Feb. 4, 2026

I Hate Driving a Truck in Winter, but Not Just Because of the Weather: Something Hunting in the Dark

I Hate Driving a Truck in Winter, but Not Just Because of the Weather: Something Hunting in the Dark
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A fog-thick highway. An empty box truck with no traction. One split-second swerve… and you’re tumbling off the road into trees, glass, blood, and a headlight that can’t cut through the gloom.
What happens next isn’t a simple winter driving nightmare—it’s a survival horror encounter in the woods below the berm, where the fog feels alive, the air reeks of death, and something huge moves on two legs like it owns the night.

Trapped in a wreck, hurt badly, and invisible to everyone rushing past overhead, you’ve got only a few options: climb, hide, or pray the thing outside doesn’t find a way in. And if it does… the real terror isn’t the crash. It’s what came to the crash.

If you love creature features, roadside horror, winter driving scares, and tight first-person survival stories with a vicious final sting… buckle up.

I Hate Driving a Truck in Winter, but Not Just Because of the Weather by Michael Kelso
You can purchase books from this author here: https://geni.us/michaelkelsoauthor
https://www.reddit.com/user/Horror_writer_1717/

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👨‍💼 Executive Producers: Rob Fields, Bobbletopia.com
🎥 Produced by: Daniel Wilder
🌐 Explore more terrifying tales at: WeeklySpooky.com
WEBVTT

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The fog is so thick your head lights turn into

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a useless glow, twenty feet of yellow haze and nothing else.

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Then a deer flashes past you swerve, something slams into

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your truck. Trees explode into your windshield as a shape

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stands in the midst.

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What's that you want to be scared? He come with me.

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You will experience tails over over, ghosts and death death.

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It is not recommended for the weeded heart listeners in

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the dark ark It's more fun that way, way way.

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This is weakly.

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Speaking, Hello, my Spookyes, it's Wednesday, and you know what

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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 tonight

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we're taking a long winding trip on a dark and

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foggy road. But before we get to that, I want

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to take one moment to say thank you all so

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much for joining us this week. You are the spooky

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diehards that keep the show going all year round, allowing

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our little spirit Halloween of a podcast to bring you

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fear and fun every single week. And if you love

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what we do here and want to show us some support,

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we do appreciate it, head to Weeklyspooky dot Com slash

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Join for as little as one dollar a month. You

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get two bonus shows every month, as well as over

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five years of exclusive creepypasta readings and audiobooks. All you

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other spookies like you will know they're in the right place.

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But now, as for tonight, winter roads are bad enough, ice,

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slick turns, and that kind of fog that swallows tail

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light's whole. But sometimes the danger isn't on the pavement,

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it's what's waiting just beyond, beyond the guardrail. Because if

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your truck goes down the hill, if you land hard

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in the trees, if you're injured and alone in the dark,

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you might discover something out there can smell fear, and

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it's been hungry all night long, So check your mirrors,

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keep your hands steady, and whatever you do, don't swerve.

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I hate driving a truck in winter, but not just

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because of the weather. By Michael Kelso. I could smell

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the stench of death creep over the dashboard as a

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set of claws reached through the hole in the shattered

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windshield a few hours before I faced my horrible demise.

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I hate winter, I thought, as I drove down the highway.

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It used to be fun way back when I was

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a kid, and all I had to worry about was

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if there was enough snow for school to be canceled.

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I reminisced about hovering by the radio in my youth. Yeah,

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I'm that old, waiting for the announcer to name my

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school in the list of cancelations, while looking out the

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window and silently praying for it to snow even harder.

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My mom would yell at me to get ready and

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declare that when she was a kid, the snow had

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to be piled up to the door before they would

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cancel school. Wait, they're almost up to our letter, I'd say,

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knowing they the listings alphabetically, and if I missed it

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this time around, it could be another ten minutes of

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torture wading through songs and commercials until they did the

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cancelation announcements again. I sighed in despair as they reached

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my letter and passed it without saying my school's name.

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I trudged off to get ready, then hurried back, only

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to have my hopes dashed. If it was a good day.

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They canceled school early, and I spent the entire day

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running and playing in the snow with the few neighborhood

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kids in our little village of fewer than two hundred people.

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I'd come home just when the sun was about to set,

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exhausted and freezing, but with a smile on my face.

