The streetlights flickered on as Dagny and Eric walked down the deserted suburban streets. Porch lights went off as the teens made their way home in the early fall air, and Dagny began to feel uneasy. In the day, the small town of Aldershot was just like every other town; utterly forgettable. At night however, the darkness that lurked within came out, as the troubled youth took over the abandoned streets. A sharp wind cut through the air, and Dagny’s brown, curly hair flew in every direction. Eric, her best friend, stuck close to her; his orange hair looked crimson in the shadows.
“It’s creepy out here.” Eric muttered, his black Vans shuffling across the concrete.
“Let’s just get home, we don’t want to run into Billy and his unusual gang of idiots.” Dagny laughed, but fear crept into her voice. The neighborhood teens knew that after dark, Billy, the high school quarterback, and his teammates took to the streets. They took pride in knowing they struck fear into the hearts of everyone at Aldershot High School, and Dagny was no exception.
Pale moonlight lit up the street as Dagny and Eric approached the sloping ravine that ran between the houses. Suddenly, Dagny and Eric heard a scraping noise behind them and swung around. Dagny’s greatest fears had come true; Billy and his friends stood under a broken streetlight with baseball bats in their hands. They all wore green and gold letterman jackets and blue jeans. They dragged their baseball bats behind them, which created a roaring hiss.
“Look what we have here, boys.” Billy started, smiling deviously. “It’s everyone’s favourite couple. Shall we teach them a lesson?”
Dagny’s face went bright red; Eric had been her best friend since elementary school and yet the entire high school refused to believe they were anything but friends.
“Get bent, Billy.” Dagny called out, her voice echoing through the streets.
The group of boys began to walk towards them, wielding their bats like swords. Eric pulled Dagny by her windbreaker, and they tore off towards the ravine. They slipped down the dirt hill as they heard the slap of shoes on the concrete behind them. There was a fallen tree trunk in the depths of the ravine, and Eric pulled Dagny down behind it. As Billy and his gang approached the ravine, Dagny picked up a stick and threw it far away from them.
“Did you hear that Billy?” One of Billy’s goons yelled. “I heard something over there.” He pointed to the left of Dagny and Eric’s hiding spot. The gang sprinted off in that direction, leaving the two teens huddled behind the fallen tree trunk. Dagny swung around as she heard something that sounded like a crackling fire behind her. She stood paralyzed as she saw a man standing behind her; he had appeared out of thin air. The man had long brown hair that went down to his shoulders and a piercing gaze.
“Eric-” Her breath caught in her throat as he tapped Eric on the shoulder. The man stood in front of a small fire, which was seemingly motionless in the dull breeze. Eric swung around and backed into the tree as he saw the mysterious man.
“Who are you?” Eric questioned as the man beckoned for them to come closer. As if they had lost all control, Dagny and Eric approached the man and stood in front of the flickering fire. The man’s eyes lit up in the orange glow; a warm smile spread across his face.
“I am the man by the fire.” He started. His voice seemed to echo in the empty ravine.
“What do you want?” Dagny gasped, caught in his mysterious gaze.
“I want to tell you a story. A tale of murder and friendship, how the two go hand in hand. I am going to tell you the story of The Broken Bicycle.”
…
Moonlight crept through the trees as the man finished his tale of terror. His eyes were red in the incandescent glow of the fire.
“Will Nancy ever escape Glen? Or is she cursed forever?” Eric questioned, captivated by the story.
“I cannot say, but the betrayal of friendship is something that may haunt her forever.” The man by the fire answered cryptically. Dagny stood just before the fire, although no heat seemed to be coming off of it. She was captivated by the man and his gruesome tales; it was almost as if he had put a spell on her with his piercing gaze.
“The next tale of terror is about a group of friends who learn that you should never go into the forest at night, especially when there is a killer on the loose.” The man waved his hand over the fire, setting the tone for his macabre tale.
“This is the story of The Waving Man.”
…
The teens stood motionless as the man by the fire finished his tale. Questions raced through Dagny’s mind. Are these stories true? This thought spun around in her mind, although she didn’t have the nerve to ask the man. There was a hush over the forest; as if Dagny and Eric were trapped in time. The man broke the spell as he opened his mouth.
“My final tale,” He gazed directly into Dagny’s eyes as he said this, “is about the timeless saying, be careful what you wish for. What if you could have everything you wanted, but with a chilling twist?”
Dagny felt a chill of terror run down her spine.
“This is the story of Slasher Camp.”
...
“Michael’s dream turned out to be his greatest nightmare. Poetic, isn’t it.” The man by the fire questioned Dagny and Eric, his voice sounded far away.
“Are the stories true?” Eric asked the man in the silence of the ravine.
“Do you think they are?” The man questioned in a faded tone.
Before he had the chance to answer, Eric and Dagny were pulled out of their trance when they heard voices coming from the depths of the ravine. Eric pulled Dagny back down behind the fallen tree trunk as Billy and his gang filtered out of the trees empty handed. Didn’t they see the man by the fire? Eric questioned to himself as he spun around to answer the man’s question. When the teens turned back to where the man had stood, all they saw was darkness. There was no trace of a fire, no trace of anything at all. The man by the fire had disappeared.
...
The man by the fire is something of an urban legend; if you go into the ravine at night and find him, he will tell you three terrifying tales. Are the tales true? It’s best not to know the answer to that question.
THE END
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