[Music] I've been driving trucks for a long time crossing state lines and navig getting more highways than I can even count I've seen a lot of stuff out there mostly at night when the roads are quiet and the world feels like it's slipping into some kind of other place especially in the southwest there's something about the desert that's just different The Emptiness the sky stretching out forever the way the wind seems to carry Whispers I can't explain it but it's a different kind of place I've seen people out there too weird figures just standing in
the desert looking lost or maybe just watching sometimes I swear I saw things moving in the shadows things that shouldn't be moving once I even saw a line of people crawling on their hands and knees along the road a whole procession of them stretching out for what felt like miles that was strange yeah but none of it compares to what happened the morning near the border the morning that changed everything for me this happened around 2010 I was running a route along the southwestern border hugging Mexico for a good 100 miles this stretch wasn't exactly
peaceful cartel activity was very rampant and any driver making this route knew the risks you didn't go in blind most of us use the CB radio to keep each other posted on what was going on ahead sometimes even mile by mile sharing warnings between each other if things got hot or if there was anything unusual it was like a little network of survival usually it was quiet just static and long stretches of nothing but there have been a few times when drivers caught sight of suspicious activity a couple of trucks with their lights off following
way too close cars speeding without headlights or even the occasional shootout that you hear about secondhand but on that night in particular everything had been pretty still I wasn't even listening to the radio I'd made this drive so many times by then that I'd stopped even thinking about it it was just another route on another night I had my usual pullouts that I like to use spots off the radar where I could rest up without drawing too much attention not exactly legal parking but when you're dealing with a potential cartel member you want to be
invisible this one spot that I like to use was off a dirt road down a wash between a couple of old healing Billboards and then into a goalie where the truck could fit just right hidden completely from the highway it was Arizona middle of nowhere the Stars bright overhead a perfect place to grab some sleep I pulled in and shut the engine down ate a quick dinner out of the cooler the air was still the night was quiet except for the occasional Breeze rustling through the desert I watched the stars for a bit let my
mind drift then I climbed into the bunk and settled down for the night I must have fallen asleep watching a movie because the next thing I remember I was being jolted aake by a loud thud something had hit my truck hard I sat up blinking in the darkness and just listened there's footsteps outside I moved to the front and slid in the driver's seat peered out through the windshield it was dark too dark to see anything but vague shapes outside then the footsteps stopped and I just sat there holding my breath waiting for something to
happen but nothing did the desert went quiet again I told myself it was probably an animal a coyote maybe then I climbed back into the bunk I was about to drift off again and that's when I heard I heard a scream it sounded like it came way out in in the desert really far off it was a long drawn out scream like somebody was in real trouble then I heard another and another it was almost like it was coming closer each time like whoever or whatever was out there was slowly moving toward me I sat
up again heart pounding and listened after the screams I heard voices too many to count they were all overlapping being talking over one another I couldn't make out any of the words they were far away distorted by the wind or just the sheer emptiness of the desert but the tone of them it sounded desperate begging even and then as suddenly as it all started it stopped and somehow that silence afterwards was worse somehow like the desert had just swallowed everything up I don't know why I did it but I reached up and flipped on the
high beams flashing them three times into the night maybe I thought it would help whoever was out there find their way maybe it was just Instinct the lights cut through the darkness couldn't see anything just the empty desert stretching out in front of me I reached for my CB heart still racing and called out to anybody nearby after a few seconds of static a voice crackled back to me yeah I hear you you the driver said see anything out there no but I I heard something I replied screaming people it sounds like they're in trouble
the other driver was quiet for just a moment and then in a low voice he responded you want to just stay put friend I just got shot at by some [ __ ] driving without headlights barely made it out myself there's cars racing up and down the highway like they're looking for something or someone stay hidden whatever you heard it ain't good that definitely wasn't what I wanted to hear thanks for the heads up I said but I was already feeling that gnawing tread deep in my gut I signed off and sat there for a
