WEBVTT
1
00:00:00.560 --> 00:00:04.440
The fog is so thick your head lights turn into
2
00:00:04.480 --> 00:00:09.759
a useless glow, twenty feet of yellow haze and nothing else.
3
00:00:10.560 --> 00:00:15.080
Then a deer flashes past you swerve, something slams into
4
00:00:15.119 --> 00:00:19.600
your truck. Trees explode into your windshield as a shape
5
00:00:19.640 --> 00:00:21.440
stands in the midst.
6
00:00:24.000 --> 00:00:29.320
What's that you want to be scared? He come with me.
7
00:00:36.679 --> 00:00:42.439
You will experience tails over over, ghosts and death death.
8
00:00:43.200 --> 00:00:51.960
It is not recommended for the weeded heart listeners in
9
00:00:52.119 --> 00:00:55.920
the dark ark It's more fun that way, way way.
10
00:00:56.439 --> 00:00:58.640
This is weakly.
11
00:00:58.399 --> 00:01:11.959
Speaking, Hello, my Spookyes, it's Wednesday, and you know what
12
00:01:12.000 --> 00:01:16.719
that means. It's time for a little spooky in your
13
00:01:16.760 --> 00:01:22.439
weekly I'm your host and narrator, Enrique Kuto, and tonight
14
00:01:22.519 --> 00:01:27.760
we're taking a long winding trip on a dark and
15
00:01:27.959 --> 00:01:32.280
foggy road. But before we get to that, I want
16
00:01:32.280 --> 00:01:35.200
to take one moment to say thank you all so
17
00:01:35.519 --> 00:01:40.680
much for joining us this week. You are the spooky
18
00:01:40.879 --> 00:01:45.439
diehards that keep the show going all year round, allowing
19
00:01:45.480 --> 00:01:50.040
our little spirit Halloween of a podcast to bring you
20
00:01:50.200 --> 00:01:55.480
fear and fun every single week. And if you love
21
00:01:55.519 --> 00:01:57.840
what we do here and want to show us some support,
22
00:01:58.040 --> 00:02:03.400
we do appreciate it, head to Weeklyspooky dot Com slash
23
00:02:03.519 --> 00:02:07.319
Join for as little as one dollar a month. You
24
00:02:07.400 --> 00:02:10.599
get two bonus shows every month, as well as over
25
00:02:10.719 --> 00:02:16.159
five years of exclusive creepypasta readings and audiobooks. All you
26
00:02:16.199 --> 00:02:20.599
have to do is head to Weeklyspooky dot Com slash Join,
27
00:02:21.080 --> 00:02:22.719
and if you want to show us some love in
28
00:02:22.759 --> 00:02:26.039
a way that doesn't cost you a single penny, just
29
00:02:26.159 --> 00:02:30.240
head to your favorite podcasting app like Apple Podcasts or
30
00:02:30.319 --> 00:02:34.520
Spotify and leave us a five star rating. That way,
31
00:02:34.639 --> 00:02:39.240
other spookies like you will know they're in the right place.
32
00:02:40.080 --> 00:02:46.719
But now, as for tonight, winter roads are bad enough, ice,
33
00:02:47.280 --> 00:02:51.680
slick turns, and that kind of fog that swallows tail
34
00:02:51.800 --> 00:02:57.400
light's whole. But sometimes the danger isn't on the pavement,
35
00:02:58.319 --> 00:03:02.800
it's what's waiting just beyond, beyond the guardrail. Because if
36
00:03:02.879 --> 00:03:07.199
your truck goes down the hill, if you land hard
37
00:03:07.639 --> 00:03:12.960
in the trees, if you're injured and alone in the dark,
38
00:03:13.960 --> 00:03:20.479
you might discover something out there can smell fear, and
39
00:03:20.599 --> 00:03:27.039
it's been hungry all night long, So check your mirrors,
40
00:03:27.360 --> 00:03:33.199
keep your hands steady, and whatever you do, don't swerve.
