I'm Trapped In A Blizzard. I Think Something's HUNTING Me.

I never thought it would end like this my truck's window smashed blood all over the interior The Frigid wind and snow blowing in on me as those two empty eyes stared in at me like a predator sizing up a helpless animal for the kill it didn't start out like that of course when I started out from my morning run it wasn't snowing there was some snow on the ground though there had been a quick storm with some squalls that left half a foot of that white stuff on the roads just a few days earlier the

state took care of it pretty quickly and travel was barely interrupted everyone went about their merry way even me the fact that I hated winter even more than driving a truck never entered my mind alright that was a lie as I drove down the road I found myself looking at the small piles of snow along the roadside and cursing them for not being big enough to cancel my run I had to drive my truck through some pretty empty places the kind that make you long for anything to break up the monotony of two lanes of

asphalt surrounded by endless trees I had to drive that route quite often and it never got any easier to stay awake I would imagine seeing odd things looking out of the trees as I flew by I knew it was my mind playing tricks on me trying to scare me and to stay being alert and not crashing the truck if it had been a deer or bear or something like that I would have just laughed it off but this thing looked like it was out of some nightmare that's how I knew it wasn't real there was

no way it could exist so I put it out of my mind and kept on driving fortunately with it being a two-day run I was able to pick where I wanted to stay after I got my load hotels were nice but if needed I had the sleeper in my cab which I called home away from home it wasn't bad as cramped spaces go there was lots of shelf space above the bunk I had a TV mounted on the wall hooked up to a GameCube there was a DVD player with an assortment of movies that I

rotated down on a weekly basis and there were some paperback books Lord of the Rings Frankenstein this present Darkness along with all the Indie authors books I had on my phone I didn't have to worry about being bored there was always my laptop that held the novels I'd started writing and never finished the only thing I really needed was food in a bathroom I had snacks stashed around sometimes in places even I didn't find for months but it couldn't compare to a nice hot meal I had my favorite stops on the road and they all

had two things in common good food and a quiet place to park and sleep I didn't like having my truck squashed up against other trucks wondering if I'd be able to get my door open if they parked like an idiot I liked parking near the outskirts of a parking lot it was more private and I didn't feel as hemmed in of course there was a trade-off more privacy meant walking further to get to the truck stop sometimes a lot further but I used that to my advantage nothing like a nice long walk to get the

blood flow into all those muscles I didn't use when driving unfortunately the place was a local mom and pop operation which meant they didn't have the money to stay open 24 hours a day usually I'd pull my truck into my spot in the evening go get supper at the lunch counter then grab supplies for the night I'd always go inside one last time to use the restroom just before they closed at midnight that evening I followed the same pattern pulled in walked to the store got some supper and went back in around 11 30 for

restroom and supplies before going back to my truck and falling asleep normally I try to keep a good watch on upcoming weather for whatever reason I hadn't that okay I woke up around 8 AM and looked out to a sea of white and it snowed and it had snowed hard it looked like someone wanted to make up for the snow quota this winter and did it all in eight hours I dressed in my cold weather gear and went out to see how bad it was and if my truck would be going anywhere today when I

jumped out of the cab my legs disappeared there was at least two feet of snow on the ground and it was still putting it down I trudged around the truck to make sure everything else was okay then got back in the cab brushing off as much snow as I could first I climbed into the bunk and turned on the news to the announcement that a major blizzard had hit the area wow I thought that's some great investigative reporting right there they were calling for another foot before the snow stopped great time to call the boss

and get my ear chewed off why can't you get here he growled well there's this stuff called snow I said it lands on the ground it piles up until it begins to impede travel all right smart ass when do you think you can be here well seeing that I haven't even seen a snowplow go by and I'm sitting in a parking lot that probably won't get plowed out until much later than the highways on top of the fact that my tires are nearly bold even though I've been telling you for months they needed changed I'll

