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!"

Living Dolls - Part 3

        Lin and Calvin fled to the living room away from the growing fire burning in their kitchen. 

"Mommy! Mommy!" Meredith screeched at the top of her lungs. 

The sound of footsteps came running towards them and the door flew open. 

"What did you do?" 

"It wasn't me, it was the people."

"People!"

The fire started to spread through the house, going up the wall and igniting the ceiling.  

"Are they going to do anything?" Calvin said. 

"We should get out of here." 

Lin grabbed Calvin's hand and pulled him with her to the bedroom. The fire started burning through the wall. 

"Where are we going?"

"Out the window." 

Meredith's mother ran out of the room pulling her daughter behind her. Lin opened the window and flung her leg over the window's stool. 

"What's the plan Lin?"

"I'm going to climb up onto that desk."

"You are?"

"We have no choice. All I need is for you to push me up, then I'll lean down and pull you up."

"Alright."

Lin set her foot in the window pushing herself up. Calvin stood behind her with his hands around her ankles. The smoke got thicker as the flames began burning through the wall separating the kitchen and bathroom. Calvin held onto Lin while she reached for the desk's ledge.   

"Push me up a little higher!"

Calvin put his hand on Lin's rear end and pushed her up. She grabbed the ledge and tried to pull herself up. 

"Keep pushing!"

He put his hands under her feet and pushed again. The flames started to burn across the ceiling. 

"Hurry up Lin!"

Lin pulled her upper body over the edge then pulled her feet over. 

"Ok! Climb up!"

Calvin stood in the window as a piece of burning ceiling dropped onto the bed. He reached his hand up, but Lin couldn't reach. 

"Hold on! I have an idea!"

The fire consumed the bed in seconds filling the room full of black smoke and dangerous temperatures. 

"There's not much time Lin!"

Lin scrambled around the desk looking for an object to hold out to him. She came across a pencil, but it was too heavy for her to lift. Next to it was a stack of papers held together by a paper clip. She ran over and with two hands pulled it off of the papers. 

"I'm coming!"

Calvin waited desperate to get away from the burning inferno that had consumed the whole room. 

"If I jump, I might make it. The floor isn't too far."

The shiny metal of the paper clip dropped in front of him.

"Grab it!"

He flung both hands in the air and took hold of it. Lin pulled the paper clip gripping her feet on to the desk to push herself back using the full strength of her body. As Calvin inched his way closer to the desk's edge, he let his right hand go and reached his forearm onto the surface. Below him the house raged in an orange glow and intense heat. He pushed himself up as hard as he could until his chest made it over the edge. Lin let go of the paper clip and ran to him, pulling him up by his shirt until he was all the way over. 

"I love you." 

"I love you too."

The door flew open with a heavy bang. The white foam from the fire extinguisher filled the air. Calvin and Lin coughed as it blanketed over them like an avalanche. They stood and ran for cover behind a box of crayons laying on the desk. The harsh whoosh of the of the fire extinguisher's nozzle went off for close to a minute, then stopped. 

"What happened here Meredith? No lies!"

"The two people in the house-"

"You want me to believe there are little people in the house?"

"It's the truth mommy."

"Then where are they?"

"I don't know. Did they get hurt?

Lin and Calvin emerge from behind the crayon box. The chard remains of the house stinks of smoke and fire. Meredith stands pleading to her mother that she is telling the truth. In their loudest voices they scream out, "Over here! We're over here!" Meredith's mother walks toward the noise, sees the two of them and like in some Hollywood movie faints just before she collapses on the floor. 

"Didn't she look familiar to you?" Calvin asked. 

"For a second there."

"You're alright!" Meredith screeched. 

The door slammed open and a man stood in the door way. 

"What the hell is happening in here?"

"Daddy!" Meredith screeched again. 

The man entered the room and picked his wife from the floor. 

"Meredith, tell me what happened?"

"Look on the desk. It's the little people."

Meredith pointed in their direction, as the man turned his head the mother began to wake. 