few minutes listening but the night had gone dead quiet again eventually I climbed back into my bunk but sleep did not come easy my mind kept replaying those screams those voices the Eerie silence that followed them something was not right out there and I didn't want to be around for when it found me morning came early and I wasted no time getting ready to leave I wanted to be on the road and far away from that spot as quickly as possible I did my usual pre-drive checks running through the motions but when I stepped out
of the cab the first thing that I saw stopped me cold there about 20 ft from the truck was a puddle of dark blood soaking into the sand it was a big one the kind that told you something bad had happened out here I first thought immediately was an animal obviously coyote or some other poor Beast that had gotten caught in a fight during the middle of the night but then I remembered those screams I walked over to the blood crouching down to get a better look there was no tracks around it no signs of
any animals just blood I straightened up feeling a cold sweat prickling at my skin just did a really quick sweep of the truck everything seemed to be in order no damage nothing missing so I climbed back into the cab and started up my engine backing the rig out of the goalie and back onto the dirt road and that's when I saw the clothes at first I didn't really register what they were just a few scraps of fabric lying in the dust like somebody had just tossed them out of a movie vehicle but as I drove
further I started to see more of them shirts pants shoes all scattered along the road then there was more blood a few more pools of it streaking across the ground was splattered on rocks and bushes and then I saw a body or at least what was left of them hands feet scalps pieces of torso all mixed in with the clothing like somebody had ripped these people apart and then just sced them like garbage that's when the smell hit me thick and sickening a mix of blood and rot I slammed on the brakes with my heart
pounding and hand shaking on the wheel I did not want to keep going I did not want to see more but I had no choice I had to get out of there I grabbed the CB and called out for help my voice cracking and barely steady enough to speak a few other drivers responded pretty quickly all of them sounded as spooked as I was there's something going on out here one of them said a lot of people got HD last night it's all over the news some kind of execution cartel [ __ ] they're calling
it The Mother's Day Massacre my stomach churned I had heard stories about cartel executions but this was something else something worse I put the truck back in gear and just drove not looking back and not wanting to see any more of what lay behind me but the things that I saw those images they stayed with me burned into my mind the blood the bodies the screams in the night then something else hit me something I hadn't noticed until I made it a good 20 mil down the highway it wasn't just the bodies the blood or
even the clothing it was that Silence from the moment that I'd seen those first of those remains I hadn't heard a single bird a single insect not even wind brushing through the cacti the desert was deathly still as though the land itself was holding its breath watching and waiting the CB crackled to life again and a voice that I didn't recognize this time called out this is jawbreaker you still out there did you see him I didn't answer I've been a trucker for most of my life and while the long Halls are what keep the
lights on and the fridge stocked I don't mind picking up the occasional short run if the price is right it's not like these jobs are glamorous hell none of them are but there's something to be said about hitting the open road for a few hours and getting paid more than you would for a whole day's Drive about 6 months ago I stumbled onto one of these jobs these quick halls in a valley community that I barely knew much about the pay was high unusually high for such a short run but I didn't ask too many
questions a trucker learns to keep his head down and his mouth shut as especially when the job's paying better than it should the first few times it was pretty simple stuff raw materials steel beams concrete blocks big bags of gravel that kind of thing always from one end of the sprawling Valley to the other the valley itself wasn't much to look at just Rolling Hills covered in dry grass a few scattered Farms a lot of nothing in between the towns were small just rambling communities of a few thousand here and there so so I didn't
really spend much time in those areas I'd show up grab the trailer then haul it over to some drop off lot in meguire then call it good easy money no hassle over time I got used to that work and started learn the routes even though I was still doing my regular long hauls on the side these short hauls were just a good way to fill in the gaps you know keep things steady when the big jobs weren't always coming in one morning I got a request that was a a little different from the others the
