Ep.205 – I Guard Windmills and I’m Not Sure if I’ll Survive the Shift

WEBVTT

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Starting a new job is always interesting. There are things you need to learn,

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quirks of the position that you might
not guess as an outside observer.

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00:00:11.960 --> 00:00:16.879
But what happens when you get a
job that gives you more than anyone could

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ever bargain for and now your only
real job is to survive? What's that?

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You want to be scared to?
Come with me. You will experience

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tales over opera, ghosts and death. It is not recommended. And for

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00:00:45.280 --> 00:00:52.640
the week at heart, listen us
in the dark. It's more fun than

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00:00:52.719 --> 00:01:07.439
that way this week least week.
Hello, my spookies, It's Wednesday,

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and you know what that means.
It's time for a little Spooky in your

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weekly. I'm your host and narrator, Enrique Kuto, and we have quite

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the story for you tonight, especially
those of you out there and you know

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who you are who are starting a
brand new vocation, maybe working third shift,

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enjoying a little podcast fun on your
AirPods right now, Well, this

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one is for you. But before
we get to that, I just want

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to say thank you so much for
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Weekly Spooky. The busy season is
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Oh my my mind, do we
get a crowd of new listeners.

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But you folks listening right now,
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people who love your spooky every single
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it is, even as there's a
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and me, my friend, we
like something a little more chilling. But

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speaking of the spooky season here at
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a season. Indeed, we're going
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note, if you have any interest
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my dog, Chicano, just go
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help my Dog. There have been
some unfortunate develop and I could use your

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help. But that's not what we're
about right now. We're about starting a

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brand new job, A job that's
scary. Right after these quick words from

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our sponsors, eye guard windmills,
and I'm not sure if I'll survive the

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shift by Michael Kelso. I used
to work as a park ranger in a

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fire tower. After that went horribly
bad, I got a job working in

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a warehouse that also was a disaster. I just wish I could stop finding

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jobs that have strange rules. I
don't go looking for terrifying supernatural happenings.

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They just seemed to find me.
The bad part is I need a job

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if I want to keep living in
my opulent, non alley dweller, begging

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food lifestyle. I was looking through
the job pages for anything. I was

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about to apply to a fast food
restaurant when my eyes fell on an ad

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for a night watchman. I was
about to pass it up, thinking about

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the injuries that were still healing after
my last night watchman job, when I

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noticed it was for a wind farm. I had to look up exactly what

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a wind farm was and found out
it was where they had wind turbines that

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generated electricity. I saw there was
a lot of controversy over environmentalists claiming that

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wind turbines were the worst thing to
ever happen to wildlife. I always thought

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wind turbines were designed to replace dangerous
nuclear power plants and polluting coal and oil

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ones. I guess there's just no
pleasing some people. I called the number

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and was surprised to receive an answer
from an actual person rather than a machine.

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The man asked if I could start
today, not could I interview or

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fill out a bunch of paperwork?
If I could start, he didn't even

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know me. My spidey sense was
telling me to be where. He told

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me the hourly wage, and there
was an immediate five hundred dollars signing bonus.

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Greed and Ned pushed their way to
the front of my thoughts, and

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I agreed to come to the job
site. I told him I had some

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questions. He hesitated, but agreed. Twenty five minutes later, I turned

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down a gravel road, passed an
open gate with a sign beside it that

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read Larsen Energy Limited. I pulled
next to a building that reminded me of

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the warehouse where I worked for one
day and was nearly killed. I shivered

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at the thought and hoped this job
would turn out much better. I walked

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up to the door and was nearly
run over by a short, balding man

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who appeared to be in his late
forties. His hand was outstretched and shaking

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mine before the door was completely opened. Are you the one I talked to

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on the phone, he said,
smiling. I believe so good, he

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said, Come with me, I'll
show you around. I followed him to

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a pickup truck and got in the
passenger side. He started it up and

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headed down a dirt road that was
surrounded by trees that were in the general

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direction of the wind turbines. I
stared at them in awe, having never

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been closer than a few miles away. Impressive, aren't they, he said,

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following my gaze. Very Just wait
until you get aside one. He

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drove slowly, not going over twenty
miles per hour, but the road dictated

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the speed. In general, it
had some potholes that were very large.

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I could imagine they would be many
lakes during a heavy rainstorm. I'm not

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sure my car would make it through
here during bad weather. I said,

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not to worry. He said,
this is a company truck. This is

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what you'll be driving, and what
exactly would my duties be? Exactly what

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we're doing now, he said,
sweeping his arms towards the windshield, doing

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rounds, making sure no one is, you know, messing with the turbines.

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I waited for the rest, for
the strange rules, for the catch.