"Honey are your alright?"

"Are they real? The little people? I saw them and what happened?"

"You fainted mommy."

"I did?"

Calvin and Lin wipe the white extinguisher fluid from their faces and clothes. The mother sat up on her knees and crawled closer to them. 

"Who are you?" She asked. 

The father followed close behind her. Calvin and Lin couldn't believe their eyes, as they inched closer to the desk they could see it was themselves, Calvin and Lin staring down at them. Then in perfect unison together they said, "It's us." 

Living Dolls - Part Two

       Calvin and Lin sit behind the bed taking swigs off the bottle of vodka. 

"It looks like our home, but it's not." Lin slurred.

"We bought those curtains at Costco. I remember. We were there. We left the house and there was a yard and the road." 

"That's right!. The road. Where's the road?"

"It's gone. Now we're just toys."

"Toys in a dollhouse that just looks like our house."

Calving pulls the bottle to his mouth and winces at the taste. Lin grabs the bottle and stares at it, sets it to the side. She turns to Calvin with a more sober expression. 

"What are we going to do when Meredith comes back?" 

Calvin rubbed his hand over his head pulling at his hair. 

"I guess she'll pick us up and crush us to death."

Lin gasped at the idea. 

"Are you being serious?"

"Yes. Very."

Tears welled up in Lin's eyes and her nose started to run. 

"Oh baby." Calvin let out. "I'm sorry."

He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her tight against him. 

"We never had children, so I don't know how to deal with them." Calvin said. 

"Is that my fault?"

"No. Never. We were both busy, working on our careers. I was just saying, I don't know how to reason with a child."

"I think we would of, but you're right. We were busy. Plus I could never see myself being like her mother. Getting her out the door when we were in here."

Calvin lifted himself off of Lin, looked her in the eyes. 

"Her mother."

"Her mother. That's it."

"That is it. We have to get her mother to help us."

"How do we do that. She would never believe it."

"We have to get her attention somehow. What could we do to get her to look inside?"

Lin stood up and paced around the room thinking. She walked back around the bed deep in thought and kicked the vodka bottle over sitting in front of Calvin. He reached over and picked it up before it spilled. 

"Sorry." Lin said. "Did it spill?"

"No. It's not full enough I suppose."

Lin watched as Calvin rubbed his hand over the spot to make sure. 

"Vodka is flammable right?"

"Yeah, I suppose. Most alcohol is, why?"

Calvin picked up the cap and screwed it back on the bottle.

"What if we started a small fire, to get her attention. She wouldn't be able to ignore that, would she?"

"I know I wouldn't. Just a simple spill had me worried. Do we even have a lighter or matches?"

Lin thought a moment. She snapped her fingers and made her way into the living room. Calvin jumped up and followed her. She was kneeling down under the bookshelf searching through the cabinets. 

"What is it?"

"I thought I had put those candles we bought down here with that box of long matches."

"For your bosses dinner party last year?"

Lin stopped and looked up at him.

"Yeah."

"I put those above the laundry machine."

Lin stood up and this time followed Calvin into the laundry room. He reached up and opened the cabinet door. With both hands he pulled down a box of light bulbs, then two large dark red candles. 

"I don't see any matches." 

"Let me look."

Calvin moved out of the way while Lin stood on her toes to look into the cabinet. She brushed her hand around and came out with some rags, but no matches. 

"What would we of done with them?"

"I don't remember."

"Well then what?"

Calvin picked up one the candles tossing it up and down. 

"When I was college and no one had a lighter we would light our cigarettes off the stove. Maybe it would work for a candle. I don't know, but it's worth a try."

"It is."

Calvin carried the candle into the kitchen. Lin stayed in the laundry room and searched around for the box of matches. Calvin turned the stove all the way up waiting for it to get hot. The stove was electric with an induction cooktop that heated up very fast. The red of the heat began to appear when Lin appeared in the doorway. 

"How's it working?"

"Still waiting. The matches?"

Lin shook her head no. The door opened with a bang. 

