(WEBSERIE) The Wrong Turn: Chapter Three

Previously on… Chapter Two: https://kovaze.com/blog/106191 ---------------------------------- Chapter Three: The knock didn’t stop. Tap. Tap. Tap. “Round two?” Glitter mouthed again, her smile stretching just a little too far. “Don’t look at her,” BRAT said, low and sharp. “Nobody look at them.” But it was impossible not to. They were everywhere now. Closer than before. Encircling the car like predators that had already tasted blood. “Okay…” Gabs whispered, forcing herself to think. “Okay, listen to me. This place—it’s not normal. The road loops, they reset… so we stop playing by their rules.” “And what does that mean?” Bubba asked, voice shaking. “It means we don’t run blindly again,” Gabs said. “We move together. We pick a direction. We don’t panic.” “We’re way past panic,” Fran muttered. Outside, Poof stepped forward again. But this time— He wasn’t smiling. “Y’all don’t understand yet,” he said, voice calm, almost patient. “This town… it don’t let go.” “Then we break it,” BRAT shot back. Something flickered in his eyes. Amusement. “No,” he said softly. “You don’t break Dry Creek.” He tilted his head slightly. “Dry Creek breaks you.” A chill ran through all of them. “Why?” StayC suddenly asked, her voice trembling but loud enough. “Why are you doing this?!” Silence. For the first time— The group outside shifted. Jaded glanced at Poof. Melanie crossed her arms tighter. Torimarie stopped whispering. And then— Poof smiled again. But it was different now. Colder. “You really don’t get it?” he said. “You came here.” “We got LOST!” Gabs snapped. “No,” Poof replied. “You were brought here.” That landed heavy. “What does that even mean?” Bubba whispered. “It means,” Jaded stepped forward now, voice cutting through the air, “this town chooses.” A beat. Then she pointed. At them. “It chose you.” “No,” Fran shook her head. “No, that’s insane—” “Is it?” Glitter laughed softly. “Six girls. One road that doesn’t exist. One town that isn’t on any map.” Her eyes gleamed. “You really think that’s random?” Inside the car, fear shifted. Into something worse. Understanding. “We’re not the first…” StayC said slowly. Melanie smiled. “Not even close.” Silence swallowed the space again. Then Gabs exhaled sharply. “Enough.” She reached for the door— —but someone moved faster. The door swung open. StayC stepped out. “WAIT—!” Bubba grabbed at her, but missed. “StayC, what are you doing?!” “We can’t stay in there,” StayC said, her voice shaking—but determined. “They want us scared. Frozen. Easy.” “Get back in the car!” BRAT snapped. “No,” StayC said, standing her ground. “They said the town chooses, right?” Poof watched her closely. Interested. “Then let it choose me.” “StayC, STOP—” Fran’s voice cracked. StayC took another step forward. “I’m not running,” she said. “So what now?” A long pause. The air felt thick. Heavy. Then— Poof chuckled. Low. Satisfied. “There it is,” he said. “That’s what we’ve been waiting for.” Gabs froze. “No…” she whispered. “No, no, no—” “What are you talking about?” Bubba asked. Jaded stepped closer, eyes locked on StayC. “Fear fades,” she said. “Screaming gets boring.” Glitter tilted her head. “But choice?” she added. “That’s interesting.” Understanding hit all at once. Hard. “They don’t just kill…” Gabs said, her voice hollow. “They test,” BRAT finished. Poof nodded slowly. “Now you’re getting it.” StayC didn’t move. Didn’t back down. “So I pass or what?” she said, forcing defiance into her voice. A smile crept across Poof’s face. “You pass,” he said. Relief flickered— Too fast. “—to the next part.” Everything snapped. Melanie moved first. Fast. Too fast. She grabbed StayC from behind— StayC struggled, elbowing hard, breaking free for a second— “RUN!” Gabs screamed— But Cristi was already there. Blocking. Jaded stepped in. Precise. Calculated. This wasn’t chaos. It was choreography. “No—NO—!” StayC fought, kicking, swinging— But there were too many. Poof walked forward slowly as they restrained her. Calm. In control. “You wanted to be chosen,” he said. StayC spat toward him. “Go to hell.” He smiled. “We are hell.” Fran was screaming now. Bubba tried to get out of the car— BRAT held her back again. “You’ll die too!” “We can’t just WATCH!” But they were. They had no choice. They were too slow. Too late. Torimarie’s whisper rose again, louder than ever now. A chant. Something ritualistic. Something wrong. StayC’s struggles weakened as they forced her backward. Toward the same dark gap between buildings. The same place. “No—PLEASE—!” Fran sobbed. Gabs couldn’t move. Couldn’t think. Couldn’t breathe. Poof stopped just before the shadows. He looked back at the car. At the five— No. At the four. And smiled. “This is how you learn,” he said. Then— They pulled StayC into the darkness. Her scream tore through the town— Raw. Desperate. Cut short. A wet sound followed. Final. Silence. Again. The group stepped back out slowly. Unshaken. Unhurried. Glitter brushed her hands off. Jaded exhaled. Melanie cracked her neck again. Cristi smirked faintly. Torimarie went quiet. And Poof— Poof looked directly at the car. At the survivors. Now only four. His voice carried clearly through the still air. “Next time,” he said, “don’t wait so long to choose.” Inside the car— Something broke. Not just fear. Hope. Because now they understood. Dry Creek didn’t just trap you. It studied you. Pushed you. Waited. Until you made a move. And then— It decided what you were worth. Four had survived. For now. But the real horror wasn’t being hunted anymore. It was knowing— The game had rules. And Poof was the one making them.