HTW Part 4

After grabbing some dinner, and participating in a guided tour of the bayou, the group got in the car, and started heading back to New Orleans. They had to catch a 6am flight in the morning. Angela couldn't get the old woman out of her mind. She felt terrible about what had happened.

I can't believe I was so callous enough to touch someone else's personal property. She thought. I mean, I didn't even know the woman. Not only that, but I lost her pet.

"Are you alright?" Scott asked her. "You look like something is bothering you."

"I'm fine.", she replied. "I just feel like I owe that woman a big apology. Maybe she's cooled down by now, maybe she'll be a bit more forgiving if I could just tell her that, 'I'm sorry.'"

"Well we have to pass the gas station on the way back." Replied Scott. "In fact I think it's coming up soon. Maybe we should just—"

"No way!" Cried Cara. "That woman, and her creepy place scared the hell out of me! This entire day trip has jus been horrible, and creepy. I just want to head back to the hotel, and get a good night's sleep."

"Come on Cara.", said Alan. "Why do you have to be so selfish all the time? The world doesn't revolve around you."

"Yeah, well you know what you can go revolve yourself around." She spat. "You can—"

"Please stop!", said Scott. "You two have been together forever, and are crazy about one another. So before someone says something that they will forever regret, stop! Will it really be worth saying something that you will not only regret, but can never take back?"

"Fine," huffed Cara. "I just won't talk to him. With that she crossed her arms, and stopped talking to everyone. Alan just rolled his eyes, and shook his head.

"That's my girl." He stated with sarcasm.

They soon came upon the old gas station. As they pulled up, they couldn't help but notice that something was wrong. Early in the afternoon it had looked like a thriving business, but now it looked like an abandoned building.

"Bobby, are you sure this is the right place?" Asked Angela.

"Yes," he replied. "I remember because it was next to that strange tree."

"I don't like the looks of this." Said Zoe. "I think we should go."

"There coming to get you Zoe." Bobby said in a jokingly spooky manor. He even had a goofy smile on his face.

"It's not funny, Bobby." Replied Zoe. "Something just doesn't feel right. We should go—now."

"Wait!" Said Angela. "What if the old woman is in trouble? I would never forgive myself, I had already caused her enough problems for today."

"Let's just call the police." Said Scott.

"But what if she needs help now?" Replied Angela. "Go ahead, and call the police. But I'm going to look around."

"Wait Angela!" Cried Scott.

But before anyone could stop her, Angela got out of the car. She then walked up to the building, and reached for the door. It wasn't locked, but it was pitch black. Cautiously she made her way inside.

"Hello!" She cried. "Is anybody here?" She took out her smartphone, and turned on her flashlight. As she kept walking around, she couldn't believe her eyes. Everything was covered in cobwebs. It was as if the place had been abandoned for years.

Weird, she thought. As she continued to walk around, she kept looking straight ahead. But she didn't look at the floor below her. All of a sudden she tripped, and fell over something that felt rather spongy.

"What the hell?" She screamed. Fortunately her phone hadn't fallen very far from her, and the light was still on. Angela crawled over to it, grabbed it, and stood up promptly. She then turned around to see just exactly what she had tripped over. To her horror, laying right in front of her, were the hollowed out fleshy remains of the old woman. What was left of the old woman was also covered in cobwebs.

With wide eyed panic, Angela began to scream in terror. As fast as her legs could carry her she ran screaming out of the building. With a quick thud, she ran into a hard chest. The person wrapped their arms around her, as she began to scream and struggle in a tear filled panic.

"Help!" She cried. "Let me go!"

"Angela!", the person shouted. "Calm down! It's me, Scott. What happened?" When she realized it was him, she stopped struggling, and threw her arms around him. She then began to cry on his shoulder.

"Oh my god, Scott!", she cried, "Please tell me you called the police."

"We couldn't.", said Zoe, as the other four made their way over to her. "We couldn't get a signal. What happened in there?"

Angela slowly started hyperventilating.

"The-the old woman!" Angela Cried in a panic. "She-she's been murdered. Covered-covered in cob-cobwebs. All that's left of her is a lump of fl-flesh!"

"What?", exclaimed Scott. "I think I need to check this out for myself. He then started to walk toward the building.

"No!" Cried Angela as she grabbed him. "We need to go! We need to find a way to call the police! Trust me you don't want to see it."

"I knew it was a bad idea stopping here!" Cried Zoe. "But no one listens to me."

"Look, instead of playing the blame game all night." Scott began. "Why don't we just get out of here, and either find a police station, or a spot an area where we could at least call the police."

"I'm not going to argue with you." Said Cara. The six of them headed back to the car. Scott put his arm around Angela. Even though it was hot, and humid, Angela couldn't stop trembling. But it did feel kind of nice having someone hold her like that. It was times like this that she wished they were more than friends.

As soon as they got in the car, they took off down the road. They kept looking at their phones, trying to get a signal, or looking out for a police station. Neither of these things seemed to be happening. As the car kept going down the road, Angela just sat there quietly, staring out the car window. It was almost nightfall, as there seemed to be a collective feeling of fear in the car. No one said a word, as Bobby just kept driving.

Then, all of a sudden, bang! A tire had exploded, and they began to swerve along the road. It was obvious that Bobby was doing all he could to keep the car from getting into an accident. Everyone else was screaming in a panic, as he eventually regained control of the car. As soon as he did, he pulled over to the side of the road.

"Well for fuck sakes!" Cara cried. "This has just been the shit cherry, on the shit sundae, known as today!"

"Is everyone alright?"asked Bobby with a startled look on his face.

"W-where fine." Alan replied. "Does anyone know how to change a tire on a car? We're still not getting a phone signal, it's not like we can call an automobile club."

"I can."said Scott.

"Great." said Bobby. "Guess you're our volunteer.

"Well it's going to be lot easier to use a jack on an empty car." Said Scott. "So it would be best if we all get out."

With that the six of them exited the car. Scott opened the trunk, and took out the jack.

"Are you sure you know what you're doing?" Asked Cara.

"Please." Said Scott. "My first job was at a service station. I could do this in my sleep." He walked around the car, and found the flat tire on the rear passengers side. He then put the jack together, and began to crank the lever. The back end of the car soon lifted off of the ground.

He then took the tire iron, and began to loosen the bolts. It was at that moment when Bobby delivered the bad news.

"Uh, guys, we have a problem." He said.

"What now?" Whined Zoe.

"Well it seemed that the place where the spare tire goes, is empty." He replied.

"Dammit!" Cried Cara. "I knew we shouldn't have gone with the cheap company. Cara, Alan, Bobby, and Zoe argued amongst themselves. Still in shock Angela remained stoic, and continued to say nothing. Not knowing what else to do, Scott began to remove the damaged tire from the car. That's when he noticed it felt strange.

"Guys! Shut up!", he yelled. "I need a flashlight! This tire feels strange for some reason, I need to check it out!"

Bobby went to the glove compartment, and found an emergency flashlight. Well the rental car agency at least gave them this. He grabbed it and handed it to Scott. Scott who was now laying on the ground, turned it on, and looked at the tire as well as under the vehicle.

"What the hell?" He cried.

"What is it?", asked Alan.

"The tire," he began. "The entire undercarriage, they're all covered in cobwebs!"

Is this what caused the flat? He wondered.

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