A Shortcut at Night through a Desolate Landscape

Phillip crushed a sizzling red butt into the roadside gravel with the tip of his sneaker. He’d stopped to call home, but it had been hours since he was in civilization and cell reception was useless.

The stars though. The sky was wide open with milky way splendor, the full moon was bathing the scenic pine desert, and somewhere a lone wolf sung its tune.

A little ‘bing’ notified Phil that he had reception. He took his phone out of his pocket to check and there were two little bars, just enough to get a call home. It would be his last call for some time. He dialed.

“Hey sweetie, is your mom home?”

Phil waited for a response.

“Hi honey, sorry I’m interrupting your bath. I wanted to call to let you know that I just powered up in Panville and I’m about an hour into the national park area. I’ll be low on cell service, but I’ll be back on when I reach Pteetneet City. Yeah, about 7 hours,” Phil stopped to listen.

“Well, I did stop at a Willy’s Fill Up and the guy at the counter did mention a shortcut that could shave a couple hours off the drive, but I couldn’t find it on the map. I’m not sure I’m that comfortable trying a new route alone in a desolate landscape off the word of a...,” Phil stopped talking.

A series of orbed lights, flying in unison, appeared over the distant mountain ridge. They flew up and sharply turned, twisted together like a pretzel, expanded, contracted, and flew closer at high speeds. The lights hovered briefly over Phil, illuminating the ground in such brilliance he felt the particles of sand at his feet levitate.

“Honey, you are not going to believe,” Phil began, but the lights were gone in the same instance that they were ever there.

“Oh my gods, honey... honey? Hello?” but the connection was lost again.

Phil took a deep breath and got back into his car.

‘Bing’

Phil picked up his phone and read the message: “New Shortcut Available”

The shortcut glowed in blue, a cut through a heavy pine region of the park, about two miles up the road from where he was now.

“Must be a new road, lucky me,” Phil said to himself. As the road approached, he took the turn. Another wolf howled at the moon.

Phil was only a few miles down the shortcut when he saw a billboard with the mascot of Willy’s Fill Up, Calypso Cookie, lit up by the baby blue glow of the full moon.

FILL UP AT WILLY’S FILL UP

Only 2 Hours Away

“Of course, a new road goes up and its already sold off to corporate America. Is it even legal to have a billboard in a national forest?”

Another fifteen minutes went by when he saw another billboard.

FILL UP AT PHILLIP’S WILL UP

Only 2 Hours Away

“Another one, already, government ruins everything, wait, what did that one say?”

Phil turned on his radio and scanned the channels until he found a decent rock station. He hummed along to something from his favorite band, Mothman Rising. It got to the chorus, his favorite part, and prepared to sing the words.

                SCREEEEEEEEEEEE

“Ah, crap,” said Phil and changed the station until he found the only one available, a sad country ballad station. He turned the corner to another billboard.

HEY PHILLIP, WHAT’S UP

Only 2 Hours Away

“What the fuck?”

He told himself he was seeing the giant cookie with its weird noodle arms and legs sticking out like has was intermission dancer. He took a swig from his cold coffee and kept driving.

I KNOW YOU CAN SEE ME

Only 2 Hours Away

Calypso Cookie was turned facing him, his hands resting on his yellowed buttoned shorts where hips should be. Phil blinked his eyes hard, scrunched his nose to his mouth, and kept driving.

I STARTED THIS WRONG

Only 2 Hours Away

Phil kept driving.

I SCARED YOU

Only 2 Hours Away

Phil turned up the radio.

PHIL, PLEASE

Only 2 Hours Away

Phil coughed.

I NEED YOUR HELP

Only 1.5 Hours Away

Phil kept driving and the billboards stopped. The pine trees grew taller, slimmer, and they swayed with the shadows in a warm breeze.

Phil finished his coffee.

REST AREA

Only 1.5 Hours Away

“Hour and a half away, hope that coffee doesn’t kick my ass too soon,” Phil said.

SORRY WE COULDN’T MAKE IT SOONER

Only 1.5 Hours Away

“What the fuck, who are you?” Phil said.

THE LESS YOU KNOW THE BETTER

Only 1.5 Hours Away

Phil pulled the car over with a screech of tires through the dusty roadside.

“What do you want?” Phil screamed at the billboard. The lights illuminating it flickered in response.

He checked his watch. It was 3:30am, he’d rested, but he could be more tired than he realized. It would be a few hours still before he would be at a hotel; he had planned to sleep in his car if he needed to.

A wolf howled and it tugged at Phil’s beast heart. He wouldn’t let a silly billboard scare him, he had planned to drive until P-City and he would damn sure get there on time.

Phil leaned his head back, howled at the moon, and ducked his head into his car. He was on his way home. He took a wide turn down a rocky slope.

PHIL, WHEN YOU ARRIVE AT THE REST STOP GO INTO THE SECOND STALL FROM THE FAR WALL. INSIDE IS A LARGE TRUNK WITH AN ADDRESS TAG. DELIVER THE TRUNK. DO NOT OPEN THE TRUNK.

Only 1.5 Hours Away

“Why would I do that,” said Phil.

