“I can’t wait to see Grandma and Papa!” I exclaimed as I was getting together a few extra things for the car ride.
“Make sure you have everything you need Andrea,” Mom said, “it’s gonna be a long drive.”
Just then Dad walked into the room from the garage.
“We’re running pretty behind on time, I wanted to leave hours ago. We’ll be driving all night now. The car’s all packed up, are you guys ready to hit the road?” he asked.
“Yep let’s do it!” I exclaimed with excitement.
We all got in the car and started driving to Chicago. I was filled with joy to finally get to see my grandparents again. It feels like I haven’t seen them in ages. I think the last time I saw them was at my cousin's funeral about 2 years ago. It wasn’t much fun to see them under such horrible circumstances. Since then I’ve been dealing with pretty bad depression. They say after time I will stop grieving, but it’s been 2 years and the pain still feels like it happened yesterday. My grandparents are getting pretty old and it scares me to think they might pass soon. I feel I need to spend as much time as possible with them so I have memories to carry me on when they’re gone. I don’t think I can deal with another loss, it hurts too much.
We’ve been driving for almost 6 hours and it’s already pitch black outside. I’m officially bored out of my mind. Mom’s asleep in the passenger seat, and Dad’s listening to his classic 80’s jams to stay awake. I’ve watched a movie, taken a nap, and tried to read my book but that made me feel car sick. Now all there is to do is look out the window, at the endless boring cornfields.
“Are we in Nebraska now Dad?” I asked trying to make some sort of conversation.
“Yep should be,” he replied.
“How much longer till we’re in Illinois?”
“I’d say about 10 more hours.”
“You want me to drive for a little?” I asked hoping he would say yes. Anything would be better than just sitting here in the backseat.
“I’m ok for right now, maybe in a few hours though.”
Since he didn’t want me to drive I had to, again, try to entertain myself. I figured I’d play around on my phone. I played a game for a little but got bored and tried to check Facebook. I was surprised to find that I had no cell service. We really must be in the middle of nowhere. I looked out the window and noticed a strange shed in the middle of all the cornfields. I wonder what that’s for, no one could possibly live out here, could they?
We kept driving for a little while when all of a sudden I heard a faint “Oh uh” from the front seat.
“Everything ok Dad?” I asked a bit concerned.
“Something’s wrong with the car…” he said as the car slowed.
“Why are we stopping what’s going on?”
“I’m not sure I better get out and check under the hood.”
I sat in the car hoping everything would be fine so we could continue. As he opened the hood, smoke started pouring out. I don’t know much about cars but that can’t be good.
“This doesn’t look so good, we’re going to need some help,” he said in a frustrated tone.
“How are we gonna find someone to help us we’re out in the middle of nowhere?” I asked.
“What’s going on?” Mom asked as she woke from her deep slumber.
“The car broke down,” Dad replied.
“Oh no! What’re we going to do?”
“I saw a little shed about a mile back, you could go look there?” I suggested.
“Alright, you guys stay here I’ll go look,” Dad said as he put on his jacket.
Mom and I sat in the car for what seemed like forever. I had this strange feeling I couldn’t shake off. It felt like something was wrong. Obviously since the car broke down something was wrong, but this feeling wasn’t just about that. It felt like my heart was a rock, sitting deep and heavy in my body. It felt like my stomach was spinning like a washing machine. It felt like my whole body was filled with goose bumps but yet I was so hot I was starting to break a sweat. So many thoughts and feelings were going through me I couldn’t even comprehend what was going on.
“How long do you think your father has been gone?” Mom asked concerned.
“What?” I couldn’t think straight.
“How long has your..”
“Oh,” I interrupted realizing what she had asked. “I’m not sure maybe we should go looking for him.”
“No you stay here I’ll go look. You said the shed was about a mile back?”
“Yeah… Do you really think that it’s a good idea for me to just sit here?”
“It’ll be fine honey, I’ll just go see what he’s doing and come right back,” she said as she got out of the car. She opened the door to the backseat and kissed me on the forehead. It was always so comforting when she did that. I remember when she told me about my cousin's death. I sat there and cried hysterically for hours. She sat there and held me, kissing my forehead every now and then. I loved my mom more than anything. My dad too. I think death brings people closer together, it’s morbid but true. After my cousin, I thought about if my parents died too. It was hard enough to live after my cousin's death, if they died I don’t know how I could live on this planet anymore.
