The Woodsy

THE WOODSY1

The red mustang sprayed rocks into the ditch as it rounded the corner. Rick Dempsey laughed as the car fishtailed and Gary Alstead fought to keep it on the gravel road, turning the steering wheel to the left and back to the right. Gary let out a whooping yell as the car straightened out and he pressed down on the gas pedal. Behind him and fighting to see through the dust was Carl Olson with his girlfriend Connie Tackett in a dark blue GTO. Tapping the brake once, Gary drove in between two wooden posts and found the verily visible car tracks in the pasture. Ahead of them at the edge of the woods the party was going strong. They passed at least thirty other cars parked in the grass before finding a spot to park.
Rick and Gary got out of the car and waited for Carl and Connie to pull in next to them.
“How the hell did you get around me?” Carl asked, jumping out of the front seat.
“You got to learn how to shift that damn think, dick head. Your GTO should of blown me off the road,” Gary said.
“Wow, what a great place for a woodsy,” Rick said.
“What is a woodsy, anyway?” Connie asked.
“You don’t know what a woodsy is? You got to be kidding me,” Gary blurted out.
“Hey, don’t give her a hard time. Her parents never let her out of the house. A woodsy is just a party in the woods where all of us underage kids can go to drink,” Carl explained as they began to walk to the party.
“Yeah, that’s right. Usually someone is in charge of getting the keg, or kegs as this one surely will be, and then they pick a place in the woods to hold the party,” Rick added.
“Whose property is this anyway?” Carl asked.
“Steve Morrison‘s parents, I think,” Rick said.
“I thought he graduated last year,” Carl said.
“No, he’s a 76er,” Rick said.
They passed the line of cars and entered an opening in the fence line.
“Hi guys, that’ll be five bucks a piece,” Tom greeted them as they passed.
“Five bucks. When they start charging?” Gary asked.
“No more free rides man. You think those beer kegs just fall out the sky or what?” Tom said, holding on to a blue money bag.
“Here’s ten for Connie and me,” Carl said.
“Rick, can I borrow five?” Gary asked.
“I suppose,” Rick answered, handing Tom a ten dollar bill.
They continued down a path that was leading them to an old dilapidated barn. In front of the barn door’s opening stood over a hundred people milling about. Off to one side of the barn a towering bonfire was crackling with people sitting around the outside of it. A stereo was blaring out music and the casual voices of conversation filled the late afternoon air. After giving casual greetings to people they knew, they stood in line to get a beer.
“Hey has anyone seen Peggy?” a young girl asked.
No one answered, and the young girl runs over to the campfire. They filled there cups and walked over to the fire. Carl and Connie found a place to sit, enjoying the heat that took a little of the chill out of the fall day.
“Hey, Carl we’re going to go down by the river. I guess someone brought some weed to sell and we’re going to buy some,” Rick said.
“Okay, we’ll see you two later,” Carl answered.
“God, why do you guys like this stuff so much? It taste like crap,” Connie said.
“Ah, you got to develop a taste for it. Keep sipping on it. I’ve got this with me if you would rather have some of it,” Carl said, pulling out a pint of cherry slo-gin out of his sweatshirt pocket.
“Yeah, that would be better.”
“Hey, Carl what did you think of that Squeaky Fromme bitch trying to kill President Ford?” a pimple faced kid asked, sitting next to them.
“Yeah, what a weirdo. It makes you wonder how many more of Charles Manson’s babes are out there wandering around.”
“Carl, I want to dance to this song they’re playing,” Connie said, standing up and singing along with KC and the Sunshine Band’s, “That’s the way (I like it).”
“I would rather hear some Alice Cooper or that new group called Kiss than this disco crap.”
“I like heavy metal songs too, but I really like this song,” Connie pleaded.
Carl got up and danced, wanting to keep her happy.
“I hope my parents don’t find out I’m out here,” Connie said.
“They think we’re going to the show. If they ask you if you liked the show just tell them yah, it was real good and be done with it.”
“Well, I really do want to see Jaws. Everyone says it’s really good.”
“Yeah, I do too. If it’s as good as the book it should really be good. But when there’s a woodsy going on you have to have your priorities.”
Carl pulled Connie in a little closer as they danced.
“Hey Carl, Steve Morrison wants to see you right away,” someone yelled at him from the other side of the campfire.
