I'm from New Hampshire back in my early 20s I lived about 30 minutes outside Manchester I had a girlfriend of 2 years that I had just broken up with it was a strange time in my life the kind where you're sort of wandering figuring things out maybe looking for meaning without realizing it my grandmother was extremely Rel religious and would attend liturgy well religiously no pun intended after my grandfather passed away I started going to church with her every Sunday I tagged along partly to support her and partly because I felt like maybe I needed
a bit of grounding myself my grandfather had been a decorated veteran well-known and respected in our community and losing him left a huge hole in her life even though she was grieving her faith was unshaken she told me that she knew knew he was finally reunited with the Lord and I could see how much comfort that gave her I admired it honestly Faith like that the kind that brings real peace is rare I think it's something that people search for their whole lives even if they can't always put it into words one Sunday after the
service I met this girl this whole thing still feels like a fever dream I'd never seen her around before which was unusual since our community was close-knit especially at church she was striking with dark dark curly hair and deep hazel eyes I waited for the service to be over and approached her part of me was just attracted to her but there was another part of me that was just curious about seeing someone new there especially someone that looked around my age we started talking and the spark was definitely there I'm sure everyone knows what I'm
talking about where you just meet someone and immediately feel connection her name was Kaylee and she had a kind of quiet mysterious charm and I found myself drawn in I kept trying to ask her specific questions about her past like family and home life but she would crack jokes and tell me I'd have to take her out for those answers I actually really enjoyed the banter after a little playful nagging she told me that her family recently moved to the area and she went to college nearby which explained why I had never seen her before
by the time we wrapped up I managed to get her number and I was kind of riding the high of meeting someone new over the next week we texted pretty frequently and exchanged social media I remember scrolling through her Instagram at one point surprised that she had so few followers I preferred that though the last thing anyone wants is to fall in love with someone that the whole world knows we talked about a lot of things and she eventually opened up more about her family I don't want to say too much but her situation wasn't
great her stepfather was a nasty alcoholic and frequently mistreated both her and her mother her biological father was was substantially worse though she wouldn't give me specific details but apparently they had to move to get away from him she transferred schools and everything leaving everyone and everything she had known behind I didn't want to overstep and ask her about her father I was just glad she was opening up to me as much as I loved the calculated Mystique it was nice to get to know her on a more personal level I neglected to coordinate a
date with her just yet because I figured I'd see her at church the father following Sunday she was there again I took it as a sign and asked her on a date after the service she didn't hesitate she just smiled and said yes and we made plans to meet up later that week I spent the rest of the week thinking about her nervous about our first date when the night finally came we kept things simple we saw a movie and grabbed a bite to eat nothing fancy just an easy night where we can talk and
get to know each other even more I honestly thought it was going really well she was a great listener and she seemed genuinely interested which was refreshing I didn't want the Night to End just yet so after dinner I suggested going for a little Drive thinking it' give us a chance to keep talking without the noise of a restaurant around us so we hit the highway driving out of town a bit we were driving along one of those roads that was technically a highway but looked more like a normal two-lane road it was windy and
there were trees on either side of it everything was perfect it's crazy how things can change in an instant what I'm about to describe to you is something I will never be able to purge from my mind out of nowhere she started speaking but it wasn't in English her words were fast mumbled and sounded like French or something close to it at first I thought she was maybe joking or testing me but then I noticed her eyes they rolled back leaving only the whites I swerved the car and almost crashed into the barrier my heart
started pounding because it looked like she was in some kind of Trance or having a seizure I got a hold of myself and pulled over to the shoulder trying to stay calm at that point I was internally panicking I fumbled for my phone and called for an ambulance not knowing what to say other than I thought she was having a seizure as I waited I kept checking on her unsure if she even knew where she was she was still talking and her head seemed to be vibrating I didn't know what the hell to do I
didn't want to touch her but I felt like I had to do something I had never never been more terrified in my entire life then just as suddenly as it had started it was over she snapped her head to look at me and shut her mouth she blinked with her eyes going back to normal and she gave me this wild wide-eyed expression I will never forget that look as long as I live before I could say a word she threw open the car door and literally sprinted full speed into the woods I'll say that again