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This particular day was not a good day. I hopefully

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listened to the radio one last time as my mom

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yelled at me to get outside or I would miss

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the bus. My school had not been named. I trudged

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outside as the great yellow beast hurtled down the hill

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and slid to a stop. It usually stopped in front

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of my house, but today, with the tires fighting against

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three inches of snow on the road, it slid right

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past and I had to run to catch it. It

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wasn't that the plows couldn't keep up. We just lived

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on a secondary road. Main roads took priority, and we

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got a pass through every once in a while I

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stepped onto the bus, looking at the driver, who appeared

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as thrilled as I did to be heading to school.

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When suddenly, the bus lurched forward and slid thirty feet.

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I fell well onto the step, but stayed inside the bus.

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The door hadn't been closed yet, and I didn't realize

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how lucky I had been not to fall out and

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be run over by the bus's rear wheels. When we

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finally stopped, the driver looked down at me and asked

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if I was okay. I told her yes, and asked

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what had happened. She looked in her mirror and said

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someone must have hit us. She got out and found

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that a woman had lost control of her car coming

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down the hill and slid right into us. That was

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my first experience with how dangerous winter driving can be.

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That is one of the main reasons I hated winter.

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Why I chose years later to be a truck driver

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in Pennsylvania. I don't really know. You'd think after being

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nearly run over by my own bus, i'd learn my lesson.

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I guess not. These were my thoughts as I drove

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trying to finish my run and get home on one

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of the foggiest nights i'd ever driven in I'd drawn

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the short straw and had to take the late run

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to go pick up parts for the next day. Driving

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a box truck has its pluses and minuses. I don't

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have to worry about dragging a trailer around behind me

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at ungodly speeds. But when the truck is empty, let's

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just say winter is not its friend. Traction can be

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dodgy with an empty truck. Tonight I had a different challenge.

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A week earlier had been the coldest of this winter

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so far, with an ice storm followed by snow and

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bitter temperatures. Thankfully I didn't have to do the long

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run on any of those days. However, four days after

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the cold snap, temperatures rose into the forties and fifties.

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There was even a little rain. It was beautiful to

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see all the ice and snow melt off, but it

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made for ungodly thick fog. You know the expression the

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fog was so thick you could cut it with a knife. Well,

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this fog you couldn't cut with a chainsaw. It stole

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the light from the afternoon sky, rendering it nearly dark,

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even though it was a near impenetrable wall of fog.

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It had an ethereal quality to it. There were less

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dense parts that swirled and danced as the barely visible

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red dots of the car tail lights in front of

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me sliced through it. It was magical, mesmerizing, and extremely

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dangerous to be lulled by this phenomenon. As I drove

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down on the highway, surrounded by other drivers I assumed

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were fighting to pay attention like I was, my lights

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were essentially useless. They lit up twenty feet of fog

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in front of me, and that was it. The light

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reflected back in my face, nearly blinding me if I

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tried to turn on the high beams. There were no

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fog lights on my truck. With the cheapskateway, the company

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took care of their vehicles. I was lucky the headlights

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worked at all. There was no way I was going

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the speed limit. I had the needles stuck at thirty five,

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and even that seemed too fast for the conditions. My

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hazard lights flashed an eerie glow in arrhythmic fashion as

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I crawled my way toward the warehouse in my empty

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box truck. I wasn't looking forward to the trip back either.

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It was nearly dark now I couldn't imagine how bad

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visibility would be on the return trip. I glanced at

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the radio to turn the station. When a deer flashed

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in front of me. I stomped on the brakes and

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swerved to miss it. Thankfully there wasn't anyone in that lane.

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Thank God for small faith, I started to say. When

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something slammed into the side of my truck. The vehicle

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tipped on two wheels, and before I knew what was happening,

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I had lost control. I swerved toward the side of

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the road, narrowly missing a big rig and heading straight

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for the berm. Usually there would be a guard rail

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to stop me, or at least slow me down, but

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this was an older section of road and it only

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had the old style guard rail, a heavy metal wire

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stretched between posts to prevent drivers from careening over the side.

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These wires were the reason that new guard rails were

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so much sturdier. I felt the impact as the metal

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tried to slow me down but failed. I soared through it,

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hearing its smack off the side of the truck as

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it tore out of the ground. I hoped it wouldn't

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fling around and smash through the windshield that would end

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my trip permanently. I stopped worrying about the heavy metal

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wire shattering my windshield when my truck took a sudden

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noseedive over the edge of the road. The fall was fast,

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but the fog seemed more intense. Tree branches assaulted the

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windshield and shattered my passenger side window. I stood on

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the brakes and fought the steering wheel, but it was useless.