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That's it. That's it, he
said. You'll do four rounds a

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night. You make sure no one
is stealing anything or messing around with the

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turbines. Other than that, you
just chase off trespassers. Do you have

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a lot of trespassers? He seemed
to hesitate for a moment. Once in

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a while, some environmentalists will lurk
around trying to take pictures of birds being

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hurt by the turbines. They even
like to dress up as woodland creatures to

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scare people. What do I do
if I catch one, take their picture

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and forward it to the police.
That's it. He won't be carrying a

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gun or anything. If that's what
you're asking. No, I meant,

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shouldn't I inform you or security?
You are security. I stopped and thought

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about it for a moment. Don't
worry, he said. It doesn't happen

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often. Is there anything that does
happen often? What do you mean?

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Are there any strange rules or anything
weird that happens that I should know about.

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His eyes grew wider, but he
tried to answer calmly. No,

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he said, with a nervous chuckle, of course not. My eyes bored

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into his searching for any lies.
He looked away, pretending to pay attention

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to the road. It's very simple, he said, do your rounds,

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make sure no one trespasses, and
you'll be fine. You can even bring

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a portable DVD player if you want, or a book to read, even

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use the company WiFi to watch movies
on your phone, as long as you

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do your rounds. No catch,
no catch. We had just arrived back

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at the main building. He parked
in front and led me inside to do

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paperwork and give me a check for
the five hundred dollars bonus. Awesome,

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I said, When do I start? He looked at his watch. Right

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now, really. He handed me
the keys to the truck. Go get

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whatever you need out of your car, and you can start your first round.

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I looked at my watch as I
walked out the door. It was

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five till seven in the evening.
I got my water bottle and lunchbox from

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my car, then headed toward the
truck. Another similar pickup pulled into the

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spot beside me, and a man
got out. He was older than me,

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tall and thin, probably in his
fifties. You're the new guy,

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he said, walking over to me. I guess, so, I said,

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shaking his hand. I do the
daylight shift, he said. So

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did he tell you everything? I
think so, I said, as the

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manager came flying out through the doors. No time for chit chat, he

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said, chuckling nervously. Time to
make that first round. I looked from

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him to the other guard. I
could tell there was a concern on both

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of their faces, but they seemed
to be different. The guard turned back

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towards his truck. Nice to Mitya, he said, getting into his truck

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and busying himself with something. The
manager breathed a sigh of relief and turned

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away. Oh one last thing,
he said. The office is locked after

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hours, so if you need any
facilities, he turned and pointed to a

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porta potty sitting near the edge of
the parking lot. Understood, I said,

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who do I contact in case of
emergency? He reached into his pocket

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and pulled out a business card,
then handed it to me. Emergencies only,

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he said. Then he smiled and
walked to his car. Started it

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and drove away. I got in
the truck and started it up, nearly

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having a heart attack when the other
guard knocked on the window. Here,

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he said, handing me a piece
of paper. You can call or text

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if you have any trouble. Thanks, I said, taking the paper.

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He opened his mouth as if to
say something else, then closed it and

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walked away. I watched as he
drove to the gate, got out of

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his car, closed and locked it
behind him. It didn't have the same

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feeling of finality as when I was
locked in the horrible warehouse, but it

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was close. Nothing to be afraid
of, I told myself, just security

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measures. I kept telling myself that. As I started down the dirt road

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toward the wind turbines, I drove
slowly, wanting to make sure I kept

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an eye out for anyone. Even
though the sun hadn't set yet, it

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was darker on the road as the
trees blocked the sunlight. The road was

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barely a two lane, but I
didn't think I'd have to worry about any

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traffic jams out here. I rolled
my window down, and the scent of

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pine filled the truck. I leaned
my arm out the window and took a

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deep breath. The last time I
was in a forest like this was the

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warehouse job, but I didn't get
to enjoy the trees. This was like

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gliding down a river that cut through
the middle of a forest. I felt

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very relaxed. Two relaxed. I
had to make sure I stayed awake and

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didn't drive into a ditch. The
birds singing in the trees made me smile.

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This job turned out to be exactly
what I needed. My shoulder twinged,

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reminding me of my injury. I
brought it back to my side as

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I drove. The first turbine loomed
ahead of me. It was massive.

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I leaned my head out of the
window and craned my neck to see the

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top. The blades weren't moving for
some reason. I would have to look

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that up on my phone. When
I got back to the parking lot,

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I stopped to avoid a deer that
had wandered out in front of me.

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It looked at me as though I
was intruding on its evening routine. I'm

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sorry, your majesty, I said
to it, but if you would kindly

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move, I'll be on my way. It looked at me as if considering

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my proposition then flicked its tail and
trotted off into the woods. I smiled

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and continued on down the road.
The second turbine came up quickly. It

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lost a little of the amazement of
the first, but it was still an

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awesome sight. By the time I
passed the third and fourth, I didn't

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even look up. I just glanced
over at the door in the base of

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the tower to see if anyone was
messing with it. The next turbine was

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missing. I saw a clearing just
like all the others, but there was

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no tower and no turbine. I
decided to take a closer look. I

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put the truck in park and shut
it off out of habit I took the

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keys with me. There was still
enough daylight to see without a flashlight,

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but just barely. I walked up
to where the tower should have been,

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but all that was there was the
base. It was black and there was

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debris around it. It was clear
that much more debris had been taken away.

