The Klix Horror Collection

Hardwood

A traveler's car came to a stop on the side of the road and shook slightly as the other motorists on the highway raced by. He didn't exactly know what was wrong, but he knew that tugging around a trailer with a weaker vehicle couldn't be good for it. He stepped out of his car once he was certain that it was parked and closed its yellow, rusted door with a metallic bang. He fed his fingers underneath the hood, unlatched it, and studied the old, weathered insides of the vehicle. The dead orange of the needles that were scattered and collected in the small spaces reminded him of the threat, while the moss that clung to the cooler parts, grew forever. He didn't notice the car that had parked a few feet behind the trailer. The traveler was hunched over and found multiple things that he had neglected in the overuse of his car and tried to ignore the detritus that had gathered. There was a tap on his shoulder, and he started, banging his head on the hood. The mechanic, who had approached in the traveler's trance, swiftly apologized and explained that he thought he could get the car back up and running or at least say what it needed. The traveler retained his agitation. In his head, he was going over his options. He needed to keep moving but he also couldn't risk having anyone touch anything. After measuring the risk, he reluctantly agreed, and the mechanic took a look under the hood. The traveler stood next to the car and watched what the mechanic was doing. He was used to having customers that enjoyed watching the process but, the mechanic thought this fellow was staring daggers at every action he completed. He checked the oil, which was low, the coolant which was dangerously absent, and several other things that pointed to bad news for this unfortunate traveler. He noticed the traveler would look off into the woods pretty frequently and could tell that the man was scanning the trees.

"I'm going to be honest with you, friend. I'm not completely sure how you made it here in the first place."

"Luck, I guess."

"Well, you'll definitely need a tow truck, I'm willing to call the company that I work for and work out a deal for you. I'll keep you company while you wait."

The traveler looked at the mechanic for a few moments and then nodded and looked at the ground. The slightly agitated mechanic went back to his car and dialed. He leaned against the front of his car and chatted with his coworker that usually manned the front desk.

The traveler planted both of his hands on the front of his open hood and leaned in looking at the interior. He went over how he got to this point. He closed the hood and sat against the front of the car. He was about to light a cigarette when he noticed something in the woods. He had wasted too much time. When the mechanic tapped him on the shoulder, he nearly jumped out of his skin.

"You need to leave right now." The traveler said, his voice was shaky, and his eyes were wild. He shoved the mechanic back. "You need to run away. Right fucking now!"

"What the hell is your problem man?!"

"Do you want to die?!"

A large length of wood flew from the woods at an impossible speed and impaled the traveler where he stood. The jagged nature of the wood snagged and ripped his flesh and organs apart as it barreled halfway through him. The mechanic took no time getting to a full sprint when a creature emerged from the woods. The mechanic was only able to see a gangly humanoid in his frantic escape. The traveler, barely conscious, fell to his knees. The thing approached him. He was just as afraid of it as he had been when he made the deal. It grabbed and pulled the spike through him the rest of the way and the traveler fell in two. The mechanic took several deep breaths after he made it behind his car. He crouched behind it and tried to gather his courage. He needed to make it to the driver's seat and try to make it out of there without getting a spear thrown at him. He thought about standing when something weighty leapt onto his car. He could hear metal crumple underfoot and the glass sprout webs. He didn't realize that he was crying as he stared up the road. He didn't look up until he heard a creaking sound followed by clattering. His chin rose to the sky as he looked up and studied a rotted face seemingly crushed within a tree's trunk. The bottom jaw clicked as it closed over and over and an unknown fluid seeped from its eye holes. The appendages were connected to the body by what looked to be vines from the woods and the rotting tissues of bodies it had consumed. It crouched and looked at the mechanic closer. The mechanic's shock broke at that instant, and he screamed. The creature raised its spike of an arm and plunged it into the mouth of the man, impaled him, and silenced his screams. After breaking the limb off, it returned to the woods having reaped its claim.