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The tree appeared in front of me a split second

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before I hid it, destroying the driver's side headlight and

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folding my hood like a piece of paper. The air

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bag went off, smacking me in the face and destroying

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my visibility. I continued to hold on to the useless

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steering wheel as the truck bounced off the tree and

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careen sideways. I watched helplessly as another tree headed straight

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for me. This one took its wrath out on the

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passenger door and brought the truck to a sudden stop.

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I was thrown sideways. Pane shot through my side as

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my seat belt stopped me from ending up a bloody

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spot on the tree trunk. Everything except me ended up

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on the passenger side floor. Things I hadn't seen in

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years made a sudden reappearance. The fire extinguisher, years worth

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of old chip bags and candy wrappers, and a bottle

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of soda that I didn't want to guess how long

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had been there. I paused and took in a deep breath.

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Halfway through, pain told me I might have some fractured ribs.

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The truck was leaning to the side, but not enough

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that I couldn't unfasten my seatbelt. The pressure on my

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ribs made me undo it as quickly as possible. I

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hadn't thought it through, though. As soon as I was free,

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gravity grabbed me and threw me into the passenger seat.

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I screamed when I landed on my side, hoping I

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hadn't caused any more damage. My breath came in ragged

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gasps as I tried to breathe through the agony. Eventually

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I was able to think about anything other than pain

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and stared out the windshield. One headlight still valiantly fought

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against the oppressive gloaming, making the heavy fog glow and

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eerie yellow. I strained my eyes to see anything in

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front of me, but it was pointless. All that was

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there were trees. I looked out of the somehow undamaged

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driver's window and up at the faint flashes of light

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from the headlights of cars and trucks driving by on

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the road, oblivious to my fate. It was a steep bank.

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I had tumbled over, probably a hundred feet from the

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side of the road to where the wounded truck and

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I now lay. The brush and trees didn't look too bad,

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and the hill wasn't so steep that I couldn't climb

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it under normal circumstances. I looked down at the yellow

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t shirt I wore that had a red patch which

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was getting bigger, and realized it wouldn't be so easy.

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I reached into my pocket and pulled out my phone,

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surprised to find it had received little damage. I thanked

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God for small favors and called my boss. I told

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him what had happened and approximately where I thought I was.

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He was none too happy about the state of the truck,

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but found solace in the fact that at least direct

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on the way down when it was empty, rather than

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on the way back when it would be full of

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car parts. I'm sure the thought of searching through the underbrush,

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for every little bolt and gasket sent shivers down his spine.

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He said he'd send a tow truck, then hung up.

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I realized he hadn't even asked if I was injured.

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I thought about it for a long minute, then began

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00:17:32.200 --> 00:17:37.720
mentally updating my resume. In the meantime until the tow

224
00:17:37.759 --> 00:17:40.839
truck got here, I decided to climb out of the

225
00:17:40.920 --> 00:17:43.839
truck and try to make my way back up to

226
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the road. With the fog as dense as it was,

227
00:17:48.039 --> 00:17:50.480
I was sure the tow truck would have a hard

228
00:17:50.599 --> 00:17:55.359
time finding me. I started for the driver's door when

229
00:17:55.400 --> 00:18:00.839
my blood turned to ice. I'd glanced out the windshield

230
00:18:00.880 --> 00:18:07.359
into the gloaming fog and saw something big slowly coming

231
00:18:07.440 --> 00:18:12.319
toward the truck. It was only a shadow lit by

232
00:18:12.359 --> 00:18:17.440
the flashing red lights, which made it even eerier seeing

233
00:18:17.480 --> 00:18:22.839
it glow red like some massive demon looking creature emerging

234
00:18:22.880 --> 00:18:26.519
from the pits of hell come to devour my soul.

235
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It stood upright, and the lights reflected in its eyes,

236
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making them shine red. It was heading for the truck

237
00:18:38.319 --> 00:18:44.079
when its eyes locked on mine. It paused, and I

238
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found a new definition of fear. As the teeth grew

239
00:18:48.559 --> 00:18:53.920
into a smile. They also shone red, but I couldn't

240
00:18:54.000 --> 00:18:57.640
decide if that was because of the lights or if

241
00:18:57.680 --> 00:19:03.640
it had recently gorged on some living thing. I wondered

242
00:19:03.839 --> 00:19:07.640
if the deer it had been chasing was still alive.

