DATE OF INCIDENT: 5/27/2003

PERSONS INVOLVED: Scott Wolfson, Nicole Peters, Harmony Dixon

CAUSE OF DEATH: Traumatic blood loss caused by vehicular collision

Individuals were driving along Shades Road in Burlington County. At approximately 3:00 AM their vehicle drove off the road and crashed into a tree. All three individuals were thrown from the vehicle, presumably through the front window. Individuals died from loss of blood caused by deep lacerations to the skin.

Due to the late hour of the incident, fatigue was probably the cause of the vehicular accident.

***

Detective Lee Tamaska held the police report in his hands and paused. At twenty-seven, he was one of the youngest detectives on the force. He’d been eager to start working on murder cases, start delivering the fierce hand of justice to those who deserved it. So far though, he’d only been given theft and arson cases. Although he knew it was important work, it wasn’t what he had expected to do.

Thus, he was slightly elated when he was given a case involving the deaths of three local teenagers under slightly suspicious circumstances. Thinking about it now, it was slightly morbid to feel relieved to finally be given a case involving death, but Tamaska just shrugged it off. All officers eventually have to deal with the death they see in their jobs, make it something they can forget about once they go home.

This case unsettled him, though. He had been to the scene, spoken with other investigators, and mulled the entire situation over in his mind. He had come up with an explanation, the only explanation possible given the evidence, but it just didn’t feel right. Something was very odd.

The faces.

That’s what haunts him, that’s what makes him pause before finalizing his report.

He could see the faces of the two girls, curled into some sort of inhuman shriek of terror. Then there was the boy.

What was left of him.

Then there were the scratch marks. A series of five claw marks running down the driver’s side front door. Some of the other investigators suggested it was from a tree branch, but the edges of the scratch marks were curved. Only animals make a mark like that. But there were no animals that were large enough living in the area.

Weird.

Tamaska took another sip of coffee and rubbed his eyes. He had to get home. He’d be sleeping on the couch for a week if his wife of three months caught him coming home this late for the fourth night in a row. Despite his misgivings, he placed the report into his superior’s mailbox and drove back home.

"They say that Shades Road is haunted," Scott Wolfson said, running his hands along his short, spiky black hair. His brown eyes reflected his sleepiness, but he didn’t want to go home yet. The reasons for that sat directly on either side of him.

Nicole Peters was to his right and Harmony Dixon to his left. Both of them were beautiful and they had personalities to match. Both were also his best friends and sadly, it looked like it would stay that way for the immediate future. Nicole had shoulder length black hair and hazel eyes. Harmony had her long blond hair pulled back into a ponytail. Her light blue eyes were accented by a pair of stylish black-rimmed glasses.

"Sure, Scott, I bet it is," Harmony said, rolling her eyes.

"No, I’m serious. Dan was telling me all about it."

"Yeah, and you’re going to believe Dan?" Harmony asked.

"I’d kinda like to hear the story," Nicole chimed in.

Scott cracked his knuckles. "They say that long ago, back when people were just starting to settle in the…"

"And who actually is ‘they’?" Harmony interrupted.

Scott shrugged. "Beats me. Anyone who knows about it. Anyway, before I was so rudely interrupted…"

Harmony grinned.

"…back when people were just starting to settle in the area, there were these thirteen women living where Shades Road is now. People say that most of them were our age, about seventeen or eighteen. One of them was a bit older, though, about forty or so. Anyway, all these new people start living in the area and these ladies get pissed off, cuz before everyone else came in, the entire area was theirs and they could do whatever they wanted. Weird stuff starts happening, like dogs acting psycho and crops going bad all the time. Rumors start going around about these ladies being witches and people start going out of their way to avoid them. That is, until one of them catches their son in the barn with one of the women. They’re furious that these witches are corrupting their children and all the men from the town go up to tell these chicks to knock it off and get the hell out. They go to where these women live and see all these freakin’ animals parts hanging from the trees and broken crucifixes and all kinds of crap like that. So the men get all freaked and hang the thirteen girls from trees around the area. Get this, it takes thirteen hours until they’re all dead. They’re hanging from the trees and cursing the men the whole time." Scott paused and took a deep breath.

"And?" Nicole asked, still intrigued. Harmony just shook her head.

"Once they’re all dead, they bury the bodies like twenty feet under the ground. Each girl separated like twenty feet from another, right in a row. Thirteen days later, there are thirteen bumps right over where each girl was buried, each the length of a human body. The people living in the area start seeing freaky stuff at night, so they up and leave."

"Get to the point, Scott," Harmony sighed.

"Alright, Ms. Impatient. So, years later people decide to build a road passing right over where the witches were buried. They’re gonna call it Shades Road. They find thirteen bumps along it, so they level them off and pave the road. Thirteen days later, thirteen bumps pop up in the asphalt."

Harmony laughed. "Wow, bumps in the road. The suspension in my car is quaking in its boots."