41
00:03:40.919 --> 00:03:44.759
I hate driving a truck in winter, but not just
42
00:03:44.879 --> 00:03:51.960
because of the weather. By Michael Kelso. I could smell
43
00:03:52.039 --> 00:03:56.199
the stench of death creep over the dashboard as a
44
00:03:56.240 --> 00:03:59.919
set of claws reached through the hole in the shattered
45
00:04:00.120 --> 00:04:06.639
windshield a few hours before I faced my horrible demise.
46
00:04:12.840 --> 00:04:17.360
I hate winter, I thought, as I drove down the highway.
47
00:04:18.199 --> 00:04:20.240
It used to be fun way back when I was
48
00:04:20.279 --> 00:04:23.120
a kid, and all I had to worry about was
49
00:04:23.480 --> 00:04:26.279
if there was enough snow for school to be canceled.
50
00:04:27.319 --> 00:04:32.079
I reminisced about hovering by the radio in my youth. Yeah,
51
00:04:32.199 --> 00:04:35.439
I'm that old, waiting for the announcer to name my
52
00:04:35.680 --> 00:04:39.519
school in the list of cancelations, while looking out the
53
00:04:39.560 --> 00:04:44.480
window and silently praying for it to snow even harder.
54
00:04:45.199 --> 00:04:47.600
My mom would yell at me to get ready and
55
00:04:47.720 --> 00:04:50.720
declare that when she was a kid, the snow had
56
00:04:50.720 --> 00:04:53.480
to be piled up to the door before they would
57
00:04:53.480 --> 00:04:58.800
cancel school. Wait, they're almost up to our letter, I'd say,
58
00:04:59.319 --> 00:05:03.319
knowing they the listings alphabetically, and if I missed it
59
00:05:03.399 --> 00:05:06.800
this time around, it could be another ten minutes of
60
00:05:06.920 --> 00:05:11.959
torture wading through songs and commercials until they did the
61
00:05:11.959 --> 00:05:17.480
cancelation announcements again. I sighed in despair as they reached
62
00:05:17.519 --> 00:05:22.160
my letter and passed it without saying my school's name.
63
00:05:23.560 --> 00:05:27.920
I trudged off to get ready, then hurried back, only
64
00:05:28.439 --> 00:05:32.160
to have my hopes dashed. If it was a good day.
65
00:05:32.399 --> 00:05:35.839
They canceled school early, and I spent the entire day
66
00:05:36.000 --> 00:05:39.680
running and playing in the snow with the few neighborhood
67
00:05:39.759 --> 00:05:43.879
kids in our little village of fewer than two hundred people.
68
00:05:44.720 --> 00:05:48.360
I'd come home just when the sun was about to set,
69
00:05:49.160 --> 00:05:54.720
exhausted and freezing, but with a smile on my face.
70
00:05:56.040 --> 00:06:01.720
This particular day was not a good day. I hopefully
71
00:06:01.800 --> 00:06:05.399
listened to the radio one last time as my mom
72
00:06:05.519 --> 00:06:07.879
yelled at me to get outside or I would miss
73
00:06:07.920 --> 00:06:14.040
the bus. My school had not been named. I trudged
74
00:06:14.079 --> 00:06:17.759
outside as the great yellow beast hurtled down the hill
75
00:06:18.319 --> 00:06:22.319
and slid to a stop. It usually stopped in front
76
00:06:22.319 --> 00:06:26.600
of my house, but today, with the tires fighting against
77
00:06:26.800 --> 00:06:30.439
three inches of snow on the road, it slid right
78
00:06:30.560 --> 00:06:34.199
past and I had to run to catch it. It
79
00:06:34.360 --> 00:06:38.399
wasn't that the plows couldn't keep up. We just lived
80
00:06:38.399 --> 00:06:43.120
on a secondary road. Main roads took priority, and we
81
00:06:43.279 --> 00:06:46.680
got a pass through every once in a while I
82
00:06:46.800 --> 00:06:50.680
stepped onto the bus, looking at the driver, who appeared
83
00:06:50.720 --> 00:06:53.800
as thrilled as I did to be heading to school.