243
00:19:09.000 --> 00:19:13.920
Its slow approach was unnerving. Its form was only half

244
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visible as my eyes fought the darkness and fog. As

245
00:19:18.720 --> 00:19:21.799
it drew closer, I could see claws on the ends

246
00:19:21.799 --> 00:19:25.559
of its hands, and the general shape was that of

247
00:19:25.599 --> 00:19:31.839
a massive dog walking on two legs. But it was

248
00:19:31.880 --> 00:19:36.519
bigger than any dog I had ever seen. It stood

249
00:19:36.559 --> 00:19:40.759
at least seven feet tall. As the one remaining headlight

250
00:19:40.880 --> 00:19:46.720
struggled to illuminate its inhuman form, it was almost to

251
00:19:46.799 --> 00:19:51.519
the truck. My mind ran through a list of options,

252
00:19:51.559 --> 00:19:54.680
but none of them ended with me living through it.

253
00:19:55.400 --> 00:20:00.160
So I dove to the passenger side floor as quietly

254
00:20:00.680 --> 00:20:06.720
as possible. I focused on breathing silently, even though my

255
00:20:06.920 --> 00:20:12.200
ribs were screaming. I covered my mouth and breathed only

256
00:20:12.240 --> 00:20:20.440
as little as necessary. I listened intently. As the thing approached.

257
00:20:21.559 --> 00:20:25.119
I could hear its breath chugging like a steam engine.

258
00:20:25.519 --> 00:20:30.039
Sitting idle at the station waiting for a trip to

259
00:20:30.160 --> 00:20:34.559
begin I could smell the stench of death creep over

260
00:20:34.680 --> 00:20:39.079
the dashboard as a set of claws reached through the

261
00:20:39.200 --> 00:20:44.079
hole in the shattered windshield. I fought to stay as

262
00:20:44.200 --> 00:20:49.319
still and quiet as humanly possible as I heard it

263
00:20:49.480 --> 00:20:55.319
sniffing the air, searching for me. Liquid dripped from its

264
00:20:55.400 --> 00:21:00.680
claws onto my pants. I looked and saw it was

265
00:21:00.880 --> 00:21:06.240
dark red. The snout was just visible through the opening.

266
00:21:07.359 --> 00:21:11.240
I knew there wasn't much time before the rest of

267
00:21:11.279 --> 00:21:16.200
the head would make its horrible appearance and look around

268
00:21:16.319 --> 00:21:22.359
the inside of the ruined truck. Once it did, my

269
00:21:22.559 --> 00:21:32.119
life would be over. A second claw appeared and clamped

270
00:21:32.160 --> 00:21:35.759
on the dash as I felt the creature crawling up

271
00:21:35.799 --> 00:21:39.839
the front of the truck. It was only seconds now

272
00:21:40.680 --> 00:21:44.480
until it found me. I thought of the things I

273
00:21:44.599 --> 00:21:48.960
wanted to do with the rest of my life. Write

274
00:21:48.960 --> 00:21:55.440
a book, find a better job, maybe even live until

275
00:21:55.480 --> 00:22:00.359
the weekend and have a barbecue. None of those deemed

276
00:22:00.599 --> 00:22:07.200
likely as of now. The creature was almost inside. The

277
00:22:07.240 --> 00:22:12.559
stench was horrible, and yet I sat curled up in

278
00:22:12.640 --> 00:22:15.880
a painful ball on the floor in front of the

279
00:22:15.920 --> 00:22:20.400
passenger's seat, sitting in the detritus of years of driving

280
00:22:21.519 --> 00:22:26.319
praying that my life wasn't about to end in a violent,

281
00:22:27.119 --> 00:22:33.480
gory fashion. Suddenly, the truck lurched sideways with the additional

282
00:22:33.559 --> 00:22:40.839
weight on the hood. The creature paused ever so slowly,

283
00:22:41.519 --> 00:22:46.200
the truck began to slide backward away from the tree

284
00:22:47.000 --> 00:22:51.279
holding it in place. I heard the screech of metal

285
00:22:51.519 --> 00:22:56.720
from the passenger door scraping against the tree holding it.

286
00:22:57.720 --> 00:23:02.920
The truck slid backward. I grabbed onto the passenger's seat

287
00:23:02.960 --> 00:23:07.359
to brace myself as the box truck slammed to a stop,

288
00:23:08.039 --> 00:23:14.039
hitting another tree. The creature seemed to sense the danger

289
00:23:14.480 --> 00:23:17.400
and leaped out of the truck to keep from going

290
00:23:17.440 --> 00:23:21.519
along on a deadly ride down the rest of the hill.