she literally ran into the woods I was trying to make sense of what just happened but I just couldn't move my head was spinning and I'm pretty sure my hands were still trembling I sat in that position until the cops and paramedics showed up I told them everything even though it sounded insane every detail about the way her eyes looked and how she'd run off they nodded and took my statement assuring me that they'd try their best to find her I must have looked insane but they took me seriously enough after that night though she
was gone I never saw her again I looked for her at church but she never showed up her Instagram was deleted and she had apparently blocked my number it was worse than that I got a friend to text her number and it apparently had been erased no amount of internet stalking ever turned anything up I even asked people at the church if they knew her but no one did I don't know what happened to her and I'm not sure I'll ever know I don't live there anymore and my memory of home is kind of messed
up because of the s [Music] incident my family has this beat up 2012 Volo that is quite literally on its last legs I don't know what it is but the thing refuses to quit it's had a million problems but still runs the thing has a laundry list of issues brakes that feel soft a temperamental engine and half the electronics barely work my parents are basically waiting for it to break down for good so that they'll have an excuse to get a new car unfortunately I'm the one stuck driving it in addition to the Myriad of
other issues it's suffering from the windshield wipers don't work at all so driving in the rain is a death sentence even a little drizzle is enough to completely obstruct the driver's view everyone knows Nevada is the dri State though so rain typically isn't a concern where I live I remember Elementary School teachers was always making a big deal about that fact for some reason anyway this was back in the summer a couple years ago I was on my way back from a solo trip to visit my friend Kelvin a few States over one of those
friends I hadn't seen in years I love driving so I figured I'd make an adventure out of it just driving alone through the stretches of the empty desert the drive there was great I stayed a few nights at his place and we did a lot of drinking it was a great time and I was glad I made the effort the majority of the drive back was a piece of cake but that didn't last long as I crossed into Nevada a storm head not just a Sprinkle or some light rain an actual thunderstorm complete with lightning
and torrents of rain I later realized that it was one of the heaviest rainfalls we'd seen in years I'd driven through rain before but nothing like this it didn't really make much of a difference with the current state of my windshield wipers any amount of rain would force me to pull over so reluctantly that's what I did I pulled off the highway and parked a considerable distance into the desert just in case a truck or something didn't see me I figured I had no choice but to wait it out maybe try to get some sleep
in the car I debated calling the police For assistance with the wipers but money was tight and I wanted to avoid a ticket at all costs if not the wipers they definitely get me on something else I wasn't about to ask my 65-year-old parents to Drive 3 and 1/2 hours to rescue me either so sitting and waiting was my only move I was on my own alone on the side of the road during a thunderstorm in the middle of the desert not a single car passed me for a full hour and the storm didn't even
let up a smidge I think being alone in the desert started messing with my head because after about another hour I got this unsettling feeling I'm not sure what it was but I got this unexplainable urge to move the car it was still pouring so I obviously couldn't do that safely I found myself nervously looking out each of the car's Windows as if there were something out there there obviously wasn't all I could see was Miles and Miles of endless rocks and desert the sun was just about to be setting though which would soon cast
my surroundings in darkness I hadn't expected the storm to persist this long so the reality of having to spend the night out in the desert hadn't even occurred to me I fully admit that the thought of not being being able to see what was out there spooked me I don't exactly scare easily but I had heard enough desert stories to be understandably cautious as if my thoughts were being read the storm began to subside a bit I took that as a sign that I'd be able to get back on the road soon which was a
relief the sun started to set casting that strange muted Twilight across the desert under different circumstances I would have admired the beauty of it the damn rain wasn't stopping though so I had had no choice but to stay put I tried to concentrate on the lightning in the distance thinking maybe that would ease my mind I don't remember how much longer I waited but eventually the sun set completely at that point I decided waiting was wasting valuable energy and I'd be better off trying to get some shut eye just as I was about to close