email came through like it always did brief to the point and a little vague this time though the instructions were a bit off the pickup location wasn't your typical Warehouse or even a yard no this was remote unorthodox was the word that they used the whole Hall would be off the grid they said no paved roads except for getting out of town that should have been my first red flag no name was attached to the quest either either just coordinates to where I'd find the trailer normally I'd pass on something that sketchy but the payout
was too good to ignore probably some rich local Farm out in the boonies that didn't feel like playing by the rules you know I've dealt with those types before big money no patience and a sense of entitlement that made them think they were above the paperwork and formalities sometimes even Above the Law I started thinking that anything could be inside this trailer guns money drugs the next day I loaded up my rig and headed out I followed those vague instructions that I've been given the sun was starting to rise I had that peaceful feeling you
get when the road's all yours just you and the hum the engine cutting through the Morning Mist the instructions led me out of town a mile down the County Highway before telling me to pull off into this Dusty turnout side of the road sure enough there was a trailer sitting there no lock no guard not even a chain to keep somebody from Towing it off in the middle of the night it's just sitting there in the dirt like a forgotten piece of junk I gave it a once over checked the tires and made sure everything
was intact the trailer was clean wellmaintained but that really only added to the weirdness of it all I've hauled enough rigs to know when something feels off and this felt off it was intact undisturbed and properly handled so I had no problem hooking it up to my rig and turning it around the trailer needed to be hauled back through town where I drop it off on the other side seemed simple enough the weirdest part was this trailer had zero markings which was very odd as I pulled out on the highway though something was gwing at
the back of my mind all the Farms were on this side of town not the other it didn't make sense what could I possibly be hauling through town and away from the farmlands it wasn't like I was delivering to a factory or a warehouse on the other side hell there wasn't much of anything out that way except for some old mining roads that hadn't seen traffic in years I scratched my head running through the possibilities maybe it was some kind of Black Market deal illegal Goods or stolen property or maybe I was just overthinking it
all either way I couldn't shake the feeling that something was fishy the directions led me straight through the heart of town past those old brick buildings and tired storefronts that looked like they hadn't changed in decades people were Milling about walking their dogs grabbing their morning coffee completely oblivious to the fact that I might be hauling something illegal right in the middle of their quiet little Community the thought of that made my stomach turned but there wasn't much I could do just follow directions at this point it was then that I realized I could be
hauling toxic waste of some kind maybe even something nuclear this whole town could be in Jeopardy if I made one little mistake on the other side of town I picked up an old mining Road just like the instruction said the further I drove the worse I felt the road was narrow winding through the dense trees and Rocky Hills the kind of place that made you question whether you were really going the right way I hadn't seen a single car since I left town and there's no cell service out here so if something did go wrong
I'd be on my own no number to call no one to ask for help just me my rig and this damn trailer the instructions said to look out for a pull out marked with orange cones and sure enough after a few miles I spotted him the pull out was wide enough for me to offload the trailer without any trouble and there wasn't a soul inside no buildings no cars nothing just trees and dirt as far as I could see I pulled that rig in parked and got out to unhook the trailer as I walked around
the back of the rig I noticed the trailer was unlocked no padlock no seal nothing now that was unusual most loads were locked up tight even for short hauls curiosity got the better of me I figured I'd take a quick Peak inside after all if I was hauling something illegal I had the right to know didn't I I swung the doors open immediately regretted it that stench hit me like a punch to the gut some kind of rotting meat thick and rancid I gagged covered my mouth and my sleeve as I looked inside the trailer
was packed full of meat raw Cuts slabs of beef pork even poultry all stacked haphazardly on the metal racks this wasn't refrigerated trailer though that meat was spoiling oozing blood and fat onto the floor in these thick greasy see puddles I slammed the door shut with my stomach turning over as the image burned itself into my brain the hell was this the smell lingered in my nostrils as I unhooked the trailer and climbed back into the cab I sat there for a minute hand shaking on the steering wheel trying to make sense of what was
