Fissure

We cruised down a narrow stretch of road flanked on both sides by tall pine trees, the headlights beamed out on the open road and everything outside the beam was pitch black, everything was silent aside from the rock music blaring out of the cars sound system, causing the windows to buzz and shake from the excessive bass produced by the stereo system. I glanced at my friend, Jeremy. "Come on Jerry, y'know that ol' Lorna wants it!" I chuckled to myself. Jeremy stared at me obnoxiously, before slamming his hand on the dashboard, "Leave it out Al, we're over, will you stop fuckin' picking at that thead?" I knew what enraged Jeremy and I enjoyed playing on it, the mere mention of his ex-girlfriend Lorna drove him into a frenzy. "Hey Al, you should've took the turning back there!" Jeremy glanced over his shoulder, watching the last turning we would see for hours fade away into the distance. "Don't worry Jerry, there'll be another turnin' up here somewhere." I was wrong.

We had been driving for hours, I was drowsy and Jerry had fallen asleep hours ago. To my upmost suprise I saw a run down motel on the side of the road, the neon-light that illuminated the parking lot was somewhat dim and had a fair few bulbs needing replacement. I pulled into the parking lot, nudging Jeremy slightly. "Hey, we'll uh fuckin' sleep here tonight, yeah?" Jeremy shook his head anxiously, climbing out of the car, "I've seen enough horror movies to know that this kind of place is where you get cut up by some hockey mask wearing cripple, I mean what the fuck? The Sunrise Motel? We're in the middle of Illinois, hardly the sunniest state!" I merely shook my head, a small grin appearing across my face. I should've listened to him, by God I should've listened to him.

We made our way into the empty reception, I approached the counter when to my suprise a frail old man jumped up from behind the desk donning a mask reminiscent of Leatherfaces in the Texas Chainsaw Massacre. The old man tore the mask from his face, smiling crudely: "I like to frighten' the gues' y'see? Hyuck, hyuck hyuck! Anyhow, how can I help you two fine gentlemen today?" I stared at the old man with a look of dismay stamped across my face, the old man had a face you couldn't forget. His artificially dyed black hair was thinning out, his hair reaked out of the stench of pomade. He was disgusting, ugly if you will. "Uh, could I get a room, sorry, two rooms?" I inclined my head slightly, furrowing my brow. "Sorry youn' man, only gots one room available, you 'n' your buddy gonna have t' camp out together, tonight." We went through the routine of paying and collecting the room keys, then making our steady descent up the steep flight of stairs to our motel room; upon entering the room the stench of rotting flesh made its way into our nostrils. "Yuck!" screeched Jeremy, I paid it no mind. What else could you expect in a sleezy, low-budget motel?

We made the bed and tucked down for a long night of well deserved slumber, it must have been ten minutes into my doze when I awoke to a rapping at the bedroom door, I approached the door cautiously, taking ahold of a firepoker carlessly laid out across the mantlepiece, I opened the door a smidgen only to see who I thought was the elderly man donning his mask. "Haha, you're so funny, you like to scare the guests right?" I tried to close the door but the man pushed the door forwards with brute force, tearing the latch from the wall. He grabbed me by the throat and I found myself unable to move "Let go, let go you fuckin' psycho!" Jeremy woke up frozen with fear, watching the struggle between myself and the man. The last thing I can remember was him turning the firepoker on me and plunging it into my stomach.

"Woah!" The car swerved into a verge on the roadside. "Shit Jerry, I must've fallen asleep at the wheel!" I glanced at Jeremy shuddering. "What a nightmare," we proceeded on with our car journey, "Al, you missed the turning!" I glanced over my shoulder, shrugging absently "There'll be another one near-by." We drove until our eyes were heavy with sleeping bags. "Hey a motel!" declared Jeremy. "The Sunrise Motel, sounds nice."