Fandango’s Story Starter

This week’s Story Starter teaser is:

With a sudden rush of panic, I realized I had no idea where I was.

The woods surrounding me were creepy, dark and menacing. The tree branches seemed to be surrounding me and I swear a couple of branches were moving! There was no wind, only a dank, musty smell of rot and decay. I looked down to see blackened leaves, damp and moldy. My feet seemed covered in them although my pant legs were dry. I looked up to see straggly black crows sitting in rows on ugly bare snaggly branches—seemed like hundreds of them!

My shirt was torn a bit from one of the pointy branches and I was starting to chill, but my main concern was trying to move my feet. I tried lifting them and like quicksand the other foot sank deeper. I’ll just grab a branch and pull myself out of this quagmire, but reaching up found them slimy and too slippery to hold on to.

I started to panic a little, but thought, I’m a grown man for Pete’s sake, I’m just in the woods, I grew up with woods, I can certainly get myself out of here. I reached in my pocket for my handkerchief and used it to cover a section of a low branch to pull myself up. It worked well and I got one foot out of the leaves and then saw a log to put my other one on so to have something solid under me. That also worked, I even smiled!

I looked around for some light to get out of these woods to a clearing. There was a tiny section where I could see through to open land. Looking around I spied a few large rocks and jumped from one to another till I was on solid dry ground. I glanced back to the dark trees and felt relief but still didn’t know exactly where I was. As I turned to the trees a stick tree like figure stood out from the rest and I think it was laughing. Or it could have been the wind that started to pick up.

My cel phone chimed and it was my wife wondering where I was. I said I don’t know! She said, “check google maps, it will tell you. Aren’t you in your car? It has GPS, too. Honestly Frank, you’d lose your head if it wasn’t attached!”

I of course, saw where I was and even my car seemed to suddenly appear up on the roadside near me. I have no idea why I was clear down here. I walked up to my car, got in, locked the doors and felt saved, as if I had woken from a nightmare. Then I remembered why I had walked down to the woods…I had to relieve myself…oh my gosh, I had to pee and went to find a tree! Guess I won’t be doing that again. Frank turned on the car and quickly drove home.

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