going on why would anybody haul meat like that knowing it would spoil within hours and why here in the middle of nowhere where nobody could possibly pick it up in time none of it made sense I drove back the way I came trying to push the whole thing out of my mind by the time I got back into town I'd convinced myself that it was somebody else's problem now I did my job I delivered the trailer I get paid and a story but that night as I lay in bed I couldn't stop thinking about it
all the smell the meat the weird instructions something about it all was just weird like I was missing a piece of a puzzle the next day I checked my bank account and sure enough the payment had gone through but it wasn't from some local farmer business no it was from a government account that's when the unease really started to set in why would the government be paying me for a haul like that what the hell were they doing with the trailer full of rotting meat out in the middle of nowhere I couldn't let it go
I had to know what happened to that trailer what I'd really been haul I grabbed my truck my normal Chevy and drove out to where that pull out was where I left it the Cones were still there but the trailer was gone I climbed out and walked around I found some tracks deep tire marks in the dirt leading away from the pull out and back into the woods somebody had come for that trailer but they hadn't come from town they'd come from deeper inside the Wilderness I followed those tracks as far as I could winding
through the trees and Rocky terrain until I came to this old abandoned mine entrance the tracks LED straight into the mine into the darkness where no truck should ever be able to go my heart was pounding in my chest as I stood there staring into that Jagged black hole mine racing with all kinds of possibilities whatever was going on here it wasn't something I wanted to be a part of anymore I turned around and got back in my truck and drove away without looking back back once that was the last short haul I ever took
in that Valley to this day I still wonder what I was really hauling that morning or more importantly why the 9s were a wild time you could go anywhere do anything and no one would know where you'd been or what you'd even done hitchhiking across the country people did it all the time backpacking through cities small towns deserts Forest there was a freedom to it that just doesn't exist anymore there weren't cell phones like we have now no GPS tracking your every move you could disappear from for days weeks even months nobody would even blink
an eye that's honestly what I loved about it and at the same time it's what terrified me the most I spent most of the time in the '90s on the road a free spirit they'd call it even though I never really thought of myself as that way I was just a guy who didn't want to be tied down and if I'm being honest I was running running away from my fears from the looming threat of Technology taking over and from responsibility whatever it was I was always running I remember one trip in particular that I've
tried to forget for years I was out in the Nevada desert the middle of nowhere and it started the way these stories always do innocently enough I've been hitchhiking for a couple of days I caught a ride here and there but I was running low on supplies no water or food just the clothes on my back and a backpack with some odds and ends I got in lucky that morning when a couple had picked me up they seemed nice enough at first but somewhere along the way that changed maybe it was something I said or
maybe it was just the heat getting to them but they got really quiet exchanged a few glances that made me uncomfortable and by noon they pulled over and kicked me out without so much as another word and just like that I was stranded in the middle of the Nevada desert no shade no relief nothing but miles and miles of barren land stretching out in every single Direction the sun was the demon overhead baking everything inside I was already feeling lightheaded from the Heat and my mouth was dry as sandpaper I knew I wouldn't last long
if I didn't find water or some kind of shelter soon I started walking because what else could I do each step felt heavier than the last my boots kicking up small clouds of dust occasionally I would glance at the horizon hoping for something anything but there was nothing but heat waves and emptiness then I saw this black Speck in the distance moving fast across the desert a truck a big rig it was still a few miles out but I could definitely see it cutting through the heat like a mirage for a brief moment I thought
I was hallucinating that the sun had finally cooked up my brain but no it was in fact real I turned around and faced the oncoming truck wav my arms around like a madman hoping to catch the driver's attention as it got closer I could hear the Deep Rumble of the engine feel the ground shake beneath my feet the truck honked a loud Blair that echoed across the desert and I felt the surge of relief as it pulled over onto the shoulder the driver's door swung open and a man climbed out was tall broad shouldered with
a grizzled beard and a trucker's cap pulled low over his eyes he had a cigarette dangling from his lips and he took a long drag as he sized me up you look like you've seen better days he said through the gravel in his throat you need a ride I nodded too exhausted to speak and he motioned for me to climb in I hauled myself into the passenger seat sinking down in the worn leather as the cool air from the AC hit my face immediately it was like heaven the driver then climbed back in and shifted
