the scouts allowed girls to join, his friend Mr. Rob convinced him to sign them up and become a troop dad with him.

They're first activity together was the Fall jamboree at Camp Harris. The other boys, who shared tents, were Will and David next to dad, Freddy and Richie next to them, and Mr. Rob, Richie's dad, on the end. They were the smallest troop there, but had all agreed to do their best to be this year's Fall Jamboree Troop of the Camp. 

Camp Harris was big, with woods and trails covering about five miles along Mud Creek, squeezed between two winding roads on both sides. One of which was Scout road that ran along the front entrance of the camp. A long stretch of road that ran straight into an almost ninety-degree curve when traveling North towards town, right next to where Joyce's troop was assigned to pitch their tents. A curve a lot of people thought they could take at high speed, a curve that gained legendary status as Dead Man's Curve after those people didn't.

The counting of triangles started to work. Joyce started to close her eyes and listened to the lullaby rhythms of the crickets when a bright yellow light filled her tent, flashing on and off and on then off again. Joyce sat up and tried to peek through the small screen on the back of the tent. She couldn't see a thing until the yellow shining light flashed back on brighting the trees down by the road. She grabbed her flashlight, put on her shoes and unzipped her tent. 

Outside, the campsite was dark. The fire pit that still had burning orange embers when she went to bed were now just black and grey ash. She turned and faced towards the road. The yellow lights blinked again bouncing off the hill leading down to the road, then off again. Joyce clicked on her flashlight and started walking. 

        On her way down, she started to make out the shape of a car stopped on the side of the road. The closer she got, she could hear the faint sound of music. The passenger door was open as she shined her light onto a white SUV. She stepped out on the edge between the gravel street and the damp grass behind the car that she could now see was smashed against one of the trees right off of the curve. 

"Is there anyone there? Do you need help?"

She listened for an answer, but only heard the music that she now recognized as one of the songs her mom sang to in the kitchen. She walked towards the open door and stopped. Her heart began to race when she shined her light on the ground and saw a man lying there.

A weak voice came out, "Help me." 

"Oh crap. I'm going to get help, ok. Just stay there, and I'll be back with help, ok."  

Joyce took a step to go back when the man pushed himself up off the ground. He moaned as he sat up on his knees and raised to his feet. 

"You just stay here and I'll go get help. Do you understand?"

The man moaned again while turning his head towards her. She tried to hold the light down, but it crept up farther and farther until it was in the man's face where it reflected the crimson red of blood smeared across it. Joyce screamed in terror just as the man lunged towards her growling incoherent words. She darted up the hill, around the trees and didn't stop until she fell on top of her dad's tent. 

"Daddy! Daddy! Wake up."

Joyce scraped on the front of his tent with one hand, looking for the zipper with the other. 

"Joyce, was is it? Was is it?"

The front of the tent zipped open and Joyce fell into her father's arms. 

"A man wrecked on the road. He's really hurt. It's awful."

Joyce couldn't hold back her tears any longer as they began to stream down her face. Her dad rushed to put his shoes on, took the flashlight out of her hand and leaped to his feet. 

"You wait here. Don't move."

He ran off towards the road. Joyce crawled into her dad's tent and tried to forget the man's blood covered face. Footsteps came back up the hill as Joyce's dad appeared in the doorway. 

"Where did you say he was?"

Joyce sat up.

"Down on the road."

"On that road?"

"Yeah, right there, by the curve."

"I didn't see anything honey."

"His lights were flashing. You didn't see them?"

"No, I'm sorry, I didn't. I didn't see anything.

Joyce couldn't believe it.

"You didn't have a bad dream did you?"

"No, it was real. I'll prove it."

Joyce crawled back out of the tent and headed back down to the road. 

"Joyce, there's nothing down there. It's late, let's just go to bed."

She continued on forcing him to follow her with the flashlight. He caught up to her just before the hill reached the road. There was nothing. 

"I swear. There was a car crashed right over there and a man, a hurt man, and he jumped at me."

"He jumped at you?"

"For help, I think. But it scared me, and, I ran. To get help."

She looked up at him to show she was telling the truth. 

"That was smart, but, there's nothing here now. And thankfully no one is hurt."

Joyce looked around at the dark street. She took the flashlight from her dad and shined it at the tree the car had smashed against. Nothing. No sign of any damage at all. She turned back towards him. 

"You're right. No one was hurt, and maybe it was just a dream. It just didn't feel like a dream, I don't know what it was."

Footsteps came from the top of the hill. Joyce pointed the light up into the face of Mr. Rob. His arm shot up and covered his eyes. 

"What are you guys doing? Is everything alright?"

Joyce's dad pushed the flashlight towards the ground. 

"Everything is fine. Just a bad dream."

"If you say so. Come on back up here and try to get some sleep."

Joyce walked back to the campsite followed by her dad. She went straight for her tent and went inside. Her dad leaned over and peered in at her. She found her towel and wiped the tears from her face.

"You sure don't want to sleep over in my tent. No one is going to think it's weird. I promise. It's how we always go camping."

"No, I want to be able to do this on my own."

"That's right, you're a Cub Scout now. I get it. But, no more late night walks alone. If you hear or see anything again, you come get me right away. Got it?

"I got it."

"I'll see you in the morning my joy."

"Ok." 

He walked off as she reached out and zipped the door shut. Outside she could hear dad and Mr. Rob whispering to each other before going back in their tents.

After several minutes of her father rustling to get comfortable, everything went silent except for the crickets and echoes of croaking frogs down by the creek. Joyce took some deep breaths and tried to forget about what had happened, she'd be able to try and make sense of it all in the morning. She looked around at the triangles, and soon felt the world of sleep wash over when -

CRASH!

To be Continued ...