I suddenly realized I didn’t know how long my mom was gone. That awful feeling got even worse. I couldn’t just sit in this car anymore I had to go look for them. I put on my jacket and got out of the car. It was so dark outside I could barely see what was in front of me. I walked on the side of the road looking for the shed. The air was cold and crisp and smelled of corn. I looked up and could finally see the shed. I also saw a black figure standing on the side of the road in front of me.
“Mom!” I called out. “Dad!
Suddenly the figure ran into the cornfields toward the shed. I tried to run up to the person but they were already gone. I finally reached the path to the shed. Looking forward, everything appeared eerie. A  long path that led to a strange shed, with nothing but corn surrounding it. I took a step forward and a chill went up my spine. Something wasn’t right, my whole body felt weird. No matter what I was feeling, I had to find my parents. Each step I took filled me with more fear. My eyes were locked on the shed. An endless amount of thoughts were going through my head of what might be inside. I heard rustles in the corn next to me and I felt the hairs on the back of my neck raise. I started running fast toward the shed and before I knew it the door was right in front of me. I reached for the door with hesitation.
My stomach dropped as I opened the door, I couldn’t believe what I saw. It made me sick. Before me was what looked like the work table out in the garage at home. Dad used the table to work on the old 65’ Mustang we have. This work table didn’t have wrenches or screwdrivers, it was full of rope, duct tape, knives, chainsaws, and other torturous tools. The shed had an awful smell, like a dead animal was stuck under the floorboards. I was frozen. Standing there trying to make sense of what I was seeing. It felt like I was stuck in a nightmare, but in nightmares you can wake up, I couldn’t wake up from this.  
I wondered who these things belonged to. Was it the figure I saw outside? All I knew was that there was someone out there with the intent to hurt, and I had no idea where that person was. I had to find my parents, and get the hell out. I got up enough courage to go further into the shed. As I walked through, I noticed there was a downstairs. I did not want to go down there but that’s where my parents might be.
As I walked down, the smell of death got worse and worse. I didn’t want to know what was down here but I had to find out. I walked down and screamed at what I saw but no sound came out. I had never felt so much fear inside of me. I didn’t even feel like I was in my own body. It felt like I was looking at myself from across the room. Standing in the doorway, frozen with my mouth wide open. The walls were covered in human flesh. Worst of all there were headless faces. Victims of this horrible killer. I looked as each face checking to make sure there were no familiar ones.
Suddenly I heard something coming from a closet across the room. I slowly walked over to the closet trying not to make a sound. When I reached the door I took a deep breath and opened it. There I saw my parents tied up with several wounds. Tears filled my eyes as I ran to them.
“I’m gonna get us all out of here! I promise!” I screamed in a whisper tone.
I took their hands and we walked up the stairs. I peeked out the door to see if any was there, and sure enough, the same black figure I saw outside was sitting at the workbench. We went back downstairs trying to look for a way out. I saw a small window that we could all probably squeeze through. I saw a stool and put it under the window. I made Mom go first and was out with no problem. Dad went next and could barely fit, but Mom pulled him through on the other side. Now I just have to get out. As I was standing on the stool ready to climb through the window I heard footsteps coming down the stairs. My heart dropped. I was in full panic mode. I had made it halfway through the window when I felt his cold hands grab my ankles. I screamed as my parents pulled me through.
“Run!” I yelled.
We all began to run faster than we ever had before. I could feel the cold air hit my lungs but we had to keep going. We ran deep into the cornfield until Dad thought we were far enough away. We all kneeled down and try to stay as quiet as possible. I could hear Mom slightly weeping and Dad put his hand over her mouth. We heard a chainsaw come from the shed. We all kneeled there praying he wouldn’t find us. As we sat the sound of the chainsaw got closer and closer.
“We have to move this isn’t safe,” Dad whispered. “Let’s crawl a little further away then we’ll get up and run.”
We all crawled in a line then Dad stood up and we both followed. We started running toward the car as fast as we could. It seemed the man with the chainsaw was searching another part of the field so luckily we got away. We walked the road in silence hoping someone would drive by. We walked until we eventually had cell service. Dad called a cab and we still didn’t say a word. The drive home was full of tears and sorrow. None of us could get the horrible smell of the shed out of our nose, or the sight of the faces out of our head. It was a night none of us would ever forget no matter how hard we tried. The psychological effects it would have on us was unimaginable. I sat there wishing I could take the pain away from my parents. I was so thankful I saved them. What if I hadn’t got there in time. I didn’t want to think of it. Why did the car have to break down? Why did this have to happen to us? I looked out the window as tears rolled down my cheeks. As I was looking out the window I saw the black figure again. I wanted to scream and cry but I had to shake myself out of it. After all,it was over right?. We got away from the man and that was it… right?