Board Thread:Writer's Workshop/@comment-28420405-20160609170413

I was a typical teenager. When I was old enough to drive, I pestered my father into letting me get my driver’s permit as early as possible. After completing all the required prerequisites for my permit, I persisted that he immediately take me to get a legitimate driver’s license. I dreamed of long days and nights at friends’ houses, basking in the freedom of four wheels.

My father was not overly strict, but like most teens, I had a curfew. My father wanted me home no later than 11 PM, which, in retrospect, was not unreasonable. However, in my rebellious teenage years, I argued until I was blue in the face to stay out later. He refuted, stating I did not have enough experience driving at night. I would counter, asking how I would get the experience if I was not allowed to stay out late. I wish that I had listened. I’ll never drive at night again.

It was summer break my junior year of high school. I was chomping at the bit to go to college and flourish into someone new. I took any excuse I could to leave the house by myself. A trip to the grocery store turned into my own private respite. I would sing along to the radio at the top of my lungs. I would roll all of the windows down and let the wind whip through the car. I truly loved driving in the summertime.

My friend Angela and I went to different high schools. We had grown up down the street from one another, and we were virtually inseparable. However, when we both were about to enter high school, her father got a new job and they had to move. We took our summer breaks to catch up and spend as much time together as possible.

That summer, Angela asked if I would like to go to a party with her. A boy from her high school was having a bonfire in Calin Woods. It started at 11PM and most of the attendees would be camping out. She really liked this guy, and insisted I go with her to keep her company. I knew my father would not let me stay out that late, but I figured it was worth a shot, and went home to ask him if I could go out later that night.

When I got home, my father was puttering around in his office. A small desk fan was whirling and his fingers were clicking away at the keyboard. I gently knocked on the door, and his chair creaked as he swiveled to greet me. He gave me a big smile, pushing his thin-framed glasses up the bridge of his nose.

“Good afternoon! How was Angela? Did you girls enjoy yourselves?” He smiled at me. He was always formal, regardless of whom he was speaking with. It was a habit instilled in him from his corporate days in his office. His professionalism is what made our next conversation so bizarre to me.

I told him about the party in Calin Woods. I insisted that this was a common thing for high school kids to do in the summer. I promised him I would behave, but all my huffing and puffing was falling on deaf ears. As soon as I told him the location of the party, he vehemently denied my request to attend.

“Those woods are not safe. It’s not just drinking or dugs I’m worried about. Please, please promise me you will not go out to those woods at night. There is something strange about those woods. I swear, if the party was not there, I would let you go. I trust you, I really do. Just please, promise me you won’t go out there tonight. I know how persistent Angela can be.”

Before I could get in another word, he turned around and began clacking away at the keyboard again. I sighed and left him to his work. I went into my room and shut the door. I pulled out my phone and flipped it open to dial Angela. I relayed to her how my father had forbidden me to attend the party, just because it was in some stupid forest. I was annoyed and disappointed that I wouldn’t get to meet Angela’s crush. I had wanted to make sure he was a good guy before I supported Angela in her romantic endeavors.

“Just come on!” She insisted. “You can easily sneak out of your bedroom window. Just leave the lights of the car off as you’re pulling out of the driveway and he will never know! You’ve got to come! It’s going to be amazing, and I really want you to meet Matt!”

“I really don’t think I can sneak out, Ang…” I tried to resist. I was pretty responsible, even for a teenager, but Angela was laying the peer pressure on pretty thick.

“You’ve just got to come with me! Please! I NEED my best friend!”

“You just need a ride!” I snorted at her through the phone. I was really not happy to tell her no.

“You know that’s not true! I LOVE you! I need you there with me! Ple-e-e-ase!” Angela had finally worn me down.

“Fine, fine! I’d do anything for my best friend. We just need to make sure we get back to my house before the sun comes back up.” I whispered into the phone. “I don’t want my dad to know I went when he expressly told me not to go into those woods.”