291
00:23:23.200 --> 00:23:27.759
I breathed a sigh of relief, but it was short

292
00:23:27.839 --> 00:23:32.160
lived as the truck slid further down the hill. I

293
00:23:32.279 --> 00:23:36.200
stayed where I was, hoping it was the safest place

294
00:23:36.279 --> 00:23:41.359
in the truck if it were to slid further. Hopelessness

295
00:23:41.480 --> 00:23:44.839
overwhelmed me as I waited to see if the truck

296
00:23:44.880 --> 00:23:50.039
would continue its slide, having no idea how far the

297
00:23:50.079 --> 00:23:54.240
bottom of the hill was or if there was a

298
00:23:54.319 --> 00:23:58.880
sheer drop in my future. For the moment, it almost

299
00:23:58.960 --> 00:24:03.680
made me forget there was a demonic looking creature still

300
00:24:03.680 --> 00:24:09.640
out there, lurking, hunting me. I didn't dare move from

301
00:24:09.640 --> 00:24:14.160
my spot, even if the truck was stable. I was

302
00:24:14.240 --> 00:24:18.240
sure it hadn't lost interest, and I wasn't about to

303
00:24:18.240 --> 00:24:21.519
pop my head out of the window and serve myself

304
00:24:21.599 --> 00:24:26.519
up as a snack. Turned out, I didn't have to

305
00:24:26.599 --> 00:24:33.440
wait long. As I looked out the driver's side window,

306
00:24:34.319 --> 00:24:39.519
I saw the creature peering in we locked eyes. It

307
00:24:39.599 --> 00:24:44.079
opened its massive jaw full of sharp teeth, some of

308
00:24:44.119 --> 00:24:49.039
which were still red from its last kill. It hissed

309
00:24:49.039 --> 00:24:53.400
at me, spraying me with whatever vile fluid was in

310
00:24:53.480 --> 00:24:59.279
its mouth. Before advancing, it dove through the window and

311
00:24:59.440 --> 00:25:02.480
slashed out at me with its claws. I covered my

312
00:25:02.599 --> 00:25:06.519
face with my arms. It slashed at me, tearing at

313
00:25:06.519 --> 00:25:10.920
my limbs and making me scream out in pain. Agony

314
00:25:11.039 --> 00:25:14.000
covered me in a blanket as I pulled into a

315
00:25:14.079 --> 00:25:20.440
tighter ball, trying to protect myself, but it was useless.

316
00:25:21.119 --> 00:25:24.640
Blood was already pouring from my arms, and it was

317
00:25:24.680 --> 00:25:28.000
trying to pull them away from my face to aim

318
00:25:28.079 --> 00:25:33.240
a killing blow at my neck. In desperation, I did

319
00:25:33.279 --> 00:25:37.039
the only thing I had left to do. I reached

320
00:25:37.160 --> 00:25:42.720
up and pulled on the door latch. Thankfully it opened,

321
00:25:43.200 --> 00:25:48.759
surprising both me and the creature. I fell backward out

322
00:25:48.880 --> 00:25:53.079
into the brush, tearing at my face and chest, but

323
00:25:53.880 --> 00:25:58.119
I was free for the moment. I quickly recovered and

324
00:25:58.200 --> 00:26:03.000
crawled underneath it, trying to escape. I crawled up hill,

325
00:26:03.680 --> 00:26:08.039
hoping to get out the other side, but I had

326
00:26:08.079 --> 00:26:13.400
overestimated the height of the truck and found myself trapped underneath.

327
00:26:14.640 --> 00:26:18.599
The brush had been compressed as the truck slid, and

328
00:26:18.680 --> 00:26:25.079
I found I had nowhere to go. Despair whispered sweet

329
00:26:25.119 --> 00:26:29.440
nothings in my ear as I realized my only escape

330
00:26:29.480 --> 00:26:33.119
route would take me into the waiting arms of the creature,

331
00:26:33.759 --> 00:26:39.480
determined to dine on my entrails. As I lay there,

332
00:26:39.960 --> 00:26:45.440
curled in a ball, watching my arms bleed, I felt cold.

333
00:26:46.279 --> 00:26:49.279
I wasn't sure if it was the adrenaline wearing off

334
00:26:49.480 --> 00:26:56.359
or just being outside. The temperature had been unseasonably warm lately,

335
00:26:57.359 --> 00:27:01.480
but it was still only in the fifties. The mystery

336
00:27:01.640 --> 00:27:04.680
was solved when I turned and saw I was laying

337
00:27:04.759 --> 00:27:08.720
in a patch of snow. The hillside must not have

338
00:27:08.799 --> 00:27:12.519
gotten much sun, and it seemed this patch of snow

339
00:27:13.000 --> 00:27:19.319
had held out against the unseasonable warmth. Lucky me, I

340
00:27:19.440 --> 00:27:22.680
was laying right in the middle of it, with nowhere