"This is where it gets scary. You can drive along the road and feel each bump as you drive over it. You can count out the thirteen bumps. Some people have said though, that if you’re counting, and you only feel twelve bumps, it means the thirteen witch is out and she’s hunting you down. She follows your car and she won’t let up until you get back out onto Washington Avenue. People say all other kinds of freaky stuff happens, but I won’t go into it."

"That’s quite possibly the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard," Harmony said.

"Ever wonder why no one lives on that road? People get spooked by all the weird crap that happens there. Most people don’t even like to drive on it," Scott replied. He smiled.

"Bullcrap."

"If you’re so sure, how about we go out there now?" Scott offered.

"You’re on," Harmony said, standing up and pulling her jacket on.

Scott grabbed his keys from the table. "You want to come along?" he asked Nicole.

"Uh, sure," she replied, sounding not too sure of herself.

Scott turned on to Shades Road and stopped the car. Harmony sat next to him in the passenger seat, while Nicole sat in the back. He turned so he could see them both.

"Well, ladies, ready?"

Harmony gave a disinterested thumbs up while Nicole gave a quick nod of her head.

"Okay, cool. But one quick thing before we go down the road. Dan said he went through these woods on his way home one night and said he saw some weird stuff in there. I’m going to go check it out. Anyone want to come along?" Scott asked.

"I’m game," Harmony responded.

"Uh, I think I’m going to chill here for a bit, it’s a little bit cold out," Nicole said, looking out the window.

"Sounds good," Scott said. He pulled the car over to the side of the road and turned the engine and lights off. "We’ll be back in a little bit, Nicole."

Scott and Harmony got out of the car and shut the doors, creating a sudden noise in the dead silence of night. The trees were barren shadows, emaciated hands reaching towards something far away in the black night. The moon hid behind the clouds, as if afraid to look at something horrible on Earth’s surface.

Scott and Harmony walked carefully into the treeline. An undercurrent of fear flashed through Scott’s mind, but he squashed it down and kept his chin up. The light of the moon would occasionally shine though, sending shadows dancing across the ground. The night air was dead quiet, except for the sounds of their footsteps.

"It looks like there’s a small clearing straight ahead," Scott whispered. "Let’s check it out."

"Why are you whispering? It’s not like there’s anyone around to wake up?" Harmony said, a bit too loud for Scott’s liking.

"Could be cops around," Scott lied. Truthfully, something was creeping him out. He wasn’t about to tell that to Harmony though.

They walked out into the clearing. No plantlife grew in the area, except for a circle of trees in the center. There was no grass, no flowers, no anything. Only a clump of old, tall oak trees that were void of leaves.

"Let’s go in the circle. It looks kinda cool," Harmony suggested.

They walked into the circle of trees. The ground in the center was dry, dead. Scott spun in a circle, surveying his surroundings.

"Thirteen trees," he whispered.

"Oooooh, thirteen trees! Wow, I bet that’s where the thirteen witches were hung! Gimme a break. Is widdle Scott scared?" Harmony teased.

"Screw you," Scott replied.

If it was even possible, the forest seemed to grow quieter, almost as if it was watching, waiting for something to happen. Scott had the distinct feeling of something being behind him. His suspicions were confirmed when he saw Harmony’s eyes grow wide in surprise.

He quickly spun around, expecting to see something horrible charging towards them. He was surprised, and relieved, to see what looked like an older man, dressed in a shabby old jacket and a dusty old hat. He was walking away from them, just skirting the tree line that they’d come out of to get to the clearing.

"Hey, mister, how are you doing?" Harmony yelled to him.

He didn’t turn around.

Harmony looked at Scott and shrugged.

"Uh, sir, what brings you out this late?" Scott asked, a little louder.

The old man just continued shuffling onward.

"Maybe he’s deaf or something? Or he’s got Alzheimer’s maybe?" Scott suggested. One way or another, it probably wasn’t a good thing for him to be walking through the woods this late at night. "I’ll go see if he needs help." Scott ran off to catch up with the old man.

A sharp jolt of fear shot through his stomach. He wanted to go back to the car now and just head back to Nicole’s house. As he neared the old man, he caught a distinct sickly-sweet smell in the air, like the smell of dried vomit. Maybe the old man was a drunk.

Scott walked alongside the old man. "Sir, are you okay?" he asked, nearly yelling.

The old man didn’t respond. Just kept on walking.

"Sir?" he asked, tugging on the man’ sleeve.

Still no response.

Scott quickened his pace and walked in front of the old man. He looked into his face.

There was nothing there. No eyes, no nose, no mouth. Nothing, just a big pale circle of nothing.

Scott froze in terror. The old man walked into him, mumbled something he couldn’t understand, then walked right past him. The sickly-sweet smell was stronger than ever.

Harmony ran up behind him. "What the hell was that about?"

"Holy shit! He had no goddamn face?" Scott yelled.

"What?"

"No face… No face… Oh my God… What the hell, what the hell?" Scott muttered.