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I didn't see the amount of wreckage
I would have expected for a four

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hundred foot tower with a wind turbine
on top coming crashing down. As I

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examined it closer, it seemed like
there were a lot of burn marks and

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melting. I looked around the general
area and there were signs of scorching in

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the trees on the ground. I
wondered why the boss hadn't mentioned this.

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I've never heard of a wind turbine
burning up before. I would have thought

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this would be something worth mentioning to
a new security guard. As I was

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looking around, I heard something move
in the trees. It startled me because

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it would have had to be loud
for me to hear it over the normal

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noises of the forest. But then
I noticed the normal sounds of the forest

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were gone. It was zerily quiet. No birds, squirrels, or even

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insect sounds were audible. I was
standing alone in the near dark, surrounded

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by trees and animals who weren't making
any sound. It was like the forest

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was holding its breath to see what
would happen next. My mind was a

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flurry of thoughts. Are the animals
afraid of me? Is this one of

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those crazy and ira mentalists? Should
I really be standing here exposed waiting for

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something to happen. My legs got
the message and high tailed it back to

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the truck as quickly as I could. I rolled up the window, locked

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the doors and made a dust cloud
from my tires as I left the area

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a little too quickly. When I
got to the next turbine, my adrenaline

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had bled off and I was feeling
silly for letting myself get scared like that.

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I slowed to my normal speed and
finished my round. The parking lot

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was empty, so I had my
pick of spots. I decided to park

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close to the porta potty just in
case. I settled in and pulled out

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my phone. Normally i'd go to
YouTube and watch creepy pastas, but darkness

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had finally settled in for the night, and I didn't feel like scaring myself

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any more than I already had.
There were a few security lights in the

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parking lot near the building and at
the far corners, but once I started

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around, the only light I had
I took with me. Maybe I could

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convince the boss to mount one of
those strips of led lights on the front

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of the truck. This would be
one of the few legit reasons to have

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those. Every time I pass a
car or truck on the highway with those

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00:17:14.200 --> 00:17:18.000
lights blinding me, I have the
strong urge to get a million candlepower spotlight

205
00:17:18.200 --> 00:17:22.200
and shine it in their eyes.
At least that's what it feels like they're

206
00:17:22.200 --> 00:17:26.720
doing to me. I scrolled through
Netflix looking for a show to watch.

207
00:17:27.640 --> 00:17:33.480
Creatures in the Dark, Nope,
places you thought were safe, No way,

208
00:17:34.519 --> 00:17:40.720
Cryptids of Appalachia, not even.
What is Netflix trying to do to

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00:17:40.799 --> 00:17:44.200
me? If I watch Black Mirror, will it go straight to an episode

210
00:17:44.200 --> 00:17:49.559
where a security guard gets horribly mangled
in the forest? Comedies, I'll watch

211
00:17:49.599 --> 00:17:55.200
The Office. It's not on Netflix. Of course, as soon as I

212
00:17:55.200 --> 00:17:59.319
want to watch something, it's gone. Sometimes I wish Blockbuster would have bought

213
00:17:59.400 --> 00:18:03.400
Netflix and they had the chance.
I'll open up my kindle and I'll read

214
00:18:03.400 --> 00:18:07.519
a book. This one looks good. One on One by Michael Kelso,

215
00:18:08.240 --> 00:18:14.200
a crime fiction set into prison.
An hour into my book, the alarm

216
00:18:14.240 --> 00:18:18.839
on my phone goes off. Time
for another round. Wow, that went

217
00:18:18.880 --> 00:18:23.640
fast. I set the phone aside
and checked the glove compartment for a flashlight.

218
00:18:25.400 --> 00:18:29.880
Fortunately one was there. It was
one of those fancy ones that was

219
00:18:30.079 --> 00:18:33.119
very bright and had a Strobe flash
mode on it. I wondered if I

220
00:18:33.160 --> 00:18:37.599
could borrow it to show some of
those idiots with the bright led lights mounted

221
00:18:37.640 --> 00:18:41.920
on the front of their trucks.
I found myself more on guard this round.

222
00:18:44.000 --> 00:18:48.599
The noises of the forest had returned. Thankfully. I opened my window

223
00:18:48.640 --> 00:18:52.359
a few inches, just enough to
let some fresh air, and the nightly

224
00:18:52.440 --> 00:18:57.359
noises in the darkness seemed depressive after
the first round. Being nearly daylight,

225
00:18:57.440 --> 00:19:03.000
this time the world was confined to
the two beams of light fighting the overwhelming

226
00:19:03.039 --> 00:19:10.279
shadows of the menacing forest. I
found myself going a little faster than last

227
00:19:10.279 --> 00:19:17.240
time. It wasn't really a conscious
choice, just my subconscious asserting itself once

228
00:19:17.279 --> 00:19:19.799
again. When I got to the
burned out ruins of the wind turbine,

229
00:19:22.039 --> 00:19:29.640
the noises ceased. I went a
little faster through that area. I thought