my eyes I saw flashes in the distance it wasn't lightning this time just bright sharp bursts of white light darting through the darkness they seemed to jump around like they were coming from multiple places it was creepy as hell I watched them for a few more minutes before realizing that they were getting closer they were literally approaching me I could feel my Palms starting to sweat I don't know what came over me but Instinct kicked in and I made a split-second decision to get out of the car and hide I grabbed my phone scrambled out
and ran to hide behind the nearest rock formation it was still raining but I didn't care I could feel my heart beating rapidly and I prayed that the sound of the rain would conceal my breathing crouching low I peaked around the edge watching my car from a distance after a few minutes I realized what the flashes were flashlights I saw three figures moving through the distance toward my car each equipped with a flashlight they were flinging their beams around wildly as if dancing or stumbling or something it was abnormal I'm telling you they circled my
car inspecting it as if they were looking for something or someone I'm telling you though the way they wielded their flashlights it was like they were on something I squinted trying to make out details but it was too dark to see much without warning one of them fired a gunshot at the sky I jumped completely caught off guard and I bit down on my lips so hard I broke the skin every instinct told me to stay as still as possible to make myself invisible behind the rocks for what felt like forever I stayed frozen in
place not daring to peek behind the rock eventually the Curiosity was unbearable slowly I peered behind the rock again and I felt my stomach drop it was Pitch Black no flashlights I waited not sure where those people had gone and then just like that the lights were back flickering around my car again like they were taunting me I knew I couldn't stay there all night my hand shook as I pulled out my phone fumbling to dial 911 I whispered into the phone trying to explain what was happening with my voice barely audible the operator said
they'd sent someone and I put the phone down feeling both relieved and terrified after what felt like an eternity I finally saw the faint glow of police lights in the distance the second the lights started flashing the three figures turned and bolted disappearing into the darkness by the time the cop actually pulled up next to my car they were long gone I ran through the rain waving my arms grateful that I had been saved the officer listened as I told him everything he didn't seem particularly shocked which somehow made all of it feel worse he
did have the courtesy of waiting out the storm with me and not Towing my vehicle which I guess I could say was a good thing I think about this often and I haven't done a road trip since [Music] what I'm about to tell you is the strangest experience I've ever lived through my name is Mary my friend Carol and I were driving from Florida to New Jersey a few months back we were coming back from visiting a few friends who went to school down there it was a really fun time but Carol and I had
to get on with our lives the drive was supposed to be fun a little road trip just us two with a bunch of snacks music and time to catch up on all the things we hadn't talked about in ages in hindsight it probably would have been a better idea to stay one more night at our friend's place but I wanted to get home we were planning to do the whole Drive in one shot we drove through the night and into the next morning a few hours after the sun came up my back started to ache
from sitting in the same position for so long I told Carol we should pull over somewhere for a break grab some gas and and maybe find something to eat before we get back on the road we drove past a few more exits before ultimately getting off at what claimed to be a lively touristy town for the life of me I can't remember what the actual name of the town was it was one of those places that you'd expect to be a tourist stop with signs pointing to attractions and Promises of unique shops or local history
but even as we pulled in I felt something was off the streets were empty and the buildings looked like they'd seen better days a little too worn down for a place supposedly catering to visitors it's hard to explain the feeling but it was the kind of place where you could sense something was wrong without actually knowing what I'm sure everyone kind of knows what I'm talking about but you ever driven through one of those ghost towns where all the shop signs are still up but everything is clearly abandoned yeah that's what it felt like only
it was weirder since things weren't actually abandoned they just looked that way it wasn't your typical haunted kind of vibe but strange enough that it's been on my mind ever since the first stop was the convenience store we actually had to drive for a decent while before entering the heart of the town or whatever you'd call it we pulled into stretch and grabbed some refreshments the two of us headed inside it looked pretty normal in there actually Carol was looking for a specific drink she wanted but quickly grew frustrated when she realized they didn't have
it she's a bit of a drama queen so I indulged her tantrum and agreed to go somewhere else I still wanted to get my Gatorade though so I walked up to the counter with it to pay the cashier was a woman about 30 or 35 if I had to guess she had dark brown hair and was on the taller side again all very normal the only reason I remembered her features was because she was wearing suspenders which I wasn't used to seeing I paid for my drink and we left Carol pointed to another convenience store