“HOORAY!” I could feel Angela’s excitement through the phone. I smiled and told her goodbye before flipping my phone shut.

I went back out that evening, around 6PM, to have dinner at Angela’s house. I thought this would trick my father into thinking that I had gone out with Angela and didn’t need to go to the party later. We ate and watched a movie while chatting about the nights’ festivities. She told me about all Matt and the girls that would be there. She said she would introduce me to a few of her friends from school. I was excited to meet some new people.

I arrived back home promptly by nine. My father was surprised to see me home so early, but I explained that Angela’s mother had let her go to the party, so she needed to get ready. My father shook his head and mumbled something about “irresponsible parenting” before going into the kitchen for his night-time snack. He tucked his Tom Clancy book under his arm and carried his snack upstairs to his room.

I followed behind him to my own room. We wished each other goodnight and closed our respective doors. The next few hours felt like the longest hours of my life. I had the television in my room on at a quiet volume. I changed my clothes and did my hair and makeup to get ready for the party. At about 11:30PM I tiptoed out of my room.

I hesitantly made my way to my father’s door and pressed my ear against the wood. I heard his heavy snoring, indicating to me he was fast asleep. He had always been a heavy sleeper, and I insisted our rooms be far apart so I did not have to hear him “sawing logs” as I tried to sleep. That night, the arrangement worked even more in my favor than usual.

I walked into the bathroom that was near his bedroom. I flushed the handle and turned on the faucet. Just in case my footsteps did wake him, I wanted to make him think I was just using the bathroom. I walked back to my room and shut the door. I was confident I could make it out unnoticed. I opened the window to my bedroom and shimmied outside.

I made my way to the car and turned the ignition. The starting of the engine had never sounded so loud in my life. My pulse quickened and I stared at my father’s window intently. When no movement occurred, I slowly pulled out of the driveway. Once facing away from the house, I flipped the headlights on and drove to Angela.

I had always been nervous driving at night. My eyes seemed to play tricks on me. I was always afraid that someone was in the car with me. It always felt like there were eyes on the back of my head as I drove, and not just the driver behind me. I would shake it off. I told myself it was all in my head, and when I arrived at my destination I would always forget I even had the feeling. This night was no different.

As I was driving to Angela’s house, I felt a chill run up my neck. I checked the backseat windows of the car, but they were closed tightly. I looked in the rearview mirror, and for a moment, I thought I saw moonlight reflect off of something in the backseat. I quickly put my eyes back on the road in front of me, but I could not stop checking the back. All the way to Angela’s house, I felt eyes on the back of my head. I convinced myself it was just guilt for sneaking out of the house against my father’s wishes.

When I arrived at Angela’s house, excitement rushed through my body. I had made it! My father had not called asking why I was not sleeping in my room. Angela was waiting at the end of her driveway. My heart beat hard against my chest and my whole body was buzzing. Angela opened the door and we both squealed at each other.

“I can’t believe you made it out! I am SO excited! This is going to be great! I can’t wait for you to meet Matt and all the girls!” Angela was dancing in her seat as she clipped the seat-belt into place.

“This will be great! It will be worth it, even if I get grounded! I am just glad we get to have a fun night out!” I put the car into gear and drove away from her house with a smile ten miles wide.

Angela directed me to Matt’s house. He lived in a fairly large home on the edge of the woods. His backyard kissed the tree-line of the woods. There were four cars lining either side of the road near his house.

“Where am I supposed to park?” I asked Angela. She pointed to a spot in between two cars.

“Someone must have left already. LAME! Oh well, grab the spot!” She laughed.

“God, I don’t want to parallel-park. Are you sure there isn’t somewhere else?” I was not very confident in my parking as it was, and I didn’t want to try to parallel-park in the dark without an experienced driver to help me.

“Don’t be just a baby! Just park!” Angela snapped. She was clearly in a rush to get to the party.

I cautiously pulled up to the space and did my best s-curve on the wheel to get the car into place. I was so pleased with my parking job I did not notice Angela rush ahead of me. She was anxious and excited, and I could hardly blame her. I looked toward the woods and saw a faint glow of orange from the bonfire.