230
00:19:29.640 --> 00:19:33.920
I saw a movement in the tree
line heading toward me, but I refused

231
00:19:33.920 --> 00:19:37.599
to stop. I justified it by
telling myself there was no working turbine here

232
00:19:37.640 --> 00:19:44.960
to vandalize. A little rattled,
I finished my round quickly, nearly bumping

233
00:19:45.000 --> 00:19:48.240
my head on the ceiling of the
truck a couple of times from bouncing down

234
00:19:48.279 --> 00:19:56.720
the dirt road much faster than I
should have. Don't go away, weekly,

235
00:19:56.799 --> 00:20:03.039
Spooky will be right back. When
I came out of the forest,

236
00:20:03.119 --> 00:20:07.799
I welcomed the bright lights and relative
safety of the parking lot. This time,

237
00:20:07.839 --> 00:20:11.519
I parked at the end, farthest
away from the trees, under a

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00:20:11.599 --> 00:20:17.759
security light, just for good measure. As I read my book, my

239
00:20:17.839 --> 00:20:22.119
eyes kept darting toward the trees,
as if I expected something to jump out

240
00:20:22.160 --> 00:20:26.920
at me. I continued to tell
myself I was being foolish, but I

241
00:20:27.000 --> 00:20:32.640
also kept shooting glances at the trees. When my alarm went off for the

242
00:20:32.680 --> 00:20:36.960
next round, it took extra effort
to make myself start the truck and aim

243
00:20:37.039 --> 00:20:42.319
the headlights toward the trees. The
forest had gotten darker and more oppressive.

244
00:20:44.640 --> 00:20:49.759
It had also gotten quieter. There
were still a few creatures making sounds,

245
00:20:49.799 --> 00:20:53.880
but not as many, I told
myself, most of them had gone to

246
00:20:53.920 --> 00:21:00.279
sleep. I only wished i'd believed
it. Even a scent of pine had

247
00:21:00.279 --> 00:21:07.000
diminished. It had another scent to
it now, the tinge of fear.

248
00:21:07.200 --> 00:21:11.680
My eyes darted from one side of
the road to the other, taking in

249
00:21:11.720 --> 00:21:15.319
as much of my surroundings as possible, which wasn't much. With the headlights

250
00:21:15.319 --> 00:21:22.079
barely able to cut a path through
the suffocating darkness. I nearly jumped out

251
00:21:22.119 --> 00:21:25.240
of my skin when a deer walked
in front of the truck. I slammed

252
00:21:25.279 --> 00:21:29.279
on my brakes, making a dust
cloud hover in front of me. The

253
00:21:29.359 --> 00:21:33.799
deer glanced at me, then got
spooked and ran off. I chuckled to

254
00:21:33.839 --> 00:21:37.400
myself at the little bit of revenge
of the deer being scared of me,

255
00:21:38.240 --> 00:21:44.839
but my chuckles soon turned to chills. As the dust cleared, I saw

256
00:21:44.880 --> 00:21:52.000
something coming out of the trees.
It was big, dark and covered in

257
00:21:52.079 --> 00:21:56.440
fur. Sweat formed on my brow
As my mind kicked into gear and my

258
00:21:56.559 --> 00:22:02.319
foot mashed the gas. Pedal of
dust flew from my rear tires. As

259
00:22:02.319 --> 00:22:07.039
the truck galloped away, I glanced
in my rear view mirror, and to

260
00:22:07.119 --> 00:22:14.480
my horror, the creature was running
behind me. Even worse, it was

261
00:22:14.559 --> 00:22:18.640
gaining. I stepped on the gas, making my speedometer jump and making me

262
00:22:18.759 --> 00:22:23.160
ride the seat like a bucking bronco. Thankfully I had my seatbell on,

263
00:22:23.680 --> 00:22:27.720
or I would have been knocked unconscious
by the bigger bumps and ruts, sending

264
00:22:27.759 --> 00:22:33.759
my head toward the ceiling. I
refused to look back for a long time,

265
00:22:34.440 --> 00:22:42.759
and when I did, the creature
was gone. I breathed a sigh

266
00:22:42.839 --> 00:22:48.920
of relief and slowed a little I
was never so happy to see the parking

267
00:22:48.960 --> 00:22:52.720
lot. I parked in the same
spot at the far end under a light

268
00:22:53.400 --> 00:22:59.200
and thought back to my encounter,
trying to make sense of it. The

269
00:22:59.279 --> 00:23:03.000
creature was huge. It was easily
over seven feet tall and walked on two

270
00:23:03.079 --> 00:23:08.480
legs. No, it ran on
two legs. It was going nearly thirty

271
00:23:08.519 --> 00:23:15.720
five miles an hour chasing. That
was the other thing. Why was it

272
00:23:15.839 --> 00:23:19.240
chasing me? What did I do
to annoy it? Or was it just

273
00:23:19.359 --> 00:23:26.440
looking for a midnight snack? Time
to get some answers, I got the

274
00:23:26.440 --> 00:23:30.839
piece of paper the other guard had
given me and typed in the number.

