I sat tense as I checked my laptop for further information. My eyes were weary and bloodshot but being a forest officer there was no excuse from duty. I had to sit up all night, to attend emergency calls and drug trafficking cases in Virginia Woods.

Virginia woods was notorious for smuggling and murder cases, even though it seemed to be a pretty innocent place to hang out or camp. I took another sip from my beer bottle, it was the thing that propelled me. As I looked out from the window the full moon cast an eerie look and the cold winds whipped through the dark branches. Tonight, was peculiarly silent. I checked my laptop again, there was no notification about any urgent case or crime, I turned to leave the outpost. As I opened the door, suddenly the emergency phone rang at far end of the cabin. I cursed my luck, “what again”? As I received the phone I answered, “Forest Ranger Brick responding. How can I help you?”

At the far end of the receiver I heard a choked cry. The other person spoke,”i,i….am help me officer…please save my soul!” Her voice cracked as she uttered the words,she appeared to be in a petrified state. I reassured her, “calm down ma’am, what happened?”
She spoke, “I came here to camp with my three friends for our 5 year old long reunion.Everything was absolutely fine …after that..”
“After what?”
“There is a person stalking us officer. He wears a battered bunny face and he is slowly hunting us officer. I don’t know what to do! First Amelia, second George then Peter. They are all gone.He is now after me officer. My nose is bleeding,my feet is scarred with thorns,I don’t know how I can escape…please help me ..for god sake please”
“Ok,Jasmine how did Peter,Amelia and George look like exactly?”
“Amelia wore a green sweat shirt and short denim jeans. She had a pointed nose,blue eyes and curly brown hair.Peter wore a grey t shirt,he had black eyes and blonde hair and …jack”
There was a pause
“I don’t remember,I don’t remember…I will forget myself. Myself!”
“Calm down Jasmine,calm down.”
“Now,listen to me very carefully.Where are you? What’s your location?”
She replied, “I saw a broken sign post a couple of yards away. It reads 50th Virginia Zone.”
“Perfect. I am in the 48th Zone, a couple of kilometers from there.Try to reach the 50th street at all costs, get it! I am coming towards you and most important of all remain silent.Remain silent,the killer should not get a single trace about your location.
“Okay officer”
“I will..”, before she could complete her sentence,the line cut replaced by static beep.

My hands were numb after that critical 2-minute conversation. The receiver still felt alive, the feeling was unsettling.as I shifted in my chair a sudden screech of the door opening reverberated across the room.my fingers tensed as I grabbed the cold wood of the chair, it was not the main door. It had to be the sound of the storage door in the adjacent room.
The storage door was never locked, could it have been the wind? I decided against it, I could not take chances. I readied myself with a lock head pistol and the beer bottle in the other, just in case!
As I arrived in the adjacent room, it was pitch black the lights were off. I felt the switchboard and turned it on. The sight before me made my stomach churn and squelch in terror, in a neat row were the bodies of three mutilated teenagers, one wearing a green sweatshirt.Their faces bloodied beyond recognition and their abdomens spilling blood.
I fell to the ground, this is pure hallucination, this can’t be real, this can’t be!”
I took another desperate swig from my beer bottle, the beer did not taste the same it had a familiar metallic taste as I stared at the bottle, it was filled with blood. I threw the bottle as it shattered into 1000 pieces and spat the beer in horror.
At the end of the room, the storage door creaked open .my senses clicked, I readied my pistol.” Get out whoever you are, the goddamn you are, you can’t escape me, you can’t!”
I was becoming a lunatic, the slim line between lunacy and sanity was getting blurred.as seconds lapsed into hours, I barged in with all my effort as the door gave way.
I expected to encounter the most vicious force of evil waiting to be unraveled, yet there was nothing not a single soul.
As my eyes adjusted in the darkness a familiar shape took place.in the end of the storage room lied a tattered rabbit mask.it had a strange attraction to it as if beckoning me to wear it.I could not resist it as I tied it reluctantly. The air felt damp within, yet it smelled sweet. Suddenly the blood seemed okay. A sort of mad lust was descending on me. It seemed perfectly natural. My horror-stricken face stretched into a dark knowing smile. My brain had succumbed to temptation but it had brought a feeling I always lacked “peace”.

I slowly walked out from my cabin as I delicately balanced my precious axe. I whispered in the darkness,” I am coming Jasmine!”

-BY DHEEMAN GANGOPADHYAY,11 H