the truck into gear started rolling again the engine growling beneath us name's Biff he said glancing at me out of the corner of his eye you hitchhiking through the desert or just plain suicidal I managed out a weak chuckle wiping the sweat from my brow uh little of both I guess I got stranded thanks for stopping though Biff Shrugged it's no problem I've been out on these roads long enough to know when somebody's in trouble you can't last long out here especially without water we made small talk for a while as the miles continued to
roll by I started to relax if seemed like a decent guy a little rough around the edges but he'd been on the road for years just like me he told me about some of the places that he'd been to weird things that he'd seen and I shared a few stories of my own it wasn't long before my exhaustion caught completely up with me though I could feel my eyelids growing heavy you look beat hiff said noticing my struggle to stay awake why don't you take a nap heat like this will wear you out faster than
you can think I hesitated for a moment but the cool air and the hum of the engine were just lolling me off into a trance I nodded and leaned back in the seat thank you you I'll just close my eyes for a little bit and I was out when I woke up it was dark the sun was gone and was replaced by this black Sky dotted with stars the truck was still moving the engine rumbling steadily but something was off I blinked and tried to shake the grogginess from my mind and that's when I noticed
I couldn't move I glanced down and my heart skipped a beat I'd been tied into my seed around the waist I reached down expecting a rope and found thick corded cable instead I pulled but it didn't budge wouldn't piss him off if I were you Biff muttered from the dark piss him off I looked down in horror coiled around me was some kind of living seat belt almost like a massive snake it's thick muscular body was wrapped around my torso and legs pinning me to my seat I caught my breath in my throat Panic Rising
as I Tred to wiggle free but the more I moved the tighter the snake squeezed I see you met Scrooge Biff said with a grin his teeth glinting in the dim light of the dashboard he's my little travel companion likes to keep things well interesting my mouth went dry and my heart was hammering the hell is this Biff just chuckled tapped his fingers on the steering wheel relax buddy Scrooge won't hurt you not unless you give him a reason to he's almost like quicksand the more you struggle the tighter he gets so I suggest you
stay real still I swallowed hard my mind racing the snake's cold scaly body was pressed up against me its head resting near my gut I could feel its slow rhythmic breathing the faint hiss of air as it exhaled my skin crawled but I forced myself to stay still just like Biff said that thing must have been at least 9 ft long Biff informed me he originally got the snake to keep pests out of the cab and it was actually a pretty good idea the problem was that Scrooge grew right just like he was supposed to
and eventually Biff got the idea to train him a little bit he glanced over at me his eyes gleaming with that kind of sick Amusement you ever been scared kid I mean really really scared there's something about it you know gets the blood pumping makes you feel alive I like to see how far I can push people before they break I stared at him you're [ __ ] crazy Biff laughed a deep rumbling sound that sent a chill down my spine yeah maybe or maybe I just know how to have a good time tell you
what you play nice and I'll let you go but first we got to feed Scrooge gets real cranky if he doesn't eat and trust me you don't want that I watched in horror as Biff opened up the glove box and pulled out this plastic sandwich bag inside was a dead rat its body limp and twisted fur matted with dry blood Biff dangled it in front of me grinning like a complete Maniac go on he said his voice low and menacing feed him I shook my head my stomach was churning I I can't oh you can
if interrupted me his grin widening but there's a catch you can't use your hands my heart sank as I realized what he was saying to me he wanted me to feed that snake using my mouth I stared at the rat my throat tightening the smell of Decay hit me making me gag Biff's grin never wavered I knew he wasn't kidding I had no choice tears stung my eyes as I leaned forward my hands trembling I bit down on that rat's matted fur a taste of blood and rot filling up my mouth was vile the worst
thing I'd ever tasted in my entire life I could feel that cold stiff body of the rat against my tongue and I fought the urge to vomit the snake stirred its head lifting slightly as it sniffed at the air I held the rat out in front of me praying that it would just take it and let me go or what felt like an eternity nothing happened the snake just stared its eyes unblinking its Fork tongue flicking out to taste the air then slowly after around 15 minutes it finally began to move the coils around my