275
00:23:30.680 --> 00:23:36.400
Then I sent him a text.
I checked my watch. It was two

276
00:23:36.440 --> 00:23:41.880
thirty in the morning. I didn't
really expect an answer, but to my

277
00:23:41.000 --> 00:23:47.720
surprise, my phone dinged. I
was expecting a message sooner. It said,

278
00:23:48.799 --> 00:23:52.079
why, Let's just say, I
don't think the boss told you everything,

279
00:23:53.400 --> 00:24:00.400
such as you tell me why you
messaged first? Okay? Have you

280
00:24:00.440 --> 00:24:07.079
ever been chased by anything during a
round? Define anything? Oh? I

281
00:24:07.119 --> 00:24:11.200
don't know, like a deer,
a bear, A big hairy creature over

282
00:24:11.240 --> 00:24:15.640
seven feet tall walking on its hind
legs. Are you going to quit if

283
00:24:15.640 --> 00:24:21.759
I tell you the truth. That
depends on what the truth is. Nope,

284
00:24:22.400 --> 00:24:27.079
you have to promise me not to
quit before I tell you why,

285
00:24:27.279 --> 00:24:33.359
because if you quit, I have
to go back on night shift and that's

286
00:24:33.400 --> 00:24:41.480
a bad thing. Promise you won't
quit. I was having flashbacks to my

287
00:24:41.559 --> 00:24:45.839
last two jobs, being tricked into
a horrible situation and then being told what

288
00:24:45.880 --> 00:24:52.200
was really going on. I can't
promise. I've been burned in my last

289
00:24:52.240 --> 00:24:57.079
two jobs by strange rules, strange
rules. You don't want to know,

290
00:24:59.440 --> 00:25:03.039
sounds like I do. Then you
tell me what's going on here, and

291
00:25:03.119 --> 00:25:08.039
I'll tell you what happened in my
last two jobs. If you promise you

292
00:25:08.079 --> 00:25:14.960
won't quit, I'll make you a
deal. I'll tell you about my last

293
00:25:14.960 --> 00:25:18.839
two jobs. Then after that,
you tell me if what's happening here is

294
00:25:18.920 --> 00:25:25.359
worse? All right? I told
them about my jobs as a park ranger

295
00:25:25.400 --> 00:25:30.079
in a fire tower and a warehouse
guard, about the strange and supernatural things

296
00:25:30.119 --> 00:25:36.480
that happened, and how they damaged
me mentally and physically. When I was

297
00:25:36.559 --> 00:25:42.319
done, he didn't answer right away
that was some story? Is it true?

298
00:25:44.720 --> 00:25:49.480
Those things happened to me? Wow? Okay, what's happening here is

299
00:25:51.759 --> 00:25:56.319
you're being chased by Bigfoot? All
right? If you don't want to tell

300
00:25:56.319 --> 00:26:00.400
me, you don't have to lie. I'm not lying. Think about the

301
00:26:00.400 --> 00:26:03.839
way you described the creature to me, seven feet tall, covered in hair,

302
00:26:04.279 --> 00:26:08.640
walking on hind legs. I thought
about it for a long moment.

303
00:26:11.559 --> 00:26:17.920
Then why is he after me?
He's not exactly, He's after whoever patrols

304
00:26:17.960 --> 00:26:23.599
the roads. But why go to
a site called reddit and read the story.

305
00:26:25.039 --> 00:26:26.960
I used to be a night watchman
at a wind farm. What I

306
00:26:27.039 --> 00:26:32.200
saw there still haunts me. After
you've read that, if you have more

307
00:26:32.279 --> 00:26:37.599
questions, text me. Okay.
I went to the site and read the

308
00:26:37.640 --> 00:26:42.440
story. When I was done,
I slowly lowered my phone, eyes wide.

309
00:26:44.680 --> 00:26:48.799
I texted. I'd read stories on
Reddit before. I always thought they

310
00:26:48.799 --> 00:26:52.599
were just made up. That's what
I thought, too, But if this

311
00:26:52.640 --> 00:27:00.839
thing burned up, how is it
chasing me? It's not. I'm confused.

312
00:27:00.880 --> 00:27:07.359
I helped bury the thing. It's
dead. What's chasing you is its

313
00:27:07.440 --> 00:27:11.920
mate brother cousin. Who knows?
But some creature with ties to that one,

314
00:27:12.319 --> 00:27:18.119
and it's not happy. And let
me guess it only comes out at

315
00:27:18.200 --> 00:27:26.319
night. Yep, I quit s
ob you promised so you'd rather have me

316
00:27:26.400 --> 00:27:30.440
die than quit. You won't die
if you stay in the truck. How

317
00:27:30.440 --> 00:27:37.240
do you know, because I've been
the one doing night shift. I thought

318
00:27:37.279 --> 00:27:41.240
about it for a long moment.
Okay, I've got one round left to

319
00:27:41.319 --> 00:27:47.400
go. If I make it without
dying, we'll talk about my continued employment

320
00:27:47.759 --> 00:27:52.640
and whatever we agree on. You
have to back me with the boss deal.

