Off the Trail: A Short Story

by Diana Urban

When 17-year-old Kayla jogs the trail next to the lake where a girl recently drowned, someone—or something—veers her off-course. Will she escape from the woods, or get tangled in a web of horror?

Genres: Young Adult, Mystery Thriller, Short Stories, Mystery, Thriller

34 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 24, 2020

About the author

Subscribe to Diana's newsletter to get a FREE shocking story and alerts about new ARC opportunities! Diana Urban is a bestselling, award-winning author of romantic thrillers with mind-bending twists, including All Your Twisted Secrets and Under the Surface, an Indie Next Pick and Junior Library Guild selection. All her novels have been published internationally. She lives with her husband and cat in Boston, and when she's not torturing her fictional characters, she enjoys reading, playing video games, fawning over cute animals, and looking at the beach from a safe distance. Connect with her on Instagram, Threads, or TikTok.

(Diana doesn't use Goodreads, but you can contact her here.)

Reviews

[mjraves · Rating 5 out of 5]

OHMIGOD. I was just expecting a quick short story with maybe a few mild plot twists, but wtf?!?! more detailed review to come tomorrow

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wowza! Not at all what I was expecting, and especially for a short, that’s saying a lot. For me, it’s not so much the suspense and the mystery around Kayla’s jog and who might be following her. Instead, it’s the atmosphere that’s most exciting. It’s tense, edge of the seat stuff. The twists, though, were a little underwhelming, but then again, it is a short read.

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don’t know what i was expecting going into this, but it definitely wasn’t this! For such a short story, this definitely grabbed my attention and kept it until the end. Honestly, in my eyes the only flaw was that it was too short. I would have loved to see it a bit longer at the end.

There’s two perspectives in this short story, but they weren’t exactly balanced. I would’ve loved to read more from the second character’s perspective, it was interesting but only a few pages compared to the other character.

Nonetheless, I can highly recommend this little thriller for everyone who is interested in a quick read.

[Brenda P · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. This was super short and held my attention right to the end. And the twist at the end was not what I was expecting.

[Timothy Fay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Intense, flavorful, entertaining.

[Mike Chen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Intense and atmospheric, this story’s tight pacing and subtle hints kept me guessing until the very end.

[Zeal · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was too short. It's ending was not clear as it had to be.

[Sara Santos · Rating 2 out of 5]

2,5

[Melosh · Rating 2 out of 5]

Lacked a good plot twist

[Naman Jaloria · Rating 4 out of 5]

Too Short

[Nour (FREE PALESTINE) Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

wow, that turned dark really fast....

[Jess · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well that was… nothingy.

I was browsing through my downloaded books and wanted something short and spooky, and I’m very into stories set in the forest at the moment. But for all the reviews promising a twist I definitely didn’t get one!

Totally thought our girl would be the dead girl all along. But that was just disappointing.

[Victoria Wlosok]

i love YA thrillers, i love short stories, and i love diana urban. this was so fun

(read march 4 2024!)

[Ashley Dang · Rating 1 out of 5]

A drowned girl, a lake, and one jog that is going to change another girl’s life. Kayla loves jogging, she always goes on them and can’t keep away from her routine of jogging. But after a girl is found drowned in the lack where Kayla’s jogging trail is... she still can’t keep away. So when she decides to go on a jog something or someone is after her, she can feel herself being stirred off the track, the flags she follows being moved different and the feeling of someone following her intensifying. Soon she’ll be running for her life. The twist was meh unfortunately for me.

[Mireya · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well, I did not see that ending coming at all, my God. For such a short story, I was expecting something different, but Diana Urban really took us where she wanted with the story and pull off that twist.
I really liked it and enjoyed this short but fast-paced and gripping story

[Viharsh Jain · Rating 1 out of 5]

I liked the atmosphere set- it was very suspenseful and intense. But the plot twist wasn't good and was somewhat predictable

[Jacklyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

What, or who, is lurking in the woods?
Kayla, only seventeen years old, would much rather jog in the woods than the highschool track. She loves the natural incline, decline, and challenge it brings. What she doesn't like is the thought of the girl who recently drowned in the lake directly next to the woods. As she's on one of her jogs, something, or someone, causes her to go off track. Can she escape the nightmare she's been thrust into? Or will this be the end as she knows it?
I flew through this short story in one sitting, not wanting to put it down! It was a fun, entertaining, and quick read. The ending made my jaw hit the floor as I never saw it coming. This was such a unique and thrilling read that'll make you excited to read more of her work. If you haven't read any of Diana Urban's stories yet, do it; You won't be disappointed. I can't wait to crack open All Your Twisted Secrets!

[levi mckenzie · Rating 4 out of 5]

for a short story, this was really exhilarating and intense. my heart was beating throughout this and it had my attention the whole time! it was a lot shorter than i expected but still had me gripped.

the twist was a little underwhelming but for a short story i didn’t expect something crazy. the only other downfall is that it wasn’t longer.

i can definitely recommend this little thriller if you’re looking for a quick intense read!

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just a quick run around the lake

Great short story about a young girl who wants to take a quick run around the lake before heading home. The tension builds as she starts hearing noises and thinking about another young woman who drown in the lake. Very entertaining, kept me captive from beginning to end!

[Amber · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gripping but short

Very thrilling and exciting read! You aren't sure what was really happening. My only complaint is that it is too short.

[Vanessa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short and sweet

Although it wraps up nicely, it makes me want more. Great short story. And I also read all your twisted secrets and it was awesome. Great book.

[BooksandBacon · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quick, intense & enjoyable read nicely wrapped up. Didn't expect the end.

[Rodney Tripp · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read.... but too short

[Neena · Rating 3 out of 5]

So confused

[Erin Mendoza · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good story but shorter than I'd liked 😂

[Vee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great short story. Loved the imagery and the twist! Felt like I was really in the story.

[Smrithi · Rating 3 out of 5]

i expected more
this was nice but too short and the part about the drowned girl never showed up

[kayla · Rating 5 out of 5]

short story, was good

[Beth Horn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This short story had me GRIPPED!!!! What a thriller with a good twist.

[Steven · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is nice little read. It’s easy to root for the main character, and when you get to the ending, all the pieces make sense, without seeming contrived. The ending also has a pretty good gut punch.