Taking the Scenic Route

The road sign came out of nowhere.

Cassidy barely had time to process it— a battered green marker on the shoulder with its arrow pointing toward a narrow side road. Old Town Road- 6 mi.

She didn’t remember seeing it on the map but after two days of driving, exhaustion blurred the details. The GPS had marked it as a shortcut and close to a hotel. That was good enough for Cassidy.

The turnoff was a little rougher than expected with the smooth road turning into cracked asphalt, lined with weeds and brush. The radio read 5:30 pm— she was making good time. She was hoping to be back on the main highway and into the hotel around 8:00 PM. She tuned the radio to an oldies station and started humming along as she drove while taking in the vivid hues of the sunset bleeding across the sky.

Dusk settled around her like a gray blanket swallowing the remaining sunlight. Her GPS lost signal a mile back, the screen frozen on a blank grid— a dead zone. She should have felt fine— it was just another backroad. But something about the way the fog crawled along the road made her grip the wheel tighter.

The road curved ahead. To the left, a massive, wrought-iron barrier loomed ahead, stretching across the road. A thick, rusted chain looped through the bars, secured with a heavy padlock. Slightly to the right, a narrow road curved off into trees.

“Well, that’s just fantastic,” she muttered to herself.

Perhaps this side road would lead her around. Cassidy weighed her options. Turning back was losing time and the sunwas almost set. With a heavy sigh, she hit the gas and veered to the right. A few minutes later, she noticed the headstones. They rose from the earth in uneven rows, some barely peeking abound the tall grass, others standing defiantly. They were worn, cracked and decayed. Her stomach sank.

An old cemetery… oh, that’s just wonderful. Good choice,Cassidy.

It stretched along both sides of the road, disappearing into the crawling fog that had begun to curl around the trees.

Cassidy exhaled.

“You’re not lost. Just taking the scenic route,” she said to herself with a nervous chuckle.

It was a frequent line her mother always used to say to her. A familiar comfort bloomed in her chest and she smiled.

The fog thickened. It coiled low around the graves, rising in patches like breath from the ground. She turned on her high beams but the light only illuminated a few yards ahead before being swallowed whole by the darkness. She thought it was strange there was no entrance or a sign anywhere indicating a graveyard but perhaps it fell off or maybe she just missed it all together.

She passed by an angel statue. It was of a woman with two large wings cast behind her, one with a massive chip in its side. Her head was bowed with a small smile and her eyes were closed. She held a bouquet of roses in one arm and a single rose in the other hand. The entire statue was white marble, streaked with moss. Cassidy could not believe how strikingly similar the statue was to her mother's gravestone— the same delicate features, the same bowed head, even the same bouquet of roses.

As she drove, grief settled over her like a heavy weight. Thoughts of her mother, their final days together and the emptiness she had left behind filled her mind. The loneliness had been unbearable. No matter how much time passed, she missed her every single day.

“Everything will be okay, Cassie girl,” were her mother's final words as they held hands.

Cassidy blinked back the tears starting to well in her eyes and turned up the volume on the radio, filling the eerie silence with croons of Billie Holiday. She was regretting her decision to leave the main road when a lamppost appeared in the distance, the first sign of anything man-made in miles. It was old fashioned, its black iron frame leaning slightly to the side. A light flickered inside. Not the steady glow of an electric bulb but the wavering, gold flicker of a candle flame.

Cassidy’s stomach clenched.

She slowed as she passed, craning her neck for any sign of movement. Yes, it was indeed a flame from a candle. There were no footprints around. No sign of anyone nearby. Just the graves, the fog and the suffocating quiet.

Who is out here lighting candles?

Uneasiness creeped inside of her. She nervously glanced at the clock which read 8:33 PM.

What the…? There’s no way it’s been three hours…

She grabbed her phone to confirm the time and was met with a black screen. It had been fully charged when she left the last gas station but was now totally dead. She glanced at her GPS which to her surprise, was also completely dead. The car radio began to shift in and out with static. Her brows furrowed.

“Shit…”

She took slow breaths as she tried not to let the anxiety rise within her. The road was getting worse. The pavement split apart with deep cracks jagged like open wounds and the weeds poured out of them like fingers clawing toward the sky. The edges of the road were crumbling into gravel, so she slowed the car as it dipped and wobbled over the uneven surface. She passed another old-fashioned lamppost, its candlelight flickering weakly inside the glass.

A shape emerged through the thick fog, caught in the glow of her headlights. A statue. Cassidy’s hands clenched the wheel. That angel looked… exactly the same. Her mind scrambled for an explanation. Maybe it was another one? But no… the tilt of the bowed head. The bouquet of roses. The chipped wing. Cassidy felt a sickening drop in her stomach as she slowed the car to a stop.

