The truck sputtered as it gave the last signs of life. Luke got off the truck and onto the dirt road to check under the hood. It was inconvenient since it was getting darker by the minute, but he cared too much about it. He pulled out his phone and shone the light towards the hood of the truck. He stared at his 1968 classic Chevrolet truck with a bewildered look on his face.
"Everything seems fine" he muttered.
He bent over to check if anything under the truck would help him figure out the problem but to no avail. He walked back to his truck and sat in the drivers seat trying to figure out his next move. He grabbed his phone and looked at the percentage the blinking light indicated he had only 5% left. He decided to pull out his GPS and see if he could find where he was.
As he zoomed into the blinking dot on the map he began to notice that no towns were appearing. He sighed.
"Just what I needed, to be in the middle of nowhere," he said.
He zoomed out of the map just a bit and saw Rawlins County but the phone died after this. He quickly remembered his dad had left a map of Kansas in the glove compartment when he gifted him the truck. Luke pulled the map out with a hope to find Rawlins County on the map and to see if he could a town where he had last seen the blinking dot.
Unfortunately, Rawlins County only indicated one town, Atwood, Kansas, which was nowhere near where he was. He decided to walk and maybe he would see a sign of some sort or find someone who could help him. As he walked deeper and deeper into the darkness and farther away from his car, he could hear footsteps, or, at least, what sounded like light footsteps and the giggles of a small girl.
He continued walking, trying to not to pay too much attention to the ambient noises or the darkness that he felt around him. Luke began to feel a little uneasy. Not only were the footsteps clear now, but he also had no light other than that of the moon. He wasn't sure why, but he picked up his pace.
It wasn't like he had a set destination to get to. He was lost, and as that thought filled his mind, he saw a flickering light at the end of the winding road.
With his heart in his stomach, he ran towards the light hoping it was a nearby house where he could get some help and hide from the darkness which was slowly engulfing him. As he got closer, he saw it was an entrance that read "Achilles Cemetery."
He felt his heart palpitating faster and faster, but at this point, he just wanted to hide somewhere. He ran into the cemetery.
Luke could feel his legs buckling under the fear and desperation he felt. He didn't want to stop. He decided to hide behind a large gravestone and see if he could calm himself. He crouched close to the large stone and hid.
e wasn't sure why he was hiding, but he knew he was afraid. A few moments passed and he began to feel his heart slow down and his breaths grow deeper. Maybe he was safe after all. He let out a yawn.
Luke's eyes drooped and fell and, eventually, he fell asleep. He stayed curled against the stone for a short time until he was awakened by a small girl in a pink frilly dress, a long ponytail, and white shoes. He jumped up and stared at her. She stared back.
"Who are you?" he asked, his voice clearly shaking.
"My name is Amanda, but you can call me Mandy. I live here," she said with a peppy voice
"How did you know where to find me?" he said with more courage in his voice.
"I followed you here, all the way from your truck," she said as her demeanor began to change
Her face began to twist into an evil smile and her body began to contort into different positions. Her bones snapped, her hair grew unruly and matted, and her teeth became as sharp as razors. Luke's life ended shortly after that encounter, and what was left of him was his truck, stranded only a mile and a half from the cemetery.
Achilles isn't on the map anymore, but many visitors have reported it's existence with pictures and stories of their car malfunctioning on the road. One brave soul actually ventured out to find evidence of Luke, and all she found was a conglomerate of unmarked graves.