341
00:27:22.680 --> 00:27:26.559
else to go, at least not without alerting the creature

342
00:27:27.119 --> 00:27:31.559
to my presence. So now I had the misfortune of

343
00:27:31.920 --> 00:27:36.559
yet another way of dying. The list seemed to be

344
00:27:36.680 --> 00:27:41.880
growing by the minute. Aside from being dismembered by some

345
00:27:42.240 --> 00:27:46.400
horrible creature or crushed if the truck decided to shift

346
00:27:46.440 --> 00:27:50.839
its weight again, I could freeze to death or just

347
00:27:51.599 --> 00:27:57.920
simply bleed out. My chances were getting slimmer. I wasn't

348
00:27:57.960 --> 00:28:01.799
even sure if vegas would give me odds of making

349
00:28:01.799 --> 00:28:05.880
it out of this alive. My head was on a swivel,

350
00:28:06.559 --> 00:28:13.839
looking in every direction, watching for any movement. Unfortunately, I

351
00:28:13.880 --> 00:28:17.400
could only see the way I came and a small

352
00:28:17.440 --> 00:28:21.599
sliver near the front of the truck. The rest was

353
00:28:21.640 --> 00:28:25.279
a tangle of brush that was too dense to see through.

354
00:28:26.599 --> 00:28:31.160
The constant was the fog. It crept under the truck

355
00:28:31.640 --> 00:28:36.839
and sidled up to me, caressing me with its icy kiss.

356
00:28:37.960 --> 00:28:42.480
My eyelids felt like they weighed a thousand pounds. I

357
00:28:42.559 --> 00:28:46.200
knew I couldn't fall asleep, but the enormity of the

358
00:28:46.279 --> 00:28:51.240
situation was crashing down on me, and my mind was

359
00:28:51.279 --> 00:28:57.039
shutting down. My exhaustion dragged me down into the abyss

360
00:28:57.079 --> 00:29:02.480
of unconsciousness, and I wanted nothing more than to allow

361
00:29:02.599 --> 00:29:08.240
myself to be taken away, close my eyes and wake

362
00:29:08.359 --> 00:29:15.640
up at home in my bed, free of this nightmare.

363
00:29:17.000 --> 00:29:20.799
As my brain convinced me this was just an illusion,

364
00:29:21.640 --> 00:29:25.880
I saw movement. My eyes tried to focus on it

365
00:29:26.119 --> 00:29:31.160
and track it, but my brain wasn't making sense. It

366
00:29:31.279 --> 00:29:36.720
seemed there were two creatures now. One was at the

367
00:29:36.759 --> 00:29:43.000
front of the truck and one had climbed inside. I

368
00:29:43.079 --> 00:29:47.519
felt the truck move and saw the undercarriage going up

369
00:29:47.599 --> 00:29:52.559
and down inches from my face. As the second creature

370
00:29:52.680 --> 00:29:58.519
did whatever it was doing inside the truck, I knew

371
00:29:58.559 --> 00:30:02.880
it wouldn't be long until it discovered my hiding place.

372
00:30:04.119 --> 00:30:08.359
I fought to keep my eyes open. If this thing

373
00:30:08.640 --> 00:30:11.799
was going to get me, I wanted to fight it

374
00:30:11.880 --> 00:30:19.240
off with my last breath, but my traitorous eyes refused

375
00:30:19.359 --> 00:30:24.680
to stay open. The last thing I felt was a

376
00:30:24.720 --> 00:30:29.119
pull on my legs. It had found me and was

377
00:30:29.160 --> 00:30:33.039
pulling me from under the truck. I had no resistance

378
00:30:33.160 --> 00:30:38.799
left to give. My fleeting thought was I hope it

379
00:30:38.960 --> 00:30:50.960
kills me quickly instead of eating me alive. I woke

380
00:30:51.119 --> 00:30:57.240
to darkness. It seemed warm for a creature's den, but

381
00:30:57.359 --> 00:31:00.880
then maybe it had a fire going and I was

382
00:31:00.920 --> 00:31:05.079
about to be the guest of honor at a barbecue.

383
00:31:05.200 --> 00:31:10.920
I opened my eyes and looked around. There was a

384
00:31:11.039 --> 00:31:16.559
night light in the wall that seemed very odd for

385
00:31:16.640 --> 00:31:20.920
a creature's den. I looked down at myself and was

386
00:31:21.000 --> 00:31:26.720
surprised to find I was covered with a blanket, laying

387
00:31:26.799 --> 00:31:32.079
in a hospital bed. There was a tube going in

388
00:31:32.200 --> 00:31:37.680
my arm and a machine with glowing numbers beside my bed.