“Come on! Let’s go! Why are you just standing there?!” Angela called back to me. I locked up the car and headed toward her. She was smoothing down her hair and applying some lip-gloss.

“Sorry! I’m on my way. You look great, don’t stress!” I called up to her. She beamed at me and grabbed my hand. She started to pull me through the woods to a small clearing. There were red cups littering the ground and about 10 teens gathered around the fire. A boy looked our way and started to wave.

“Hey Angie! You made it! Who is this with you?” The boy had an easy smile and kind eyes.

“Hey Matt! This is my best friend, her name is Lisa. She goes to the other high school. I wanted you all to meet her!” Angie turned to me and pointed to the boy. “That’s Matt, and over there is Kyle, and the girls there are Katie, Abby, and Rose.”

“Hey!” The group chirped in unison.

All the people at the party seemed nice. There was a keg of beer, but I did not want to drink. I was never really into drugs or drinking, but I enjoyed going to parties and meeting new people. Looking around, it was obvious that most of the girls there had a crush on Matt. They were all watching him from the corner of their eye as they chatted amongst themselves. Angela was sitting by the other girls, all of whom were seated across the fire from the boys. I took a seat next to her.

“Hey! I know! Let’s tell a ghost story like the ones they used to tell at camp!” Abby exclaimed. She was a slender girl with dark hair, donning all black. She seemed like the type of girl who told ghost stories even when not seated by a fire.

“Come on Abby, that’s so dumb. Let’s just catch a buzz and hang out!” Kyle said, half laughing. Abby’s head dropped, and Rose patted her on the back.

“Don’t be mean, Kyle! Go ahead, Abs, tell your story!” Rose smiled at her friend. Abby picked up her head and shot everyone a glaring smile from under her dark hair. She interlocked her fingers and stretched out her arms in front of her, stretching her arms and cracking her knuckles at the same time.

“Alright! Well, this isn’t so much of a ghost story as it is a warning. Don’t you guys know about these woods? Bad things happen here.” She tucked a piece of hair behind her hear and stared into the fire. Angela looked at me for a moment, gauging my reaction. I was slightly unnerved, especially since my father had clearly warned me that these woods were not safe before I left. She gave me a little nudge with her foot and smiled. She turned back to Abby as she continued her story.

“Before there was a neighborhood here and houses were built around the road, that road was the trail that lead from town to the woods. People would go to the woods to dump stuff they didn’t want anymore. Kids, pets, garbage, whatever. It got so bad that they had to shut down the road. But people still drove out here at night to illegally dump whatever. You guys don’t know about Backseat Charlie?” Abby looked around the fire before continuing.

“Just before the neighborhood was built, a woman made a drive out to these woods. She had her baby and her dog in the backseat. She was coming to the woods to release the dog, as she could not care for both like she had planned. When she got out of the car to let the dog out, a local prowler snuck into the car.” She paused for dramatic effect before continuing.

“When she got back in the car and started to drive away, she saw a man in her rearview mirror. He jumped up from the backseat and killed them both, dumping their bodies in the woods. There was a witness, someone else who had come to the woods that night, who said they saw a man dump the bodies and the car in the woods. They called him Backseat Charlie.”

When Abby was finished all the kids burst into laughter. I did not find this story funny. I always had a bad feeling when driving alone at night, and this story just hit too close to home for me. I looked at Angela, who was roaring with laughter.

“Backseat Charlie! How stupid! That’s what you call people who try to drive from the backseat!” Angela was beside herself.

“Yeah, if you were going to try and scare us, you really should have tried harder!” Rose giggled to her.

The boys were done laughing and got up to refill the girls’ drinks. They handed me a cup, but I turned it down. I was thinking of leaving, so the last thing I wanted to do was start drinking.

“No thanks. Actually, I think I’m going to get going. I don’t want my dad to find out that I left…” I didn’t have the heart to really leave, but I was getting uncomfortable.