84
00:06:53.879 --> 00:06:58.800
When suddenly, the bus lurched forward and slid thirty feet.
85
00:06:59.560 --> 00:07:02.959
I fell well onto the step, but stayed inside the bus.
86
00:07:03.480 --> 00:07:06.800
The door hadn't been closed yet, and I didn't realize
87
00:07:06.839 --> 00:07:10.079
how lucky I had been not to fall out and
88
00:07:10.199 --> 00:07:14.040
be run over by the bus's rear wheels. When we
89
00:07:14.160 --> 00:07:18.079
finally stopped, the driver looked down at me and asked
90
00:07:18.079 --> 00:07:21.560
if I was okay. I told her yes, and asked
91
00:07:21.600 --> 00:07:25.399
what had happened. She looked in her mirror and said
92
00:07:25.480 --> 00:07:29.480
someone must have hit us. She got out and found
93
00:07:29.480 --> 00:07:32.800
that a woman had lost control of her car coming
94
00:07:32.879 --> 00:07:37.199
down the hill and slid right into us. That was
95
00:07:37.279 --> 00:07:41.680
my first experience with how dangerous winter driving can be.
96
00:07:42.879 --> 00:07:46.680
That is one of the main reasons I hated winter.
97
00:07:47.879 --> 00:07:51.160
Why I chose years later to be a truck driver
98
00:07:51.399 --> 00:07:56.439
in Pennsylvania. I don't really know. You'd think after being
99
00:07:56.879 --> 00:08:00.720
nearly run over by my own bus, i'd learn my lesson.
100
00:08:01.839 --> 00:08:05.959
I guess not. These were my thoughts as I drove
101
00:08:06.279 --> 00:08:09.560
trying to finish my run and get home on one
102
00:08:09.560 --> 00:08:14.160
of the foggiest nights i'd ever driven in I'd drawn
103
00:08:14.240 --> 00:08:17.199
the short straw and had to take the late run
104
00:08:17.279 --> 00:08:21.120
to go pick up parts for the next day. Driving
105
00:08:21.160 --> 00:08:25.519
a box truck has its pluses and minuses. I don't
106
00:08:25.560 --> 00:08:29.000
have to worry about dragging a trailer around behind me
107
00:08:29.079 --> 00:08:34.679
at ungodly speeds. But when the truck is empty, let's
108
00:08:34.799 --> 00:08:39.279
just say winter is not its friend. Traction can be
109
00:08:39.440 --> 00:08:44.919
dodgy with an empty truck. Tonight I had a different challenge.
110
00:08:45.120 --> 00:08:47.960
A week earlier had been the coldest of this winter
111
00:08:48.159 --> 00:08:52.480
so far, with an ice storm followed by snow and
112
00:08:52.960 --> 00:08:57.120
bitter temperatures. Thankfully I didn't have to do the long
113
00:08:57.240 --> 00:09:01.919
run on any of those days. However, four days after
114
00:09:02.039 --> 00:09:05.799
the cold snap, temperatures rose into the forties and fifties.
115
00:09:06.559 --> 00:09:09.840
There was even a little rain. It was beautiful to
116
00:09:09.919 --> 00:09:13.840
see all the ice and snow melt off, but it
117
00:09:13.919 --> 00:09:20.080
made for ungodly thick fog. You know the expression the
118
00:09:20.120 --> 00:09:23.960
fog was so thick you could cut it with a knife. Well,
119
00:09:24.000 --> 00:09:28.600
this fog you couldn't cut with a chainsaw. It stole
120
00:09:28.720 --> 00:09:32.960
the light from the afternoon sky, rendering it nearly dark,
121
00:09:34.039 --> 00:09:37.559
even though it was a near impenetrable wall of fog.
