Art Prompt Writing Contest #4 - The Pond in The Woods

The Pond in The Woods

Ruth awakened with a jolt of confusion. She squinted at the morning sun, as it peaked through the trees. She glanced around at her surroundings, unfamiliar. She was lying on her side, at the edge of a pond, and there was a grassy field next to the trees. She looked down at herself, noticing she was covered in dirt and what appeared to be blood. Every inch of her body ached, like she had been through some sort of accident. “Where am I?”, she thought to herself. Alarmed, she noticed that she was barefoot and partially naked. Her skirt and underwear were missing and her blouse was torn, and dirty with mud and specks of blood. She tried to raise her head to get up, but it was pounding, and she could feel the nausea rising in her stomach. She lowered her head back down.

Her memory is fuzzy, but she recalls being out at the nightclub the night before. She was celebrating a job promotion with her best friends Rachel and Christine. She was thrilled about becoming Human Resources manager at the hotel, her lifelong dream fulfilled. The three of them were having a great time dancing and drinking Margaritas. All three were dressed to the nines in sexy club wear, and were the hottest girls in the place; certainly the best dressed.

What Ruth didn’t know at the time, was that her and her friends were being watched by someone without the best intentions. The man sat quietly by himself in the back of the club, sipping gin and tonics, watching and waiting; waiting for the right moment to make his move. He focuses his gaze on Ruth, burning with desire. He loved her long blonde hair and slim figure. He was mesmerized.

As the night rolled on, alcohol flowed freely, and the three girls were feeling the effects pretty strongly, and having the time of their lives. The waitress came to their table with some shots, and motioned toward the man sitting in the back of the room. He smiles and waves at the girls. The man was strikingly handsome and well dressed. He had dark well groomed hair, blue eyes and chiseled features. Christine gestured him to come join the table, before Ruth could protest. The four of them partied a few hours more, dancing and drinking until the familiar “last call for alcohol”, droned over the speakers. Ruth’s memory starts to get a little foggy at this point. She vaguely recalls a taxi ride, that led them to a cabin well out of town, in an area she was not familiar with. She recalls arriving at the cabin with the man and the girls in tow. The man brings them some drinks, as they settled on the couch, this was her last clear memory.

Panicked, she tried to rise again, and then fell back down, slipping in the mud. The next attempt she managed to climb to her feet, all be it a little shaky. Off in the distance she sees the cabin through the trees. Scared and crying she makes her way toward the cabin. Where was Rachel and Christine? As she gets closer to the cabin she sees that the door is wide open, a trail of blood leading away. She gasped when she first she saw Christine stripped and bloody on floor with her throat slit, and to her horror Rachel was lying across the room in a similar state. She let out a blood curdling scream as she remembered who the man was, her new boss John at the hotel.

Just then Ruth hears him calling, “Darling is that you? Come help me clean up the mess you made.” Ruth shudders, still confused.

• @braveheart29 xx

This is my entry for the writing contest by @gmuxx