Still heading westward. Progress has been slow; most of the interstates are covered in abandoned wrecks of cars, so we’ve been forced to take a lot of back roads. We just made it through Tennessee, where we had a bit of an… interesting experience.

For the first time in days, we saw blue sky through the smog, only a few miles past the state line. Didn’t know what to make of it, until we got closer and saw a town beneath the sky. It seemed like an invisible wall surrounded the place: on one side, cracked, barren apocalyptic wasteland. On the other, spotlessly green yards, rows of identical houses, and people in the streets making small talk to each other.

Our busted pickup looked fucking weird juxtaposed with the suburban perfection around us. A couple waved at us driving by, and curiosity forced us to stop.

They approached us as we got out of the truck, with friendly smiles. The woman wore a conservative red dress, while the man had a brown sweater vest and a pipe. He held his hand out to me, and said, “Why hello there! I’m Danny, and this is my wife, Samantha. What brings you here?”

I just stared at the offered hand. Flint had his gun out, but kept it pointed at the ground for the time. “What the hell is going on here?” I said.

“What do you mean? Everything’s just fine and dandy! Isn’t that right dear?” She giggled and nodded.

“No. Seriously. What’s going on? The world just ended. Why does everything look so nice?”

“Well I don’t know about any little problems other places are having, but things are just swell here! Say Sam, why don’t you get our guests something to eat?”

She giggled again and ran inside one of the houses. “You’ll just love her apple pie!” Danny said. “They’re the best in the world!”

Soon after, Samantha came back out, carrying four plates with a slice of pie on each. The smell suddenly reminded me of how little we’d been eating. Most meals for us had been consisting of whatever canned foods we could scrounge up in the few intact convenience stores we found. The thought of fresh, home cooked food….

Still, this was too weird. I shared a glance with Flint and Miles, reaching an unspoken agreement not to touch the food. Ed, however, did not have our self-control. He wolfed down his slice in seconds. He certainly seemed to enjoy it. Then, as he swallowed, his eyes bulged. He grabbed at his throat, and started coughing blood out.

“Hahaha, looks like someone’s a bit greedy!” Danny cheerfully said. I looked down at the slice I had, and, as though they had just appeared there, I saw it was filled with razorblades.

Danny gave Ed a friendly slap on the back, causing him to cough out another mouthful of blood. Danny pulled back his hand for another slap, and suddenly he was holding a knife. He swung downward, stabbing Ed through the back. Flint had his gun up in a moment, and fired a single shot through Danny’s head.

As soon as Danny’s body hit the ground, every other person in the town turned their heads towards us, all with identical smiles on their faces. Each began to laugh cheerfully, and charged at us. Flint started shooting at them, but they kept coming. A woman ran at me with hedge clippers, so I swung my left fist at her, cracking her skull. Another man jumped at me, but I turned my fingers into claws and ripped open his chest. Then… I just let myself go. Focused only on fighting to stay alive. Blocked out the laughter which didn’t stop even as I ripped them apart. Blocked out the identical smiles that never wavered on their faces. Blocked out Flint gunning down a boy who was trying to hit me with a baseball bat. I think Miles had the right idea: he stayed in the truck with his eyes closed and his hands over his ears until the slaughter had ended.

The adrenaline pounding in my ears was so loud that it took a few moments before I realized the laughter had stopped. All around me were smiling bodies, viciously mutilated in my desperate attempts to kill them quickly. Flint was leaning against the truck, holding an injured arm and shaking slightly. I was completely covered in blood and… pieces of the people I’d fought. It still feels like I’ve got intestines stuck in my hair, no matter how much water I run through it.

Out of everyone in the town, only Samantha was left. Somehow she’d avoided getting any blood on her. When I looked at her smile then, I could see faint strings coming from her lips, holding the grin in place. She opened her mouth, and the Wooden Girl’s voice came out. “We’re coming for you, Nyarlathotep! We’re going to get youuuuu!” Then the words turned into a scream as strings tore her skin off, and ripped the exposed muscle off her bones.

When the stream faded away, the town was completely silent. We didn’t say anything to each other. Just got back into the truck and drove away as fast as possible.