As I started the engine, the headlights lit up every plank on the fence and my parents’ faces. I rolled down the window and yelled over the wind, “I’ll come visit again soon! I love you!”
“What?” my dad shouted back.
“I love you!” I repeated, as a group of leaves blew over the hood of my car and made a whipping sound. My dad titled his head and squinted.
“Bye!” my mom said, waving emphatically. I sighed and put my car in reverse as my parents closed their rickety wooden gate. I pulled out of the small gravel driveway and started the long haul back home, in the middle of the night, in the middle of nowhere.
Led Zeppelin CDs, complete darkness, howling wind, and pouring rain actually make quite nice company on long drives. The 13 is a pretty nice road, too, with only the occasional deadly pothole. I managed to get pretty far down the road without any problems until I ran into an absolutely massive tree that had fallen down, blocking both lanes. Fortunately, I had enough sense not to collide straight into it. I quickly braked my sedan and stepped out into the pouring rain. There was absolutely no way I was going to be able to move or get past this thing, so it looked like I was taking the long cut back home.
After a while of retracing my steps, I took the turn I hadn’t before. It didn’t exactly look familiar, but everything looks different in the middle of a storm. This road was significantly worse, and I could feel my car swaying on the uneven asphalt and in the pull of the wind.
Then I realized I was running very low on gas. “Shoot,” I muttered under my breath. I pulled over when my gas had completely run out. I got out of my car again and now the rain was really coming down. I glanced around but couldn’t make anything out but the silhouettes of pine trees. I got back in and lowered my seat. At least this car was better to stay in than any motel I could’ve found in the area. I yawned and shut my eyes. I quickly got lost in the mesmerizing sounds of the rain hitting my windshield, and faded into darkness.
My eyelids lifted. The rain was shaking my car and creating a noise louder than any of the music I was blasting earlier. Five pairs of glowing white eyes watched me through the driver’s side window. I tried to scream, I tried to raise my body, I tried to turn my head to look at the eyes, but I couldn’t. There was an incredible weight holding me down, binding me to my seat. The eyes glared at me, each pair a different size and none seeming distinctively from earth. I could feel my chest bounding and air pulsing through my throat, it felt as if I was choking. The pouring rain grew louder and fuzzier, as if I was listening to static. My vision grew blurrier until my eyelids fell closed.
I “awoke” once more that night. The rain had stopped. The eyes at my door were gone. In their place, I could hear the sound of footsteps pacing outside. My heart rate skyrocketed and I desperately tried to clasp the seat or move in any way, but the weight was holding me down again. I was stuck in horrified silence, waiting for my own fate. However, the footsteps remained outside my car, and after an hour of paralysis, the hypnotizing patterns and the footsteps lulled me into a trance. My eyes rolled back and I slipped into unconsciousness once more.
I started to trickle into feeling again, staring at my hands, until I opened my eyes. My head was aching and the light seemed so bright. My lips were completely chapped and my mouth was devoid of any moisture. I used the little strength I had left to shove the car door open.
It was probably around 5 pm; the sun was already so close to setting. Strangely, the ground was also completely dry. I was still in a state of shock from last night when I noticed that there was a house right next to my parked car. And it wasn’t just any house, it was my parents’ house.
I clambered up the porch stairs with every last ounce of my energy and knocked on the door. My mom opened it, and stared at my slumped, disheveled self.
“You’re an hour late!”
I stared back into her eyes, trying to tell if she was joking or not, but my mind was too exhausted for that type of analysis. Then, she seemed worried.
“What happened to you? Let's get you inside and eat dinner.”
She led me into the house and I sat down on the couch as familiarity flooded back into me and the memories from last night left me.
“What?” my dad shouted back.
“I love you!” I repeated, as a group of leaves blew over the hood of my car and made a whipping sound. My dad titled his head and squinted.
“Bye!” my mom said, waving emphatically. I sighed and put my car in reverse as my parents closed their rickety wooden gate. I pulled out of the small gravel driveway and started the long haul back home, in the middle of the night, in the middle of nowhere.
Led Zeppelin CDs, complete darkness, howling wind, and pouring rain actually make quite nice company on long drives. The 13 is a pretty nice road, too, with only the occasional deadly pothole. I managed to get pretty far down the road without any problems until I ran into an absolutely massive tree that had fallen down, blocking both lanes. Fortunately, I had enough sense not to collide straight into it. I quickly braked my sedan and stepped out into the pouring rain. There was absolutely no way I was going to be able to move or get past this thing, so it looked like I was taking the long cut back home.
After a while of retracing my steps, I took the turn I hadn’t before. It didn’t exactly look familiar, but everything looks different in the middle of a storm. This road was significantly worse, and I could feel my car swaying on the uneven asphalt and in the pull of the wind.
Then I realized I was running very low on gas. “Shoot,” I muttered under my breath. I pulled over when my gas had completely run out. I got out of my car again and now the rain was really coming down. I glanced around but couldn’t make anything out but the silhouettes of pine trees. I got back in and lowered my seat. At least this car was better to stay in than any motel I could’ve found in the area. I yawned and shut my eyes. I quickly got lost in the mesmerizing sounds of the rain hitting my windshield, and faded into darkness.
My eyelids lifted. The rain was shaking my car and creating a noise louder than any of the music I was blasting earlier. Five pairs of glowing white eyes watched me through the driver’s side window. I tried to scream, I tried to raise my body, I tried to turn my head to look at the eyes, but I couldn’t. There was an incredible weight holding me down, binding me to my seat. The eyes glared at me, each pair a different size and none seeming distinctively from earth. I could feel my chest bounding and air pulsing through my throat, it felt as if I was choking. The pouring rain grew louder and fuzzier, as if I was listening to static. My vision grew blurrier until my eyelids fell closed.
I “awoke” once more that night. The rain had stopped. The eyes at my door were gone. In their place, I could hear the sound of footsteps pacing outside. My heart rate skyrocketed and I desperately tried to clasp the seat or move in any way, but the weight was holding me down again. I was stuck in horrified silence, waiting for my own fate. However, the footsteps remained outside my car, and after an hour of paralysis, the hypnotizing patterns and the footsteps lulled me into a trance. My eyes rolled back and I slipped into unconsciousness once more.
I started to trickle into feeling again, staring at my hands, until I opened my eyes. My head was aching and the light seemed so bright. My lips were completely chapped and my mouth was devoid of any moisture. I used the little strength I had left to shove the car door open.
It was probably around 5 pm; the sun was already so close to setting. Strangely, the ground was also completely dry. I was still in a state of shock from last night when I noticed that there was a house right next to my parked car. And it wasn’t just any house, it was my parents’ house.
I clambered up the porch stairs with every last ounce of my energy and knocked on the door. My mom opened it, and stared at my slumped, disheveled self.
“You’re an hour late!”
I stared back into her eyes, trying to tell if she was joking or not, but my mind was too exhausted for that type of analysis. Then, she seemed worried.
“What happened to you? Let's get you inside and eat dinner.”
She led me into the house and I sat down on the couch as familiarity flooded back into me and the memories from last night left me.