"What are you talking about?"

"Get back to the goddamn car!" Scott screamed.

They both took off running through the woods, hoping it was the right way to get back. The sounds of sticks snapping echoed against the trunks of the trees, whip-like branches slapped against their face. Still they ran on.

Scott felt his toe hit something hard, then tumbled face forward into the ground. He grunted in pain and surprise and brought his head back up, spitting dirt and leaves out of his mouth. He saw and heard Harmony running onwards. Shaking his head to try to clear the sudden pain, he started to stand back up.

He heard the sounds of footsteps coming back towards him. "Harm?" he called out.

A girl walked out from behind a thick tree trunk. She was startlingly beautiful, but she wasn’t Harmony. Her pale skin seemed to glow white in the darkness, her eyes an icy blue. The dark black of her dress contrasted with her skin, clinging to her thin body. Scott couldn’t help notice how her long black hair nestled just above her chest.

She came towards him, seemingly gliding upon the ground. The girl brought her hand up and lightly brushed it along the side of his neck. Scott shuddered, feeling both pleasure and…something else. She brought her head close to his ear.

"I know what you want," she whispered quietly. Scott moaned as the tip of her tongue brushed his earlobe.

Scott couldn’t help himself. He drew his head back slightly and wrapped his arms around her lower back. She felt cold. Their lips connected and electricity seemed to crackle between them. He was lost within her.

Then the sound of a car horn beeping frantically sliced though the cold night air.

Another sound echoed through the darkness, very close to him. It sounded as if someone was shrieking. His eyes shot open and the girl in front of him became…something else. Her feature distorted and grew horrifying.

Then she was gone, as if she had never been.

Scott shook himself out of it and charged towards the direction of the beeping. After a few seconds, he could hear the engine running. He quickly opened the door and hopped in. Shifting quickly to drive, the car peeled out. Scott slammed down on the gas and sped down Shades Road.

"What happened?" Harmony asked. "Why were you so late?"

"I…don’t know," Scott replied, confused. "No time now."

The car sped down the road, the woods distorting into a giant blur of black. Every once in a while the car would hit a bump, and everyone would jump slightly. Scott drove on regardless, trying not to think of what had just happened to him.

After they had gone on for a while, Scott saw Nicole’s head snap up sharply in the rearview mirror. "Only twelve bumps," she said quietly.

Scott turned over his shoulder to look at her, catching a glimpse of the road behind him. "Oh shit!" he yelled.

Nicole and Harmony looked back and screamed. Something was following them, and it was gaining fast.

Scott pressed down even harder on the gas pedal, but the engine started to whine in protest. His old Ford Taurus couldn’t handle much more speed. "Dammit, please!"

Scott quickly glanced at the rearview mirror. He got a decent look at what was following them. Its face was extremely thin, and covered by pale white skin pulled taut over its bones. Stringy black hair fluttered in the wind. Its eyes were completely whited over, pupil-less. A horrible shrieking sound pierced the air, even making the car reverberate.

It came against the driver’s side door. It turned its head toward Scott and contorted its emaciated mouth into a horrible grin, revealing pale green teeth. Scott felt something rake along the door, causing metal to squeal in protest.

Scott stared into the creature’s eyes, completely unable to move or do anything. Without even thinking about it, he let his foot off the gas pedal. He vaguely felt the car slow down, could hear two voices screaming at him to keep going.

The road curved sharply ahead. The car continued driving straight ahead and slammed into a tree. Scott was thrown through the front window, but all he felt was a small thump against his face. He hit the ground and rolled for a while, eventually ending up on his back.

Somewhere far away, he heard a door open, then another. He heard moaning. In the corner of his eye, he saw a black-haired girl helping a blond-haired girl walk away from the car. Then he saw something blurry hit the black-haired girl. A splatter of blood flew over the car, landing on Scott’s chest. The black-haired girl slammed into the car, closing both passenger side doors. The blond-girl, no longer supported, fell to the ground and out of his sight.

Scott heard a scream, then nothing. Then another scream, then nothing.

Something blurry disappeared behind a tree. A beautiful pale-faced girl walked out from the other side. She walked smoothly along the ground. Scott idly noticed that she left no footprints. The beautiful pale girl walked towards him.

He felt like he should say something to her, something important, something meaningful. He couldn’t remember how to speak though. He knew he was saying something, he could feel his voice in the middle of his head. What he was saying and if it made any sense, however, he had no idea.

The beautiful pale girl just smiled thinly and straddled him. She said something to him, and it filled him with fear. He didn’t know why. He was just afraid.

She said something else. Then he closed his eyes.

Lee Tamaska wasn’t sure why he chose to drive home on Shades Road that night. It took him a few minutes out of the way, but it didn’t really matter. On late nights like this, he had to think of ways to keep himself awake so he wouldn’t get into an accident.

Tonight, he chose to count the bumps in the road.

He made it to twelve before the road became smooth again.