“You really can be such a party pooper. I shouldn’t have brought you.” Angela looked hurt. I really did not want to upset her, but I knew it was time to go.

“I’m really sorry. It was nice to meet all of you. We should hang out again sometime! Sorry again.” I stood up and brushed the dust and ash from the fire off of my pants. I smelled my shirt, and realized I stunk like smoke. There was no way I would convince my dad I didn’t leave tonight if he noticed the stench of bonfire on my clothes. I waved at them all and looked at Angela.

“Come on, Angela. If you want a ride from me, I’m leaving now.” I looked at her sternly.

“I’m not going. One of these guys will give me a ride home. Just go. I’ll call you tomorrow.” She turned away from me.

“Fine. Talk tomorrow.” I replied. I took one last look at the group, all of whom had resumed their party without me. I wanted to say something, but the words escaped me. Defeated, I walked back to my car.

I could not shake the feeling that someone was behind me as I walked back. I kept checking over my shoulder, but I knew better. I told myself that I was just spooked from the story that had struck a nerve with me. When I got back to my car, I unlocked the doors, but did not hear the click that the door had unlocked. My hand hovered over the door handle.

I knew I had locked the door before walking to the party. I really was feeling uneasy and I was not excited about this dark drive home. I got into the drivers’ seat and buckled my belt. I looked in the rearview mirror, and for a moment I thought I saw a glint of light.

“Must be the bonfire.” I mumbled to myself as I threw the car into drive. My foot was pressed hard against the brake as I turned the wheel to get out of my tight parking spot. I pulled out and onto the road.

I pulled around the corner of the neighborhood. The clock in my car read 2:30PM. There was not any indication that the sun was coming up soon, so unless my dad had decided to check on me in the night (which he never did) I was home free. The neighborhood was lined with trees, and the street seemed darker than normal. My palms were slightly sweaty from my nerves. I could hear my heart beat ringing in my ears and my cheeks felt flushed. I checked the rearview mirror once more, and again, saw a glint of light.

I stopped the car. I was pressing the brake as hard as I could. I stared at the rearview mirror. I analyzed the backseat carefully. There was no movement, and there was no more light.

“Stupid girl…stupid story…” I mumbled to myself. I was scared for nothing, I kept telling myself. I released the break and started to drive forward. I was almost out of the neighborhood, when I checked all my mirrors once last time. That’s when I saw him.

In the rearview mirror was a man with a large bald head. His eyes were like pieces of charcoal, abnormally shaped and not rounded around the edges. He flashed a menacing smile. In my terror, I swerved the wheel, sending my car careening into a nearby tree. The hood was punched in, and hugging the tree. The windshield shattered, and I felt glass fly past my cheeks and face like tiny daggers of ice.

The rearview mirror hung at an odd angle. Dazed, I looked back up, terrified of the gaze I would meet. The man was no longer in the back seat. I saw his figure behind my car, walking toward the woods. The last image I saw was his figure carrying something over his shoulder, and cradling something in his free arm.

I wound up in the hospital with a concussion. My father came immediately when he heard the news. I thought I would be scolded, but when he saw me he rushed to my side and flung his arms around me. He was sobbing, and telling me he was just relieved I was alright. I asked him if he had heard from Angela. I felt his grip tighten on me before he gently let go and stepped back to look at me.

“Honey, Angela is dead. All the kids at the party were found murdered in Calin Woods. I got a call from the paramedics at the scene of your crash, telling me to hurry to the hospital. I met them here, and they informed me that when they searched the woods for any other passengers, they found them in the woods. There were foot prints leading from your car to the clearing. The paramedic said they saw a man at the scene in the woods, but he fled before the police arrived. I was so worried that you were with them. I’m just glad you’re safe now.” Tears were streaming down his face from behind his thin rimmed glasses.

I’ve decided to come clean about that night, and tell anyone who will listen. Don’t go to Calin Woods at night. Always lock your car door. And always, always, check the backseat before driving away. 