"I'll be right there." Meredith shouted.

"She's back!" Lin yelled.

Meredith ran across the room. Each thump of her foot felt like a small earthquake. 

"Hello. Are you still in there?"

Meredith peeked her eyes through the window. 

"There you are."

She lifted the roof up and loomed over them. 

"What are you doing?"

Lin looked to Calvin holding the wick to the heat, but nothing happened. She looked over his shoulder and saw the pan of bacon still sitting on the counter. She reached for it and pushed Calvin out of the way dropping it on the stove. 

"You guys cooking? Are you hungry?"

"Where's the vodka?" Lin asked.

"I don't know."

"Is it still in the bedroom?" 

"I'll check."

Calvin ran for the bedroom. 

"Meredith do you want a snack."

"No mommy."

Meredith turned her head toward the door then back again. Calvin was in the bedroom holding the bottle of vodka. 

"I told my teacher about you, but she just laughed and told me I was full of imagination."

The bacon on the stove started to burn. Smoke started to fill the kitchen. 

"Calvin!"

He ran around the corner keeping his eye on Meredith peering down on them. As he made his way into the kitchen he twisted the cap back off.

"What do I do?"

"Pour it on the bacon."

Calvin turned the bottle over over the stove. A stream of vodka flowed down into the pan and ignited a burst of flames. 

"What are you doing? Mommy says never to play with fire!"

The smoke filled the kitchen even more causing Lin and Calvin to cough. Calvin poured another shot onto the stove causing another burst of flames. Lin threw a dish towel into it causing it to catch on fire. The flame grew higher and now started to catch the cabinets on fire. 

"What do we do now?" Calvin asked to Lin staring at the fire. 

"Run."

To be continued...

Living Dolls - Part One

"Get up Calvin. It's already eight."

"It is."

Calvin lifted himself out of bed and sees Lin putting on you dress coat. 

"Why is it so dark?"

"I don't know, but I'm going to be late. I'll see you tonight."

She picked up her brief case off the small desk next to the door and rushed out of the bedroom. Calvin stood up and walked into the bathroom. He turned on the light and found the mouthwash next to the sink. He took off the cap then a swig out of the the bottle. He started to swish it around when a scream came from downstairs. He spit and ran out of the room, thru the bedroom, down the hall and to the front door. He saw Lin's hands hanging onto the floor just inside the door. 

"Calvin!"

He ran to the door and grabbed her by the wrists. He pulled as hard as he could to lift her up to the floor. Once her waist met the edge she lifted her leg over and crawled her way back into the house. 

"What the hell happened?"

"I took a step out the door and fell straight down."

Calvin wrapped his arms around her and held her tight. He turned to look out the door and saw nothing but dark space. As his eyes adjusted he thought he could see the outline of the end of a bed and beyond that a giant dresser. 

"Where is the yard? The mailbox? The car?" Lin shouted. 

"I don't know."

"What's happening? Where are we?"

Calvin pressed his face against Lin and reached his hand around to stroke her hair. 

"Our house is the same, but out there is something else. I don't know what it is."

Lin sat up and now took a long look through the door. 

"I can't imagine..." 

Lin jumped up reached for the door. Calvin swiveled out of the way as she slammed the door shut and locked it. She turned to see Calvin sitting on the floor with a surprised look on his face. 

"I need to eat something." Lin said. 

She headed towards the kitchen. 

"I'm going to put on some pants." 

Calvin stood up and walked back towards the bedroom. 

When Calvin walked out of the bedroom he could hear the the sizzle of food frying. He walked into the kitchen to see Lin standing in front of the stove with a spatula in one hand and a pan in the other. 

"Are you cooking bacon?"

"Yes."

"You never eat bacon."

"Today I do. Do you want some?"

"You better believe it."

Calvin walked to the cabinet and took out two plates. He carried them to the table and set them in their usual spot. 

"Cal. Be a dear and get that bottle of wine out of the utility closet."

"The one we were saving?"