321
00:27:53.960 --> 00:27:59.160
I started towards the forest. No
time like the President if I'm going

322
00:27:59.200 --> 00:28:03.640
to die. As I pulled into
the trees, it felt like I was

323
00:28:03.720 --> 00:28:07.680
passing through the gates of Jurassic Park. I hoped I would fare better than

324
00:28:07.720 --> 00:28:15.119
they did. The darkness was complete. Only the truck's headlights fought a losing

325
00:28:15.160 --> 00:28:18.920
battle, enabling me to see at
all. When I came near a turbine,

326
00:28:19.279 --> 00:28:23.319
I used the flashlight to illuminate the
base of the tower and see if

327
00:28:23.359 --> 00:28:29.119
anyone was there. Once I was
past the turbine, I quickly shut off

328
00:28:29.119 --> 00:28:34.200
the light. I had no desire
to see anything else. I rolled the

329
00:28:34.200 --> 00:28:41.160
window down just enough to hear the
nightly noises. When I got to the

330
00:28:41.160 --> 00:28:48.680
second turbine, they went silent.
I clutched the wheel with white knuckles,

331
00:28:48.720 --> 00:28:52.400
waiting to see what would happen.
I was so busy looking around for something

332
00:28:52.400 --> 00:28:56.559
in the woods I almost ran into
a huge boulder sitting in the middle of

333
00:28:56.559 --> 00:29:04.480
the road that wasn't there before.
Was my first thought, followed quickly by

334
00:29:06.079 --> 00:29:12.400
it's barricading the road, so I
can't speed away. The second thought jarred

335
00:29:12.440 --> 00:29:17.400
me into action. I turned the
wheel hard and swerved around the rock.

336
00:29:18.359 --> 00:29:22.680
Fortunately, it hadn't rained in a
few days and there wasn't any soft ground

337
00:29:22.720 --> 00:29:26.559
along the side of the road.
I stepped on the gas as I rounded

338
00:29:26.599 --> 00:29:30.920
the boulder, just in time to
see another boulder heading straight toward me.

339
00:29:30.400 --> 00:29:33.799
I swerved and floored it, feeling
the impact of the rock as it hit

340
00:29:33.839 --> 00:29:38.559
the ground beside the truck, missing
it by a mere foot. I fish

341
00:29:38.599 --> 00:29:44.000
tailed, spewing dirt as the tires
fought to gain traction. Once I straightened

342
00:29:44.000 --> 00:29:47.319
out, I got as much speed
as I could, bumping around so much.

343
00:29:47.400 --> 00:29:52.799
I worried about the suspension and the
tires. Anything that stopped this truck

344
00:29:52.279 --> 00:29:56.359
would be the death of me.
I felt pretty good about out running the

345
00:29:56.359 --> 00:30:00.920
creature when I saw something tear in
front of me. I slammed on the

346
00:30:00.960 --> 00:30:04.599
brakes and slid to a stop in
front of two boulders sitting in the middle

347
00:30:04.640 --> 00:30:11.000
of the road. They were spaced
far enough apart that I couldn't just swerve

348
00:30:11.039 --> 00:30:15.279
around. I had to pick a
side with more room and go slowly around,

349
00:30:15.920 --> 00:30:21.319
nearly scraping trees as I went.
I had just made it around when

350
00:30:21.359 --> 00:30:25.160
something crashed into the back of the
truck, sending it flying forward. I

351
00:30:25.240 --> 00:30:29.640
looked back and the tailgate was crumpled. There was a boulder lying on the

352
00:30:29.640 --> 00:30:33.359
ground beside the other two that hadn't
been there a minute ago. I jumped

353
00:30:33.359 --> 00:30:37.319
on the gas pedal as a boulder
landed right in front of me. I

354
00:30:37.400 --> 00:30:40.920
wrenched the wheel to the right,
feeling metal scrape against the side of the

355
00:30:40.960 --> 00:30:45.319
truck, but I refused to take
my foot off the gas. The scraping

356
00:30:45.359 --> 00:30:48.559
got louder. I knew this was
it. He would catch up to me

357
00:30:49.559 --> 00:30:56.079
and I would die a horrible death. And then the scraping stopped. The

358
00:30:56.160 --> 00:31:02.640
truck lurched forward. I was free. I built up a little speed and

359
00:31:02.680 --> 00:31:06.359
then started swerving back and forth in
the road in case he tried to throw

360
00:31:06.400 --> 00:31:11.799
another boulder. I counted to twenty
before letting off the gas. Sweat dripped

361
00:31:11.799 --> 00:31:15.039
from my forehead. I wiped my
sweaty hands on my pants. My hands

362
00:31:15.079 --> 00:31:19.640
were stiff from holding the wheels so
tight. I kept my speed up,

363
00:31:19.680 --> 00:31:22.400
not wanting to give him any chance
to catch up to me. As I

364
00:31:22.440 --> 00:31:29.119
bounced down the road, I turned
a corner and slammed on the brakes.