say I have no earthly clue when you'll see my precious cargo he was silent for a long moment do you like your job not particularly my son then added when the weather's like this you might want to update your resume with that the line went dead thanks for the support I said to the dial town I settled back in turned off the TV and went back to sleep when I first started out in trucking a fellow driver gave me a tip that I never forgot anytime you have the chance to get some rest take it

that little tidbit helped me tremendously over the years a little extra sleep means a lot less coffee when I walk a few hours later and peeked outside it was still snowing I looked out my driver's side window and even my tracks were gone I was feeling the call in nature and decided to brave the elements to take the Trek to the truck stop for some relief I felt a little silly for putting on all my cold weather gear including gloves and goggles that feeling didn't last long though it was snowing so hard I couldn't even

see the truck stop I drew an invisible line with the side of my truck aimed in that direction and started walking you know I never read Call of the Wild I never saw alive maybe if I had I wouldn't have been so eager to throw myself out into this blizzard just to go pee trudging through the snow in the driving wind was growing old quickly I felt like I should have reached the truck stop by now I paused and looked around two realizations hit me at the same time first I couldn't see the truck stop

second I could no longer see the truck as a lovely addition my tracks were quickly disappearing I tried to focus on my path toward the truck stop and began trudging again 15 minutes later I Believe by sheer luck I saw the store appear off to the right my track hadn't been dead on but I was close enough to find the place my winter gear was starting to fail me especially with the wind finding all the little places it could inject frigid air as I approached I breathed a sigh of relief at getting in out of

the cold not to mention a massive cup of steam and hot coffee I reached for the door but it refused to open maybe it was frozen shot I pulled harder but nothing happened I looked in through the glass and saw no lights on it struck me how the walkway wasn't shoveled either oh no I thought the storm has stuck him at home my hopes for a nice warm bathroom and a steaming hot cup of coffee plummeted I took one last forlorn look at the dark store and turned back towards my truck my disappointment grew as

I realized my tracks were gone I was now snow blind and navigating without a compass or any means of Direction I tried to draw an invisible line with the outer wall of the store and hoped it would lead me back to the truck I felt my cold wet feet protest as I headed back towards the warmth of my truck I hugged my jacket attempting to keep the wind out the snow was up past my knees now and seemed like trudging through mud in retrospect it would have been better for me to wait in the truck

until I saw a snow plow in the parking lot I had plenty of empty tea bottles for bathroom emergencies but there was no use chiding myself now I had to get back to the truck to keep this mistake from becoming a fatal one if I got lost and couldn't find the truck no one would come looking for me they might not find my frozen body until spring fall that was a cheery thought as if my journey hadn't been hard enough after a while something caught my foot and sent me sprawling face first in the snow

I struggled to write myself and quickly wipe the snow from my face silently thanking God that I'd worn the goggles I tried to get my bearings again but curiosity nagged at me what had I tripped on in the middle of a parking lot I dug down and discovered the offending object it was a parking space barrier I chuckled for a moment until I realized to my horror that I should never have come near any of these in the middle of the lot in fact a straight trail from the store to the truck the barrier I

tripped on would be a couple of dozen yards to the right I scraped the rest of it off and saw it was running nearly parallel to my path I'd veered off course badly the bright side was I now had a point of reference and hopefully could correct my course I looked around and found myself adrift in a sea of white the store had disappeared and the truck was nowhere to be found I took a deep breath and used the barrier to aim towards where the truck should be I remembered one key fact in the process

these barriers lined the edge of the parking lot and just passed them was a drop off in retrospect it was lucky I tripped on it instead of stepping over it and rolling down a hill that I might never make it back up again I turned to aim myself where I thought my truck was went out of the corner of my eye I thought I saw a shadow of a figure walk by I couldn't be sure because of the blowing snow made visibility nearly impossible it could have just been my imagination I'd been out in the

cold for much longer than I planned and it was time to get back to the truck I was suddenly reminded why I got out of the truck to begin with I had to pee I took a quick look and saw nothing but snow I fought to unzip my frozen zipper as my bladder screamed a full red alert that it was about to release the floodgates whether I was ready or not when I finally got the job done and started the yellow stream the wind shifted Direction sending it spraying all over my pants I quickly turned