389
00:31:39.039 --> 00:31:43.400
Both my arms were bandaged, and my head felt like

390
00:31:43.519 --> 00:31:48.000
it was on fire. I tried to put together how

391
00:31:48.079 --> 00:31:53.640
I got here, but my memory failed me. Just then,

392
00:31:54.440 --> 00:31:58.759
a nurse walked in. How are we feeling to day?

393
00:31:59.440 --> 00:32:06.519
She said? Confused, I replied, where am I? How did

394
00:32:06.519 --> 00:32:10.519
I get here? You're in the hospital and the police

395
00:32:10.559 --> 00:32:18.480
brought you in when last night around nine? How bad?

396
00:32:18.880 --> 00:32:24.000
I said, lifting my arms. Lots of cuts and scratches,

397
00:32:24.720 --> 00:32:28.880
some of them pretty deep. She said, you'll need to

398
00:32:28.920 --> 00:32:32.200
be bandaged for a while, but other than that, you

399
00:32:32.680 --> 00:32:36.720
lost some blood. We gave you some and you've been

400
00:32:36.799 --> 00:32:42.400
recovering ever since? When can I go home? I'm not sure,

401
00:32:42.839 --> 00:32:46.839
she said. There's an officer outside who wanted to ask

402
00:32:46.920 --> 00:32:52.759
you some questions. Am I in trouble? She shrugged, then

403
00:32:52.960 --> 00:32:56.119
stepped out of the room. As the officer came in.

404
00:32:57.720 --> 00:33:03.319
How are you doing? He said? Okay, I guess Were

405
00:33:03.359 --> 00:33:06.960
you the one who brought me here? Yeah? I pulled

406
00:33:07.000 --> 00:33:11.079
you from under the truck, he said, removing a notepad

407
00:33:11.119 --> 00:33:15.759
and pen from his jacket. Why exactly were you under

408
00:33:15.759 --> 00:33:23.400
the truck? I was being chased by what. I opened

409
00:33:23.440 --> 00:33:28.279
my mouth to tell the truth, but my brain screamed

410
00:33:28.279 --> 00:33:32.680
at me. Whatever you do, do not tell him about

411
00:33:32.680 --> 00:33:37.480
the creature. It was some kind of animal. Do you

412
00:33:37.599 --> 00:33:42.559
know what kind? He said, making notes. The kind that

413
00:33:42.680 --> 00:33:46.160
crawls into the truck and tries to rip your face off,

414
00:33:46.759 --> 00:33:50.680
I said, holding up my arms. I crawled under the

415
00:33:50.759 --> 00:33:54.559
truck to get away from it. I see, he said,

416
00:33:55.039 --> 00:33:59.119
riding on his pad. Your talk screen came back negative.

417
00:33:59.640 --> 00:34:02.440
You had been drinking or anything else, according to your

418
00:34:02.440 --> 00:34:06.119
blood work. What made you drive off the road like that?

419
00:34:07.079 --> 00:34:09.880
I thought about it for a long moment. As his

420
00:34:10.000 --> 00:34:15.360
eyes bored expectantly into mine. I swerved to miss a deer.

421
00:34:16.519 --> 00:34:21.320
His pen stopped moving. You swerved to miss a deer.

422
00:34:22.400 --> 00:34:28.519
I nodded, nothing else. I shook my head. He stared

423
00:34:28.559 --> 00:34:33.760
at me blankly. And you have no idea what kind

424
00:34:33.840 --> 00:34:39.760
of animal attacked you, No, sir, I said, looking at

425
00:34:39.760 --> 00:34:44.400
the bandages on my arms. He closed his notepad and

426
00:34:44.519 --> 00:34:48.199
stuck his pen in his pocket. I hope you get

427
00:34:48.199 --> 00:34:53.599
better soon, he said, heading toward the door. He paused

428
00:34:53.599 --> 00:34:57.480
in the doorway and looked back. If you think of

429
00:34:57.599 --> 00:35:01.440
anything else I might need to know, just call the station.

430
00:35:02.679 --> 00:35:11.159
I opened my mouth, then closed it and nodded. I'd

431
00:35:11.239 --> 00:35:14.639
like to say I found a better job. I'd like

432
00:35:14.760 --> 00:35:18.920
to say I'm not driving a truck anymore, especially on

433
00:35:19.159 --> 00:35:26.199
that stretch of road. Both of those things would be untrue.