body loosened just a little as the snake slithered forward its head coming level with mine I held my breath the snake open up its mouth and took the rat in one swift motion as soon as the snake's Jaws closed in around the rat I yanked myself free scrambling to unbuckle my seat belt and throw open the door Biff cursed then jammed the brakes while coasting over to the shoulder I couldn't handle this [ __ ] anymore and as the truck swerved I tumbled out onto the asphalt I hit the ground hard my hands and knees
scraped up against rough pavement but I did not stop I jumped up and ran legs pumping as I heard the truck's engine Roar behind me Biff was laughing a high-pitched maniacal sound that echoed throughout the night run boy run then he blared the horn the truck's headlights blinked off and plunged into the desert Darkness I couldn't see a thing but I could hear the truck the sound of the engine growing louder as it barreled down the road behind me I veered off the asphalt stumbling out into the desert my breath coming in these ragged gasps
the truck flew past me so close that I could feel the rush of the air as it nearly clipped me for hours I just wandered through the darkness the taste of that dead rat still in my mouth Biff's laughter ringing in my ears I couldn't believe what had just happened and the only thing I could do was just march on I came over a bluff still desperately trying to get the taste of that rat carcass out of my mouth when I saw some City Lights in the distance finally some [ __ ] Mercy I could
also see a semi drifting along the highway its headlights clicking on and off he was far off now driving in the opposite direction but it still scared me to see him I waited till the truck was gone before making the rest of that walk for obvious reasons I did a lot less hitchhiking after that and never got in a big rig again thanks for nothing Biff I always thought that love was enough you know the kind of love that burns bright enough to make even the bad days feel like nothing more than just a headache
I thought that's what Teddy and I had he was my high school sweetheart after all he could be sweet as pie when he wanted to be but that's the thing about people they surprise you change in ways you don't see coming especially when you're young and think you got it all figured out we grew up in a flat little nowhere Town inside Kansas where the heat stuck to your skin like syrup and the horizon stretched out like it had no end there wasn't much to do besides drink at a local bar or work for the
town's handful of employers Teddy worked for the local dirt material yard hauling gravel and stone all over the country inside his rig and I worked as a waitress sometimes I helped out a little bit at the post office when they needed extra hands it wasn't a glamorous life but it was ours simple so I thought that was back in the mid 90s when everything seemed to stand still no cell phones to track down every minute no social media posting your business for the world to see it was just you the sky and the road if
you wanted it to be Teddy and I were stuck inside our routine but things had started to change when he began messing with those gas station energy pills back then they were all the rage among truckers legal speed basically Teddy liked to laugh about how it kept him awake alert able to get get more loads done in less time but I could see the change happening even before he did he started coming home later and later he always had that glazed jittery look in his eyes too the kind that makes you think of old cartoons
with their characters bouncing off the walls his one slow easygoing nature was now gone replaced by this frantic energy that ground his teeth and made his fingers twitch it was literally always go go go and it wore on him in ways that I didn't understand at first that's when the mood started his patience had disappeared replaced only by a short fuse that could spark at the slightest thing I could drop a dish he'd explode screaming about how careless I was or I'd ask him how his day was he'd ran about how nobody understood what it
was like to be on the road for hours and hours just him and his rig against the world it wasn't long before I started to wonder if maybe it wasn't worth it anymore maybe the teddy that I'd fallen in love with was now gone replaced by somebody I could no longer recognize one night after yet another fight over something I don't even remember I told him I was done told him I couldn't live like this anymore watching him unravel a little more and more each day he didn't even say a word just stared at me
with that Hollow dead look in his eyes then turned and stormed out slamming the door so hard that the wall shook I watched him climb into his truck and peel out of the driveway almost like the devil was after him it felt like a sign and I took the opportunity to pack up my things and throw some clothes and whatever else I needed into a couple of boxes and a duffel bag I was not sticking around for another one of these mood swings I was leaving for good this time I was just loading up the
last box into the trunk of my car when I heard the low Rumble of his rig coming down the road I froze before I could even process what was happening Teddy's truck had pulled up behind me blocking the driveway he jumped out and in a Flash he was on me the hell do you think you're doing his voice was thick with rage and his breath stank AB booze I didn't have time to answer before he grabbed me and Slamm me against the car so hard that the wind was knocked out of me I fought back