so that the stream was downwind when I finished I looked down at the front of my now wet pants and swore internally yet another reason to find the truck quickly wet pants turned to frozen pants turned to dangerous pants I looked down at the barrier now covered in flecks of yellow snow and started on my new course the snow had not let up one bit and my energy started to wane even though I just been standing around for the last 10 minutes trudging through nearly waist-high snow was making me more tired than I'd been in

a long time the wind rushing in my ears tore away my hearing there wasn't anything out here to listen to and yet I thought I heard something I looked around but only saw white was this my mind starting to play tricks on me like it did when I was driving and thought I saw the creature that doesn't exist peeking out at me from the trees I turned back to my imagined destination wondering if delusions were the first step in freezing to death as if to answer the wind hit me with a solid gust knocking me

down if I didn't know him better I'd swear I felt a giant hand in the middle of my back I looked up and saw nothing but snow swirling around making many tornadoes I chuckled at the irony of them being called Snow Devils I guess my own personal snow devil was pushing me around I got up and started for the truck again every step felt like my feet were encased in concrete I plotted on trying to pull away from whatever Reserve energy I had I couldn't die in the middle of a parking lot just yards away

from my nice warm truck that would be the ultimate irony I walked on barely conscious wanting only my 18 wheeled Safe Harbor from this merciless storm my head was down I wasn't even looking anymore didn't make any difference I knew I'd never find it I knew it was like looking for a needle in a field of Haystacks there was no way I would ever get I slammed into something and fell back the snow was so deep I just lay there like a turtle unable to get off my back I looked up and saw the thing

that had hit me was the back corner of the truck two feet to the right and I would have missed it I smiled but it took a lot of energy I focused everything I had into getting up adrenaline took care of the rest I marched up to the driver's side door and reached into my pocket for the key to unlock it I couldn't find the key I ripped off my glove and searched again still no key despair smothered my mind if I dropped it one of the times I fell in the snow it was lost

forever and so was I I leaned against the truck door so close and yet so far I could almost feel the heat through it I smashed my fist into my leg in frustration but felt more pain than I should have I patted the other pocket and felt a lump I tore off my other glove and reached into the pocket pulling out the holiest of holies the key tears streamed down my face and quickly froze as I stuck the key in the lock and opened the door it took every ounce of the energy I had left

to climb up into the cab and collapse into the driver's seat a wave of heat washed over me for the longest time I just sat there until I mustered the strength to start pulling off my cold weather gear one piece at a time I threw them into the passenger seat until I sat in my underwear only I leaned my seat back and basked in the warmth that flowed over me like an ocean wave I imagined sitting on a beach with the sun shining down on me and the water beckoning I fell asleep like this I

woke to a sore back and stretched as best I could in my seat then looked at the windshield the snow seemed to have let up a little bit and the wind wasn't nearly as Fierce as before there was still no sign of a plow and there was no way I was getting anywhere without one off in the distance I could almost see the outline of the store I wasn't going there again until the parking lot was plowed but looking around I couldn't imagine how long that might be there was at least three feet of snow

already on the ground and it was still putting some down I crawled into the bunk and covered up for a serious nap hours later I was starting to feel refreshed I rolled over and turned on the TV trying to see just how bad things were I couldn't even pick up the local station so I stuck in a movie after it was done I decided I should probably take stock of my supplies since I might be here for a while I had plenty of snacks chips pretzels and jerky among other things as long as I didn't

binge I should be fine I had drinks in the mini fridge too but water wasn't a concern all I had to do was bring some snow inside and melt it I only needed to check one last thing to make sure I could Outlast this storm I looked at the fuel gauge I rubbed my eyes and looked at the fuel gauge again I only had a quarter tank left that might last and it might not depending on how long it took to get plowed out obviously once the plow freed me I could drive a hundred yards