“Where is he?”
“Back behind the barn.”
Carl stop dancing and started walking away.
“Can I come with you?” Connie asked.
“Yeah, you better. I don’t want to leave you with all these other sex fiends.”
Connie joined him and they stopped back at the beer line before looking for Steve. Carl filled his cup and they walked to the back of the barn. The sunlight was slowly fading away above the tree tops. Once they arrived a line of three guys stood outside of small room in the back of the barn.
“What’s going on boys?” Carl asked
Nobody answered and Carl could hear someone crying inside of the room. He pushed his way inside and found a naked young girl being molested against her will by a young man.
“Hey fuck head, leave her alone. Can’t you see she’s crying.”
“She wanted to be gangbanged man and it’s my fucking turn.”
Carl belted him directly in the nose and without any retaliation the young man staggered out of the room.
“Connie, come in here and help me.”
“My God, what’s going on? Is your name Peggy?”
The young girl nodded as she groped along the floor looking for her clothes.
“There’s another girl running around looking for you.”
Carl left the room and found that the other boys had all ready run off.
“Carl, over here,” a voice called out.
Steve walked in the direction of the voice and found Steve looking at something in the woods.
“Quite the gangbang thing going on here, Steve.”
“Oh you mean, Peggy. Yeah nice body, don’t you think?”
“Come on Steve, what, she can only be about fourteen.”
“Pretty old to be a virgin in this vicinity, don’t you think?”
“Well that’s just fucking gross.”
“Oh come on Carl, you got to catch up with the times. That’s not what I wanted you back here for anyway. Being the smartest kid in our class I thought I would show something that I found down by the river today to see if you have ever seen anything like this before.”
“What is it?”
“Look at this,” Steve said, bending over what appeared to be a tree root. He picked up a branch and threw it toward the root. Out of nowhere a vine snapped out of the ground and caught the branch in midair crushing it.
“What the fuck?” Carl asked, being stunned by what he saw.
“Ain’t that the fucking weirdest thing you’ve ever seen? This afternoon I was down here getting things ready for the party and I walked down by the river. I walked down by the boat dock and I saw this long root looking thing laying on the dock. I didn’t think much of it until I saw it moving. It came to the end of the dock and then burrowed itself completely into the ground.”
“Really, that’s weird.”
“Yah it is, but I went to the boat house and watched three more of them come up out of the water and did the same thing. Down the trail that follows the river I could see some smoke coming up, so I walked to check it out. In the river there’s this long tube shaped object sticking out of the water..”
At that exact moment what appeared to be a vine blew up from the ground and traversed directly between Steve’s legs and out the back of his head.
Carl crawled out of the way as he watched Steve being raised in the air. Blood flowed freely from his open mouth, he appeared to be trying to say something. Off shoot branches began popping out of his chest and were tearing him apart. The fingerling roots ripped his chest and abdomen apart exposing his organs. A few moments later his entire body burst, throwing body parts and blood all over the ground. Where the blood landed more vines began popping out of the ground.
Carl who had continued to back away and missed most of the melee except he felt something hit his cap. He immediately threw the cap off and watched a vine pop out from where it landed.
“Connie, we got to get out of here, run,” Carl screamed out as he reached the back of the barn.
Connie came out of the room with Peggy, “What’s going on?”
“I don’t have time to explain. Lets go, now.”
They began to run toward the front of the barn. As they ran they could feel movement under their feet as if the ground was rolling around. Carl knew he didn’t have time to tell everyone what was going on but knew what would get everyone moving to their vehicles.
“Cops,” Carl yelled, knowing that this would make everyone scatter. His yell worked and people were moving toward their cars.
“What about Rick and Gary, we just can’t leave them here,” Connie yelled out.
“You’re right. Let’s try to find them. They went to the river,” Carl yelled out, watching Peggy run off with her friend.
Carl grabbed Connie by the hand and they ran down the trail that led to the river. On the way they could hear screams and load snapping sounds of the vines attacking everything that moved near by. The ground rolled with movement and vines shot out at intermittent intervals and then retreated back from the hole they created. They hadn’t reached the river when they found Rick with vines wrapped around him and a tree trunk.
“Carl…Connie go back man. Get out of here. Everybody is dead at the river these fucking vines are killing everyone in sight.”
