Truck – Clues – Mucus – Focus
Mason turned the key and the truck roared to life. The vehicle was an inheritance from Grandfather Henry, that’s what everyone in town called him anyway, since he’d been married and had children with four of the now wealthiest women in the town, including Mason’s mother, Carol. She was ever on the mind of Mason, unfortunately, as the prime suspect in Henry’s murder.
Night had fallen early behind the mountain range, as the four-wheel drive held the ground steadily down steep switchbacks into the valley below. The radio cut in and out, but Mason had learned to enjoy the static, and it was tuned to a specific frequency of great importance. The bottom of the valley was a vast desert, inhospitable to life, but was also the location of a research facility run by the family business.
The stars shone brightly in a cloudless, moonless sky overhead as Mason zoomed to the scene of the crime, the place Henry must have been killed, since they never found a body. Mason clenched the wheel tightly with foreboding certainty that this place would unlock the clues needed to solve this puzzle once and for all. The entire family was at the annual gala, while Mason had a bullet-proof excuse to be absent.
The building was dark when the truck finally parked outside, the engine sighed with concern as the keys flipped and the door opened. Getting inside was easy. Further in, a restricted area required the keycard Mason had swiped off Carol earlier. That’s how they discovered the Mucus Creature, a Goliath of oozing sticky, honey-colored liquid that, to Mason’s horror, had emerged from the corpse of grandfather Henry.
The beast immediately noticed Mason’s presence. Time to focus. The state of the room gave a sense of the peril facing anyone brave enough to try subduing the thing. Not wasting the effort, Mason got back to the truck and powered up the high voltage antenna, the radio had already started spitting coded messages, which Mason quickly interpreted. Help was on the way but time was running out.
There was an explosion in the building. In the haste of escape, an opening for the creature was created. So much for focusing. Mason’s last message mentioned the Mucus Monster’s massive manifestation. Time had run out.
This is part of a collection of short stories inspired by my guesses on Wordle.