434
00:35:26.360 --> 00:35:29.559
I knew better than to tell my boss anything more

435
00:35:30.199 --> 00:35:34.400
than I told the officer. It sounded good to say

436
00:35:34.440 --> 00:35:38.480
I wrote this to warn others of the danger, But

437
00:35:39.280 --> 00:35:43.440
the truth is I just had to tell someone about

438
00:35:43.480 --> 00:35:46.840
how I get cold sweats every time I go near

439
00:35:46.960 --> 00:35:52.000
the stretch of road where I had the accident, especially

440
00:35:52.480 --> 00:35:56.320
when I go past the spot where they still haven't

441
00:35:56.440 --> 00:36:00.519
fixed the guardrail. I'd love to say that I never

442
00:36:00.679 --> 00:36:04.519
see a set of eyes watching me from the side

443
00:36:04.519 --> 00:36:10.960
of the road when I drive by. But that's not true.

444
00:36:11.199 --> 00:36:14.519
I'm waiting for the day it jumps out in front

445
00:36:14.559 --> 00:36:26.159
of me again. This time I won't swerve. All right,

446
00:36:26.360 --> 00:36:30.719
my spookies, I hope you enjoyed the ride. If you've

447
00:36:30.760 --> 00:36:34.760
ever white knuckled a winter highway and felt that little

448
00:36:34.920 --> 00:36:39.480
shiver of certainty that the weather isn't the only thing

449
00:36:39.719 --> 00:36:43.840
watching you, now warm up your hands to the glow

450
00:36:44.639 --> 00:36:49.000
of the dashboard, because next Wednesday, we're dropping a brand

451
00:36:49.119 --> 00:36:55.360
new Valentine's Day horror novella. Imagine nineteen fifty eight. A

452
00:36:55.400 --> 00:36:59.159
tiny town buried in winter, a Friday night dance at

453
00:36:59.159 --> 00:37:03.960
the grange, too, outsiders bonding over forbidden horror comics and

454
00:37:04.079 --> 00:37:08.480
falling hard in a place that doesn't forgive, a jealous,

455
00:37:08.559 --> 00:37:13.000
violent shadow at the edge of every moment, a cemetery shortcut,

456
00:37:13.199 --> 00:37:17.719
a promise whisper like a dare, and then a love

457
00:37:17.800 --> 00:37:21.519
story that doesn't just haunt you, it climbs back out

458
00:37:21.559 --> 00:37:25.440
of the ground and asks one simple question, will you

459
00:37:26.159 --> 00:37:30.039
be my Valentine? That's right here next week, So make

460
00:37:30.079 --> 00:37:33.239
sure you're subscribed on your favorite podcasting app. And I

461
00:37:33.280 --> 00:37:34.519
want to say a special thank.

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You to our Patreon podcast boosters, folks who pay just

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00:37:37.920 --> 00:37:40.639
a little bit more to hear their names at the

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00:37:40.719 --> 00:37:43.480
end of the show, and they are Johnny Nicks, Kate

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00:37:43.559 --> 00:37:47.800
and Lulu, Jessica Fuller, Mike is Skewey, Jenny Green, Amberhansford,

466
00:37:47.880 --> 00:37:51.000
Karen we Met, Jack Kerr and Craig Cohen. Thank you

467
00:37:51.039 --> 00:37:52.519
all so much, And if you want to hear your

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00:37:52.599 --> 00:37:55.320
name at the end of every episode of Weekly Spooky,

469
00:37:55.760 --> 00:37:59.320
just head to Weeklyspooky dot com slash join and sign

470
00:37:59.400 --> 00:38:02.000
up at the fifth teen dollars a month or higher tier.

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00:38:02.519 --> 00:38:05.320
It really makes a big difference and helps me keep

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00:38:05.400 --> 00:38:08.960
the show going and growing. But for now, I've got

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00:38:09.000 --> 00:38:11.320
to get back to work. You see, there's a big

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scary love fest coming to the feed on Friday, as

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we present some of the finest horrors related to love

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00:38:19.559 --> 00:38:23.000
that have ever graced the Weekly Spooky Feed. So for myself,

477
00:38:23.000 --> 00:38:26.519
for my executive producers Rob Fields and babbletopia dot Com,

478
00:38:26.519 --> 00:38:29.840
my producer Dan Wilder, and my creepy composer Ray Mattis,

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00:38:30.280 --> 00:38:33.360
I will talk at you next time. Drink a cup

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00:38:33.400 --> 00:38:35.199
of coffee before you get back on the road.

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Thank you. For listenings. Make sure to find your way

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00:38:40.159 --> 00:38:45.000
back next week week, but for now you are safe.

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Trust me.