“I can get you down, Rick. I’ve got my pocket knife.”
“No man, you got to get out of here,” Rick yelled back. Just as he spoke a vine shot through the back of his head and out his mouth. A sickening gurgling sound emitted from deep in his throat. Then his entire head blew apart. Connie and Carl wasted no time moving again.
“We got to get to the car, Connie,” Carl yelled out, pulling her along.
They ran up the trail and saw dozens of people impaled by the vines. Their lifeless bodies dangling in the air. As they approached the campfire the pimple faced kid was still there.
“Carl, Connie come over by the fire they won’t come near it.”
Carl and Connie didn’t hesitate but ran to the fire with vines popping out of the ground right at their heels. Just as Carl got to the kids side Connie let out a scream. A vine had curled up around her ankle and was trying to pull her away from the heat of the fire.
“Carl, help get it off me,” Connie screamed out. “Please help me.”
Carl reached into the campfire and pulled out a stick with a hot coal on the end of it. Carefully, he stepped toward Connie and burned the vine just above the ground and it sucked back into the hole from which it came from. Grabbing Connie under the arms, he drug her back inside the fire ring.
“Are you all right?” Carl asked.
“There’s something on my leg yet. I can feel it.”
Carl looked at her calve where the vine had attached and could see that the plant was spreading. He again grabbed the stick with the hot coal on it.
“Hey kid, what the hell is your name anyway?”
“Todd.”
“Todd, I need you to hold her steady while I try to burn this out of her.”
“I’m sorry Connie,” Carl said, placing the hot coal on the injured calve.
Connie screamed and tears began rolling down her cheeks as smoke came up from the wound. The smell of burning flesh quickly reached Carl’s nostrils. The vine that was growing inside of her leg backed out and fell away as black ash.
“Wow, what the fuck is going on?” Todd asked.
“I don’t know, but Steve was just starting to tell me before they got him. It almost sounded like some kind of invasion or something,” Carl said.
“What are we going to do?” Connie asked, drying the tears from her eyes.
“Well it appears they won’t get us along as we’re near the fire,” Todd answered.
“We’ve got a pretty good pile of wood to burn yet, but that’s not going to last forever,” Carl said.
“God, I wonder if anyone got out of here alive? Maybe if someone got out they will get help,” Connie said, grabbing onto Carl’s hand.
“I don’t know, but I didn’t hear any cars pulling out of here after you guys came running past the barn and yelling cops,” Todd said, throwing more branches on the fire.
“Why didn’t you run?” Carl asked.
“I did run, but after seeing several people getting filleted by vines, I ran back to the fire,” Todd answered.
“Good thing you did, or we would have ran right past you,” Connie said.
A shrill scream in the distance caused all three of them to look in that direction. Nightfall had succumbed over the woods and strands of moonlight broke through casting blurry shadows. Nearby by they could make out the outlines of bodies dangling as shish-ka-bobs in the open night air.
“Fuck, how are we going to get out of here,” Carl yelled out, throwing a rock in the direction of the scream. A vine burst out of the ground and picked the rock out of mid air, pulverizing it into strands of dust. Shortly afterwards the three of them huddled together as they could hear movement coming toward them. A large vine came out of the ground a short distance from them.
Connie and Todd began to throw more logs on the fire. Carl stood and watched the vine going through some kind of transformation. Within a few feet from the top of it something was growing and bulging from the inside of the vine. It appeared as if something was trying to break out of it. Suddenly there appeared a set of arms and legs followed by a head and body.
“My God, look, its Gary,” Carl said, taking a few steps closer to the fire.
“Carl, Connie, man, what a trip this has been,” Gary said, dangling in the air. His voice sounded hollow as if it were coming from a distant wooden tube. “You guys have to come and see the things we’ve seen. It’s a whole new world, Carl it’s so beautiful. The colors, the feeling of love all around you. Its so satisfying, you’re going to love it.”
“Gary, can you get away from it?” Carl asked.
“Why the fuck would I want to do that? Connie listen to me, it’s like your floating in air, theres beautiful music playing. Everyone’s connected to each other… feeling each others love, surviving as one unit.”
“Oh, Gary, you need to get away from it,” Connie pleaded.
“No, you really don’t understand. Its nirvana, its here, its nirvana. You’ll never want to leave here. We’ll live together forever and forever. All you got to do is step away from the fire and it can be all yours.”