122
00:09:38.240 --> 00:09:42.240
It had an ethereal quality to it. There were less
123
00:09:42.240 --> 00:09:46.440
dense parts that swirled and danced as the barely visible
124
00:09:46.559 --> 00:09:49.240
red dots of the car tail lights in front of
125
00:09:49.279 --> 00:09:55.919
me sliced through it. It was magical, mesmerizing, and extremely
126
00:09:56.039 --> 00:09:59.720
dangerous to be lulled by this phenomenon. As I drove
127
00:09:59.799 --> 00:10:03.759
down on the highway, surrounded by other drivers I assumed
128
00:10:04.279 --> 00:10:08.759
were fighting to pay attention like I was, my lights
129
00:10:08.799 --> 00:10:13.080
were essentially useless. They lit up twenty feet of fog
130
00:10:13.240 --> 00:10:16.879
in front of me, and that was it. The light
131
00:10:17.080 --> 00:10:21.159
reflected back in my face, nearly blinding me if I
132
00:10:21.240 --> 00:10:24.519
tried to turn on the high beams. There were no
133
00:10:24.720 --> 00:10:29.799
fog lights on my truck. With the cheapskateway, the company
134
00:10:29.840 --> 00:10:33.360
took care of their vehicles. I was lucky the headlights
135
00:10:33.440 --> 00:10:37.879
worked at all. There was no way I was going
136
00:10:37.960 --> 00:10:41.600
the speed limit. I had the needles stuck at thirty five,
137
00:10:41.759 --> 00:10:46.679
and even that seemed too fast for the conditions. My
138
00:10:46.879 --> 00:10:51.960
hazard lights flashed an eerie glow in arrhythmic fashion as
139
00:10:52.000 --> 00:10:55.559
I crawled my way toward the warehouse in my empty
140
00:10:55.639 --> 00:11:00.720
box truck. I wasn't looking forward to the trip back either.
141
00:11:01.759 --> 00:11:05.679
It was nearly dark now I couldn't imagine how bad
142
00:11:05.840 --> 00:11:10.919
visibility would be on the return trip. I glanced at
143
00:11:10.960 --> 00:11:15.039
the radio to turn the station. When a deer flashed
144
00:11:15.080 --> 00:11:18.039
in front of me. I stomped on the brakes and
145
00:11:18.200 --> 00:11:23.519
swerved to miss it. Thankfully there wasn't anyone in that lane.
146
00:11:25.480 --> 00:11:29.559
Thank God for small faith, I started to say. When
147
00:11:29.679 --> 00:11:34.600
something slammed into the side of my truck. The vehicle
148
00:11:34.759 --> 00:11:38.879
tipped on two wheels, and before I knew what was happening,
149
00:11:39.480 --> 00:11:43.799
I had lost control. I swerved toward the side of
150
00:11:43.840 --> 00:11:48.159
the road, narrowly missing a big rig and heading straight
151
00:11:48.679 --> 00:11:53.279
for the berm. Usually there would be a guard rail
152
00:11:53.440 --> 00:11:56.759
to stop me, or at least slow me down, but
153
00:11:57.559 --> 00:12:00.399
this was an older section of road and it only
154
00:12:00.480 --> 00:12:04.919
had the old style guard rail, a heavy metal wire
155
00:12:05.399 --> 00:12:11.000
stretched between posts to prevent drivers from careening over the side.