WHAT IF I TOLD YOU IT WAS FOR HUMANITY?

Only 1.5 Hours Away

“is it?” asked Phil.

HOW WAS YOUR WIVES BATH, PHIL

Only 1.5 Hours Away

Calypso Cookie grinned down from the sign.

“Don’t you dare touch my family,” said Phil.

DON’T LOOK IN THE TRUNK.

Only 1.5 Hours Away

“How will I know when I am there?” Phil asked.

Phil went up a hill and through a mountainside tunnel and when he came out into the dark of the night sky there was a billboard.

WELCOME

The Time is Now

Phil looked at his watch. It was 5am. In front of him was a deserted rest stop, slabs of rough brown brick and green tin roofing. Broken drinking fountains greeted him at the walkway to the bathroom doors.

He found his way into the men’s room, to the second stall from the far wall, and opened the door.

                SCREEEEEEEEEEEE

There was a trunk inside the stall. Large, dark stained, leather strapped, and a big combination lock.

“Don’t Open the Trunk,” was graffitied in block letters against the bare brick stall walls.

Phil dragged the trunk out of the stall and out of the bathroom. It was heavier than he expected, but he lifted it up and into the trunk of his car. He looked at the paper taped to the top of the trunk, it read:

COMBINATION: 12151967

He got into the car and started driving again.

“There is no address, you don’t want me to look in the trunk, then why give me the combination?”

AREN’T YOU A LITTLE CURIOUS WHAT’S INSIDE THE TRUNK?

Thanks for Coming

“Tell me where I’m taking this box!” said Phil.

CHECK UNDER YOUR SEAT

Bye, Phil. Bye bye.

Phil reached below his seat and patted around with his hand until he felt something that didn’t belong. He pulled out a pistol. He could still smell fresh gunpowder from a recent shot.

The radio turned on and rotated through a series of channels and static before stopping on a news channel.

“…implicated him in the death of the president,” said the news host with a laugh.

“And all because they found fingerprints on the gun?” asked the cohost who laughed right back.

The stationed rotated through another series of static until the Charlie Daniel’s Band was belting out, “Fire on the mountain, run boy, run.” Phil turned off the radio.

Then he saw Calypso Cookie, giant and looming over next hill. The cookie twisted and turned, his beady eyes locked on Phil, and stared. Phil continued on the road and as he rose above the crest he saw a full Fill Up Willy’s.

He stopped for gas and went into the station to use the restroom. He grabbed a few snacks and a fresh coffee and went to the man at the register.

“I’m counting out the till for the day, you’re going to have to wait a moment. Have a seat if you like,” the clerk pointed to a set of stadium seats against the wall where a little boy played with figurines.

Phil walked over and sat. The boy continued playing, but just out of his sight. Phil checked his phone for service.

“We are so happy we could meet with you,” said the boy with one figure.

“It was my pleasure,” the boy said with a deeper voice for the second figure.

“In our culture, this is how we say goodbye,” said the boy.

There was a frantic smashing and crashing and Phil’s attention was up and to a little boy who was standing on the bench and staring directly at Phil.

“You see, they didn’t know. It was all an accident, but it was first contact. They can’t mess up first contact. They need a fall guy, for humanity. They need you Phil. Get rid of the evidence, Phil, for humanity, for your family,” said the little boy in a voice off sync to his mouth.

“I am ready to ring you up, who are you talking to?” asked the clerk.

Phil pointed, but the only thing by his side was a black cat.

“Leave my cat alone,” said the clerk.

“Thank you, do sell shovels?” asked Phil.

Phil drove for another hour before finding a dirt road to turn off where he felt secluded and hidden. He dug a hole until he felt it was big enough and then he dug a little further.

Something with red eyes watched from a branch eight feet high on the tallest pine.

Phil pushed the trunk into the hole. It landed with a heavy thud and the trunk lid popped open.

“I don’t want to know,” said Phil as he tossed dirt into the hole, covering it before he could see anything. He shoveled until the hole was refilled and he stamped down the dirt. He got into his car to drive away.

‘Bing’

His phone had service again. It rang.

“Hello? Oh, sweetheart, hello. I’m so glad to hear your voice.”

The sun was starting to lighten the sky as it rose.

“Yes, the shortcut really did work out, I think I am almost to P-City now,” said Phil.

PTEETNEET CITY

Next 3 Exits

“In fact, I am almost to my exit. I’m going to get a motel for a few hours sleep and I will be on the road again and home before you know it. Alright, I love you too, goodbye,” said Phil.

Phil hung up and, distracted from relief, he was too late to stop when the creature stepped out of the road.

BAM!

The hood of his car crunched and his tires groaned. The massive hairy beast connected with the grille, bent at awkward angles, and spreadeagle across the car with his hairy face flattened across the windshield.

“Did I just hit sasquatch?” Phil asked out loud.

It opened his eyes, gathered its bearings, backed away from the windshield and off the car all while keeping eye contact with Phil.

“THEY'LL ALL KNOW WHAT YOU’VE DONE,” the beast bellowed as it ran awkwardly into the forest to hide.

THE END