“We’re not going to do that, Gary. No way, try to get away,” Carl said.
“God, you’re so pathetic Carl. You never fucking would listen to anyone else would you? It always had to be your fucking idea, didn’t it. Damn it…” With that last response he became sucked back into the vine. Another scream could be heard echoing far away in the distance.
“Damn, Carl did you see his face? He had no eyes, his eyes were gone. What are we going to do?” Connie cried out.
Carl didn’t answer but returned a bewildered stare before stating, “We got to set the woods on fire.”
“What?” Connie asked.
“We got to set the entire woods on fire. It’s are only chance.”
“He’s right, if we could get the fire to reach the barn that damn thing would go up like a book of matches,” Todd added.
“Do we have enough wood to get that far?” Connie asked.
“We’ve gotta try.”
They began building the fire toward the barn. The fallen leaves helped them gain some momentum but they began to have doubts about if they had enough wood to reach the barn. Hours seemed to pass and they were half way to the barn when again they heard movement rustling in the dead leaves and branches coming toward them. Once again a large vine came up out of the ground. A girls body emerged from the wood and dangled before them. It was Peggy.
“You guys, you were so helpful before saving me from all those boys. You can save me again by stepping away from the fire.”
“Peggy, we can’t do that. Please don’t beg us to step away,” Connie said.
“No, really. they will let me go. All you have to do is step away from the fire and they will let me go.”
“It’s just a trick, Peggy try to get out,” Carl pleaded.
“How can you leave me attached up here? I’m all by myself, please…It’s not a trick… really it’s not. Just step away from the fire,” Peggy begged, tears were coming out of her empty eye sockets.
The three of them stared at her not saying a word. They almost felt as though they were being hypnotized into stoping with their plans.
“Todd, fuck, keep working on the fire. She’s trying to take us off guard,” Carl said.
“You assholes…you never cared about me did you? Assholes…” Peggy screamed out to them, then was sucked back into the vine.
Connie dropped to her knees and held her hands over her eyes.
“Connie you got to pull it together. Keep working on getting to the barn,” Carl said.
“Carl, we’re not going to make it. We don’t have enough wood, man. This isn’t going to work. We don’t have enough to get to the barn,” Todd said, looking at Carl in the eyes.
Carl looked at the depleted pile as he helped Connie get to her feet.
More screams came from the woods. A new sound could also be heard in the direction of the river. A consistant drumming sound of wood banging together. It was an erratic beating with the sound weakening to a whisper and then coming back as an ear splitting crash. The moon was now high in the sky and the trees of the forest stood out as black towers that reached upward touching the stars. Sudden bursts of movements would occasionally rustle the leaves, then stop, then begin again.
Carl looked at his hands that were black from handling the wood. He looked at the faces of Todd and Connie and seen that they were streaked with black ash. The flickering flames seemed to burn their skin as they snuggled close to each other, not wanting to wander to far from its safety.
“We need some gasoline or something,” Carl mumbled to himself.
“Wait, there is some gasoline. I seen a two gallon can in the back of the barn when I first got here,” Todd said with a broad smile on his face.
“Are you sure? How do you know if it’s full or empty?”
“I don’t, but I’ll run and get it.”
“No, I’ll get it. I’m sure I can run faster than you.”
“Yes, you probably can run faster than me but I know exactly where the can is and you don’t.”
Carl didn’t answer to this comment but looked into Todd’s eyes and nodded with approval.
“Okay, Connie we need to throw some rocks out into the woods as Todd is running into the barn. We can try to create a diversion for him,” Carl said.
“I really don’t think this is such a good idea,” Connie said, searching the ground for rocks to throw.
“It’ll work, I’ll be okay,” Todd said.
Connie and Carl made a pile of rocks and when they felt they had enough they readied themselves.
“Okay Todd, on my go. Ready…Set…Go,” Carl yelled out.
As Todd raced to the barn, Connie and Carl threw rocks into the woods.
The vines eagerly snapped at the rocks as they flew overhead. Todd ducked inside the barn door with vines popping out behind him. He came running back out of the door with the gas can in tow.
“I got it Carl. It’s totally full,” Todd yelled out.
Just a few yards from getting back to the fire a vine shot up between Todd’s legs. As he was being lifted in the air, he dropped the gas can.