156
00:12:12.159 --> 00:12:16.240
These wires were the reason that new guard rails were
157
00:12:16.320 --> 00:12:20.399
so much sturdier. I felt the impact as the metal
158
00:12:20.480 --> 00:12:25.360
tried to slow me down but failed. I soared through it,
159
00:12:25.720 --> 00:12:28.960
hearing its smack off the side of the truck as
160
00:12:29.000 --> 00:12:32.480
it tore out of the ground. I hoped it wouldn't
161
00:12:32.480 --> 00:12:37.240
fling around and smash through the windshield that would end
162
00:12:37.320 --> 00:12:42.759
my trip permanently. I stopped worrying about the heavy metal
163
00:12:42.840 --> 00:12:47.759
wire shattering my windshield when my truck took a sudden
164
00:12:47.840 --> 00:12:53.159
noseedive over the edge of the road. The fall was fast,
165
00:12:53.279 --> 00:12:59.159
but the fog seemed more intense. Tree branches assaulted the
166
00:12:59.200 --> 00:13:04.320
windshield and shattered my passenger side window. I stood on
167
00:13:04.399 --> 00:13:09.679
the brakes and fought the steering wheel, but it was useless.
168
00:13:10.559 --> 00:13:14.000
The tree appeared in front of me a split second
169
00:13:14.519 --> 00:13:19.120
before I hid it, destroying the driver's side headlight and
170
00:13:19.200 --> 00:13:23.639
folding my hood like a piece of paper. The air
171
00:13:23.679 --> 00:13:27.759
bag went off, smacking me in the face and destroying
172
00:13:27.799 --> 00:13:32.399
my visibility. I continued to hold on to the useless
173
00:13:32.399 --> 00:13:36.360
steering wheel as the truck bounced off the tree and
174
00:13:36.519 --> 00:13:43.000
careen sideways. I watched helplessly as another tree headed straight
175
00:13:43.080 --> 00:13:46.799
for me. This one took its wrath out on the
176
00:13:46.840 --> 00:13:51.080
passenger door and brought the truck to a sudden stop.
177
00:13:52.080 --> 00:13:56.279
I was thrown sideways. Pane shot through my side as
178
00:13:56.320 --> 00:13:59.120
my seat belt stopped me from ending up a bloody
179
00:13:59.159 --> 00:14:04.480
spot on the tree trunk. Everything except me ended up
180
00:14:04.480 --> 00:14:08.639
on the passenger side floor. Things I hadn't seen in
181
00:14:08.759 --> 00:14:15.279
years made a sudden reappearance. The fire extinguisher, years worth
182
00:14:15.320 --> 00:14:19.080
of old chip bags and candy wrappers, and a bottle
183
00:14:19.120 --> 00:14:22.440
of soda that I didn't want to guess how long
184
00:14:22.519 --> 00:14:27.399
had been there. I paused and took in a deep breath.
185
00:14:28.080 --> 00:14:38.440
Halfway through, pain told me I might have some fractured ribs.
186
00:14:39.720 --> 00:14:43.279
The truck was leaning to the side, but not enough
187
00:14:43.320 --> 00:14:47.279
that I couldn't unfasten my seatbelt. The pressure on my
188
00:14:47.440 --> 00:14:52.559
ribs made me undo it as quickly as possible. I
189
00:14:52.679 --> 00:14:56.519
hadn't thought it through, though. As soon as I was free,
190
00:14:57.200 --> 00:15:01.039
gravity grabbed me and threw me into the passenger seat.
191
00:15:01.879 --> 00:15:06.039
I screamed when I landed on my side, hoping I
192
00:15:06.120 --> 00:15:11.320
hadn't caused any more damage. My breath came in ragged
193
00:15:11.440 --> 00:15:16.679
gasps as I tried to breathe through the agony. Eventually
194
00:15:16.720 --> 00:15:20.039
I was able to think about anything other than pain
195
00:15:20.879 --> 00:15:27.519
and stared out the windshield. One headlight still valiantly fought
196
00:15:28.080 --> 00:15:34.000
against the oppressive gloaming, making the heavy fog glow and
197
00:15:34.200 --> 00:15:39.000
eerie yellow. I strained my eyes to see anything in
198
00:15:39.039 --> 00:15:43.799
front of me, but it was pointless. All that was
199
00:15:43.879 --> 00:15:49.480
there were trees. I looked out of the somehow undamaged
200
00:15:49.600 --> 00:15:53.360
driver's window and up at the faint flashes of light
201
00:15:53.559 --> 00:15:57.759
from the headlights of cars and trucks driving by on
202
00:15:57.840 --> 00:16:03.799
the road, oblivious to my fate. It was a steep bank.
