UNSUSPECTED TRIP
ALM 92, August 2026
SHORT STORIES
It’s hard to explain when you’re the reason. Even I didn’t know how this all happened. Just me and a group of my friends. I don’t even know how I can forgive myself.
“Bonjour, Mr. Robinson, my name is Doctor Lucas Blanc.” a psychiatrist walked into the room where I sat. I was still in my head as the psychiatrist took his seat in front of me. This whole trip felt like regret. We should never have come here or got on that plane. “Do you know where you are at, Mr. Robinson?”
“France... Beaune, France...” I finally spoke up. My voice must have sounded rough from the psychiatrist's hum. I swallowed down the lump in my throat before I looked up to him. The psychiatrist looked like he was in his late forties, dark brown hair with some grey strands. He wore a pair of glasses while holding up a packet that I assumed was the paperwork the police and doctors wrote down.
“Good, good. Do you remember anything about what happened to the people you were with?” he questioned me. The number of times I have answered that question has made me feel annoyed. But I knew, these people were only doing their job, and I was just an outsider from America. I took a deep breath before answering his question.
“No. I just-”
“Do any of these refresh a memory?” he sat down some images in front of me that made my blood run cold. I looked at each image. Flashes of the past 24 hours ran through my mind. My friends' voices echoing in my ears. Travis, Madison, and Dylan.
“This trip will be amazing, man! Can’t believe you held off on us,” Travis replied happily, looking around the airport like he’s never been here before. He was over the moon about this trip. He always seemed glued to me like he couldn’t live without me.
“This place is so beautiful,” Madison spoke with a smile while walking through the streets of Beaune, France. We just got off the plane and from a train ride, the college I wanted to go to was only a thirty-minute drive. The University of Burgundy.
“Evan, are you sure this is the right house?” Madison questioned once we got to the location. The house had a much darker medieval vibe. I thought the place looked cool, and Dylan seemed like he liked it as well. Travis was trying to learn French. He was bad at it but to me, it also felt like he was making insults to the French words and customs. Cracking inappropriate jokes here and there. During the nightfall was when chaos began and the first one dead was Travis. His blood spilled on me since he was in front of me speaking when it happened. The killer chased me, Madison, and Dylan but only Madison and Dylan fell into a trap killer had set.
“Evan! You can’t just leave us here!” Dylan screamed as he tried to stop me from leaving. I needed to run before our trapper found me. I had Travis blood all over me and before I knew it, I stumbled and fell. I rolled down a small hill, hitting my head against a rock. After that memory, I snapped back to reality. My supposed three friends ripped away the future I dreamt of with tearing me down. First, Travis convinced me to not go to college in France for archaeology. Second was Madison whom I dated two years back and we rekindled our friendship. We broke up because of a misunderstanding although each sign pointed to her cheating on me, but I didn’t know who. And Dylan, well, I might not have known before, but I knew after meeting him a year back that he was the one Madison cheated on me with.
“I...” I struggled to answer before a sinister grin formed on my face the more, I remembered. Those people weren’t even my friends. It was easy upholding that role because we all started that way until they betrayed me. They thought I brushed it off and under the rug. I looked at the psychiatrist. He had a worried expression.
“It will be easier to find your friends if you cooperate with us, Mr. Robinson. From the report given to me, I can foresee any treatment for the trauma you experienced.” he brought up, taking back the images. It felt like he was walking on eggshells now with me. My expressions didn’t change. My name was Evan Robinson, stuck in France alone. And I wouldn’t have it any other way. The baggage of the things holding me back like Travis, Madison, and Dylan. Gone.
“You would have to be there, doc. It’s been a long, begrudging, night.”
Jace St. Clair resides in Orlando, Florida after spending most of her life in Pennsylvania. When she’s not writing, she spends her time acting. Find her on Instagram @mariestclair464.
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