365
00:31:30.920 --> 00:31:34.119
It was impossible. He was standing
in the middle of the road in front

366
00:31:34.119 --> 00:31:38.960
of me. How could he have
gotten here first? He stared at me

367
00:31:40.319 --> 00:31:44.599
and bared his teeth. For an
instant, I thought about turning around,

368
00:31:45.240 --> 00:31:48.680
but I was almost to the end
of my round, and going back meant

369
00:31:48.720 --> 00:31:53.200
guiding my truck back through a deadly
obstacle course. With nothing left to do,

370
00:31:55.079 --> 00:31:57.519
I floored it and drove straight at
him. If I was going to

371
00:31:57.599 --> 00:32:01.400
die, I was going to do
my best to take him with me.

372
00:32:02.880 --> 00:32:09.599
He stood motionless as I gained speed. Just before I got there, he

373
00:32:09.720 --> 00:32:15.039
jumped. I watched as he landed
behind the truck and turned on a dime

374
00:32:15.119 --> 00:32:19.599
to follow behind. I was gaining
speed, but it wasn't enough. He

375
00:32:19.680 --> 00:32:22.759
grabbed my tailgate and pulled against it. For a moment, I felt the

376
00:32:22.759 --> 00:32:29.160
truck slow, but then the tailgate
broke free and left him holding the figurative

377
00:32:29.200 --> 00:32:32.400
bag. He ran behind, throwing
the tailgate at me. I ducked just

378
00:32:32.559 --> 00:32:37.400
in time as it smashed through the
rear window and kept going through the front

379
00:32:37.440 --> 00:32:43.079
windshield. I peeked back, only
to see him chasing again. I tried

380
00:32:43.160 --> 00:32:46.960
to gain more speed. It was
more difficult covered in glass, each bounce

381
00:32:47.000 --> 00:32:52.839
in the road now making pieces cut
into me. It was also difficult seeing

382
00:32:52.880 --> 00:32:57.119
with no windshield to protect my eyes
and pieces of glass flying toward me from

383
00:32:57.160 --> 00:33:00.240
the remains of the windshield. I
held up my hand to try to shield

384
00:33:00.319 --> 00:33:05.680
my eyes. As I did,
I noticed I was slowing down. I

385
00:33:05.759 --> 00:33:10.880
pressed the gas pedal harder, but
seemed to slow even more. I turned

386
00:33:10.880 --> 00:33:15.200
to find the creature holding the bed
of the truck and digging its feet into

387
00:33:15.200 --> 00:33:21.119
the road to slow me down.
I got my phone and recorded him holding

388
00:33:21.160 --> 00:33:24.759
the truck back for a few moments. At least whoever found the destroyed truck

389
00:33:25.359 --> 00:33:31.039
would know what happened to me.
I resigned myself to my fate. I

390
00:33:31.160 --> 00:33:36.799
let off the gas and allowed the
truck to stop. He released the back

391
00:33:37.000 --> 00:33:43.039
and started climbing into the bed.
I was moments from death. I looked

392
00:33:43.039 --> 00:33:47.119
down at my phone and pressed record
then grabbed the flashlight, switched to strobe,

393
00:33:47.599 --> 00:33:52.880
and shown it in his face.
He put his arms up to shield

394
00:33:52.880 --> 00:33:55.480
his eyes. I slammed the truck
and drive and jumped on the gas.

395
00:33:55.799 --> 00:34:00.279
The creature rolled head over heels out
of the bed as I sped away.

396
00:34:00.599 --> 00:34:04.640
I hit the parking lot doing forty
five and nearly crashed into the boss as

397
00:34:04.640 --> 00:34:07.719
he drove up to the building.
I skidded to a stop and put the

398
00:34:07.760 --> 00:34:13.679
truck in park. Right behind the
boss was the other guard. What the

399
00:34:13.719 --> 00:34:15.760
hell do you think you're doing,
the boss said, glaring at me.

400
00:34:16.519 --> 00:34:21.440
Surviving, I said, as I
turned the engine off and tossed him the

401
00:34:21.519 --> 00:34:25.599
keys through the missing windshield. For
the first time, he noticed the condition

402
00:34:25.639 --> 00:34:30.840
of the ruined truck. What happened
to my truck? He said. I

403
00:34:30.880 --> 00:34:36.960
don't know, I said, sarcastically. Maybe it was the giant creature chasing

404
00:34:36.960 --> 00:34:42.559
me that you neglected to mention.
His eyes went wide and his jaw dropped

405
00:34:42.599 --> 00:34:47.480
open. I have no idea what
you're talking about, he said, regaining

406
00:34:47.519 --> 00:34:52.840
his composure. I figured you wouldn't, I said, as the other guard

407
00:34:52.920 --> 00:34:57.199
walked up to us. Take a
look at this. I opened my phone

408
00:34:57.239 --> 00:35:00.360
and played the video of the creature
pulling the truck to a s stop.

