Frightened, Homer doesn't wish to take any more rides.

Soon, he encounters road signs and bizarre animals which he cannot explain. Homer loses his hat to the grasping arms of a living tree. Todd finally convinces Homer to take one of the special 'shortcuts'. Todd compares the shortcuts to folding a map to bring two points closer together, suggesting she has discovered a warped version of reality, akin to a wormhole.

He also discovers evidence that her shortcuts are taking fewer miles than are in a straight line between the trip origin and its destination, something that would be impossible in reality. Todd's habit of resetting her odometer shows remarkable evidence that something strange is going on. Homer admires her persistence but begins to have doubts, as there are only so many shortcuts someone can find. Todd, who is obsessed with finding shortcuts. Todd's Shortcut' is a short story by Stephen King, first published in the May 1984 issue of Redbook magazine, and collected in King's 1985 collection Skeleton Crew.ĭavid, friend of a caretaker named Homer, is an elderly man who is spending his later years hanging out at the local gas station in a small town. King is best known for his iconic, immersive long novels, but he is also a master of the short story, and this is a magnificent collection.Short story by Stephen King 'Mrs. “Big Wheels: a Tale of the Laundry Game (Milkman No.

“The Raft”- “Word Processor of the Gods” This “wonderfully gruesome” collection (The New York Times Book Review) includes: And a desert island is the scene of the most terrifying struggle for survival ever waged. An idyllic lake harbors a bottomless evil. A woman driving a Jaguar finds a scary shortcut to paradise. A trip to the attic becomes a journey to hell. “Wildly imaginative, delightfully diabolical.King once again proves to be the consummate storyteller” (The Associated Press).Ī supermarket becomes the place where humanity makes its last stand against destruction. The #1 New York Times bestseller and winner of the 1986 Locus Award for Best Collection, Skeleton Crew is “Stephen King at his best” (The Denver Post)-a terrifying, mesmerizing collection of stories from the outer limits of one of the greatest imaginations of our time. Todd’s Shortcut”-set in the fictional town of Castle Rock, Maineįeatures “The Mist” now a TV series event on Spike

Includes the stories “Uncle Otto’s Truck” and “Mrs.

Mrs todd's shortcut stephen king