The Masked

I looked at my phone’s GPS in confusion as it said recalculating a few times before stating that it was unable to recalculate, and shut off. It was 11:34 at night and most of the small town that I was somehow able to lead myself to was closed down for the night. I decided to drive a few more miles until I found a gas station that was open.

Pulling up to the gas pump and shutting off the car, I saw a few other people walking inside the store. I looked around trying to find any kind of sign indicating the name of the town that I was in, or where the next town would be. I got out of my car, shaking my head as there was nothing to be found.

My heart started beating rapidly as I looked at the other customers and the cashier. They were all wearing masks, all as if there was something going on in the town that night that any passerby wouldn’t know about. Everyone turned towards me and started whispering, and even though I couldn’t understand everything I heard something similar to “why is she showing her face?”

My eyes flickered around the store, trying to ignore everyone else until it was my turn to make a purchase.

“You’re not from around here, are you?” the cashier asked, as he looked at the money in my hand. I shook my head in confusion, and pointed outside turning my head.

My eyes opened wide as I noticed my car was missing from the gas pumps. In fact, there were no gas pumps outside the store at all. “How did you even get here?” the cashier asked, still hiding his face with the mask.

“I don’t—” I began looking around, almost panicking. I wasn’t sure how I got into this town, and I was even more confused after realizing that I had somehow left my car in a different area.

I looked back at the cash. I let out a scream as everyone in the store was now surrounding me. Their masks covering everything but their eyes and their lips, they grew closer and closer to me as I ended up backing myself into a corner.

“Please get away from me!” I shrieked, covering my head with my hands and cowering down to the floor.

--

My eyes opened in a dark room with only a bit of light that looked like it was coming from an open door atop a set of stairs. I jerked my arms up, for them to only be caught by a chain. A moment later shadows started moving atop the stairs, and I tried to scream for help but nothing came out of my mouth.

“You showed your face too, didn’t you?” I heard a voice coming from the opposite side of the room, causing me to jump lightly. Not sure how to respond, I nodded my head, even though I knew that through the darkness they couldn’t see me.

“I knew what they did to the unmasked, but I got tired of hiding all the time. I almost lost my mind,” the voice continued. “I thought that if I found my way out of town fast enough that I wouldn’t have to worry about a thing.”

The voice continued talking about what happened to them as I continuously searched for a way to break myself free.

“This town will play tricks on you.” The voice spoke again after a moment of silence. “Once you’re in, there is no way out.”

The voice across the room stopped talking as the door atop the stairs opened wider, showing a silhouette. The door shut, footsteps were heard coming down the steps and my breathing hitched, afraid to make any noise.

If anything that the voice on the other side of the room was saying was true, then these people are capable of doing the unimaginable. There was no escape from this town, let alone this room.

“You’ve spoken too much.” A deeper voice was heard, and then a click followed by a loud bang.