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00:35:00.480 --> 00:35:05.639
They both watched and shock until the
video ended. I put my phone in

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00:35:05.679 --> 00:35:08.320
my pocket and looked at each of
them. Both of you want me to

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00:35:08.400 --> 00:35:15.679
keep working here, correct, I
said? They nodded. Here's my terms.

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00:35:15.280 --> 00:35:21.280
A double and pay, taser,
pepper spray, heavy firearms, upgraded

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00:35:21.280 --> 00:35:27.400
trucks. And is that it?
The boss said sarcastically. No, I

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00:35:27.519 --> 00:35:31.760
want you to hire a cryptid hunter
to come in today and capture or kill

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00:35:31.760 --> 00:35:37.719
that thing. I have no idea
how to get ahold of. The boss

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00:35:37.719 --> 00:35:42.119
said, those are my terms.
Give it to him or I'll quit.

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00:35:42.159 --> 00:35:46.239
Two, the other guard said.
The boss looked back and forth between us

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00:35:46.239 --> 00:35:51.800
like he was watching a tennis match. Fine, I'll get you what you

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00:35:51.840 --> 00:35:55.119
want, he said, throwing his
hands in the air. I smiled and

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00:35:55.159 --> 00:36:00.360
shook his hand, then walked to
my car. Oh one more thing,

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00:36:00.800 --> 00:36:06.880
I said. You might want to
have a bulldozer clear the road. The

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00:36:07.000 --> 00:36:10.400
boss looked toward the trees as I
drove away. I prayed he would do

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00:36:10.519 --> 00:36:15.880
all I asked. I couldn't go
back there knowing that that thing was waiting

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00:36:16.639 --> 00:36:25.800
for me. Hugh Mungus, thank
you to author Michael Kelso for contributing his

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00:36:25.920 --> 00:36:30.440
scary story to us here at Weekly
Spooky, and I want to say remember

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00:36:30.480 --> 00:36:35.800
to check out his content. He
has a whole lot of great stories over

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00:36:35.920 --> 00:36:39.239
Unreddit. Just go to reddit dot
com and look for user horror Underscore writer

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00:36:39.440 --> 00:36:45.079
Underscore seventeen seventeen, or check him
out by looking up Michael Kelso on Amazon.

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00:36:45.400 --> 00:36:50.119
All the pertinent details are in the
show notes, and we have a

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00:36:50.119 --> 00:36:53.320
lot more coming from Michael very soon, because as I mentioned at the beginning

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00:36:53.360 --> 00:36:58.960
of the show, we have a
lot of content being released in October,

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00:36:59.679 --> 00:37:02.679
and incredible amount of content, and
I am so excited to make sure that

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00:37:02.760 --> 00:37:08.440
every single one of you listening can
have the spookiest possible Halloween season. And

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00:37:08.599 --> 00:37:13.760
if you want even more content than
that, join us on Patreon. For

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00:37:13.800 --> 00:37:17.039
as little as one dollar a month. You can get a brand new scary

436
00:37:17.159 --> 00:37:22.480
story every single month, and if
you contribute a little bit more, you

437
00:37:22.519 --> 00:37:27.199
can hear your name on the show. In fact, let's talk about those

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00:37:27.239 --> 00:37:31.119
folks real quick. There are Patreon
podcast boosters, folks who contribute fifteen dollars

439
00:37:31.159 --> 00:37:35.719
or more to hear their names on
the show, and they are Johnny Nicks

440
00:37:36.039 --> 00:37:40.960
bobbletopia dot com, Meghan Hua,
Julia Kersh, Brent McCullough, Steve King,

441
00:37:42.360 --> 00:37:45.480
Karen Weemet, Jack Kerr, and
Craig Cohen. Thank you all so

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00:37:45.559 --> 00:37:50.199
much. And if you want to
join that list of illustrious names, all

443
00:37:50.199 --> 00:37:52.840
you have to do is go to
Weekly Spooky dot com, click on Patreon

444
00:37:53.039 --> 00:37:57.880
and you'll get bonus episodes behind the
scenes look at everything we do, and

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00:37:58.039 --> 00:38:04.800
of course and of course my undead
gratitude. So please check that out if

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00:38:04.840 --> 00:38:07.480
you get a chance, and be
ready because this October is going to be

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00:38:07.559 --> 00:38:14.159
so darn spooky. But anyway,
I gotta get out of here for now,

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00:38:14.239 --> 00:38:16.519
So for myself, for our executive
producer, Rob Fields, our producer

449
00:38:16.639 --> 00:38:21.440
Dan Wilder, and our composer Ray
Maadis. Oh, you better get ready

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00:38:21.440 --> 00:38:24.239
for the Halloween season. My friends. It is coming in like a lion.

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00:38:24.519 --> 00:38:29.880
Until next time, talk at you
later. Thank you for listening to

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00:38:30.039 --> 00:38:36.039
me. Make sure to find your
way back next week. But for now

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00:38:36.480 --> 00:38:38.280
you are safe, trust me.