Save the Turtles

Hannah and I made a plan to go to Las Vegas. Since we live in Los Angeles we decided to drive there since it will only be about 5 hours. Everything was going great until the car engine began to sputter.

“Hey, Hannah what’s going on?” I asked.

“I don’t know, let me stop for a second.” After Hannah pulled over, we got out of the car to find out the problem. Hannah popped the hood and a large trail of smoke bursts from the car.

“Oh god, are you kidding me this is the worst place for us to be stuck in” I complained. “Now we’re probably gonna get murdered or die of dehydration.”

“Stop freaking out, let’s just call roadside assistance,” Hannah explained. We both pull out our phones to call someone, but there’s no service. I groan, what a perfect time for our car to breakdown.

“I saw a small town a mile back. Maybe we can ask for help there?” Hannah suggested.

I glare at her. “Why is this the beginning of a horror story.” I reasoned. “Two girls go on a road trip to Las Vegas. But oh nooo their car breaks down, and now they have to go to a spooky small town.”

“Can you shut up, this is our only option right now.” Hannah snapped. “If you really don’t want to go, then just stay here.”

I consider that for a second, but I would rather get killed in some strange town, then in some guy’s basement.

After around 30 minutes we finally reached the town. Surprisingly it wasn’t as creepy as I expected. It had a few grocery stores, a church, and even a bakery. While we were looking for a mechanic or a phone, we were approached by a middle-aged woman. She had dirty blond hair, cobalt eyes, and a blinding smile. She looks like she would be the perfect actor for a condescending rich white woman who’s complaining about her daughter’s grades to the teacher.

“Hello! Welcome to Spring Kliff! You guys must be new here, we rarely get visitors these days.”

“Yeah, we’re just stopping by. Can you help us? Our car broke down in the middle of the road, and we’re wondering if you have a mechanic nearby?” Hannah asked.

“Yeah, Rick’s garage is two buildings after the bakery. Sksksksk” After we thanked her, we were on our way. Even though I hated her for saying ‘sksksks’ I’m glad we’ll be able to fix our car.

While we were walking to the mechanic I noticed a few weird advertisements. Like in front of every door I would see a poster saying ‘Save The Turtles! Or in the store window, I would see hydroflasks and reusable straws on display. I try not to think much of it, but there’s something about this town that isn’t right.

While we were walking, I noticed that everyone had a scrunchie and were constantly taking selfies. After we walked past two buildings from the bakery we reached Rick’s garage. We loudly knocked on his door but no one responded. We could tell that someone was in there through the window and we couldn’t just leave empty-handed so we kept knocking until someone let us in. Finally, after 5 minutes, someone opened the door.

The girl who responded had brown hair, with her hair put up in a ponytail with a scrunchie. She said, “Can you guys just like- shut up. Like I’m trying to make a Tic Tok right now but yall are really killing my vibes. UwU.” Oh god, why is everyone in this town so cringy, I just want to go home.

“Sorry, I’m guessing you're not Rick?” I asked.

“And I oop- No he’s out right now. But you can wait inside till he comes back.”

We head inside and sat in their couch. After I see the girl head to her room, I start questioning Hannah.

“Okay, you have to admit something is going on here.” I blurted.

“Morgan, you’re always overreacting. There’s nothing wrong with the town, the people here are super nice.”

“Are you fucking serious right now. You have to be legally blind to not see how weird everything is.”

“Like what”

“Like what?!?!? Have you not heard literally anything that came out of someone’s mouth in this town! They use ‘And I oop-, sksksk, and UwU’ unironically.”

“Oh my god, you’re insane. So the reason why you don’t trust this town is that they’re a little bit annoying”

“Not just that, think about it. In every storefront window I would see hydroflasks, and reusable straws for sale.”

“They’re probably trying to follow trends to make money. Let’s just leave as soon as they fix our car.”

She’s probably right, I guess they just wanted to jump the bandwagon. After 20 minutes Rick arrives. We explained the situation and he helped tow our car. After we got back. He said that it’s gonna take at least a day or two to fix the car so we’ll have to stay in bed and breakfast nearby. After getting a late check-in, Hannah and I collapsed on our beds after this exhausting day.

I wake up in the middle of the night. I start hearing this weird murmuring sound that drowns my eardrums. I turn on the lights to see what was going on.

“Hey what the fuck. It’s 3 AM, go back to sleep.” Hannah whined.

“Wait, I just need to figure out where that sound is coming from.”  Hannah groans for a minute but eventually just digs her face into her pillows and sheets. I investigated the bathroom but nothing was coming from there, I even tried looking through the vents. After almost giving up I saw lights coming from outside the window. I look out, and I see hundreds of women of all ages walking in sync with candles in their hands. They’re all heading to the church. I start to recognize the sound they’re making, ‘sksksksksk’. This isn't a trend, this is a cult.

“Hannah! We have to go. I don’t know where or how but we have to run.”

“Oh really?” Hannah questioned me. I slowly turn around and her hair is in a scrunchie. “And I oop-, sksksk, and I oop-, sksksk” 

It's too late, she has converted into a vsco girl, I have to leave before it spreads to me. I run out of the building and steal some boy’s bike. I pedal as fast as I can out of that godforsaken town. But just as I thought I was safe, I feel a hand on my shoulder. The last words I hear before my soul would be taken was ‘Save the turtles’.