across the street so we figured we'd give it a shot when we walked in into the second store I literally felt my stomach drop the cashier behind the counter looked exactly like the girl who'd been working at the first place same hair same face same height same everything I froze staring at her I could tell I was making her uncomfortable eventually I asked her if she had a twin or a sister or something she gave me a weird look almost skeptical said she didn't have a twin and that she was an only child she narrowed
her eyes and told me that that was a strange thing to ask which I guess it was I tried to explain myself but she didn't say anything after that I felt this weird sense of deja vu and backed out of the store dragging Carol along with me Carol was confused but I explained myself and asked if she noticed the same thing she said she didn't remember what the other cashier looked like and that I was probably just tired from driving for so long I knew what I saw though and told her I'd prove it we
ran back to the first convenience store but when we got there the girl inside looked nothing like who I remembered seeing she was a completely different person she was short with light hair and looked middle-aged there's absolutely no chance anyone could have confused her for the other cashier she didn't even look like she was in the same age range it was as if I had imagined the whole thing Carol told me to just forget about it and that I was tired but I insisted that I wasn't imagining things event eventually I had no choice but
to let it go I was eager to get out of there but we needed gas we pulled into the first gas station we saw which was void of people it was completely empty just our car the pumps and a small building at the back where you would pay we were literally the only car in the entire lot the two of us walked inside Carol took her sweet time looking for her drink but of course it wasn't there either I paid waited for for her and we left we couldn't have been in there for more than
a few seconds as we walked out I again felt a weird feeling in my gut what had not 2 seconds ago been a completely empty gas station was now packed to the brim the place was overflowing with people it was the strangest thing cars filled every single pump and there were even some lined up as if we'd wandered into rush hour at the busiest station in the state all the parking spots in the back lot were full too to make matters worse it felt like everyone was eyeing us down as we walked to our car
I don't think I've ever felt more uncomfortable by people staring at me this time Carol agreed that something bizarre was going on I could tell that both of us felt the same Eerie suspicion it was like we'd left reality for a second and when we came back something had shifted we decided to say screw it on the food and just find our way back to the highway I didn't have much of an appetite at that point anyway back on the road we didn't say much for a while I wasn't scared but I just had a
bad feeling in my gut I'm not sure how to even explain it as we got slightly further away Carol and I talked about how weird that had just been as we were talking a car passed us a Toyota Sienna with a cracked windshield I remember it distinctly because the windshield had this big spiderweb crack running through it and the side was scratched up pretty bad it was kind of hard to miss this carol made a joke about it but I can't remember exactly what it was just as we were starting to loosen up everything came
crashing down again about 10 minutes later the exact same minivan passed us again we were both 100% sure of it again it was impossible to miss with this massive crack in the windshield how was that even possible though we had been driving in a straight line at a pretty fast clip there's no way it could have gotten ahead of us but the odds of passing two different Cenas with identical cracks in the windshield were insanely slim Carol started saying oh my God over and over again and I could tell she was on the verge of
a panic attack she told me to speed up which I did I was dying inside but I had to keep it together as the driver and for Carol's sake I wanted nothing more than to get back on the highway and leave that place behind forever I glanced down at the GPS and saw that an hour had somehow passed since we had left the gas station which was virtually impossible I wanted to tell Carol about it but I didn't know if she could take any more weird stuff my heart was in my throat but I just
kept driving part of me wondered if the GPS was going to start taking us in circles we finally got back on the highway and the nightmare ended there by the time we got home however many hours later it felt like we were waking up from some strange disjointed dream I'm not kidding that whole experience still feels like a dream when I think back back to it people usually look at me strangely when I tell them this story I still can't explain what happened there and I don't expect any kind of explanation I've tried doing research
online about weird occurrences in places like that and I've actually found a handful of stories that are similar to mine the weirdest thing about it was the feeling in my gut that I still have trouble describing until that point I really didn't know what it meant to get a bad vibe from something it's like every bone in your body is begging you to notice that something's wrong I never want to get that feeling again