Carl wasted little time running to retrieve it and making it safely back to Connie’s side. He turned around and looked back at Todd. Todd had been skewered just like the rest, blood trickled down his chin from the corner of his mouth. Carl unscrewed the cap on the gas tank and ran full blast toward the vine that had Todd held ten feet in the air.
“You son-of-a-bitch,” Carl yelled. The flames followed him right to where he splashed gas on the vine.
“Carl, no don’t,” Connie screamed.
The vine burst into flames immediately and Carl managed to keep the can itself from catching fire. Running full blast through the open barn door, Carl began splashing the gasoline on the walls of the barn. Dribbling some across the floor of the barn, Carl ran to where Connie stood. As soon as he reached her side the barn burst into flames. Screams could be heard deep in the woods from the river. Carl grabbed onto Connie’s hand and they ran as close to the burning barn as they could stand to be. They reached the corner of the barn where they could see the large vine that still had Steve Morrison’s body filleted on it, swingly madly back and forth. It tried to retract back into the ground but Steve’s body wouldn’t let it pass.
It was clear that the closeness of the barns burning flames were effecting it. Nearby an axe was stuck in a tree stump.
“Connie, I’ve got an idea. Hold on to the gas can,” Carl said, pulling the axe out of the stump. Carl ran to the vine with Connie close behind.
The vine continued to sway back and forth and when it tried to retract back in to the ground Steve brought down the axe on the sharp end of it. A sharp scream came out of the hollow opening the axe created.
“Connie pour the gas on the spot where I cut,” Carl yelled out. But just as Connie tried to pour it out the vine again rose high in the air.
Carl latched onto it trying to pull it down as it again swayed back and forth trying to free itself. Again it tried to retract into the ground, slamming Carl into the ground with it.
“Now, Connie, do it now.”
Connie poured the remaining contents of the gas can on the open slice of the vine. Just as she tossed the empty can into the woods, the backside of the barn collapsed toward them.
“Run, Carl,” Connie yelled out.
They both limped away from the falling wall. The flames ignited the gas and the vine with the remains of Steve’s battered body caught ablaze. The bellowing of many screams throughout different places in the woods called out. The strange drumming sounds stopped.
“Carl you’re on fire,” Connie cried out, pushing him to the ground.
The back of Carl’s sweatshirt and one sleeve had caught on fire. He rolled around on the ground with Connie trying to help put out the flames. After several minutes of panic from both of them Connie ended up on top of Carl.
Connie gave him a kiss on the lips and then said, “don’t ever ask me to go to a woodsy again.”
“I promise, never again.”
They both got up and looked at the barn that had fallen into one pile of burning wood but was slowly dieing out.
“Do you think they’re gone?” Connie asked.
Carl picked up a rock and threw it into the woods. It hit the side of a tree and fell to the ground, “I think so.”
Slowly they got to their feet and walked to what used to be the front of the barn. The fire burned heavily in some spots as it had caught the branches and dry leaves on the ground. As they surveyed for a way to get past between the barn and the campfire a bright light down by the river stopped them. Above the tree line and into the night sky they watched a cyclinder shaped vessel rise up. It spun at a ninety degree angle and with flash of light and a load explosion it burst into the sky.
“Well I guess that means they’re gone,” Carl said as they found their way to the trail that led to the parking area.
The vines that held the skewered bodies of its victims had all but disappeared but so had the bodies. All of the evidence had seemed to have disappeared of the vines existence. Carl and Connie continued their walk and had just about reached the opening of the fence when they heard a rustling noise coming from behind them. By the light of the sun just beginning to brim over the horizon they couldn’t believe what they saw. Twenty animals about the size of a raccoon appeared. They had long fur lined tails with a gray-hard armored body with triangular shaped spikes covering it. The brown legs protruded out of the body had long silvery claws that reflected the sunlight. But the most unusual feature was the face. Carl and Connie stared at them in disbelief. There was Gary‘s face on one of them and Rick on another, Steve, Todd and Peggy, all of their faces were on these creatures. One of them let out a high-pitched squeal that would split an eardrum if you were standing next to it.
Carl and Connie quickly looked at each other and without hesitation ran to the car. It started on the first try and left the parking area and onto the gravel road, leaving behind a cloud of dust.

















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