"Yes. Or do you think we will find another occasion to drink it?"

"I can't think of one."

Calvin walked out of the kitchen. Lin flipped the bacon onto a plate and patted it with a paper towel. She brought the plate to the table and divided the strips of bacon between the two plates. Calvin entered carrying the wine bottle. 

"Do we have an opener?"

"In the drawer, I hope."

Lin sat down and stuck a piece of bacon in her mouth. 

"Oh my. I've forgotten how good this is."

The sound of metal clinking together came from behind her. Calvin was rummaging through the drawer in search of a wine opener.

"I can't find it."

"Then just grab the bottle of vodka under the sink." She took another bite, "And the orange juice from the fridge."

Calving followed her instructions and returned to the table with the bottle of vodka and OJ. 

"I forgot the glasses."

He stood up to return to the cabinet when a bright light came through the windows. 

"Something's happening." Calvin said. 

They went to the window in the kitchen, but could only see a flat blue wall. Lin turned and ran towards the living room. Calvin followed after stopping and grabbing a few strips of bacon from his plate. Before he joined Lin at the window a booming voice filled the room.

"Meredith honey. It's time to get up."

Calvin looked through the window and saw two giant legs wearing designer black dress pants walk across the room. 

"Meredith, you'll be late for school."

A high pitched voice now filled the room.

"I'm up. I'm up." 

Lin turned to Calvin as he chewed on a piece of bacon with the same look on his face he had when he watched television.

"What is happening?" Lin asked.

"Seems like Meredith is late for school."

"Who's Meredith?"

The two legs walked out of the room and the sound of a bed squeaking was heard.* Then the long pink fabric of a nightgown came straight towards the window. The house shook with a slight waver as the roof opened up and the giant face of a child appeared over the living room. 

"Hey, where are my dolls? They're not in the bedroom."

Lin and Calvin walked backwards to take in the enormity of the girl. She spotted them and screamed as she dropped the roof. The house shook with a greater force sending Calvin and Lin to the floor. The girl's eyes appeared in the window then she lifted the roof again. 

"What are you?"

She stuck her head into the house to get a clear look at the two of them. Calvin and Lin were stuck to floor unable to move. The girl reached her hand into the house and Lin pushed herself onto Calvin and they both rolled towards the wall. Lin stood up and pulled Calvin up with her running back into the kitchen. 

"Wait. Where are you going?"

The high pitched voice pierced their ears. 

"Where are you going Lin?" Calvin asked.

"I don't know!"

The roof opened all the way as the girl laid it against the wall. 

"Come back here."

She reached both hands into the house, her fingers like huge logs coming in to crush them. 

"Make it to the bedroom and get under the bed." Lin said. 

Calvin grunted in reply as he jumped out of the way of the girl's pinching fingers. Lin dashed out of the kitchen and around wall down the hallway. 

"I just want to play." 

Calvin flattened himself against the wall and sidestepped towards the door. 

"I knew we should of bought a bigger house."

The girl reached her hand back down knocking over the table.

"Whoops."

She reached over to pick it back up. Calvin took off for the bedroom. 

"I don't want to hurt you."

Calvin dived and slid head first towards the bed. Lin's arm reached out and grabbed a hold of him, pulling him next to her. 

"Are you alright?" Calvin asked. 

"Not really. You?"

"She didn't get me." 

"So I'm guessing that's Meredith."

"I believe your guess is right."

"Where did you go?" Meredith's voice boomed. 

Her hands pushed around furniture searching for the two of them. She reached for the bed when another voice echoed off the walls.

"Meredith Marie! Playing with your toys when you should be getting ready for school."

"But mom, the dolls..."

"No buts. You get your uniform and into the bathroom right now."

"Mom!"

"Meredith. Please."

Meredith stomped on the floor shaking the house. A lamp fell in the bedroom and the sound of plates breaking came from the kitchen. Meredith opened her dresser and grabbed her school uniform and left the room. The light went out and the door closed with a bang. 

To be continued...