203
00:16:03.919 --> 00:16:07.399
I had tumbled over, probably a hundred feet from the
204
00:16:07.480 --> 00:16:10.360
side of the road to where the wounded truck and
205
00:16:10.440 --> 00:16:15.399
I now lay. The brush and trees didn't look too bad,
206
00:16:15.919 --> 00:16:19.519
and the hill wasn't so steep that I couldn't climb
207
00:16:19.519 --> 00:16:25.559
it under normal circumstances. I looked down at the yellow
208
00:16:25.600 --> 00:16:29.720
t shirt I wore that had a red patch which
209
00:16:29.799 --> 00:16:34.440
was getting bigger, and realized it wouldn't be so easy.
210
00:16:35.039 --> 00:16:38.279
I reached into my pocket and pulled out my phone,
211
00:16:39.000 --> 00:16:43.399
surprised to find it had received little damage. I thanked
212
00:16:43.440 --> 00:16:48.240
God for small favors and called my boss. I told
213
00:16:48.279 --> 00:16:52.639
him what had happened and approximately where I thought I was.
214
00:16:54.000 --> 00:16:56.960
He was none too happy about the state of the truck,
215
00:16:57.679 --> 00:17:01.440
but found solace in the fact that at least direct
216
00:17:01.559 --> 00:17:05.119
on the way down when it was empty, rather than
217
00:17:05.160 --> 00:17:08.000
on the way back when it would be full of
218
00:17:08.160 --> 00:17:13.000
car parts. I'm sure the thought of searching through the underbrush,
219
00:17:13.079 --> 00:17:19.240
for every little bolt and gasket sent shivers down his spine.
220
00:17:19.480 --> 00:17:23.079
He said he'd send a tow truck, then hung up.
221
00:17:23.920 --> 00:17:27.359
I realized he hadn't even asked if I was injured.
222
00:17:28.160 --> 00:17:32.000
I thought about it for a long minute, then began
223
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
00:17:43.920 --> 00:17:47.480
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
00:18:27.759 --> 00:18:32.279
It stood upright, and the lights reflected in its eyes,
236
00:18:33.039 --> 00:18:37.559
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
00:18:44.319 --> 00:18:48.359
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
00:19:14.039 --> 00:19:18.720
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.
462
00:37:34.440 --> 00:37:37.840
You to our Patreon podcast boosters, folks who pay just
463
00:37:37.920 --> 00:37:40.639
a little bit more to hear their names at the
464
00:37:40.719 --> 00:37:43.480
end of the show, and they are Johnny Nicks, Kate
465
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
468
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.
471
00:38:02.519 --> 00:38:05.320
It really makes a big difference and helps me keep
472
00:38:05.400 --> 00:38:08.960
the show going and growing. But for now, I've got
473
00:38:09.000 --> 00:38:11.320
to get back to work. You see, there's a big
474
00:38:11.840 --> 00:38:15.360
scary love fest coming to the feed on Friday, as
475
00:38:15.360 --> 00:38:18.960
we present some of the finest horrors related to love
476
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,
479
00:38:30.280 --> 00:38:33.360
I will talk at you next time. Drink a cup
480
00:38:33.400 --> 00:38:35.199
of coffee before you get back on the road.
481
00:38:36.400 --> 00:38:40.119
Thank you. For listenings. Make sure to find your way
482
00:38:40.159 --> 00:38:45.000
back next week week, but for now you are safe.
483
00:38:46.440 --> 00:38:47.480
Trust me.