“No… no, no, no….”

It had been miles back and she passed it once. Only once. But here she was staring at the exact same statue from earlier. “It can’t be…” Cassidy sat and tried to process where she might have missed a turn when suddenly- through the static, a voice broke through the radio. It was soft, familiar.

“Cassidy, you need to leave,” it whispered.

Her breath hitched. It wasn’t distorted. It wasn’t warped. It was weak but urgent. The radio shuddered with static- like something fighting to be heard.

“…Mom?”

“Turn the car around and go. Now.” Her mothers voice urged, cutting in and out.

Suddenly, she saw movement out of the corner of her eye. Her head shot up.

Did the statue move?

She refused to blink. Something was…different. For a second, everything stood still. Then—to Cassidy’s horror—its fingers twitched. A barely there shift, but enough to send a cold spike of fear throughout her. The head tilted. Not smoothly, but rather in a series of small, unnatural jerks, like something trying to remember how to move. Its cold, hard eyes locked onto hers. The soft, serene smile on the angel’s face vanished, its expression twisted into a deep, scowling frown. Cassidy’s lungs seized as she stared in disbelief.

She gasped loudly as the car radio sputtered to life violently, a burst of static hissing through the car. A different voice…low and hollow singing “Oh Death,” started to pour out of the speakers.

What is this that I can't see

with icy hands taking hold on me

The angel’s wings twitched. And then, slowly, deliberately they unfurled. A deep, unnatural groan of stone shifting against itself echoed through the night as the wings spread wide. Cassidy sat frozen, her heartbeat hammering in her chest. The angel statue started to rise. The world lurched beneath her as pure, bone-deep terror shot down her spine. The statue took a step forward towards Cassidy.

“Cassie, GET OUT NOW!!” her mother’s voice bellowed from the speakers.

She screamed and quickly threw the gear into reverse. Tires screeched, gravel exploded behind her as she spun the car around, half on the rotted road, half on the ditch next to it. Her breath came in shallow gasps as she floored it, the engine roaring. Potholes and weeds blurred past as she swerved wildly, fighting to keep control.

The radio blared on, the voice droning:

I am death and none can excel

I'll open the doors to heaven or hell.

She looked in the rear-view mirror. Her mind barely had time to register before her chest locked in pure terror. It was running. Not gliding. Not drifting. Running. A blur of white marble, dark moss, outstretched wings and empty eyes came charging straight for her. Cassidy shrieked. She floored the gas-tires screaming, the car fishtailing wildly. The radio howled:

No wealth, no land, no silver, no gold

Nothing satisfies me but your soul

Cassidy’s vision blurred with panic; her hands white knuckling the wheel. Up ahead through the fog she could see another gate. It was unlocked and wide open. She barreled towards the exit as the angel's footsteps thundered alongside of the driver's side passenger door. The angel roared and slammed itself into the side of the car. Cassidy screamed.

She shot through the gate—the angel stopped its chase and howled in frustration.

Tires skidded onto smooth pavement before the car jolted to a stop, slamming Cassidy’s head on the steering wheel. Dazed, she looked up. The air lightened. The fog vanished. The road behind her was empty. No angel. No cemetery. No gate. Only darkness and the sound of her hysterics.

Her GPS pinged to life, verifying a restored signal. Her phone lit up displaying a full battery. The clock showed 6:02 PM. Her hands were shaky as she took deep breaths to try and calm herself down.

Suddenly, static surged through the radio.

“Everything will be okay, Cassie girl,” her mother’s soft voice cracked through the radio before falling silent.

Cassidy stared at the radio, hands trembling on the wheel and heart aching. Her mother had saved her.

She wiped her cheek with the back of her hand, blinking through the blur of tears.

“Thank you, Mama,” she whispered.

Cassidy slowly accelerated the car down the highway as she wept.

But for the first time in a long time, she didn’t feel alone.

Afterword:

A mile down the highway, she wiped her tears— then froze. Up ahead, standing on the shoulder was a green road sign. An arrow pointed toward a narrow side road.

Old Town Road- 6 mi.

Cassidy’s breath caught in her throat as she stared at the sign. For a moment, she didn’t know if she were seeing things or not. She gripped the wheel and then, without thinking, slammed the gas. The car lurched forward, smashing headfirst into the sign. Metal screamed and the pole snapped clean at the base, flipping into the ditch.

The sign lay in the twisted grass.

Cassidy didn’t slow down.

She didn’t look back.