kicking and thrashing but he was too strong his hand were like vice grips as he zip tied my wrist behind my back I screamed hoping somebody would hear but we lived far out enough that the only ears nearby where the cicas stop fighting he growled at me dragging me across the driveway toward his rig you're not going anywhere I was trying to figure out how this escalated so quickly one minute I was leaving and the next I was being thrown in the back of his truck the trailer looming like a the mouth of some Beast
ready to swallow me whole He shoved me inside slammed the door and then locked it from the outside the darkness devoured me and for a few seconds all I could hear was my own breathing the engine roared to life and the truck lurched forward sending me crashing into the wall the inside of the trailer was just metal and shadows no cargo nothing to cush in the blows as Teddy swerved onto the main road his speed increasing with every second I tried to steady myself but the motion of the truck threw me around like a rag
doll every turn set me sliding into the walls every bump had me hitting the floor hard enough to bruise at some point my head connected with something metal and stars exploded behind my eyes the pain was sharp searing I went limp after that not quite unconscious but close enough that the world around me faded in and out of focus that ride seemed to go on forever too the Roar of the engine the violent swerving the way the trailer rattled around like it was coming apart it all Blended together into this endless nightmare I had no
idea where we were going or what plans Teddy had for me but I knew it wasn't good after what felt like hours the truck finally screeched to a stop the engine idled for a few moments before shutting off I held my breath listening as the driver's door opened up and then slam shut shut footsteps his heavy boots crunching on the gravel as he made his way to the back of the trailer the door swung open and there he was silhouetted against the moonlit Sky he climbed into the trailer his shadow long and menacing as it
stretched across the floor you think you can just leave me he spat voice tripping with Venom you think you're too good for me now huh I tried to speak to plead with him but my mouth was dry my throat felt like snake skin before I could gather the strength to form even words he was on me again yanking me to my feet and dragging me towards the open door you want out he sneered fine get out he shoved me hard and I fell hitting the dirt with a thud that knocked the wind out of me
again my vision was blurred and I gasped for air chest heaving as I try to make sense of what was going on around me he stood over me his chest rising and falling with these deep erratic breaths he was completely out of control unhinged the teddy that I once knew was long gone replaced by this monster who barely even resembled the man I love I should leave you out here he said see how you like it I tried to crawl away but he grabbed my ankle pulled me back toward it him my head was spinning
the world tilting as I fought to stay conscious then without warning he cracked me in the back of the head everything went blurry again I could hear footsteps but I couldn't tell if they were coming or going and then the truck fired up I was certain that he was just going to run me over turn me into pulp out there and let the scavengers get me he didn't though just rolled in a big Ark and went back toward the highway I just laid there in the dirt my vision swimming as the world around me went
dark I laid out there unconscious for the next 10 hours it turned out that Teddy had hit me in the back of the head with his tire bat gave me a full-on concussion when I came to the first thing I noticed was the sound of voices faint and distant at first but growing closer slowly I opened up my eyes and saw two figures standing over me their faces were blurry in the early morning light you okay one of them asked me I tried to speak but my mouth was too dry I just nodded instead we
almost ran you over the other one said the hell happened to you I didn't have time or the energy to explain but they didn't need to hear it they could see the zip ties around my wrist the bruises and the dirt caked on my skin they cut me loose helped me up to my feet and offered me a ride back to town I didn't say a word the whole way I just stared out the window numb and exhausted still tasting the dust and dirt inside my mouth when we pulled back into town I went straight
to Teddy's house my car was still there trunk open and my half-packed belongings scattered across the driveway Teddy and his truck were gone though I never saw him again I packed up and stayed with my sister and then got a place of my own every everybody in town knew what happened so it took no effort to keep him away from me not that he was in town much after that anyway he worked non-stop go go go go go like he wanted to because nobody else could keep up with that I learned later he died in
a wreck a couple of years later and you know what I didn't shed a single tear that was Justice in my mind the law didn't even need to get involved didn't have to sometimes monsters take care of themselves