or so to a gas pump as I was looking at the fuel gauge my eyes drifted to the windshield and the field of white that stretched out in front of me the snow had finally stopped how long that would last I had no idea I could finally see the store clearly but I could also see clearly that it remained closed it was hard to believe anyone would be plowing that amount of snow anywhere I guess that's why they had to drop off along the edges of the parking lot as I softly chuckled at my realization

my eyes caught movement there was some kind of animal walking around in the parking lot at first I thought it was a deer because of the wide horns on its head but the longer I looked the more I realized this creature was something else it seemed bigger than any deer I'd ever seen it's torso rode above the snow like it was a ship its face looked like it had wasted away to the Bear's skull and it had massive teeth that went far beyond its jaw it was rather haunting to look at it was sniffing around

in the snow the more I thought about it I began to realize that was probably the spot where I'd taken a leak I was mesmerized and horrified by this thing at the same time I was nearly convinced my mind was playing a trick on me when it looked right at me and my blood turned to ice its look pierced my soul and made me wish I'd never come to this place when it took its first step in my direction I dove back into the sleeper and Drew the curtain I shook for reasons that had nothing

to do with the temperature and was breathing in panicked gasps what was that thing did I really see what I thought I saw how could a creature like that exist I tried to settle down and get my breathing back to normal but my mind refused to let go of the image of that thing it's just my imagination I told myself it's just a deer roaming around out there I told myself that same thing over and over until my mind finally believed it however I didn't look through the curtain to confirm it I didn't call it

denial I called it not pushing my luck I pulled out a pack of cheese crackers and turned on the first Die Hard movie to try and forget about the deer outside I was 15 minutes into the movie when I felt the first nudge I didn't know what else to call it it felt like something just nudged my truck it was almost like when a strong wind gust pushed the cab but I didn't hear any wind outside the two sides of my mind engaged in a shouting match over whether I should check it out or ignore

it fear through its two cents in and ignore it one out until the second nudge actually it was like the fifth or sixth nudge until curiosity took over and made me go take a look I peeked through the curtain and didn't see anything but snow through the windshield I climbed out and looked through the passenger's window but saw nothing I tried it myself for my skittishness when I looked through the driver's side window and saw a set of horns I rubbed my eyes and looked again but they were gone there were tracks in the snow

that looked like deer tracks only bigger or was that my imagination carrying me away again I looked in the rear view mirror and saw the creature poking at my tires with its horns I was fairly sure it couldn't puncture one with just horns but I didn't want to chance it I reached down grabbed my club and opened the door to scare it away but again it was gone I was beginning to question my sanity was this thing real was it my mind playing tricks on me or was the creature toying with me trying to draw

me out of the truck I closed the door and went back to my movie but I couldn't get that creature out of my head I was on pins and needles waiting listening anticipating the next nudge before the movie was over I somehow fell into a fitful sleep I was in a tall building and there were bad guys everywhere I had a machine gun but had been better served hiding and picking them off one by one I was sneaking up on one who was standing guard on an isolated floor when I turned the corner and there

stood the deer creature it was massive standing on its hind legs and its horn scraped the ceiling it looked at me with those empty eye sockets from its bare skull face it made a sound that was half grunt half growl then started towards me I backed away around the corner trying to get back to my hiding space but as I turned to run suddenly the creature was in front of me I pulled up my machine gun and started firing short bursts I hid it in the chest but it kept coming as I backed away I

shot it several times in the head I watched as chunks of bone flew but it kept coming as if it didn't care I shot its legs hoping to throw it off balance but it had no effect as if it had enough it charged pinning me to the wall with its horns I looked down as the blood began to seep from my belly around its horns it pulled back and charged me again and again sending shock waves of pain through my body and crushing me it pulled back and allowed me to fall to the floor blood

pulled around me as I tried to crawl away from the creature I could only use my arms I couldn't feel anything below my waist which was a partial blessing because it cut my pain in half after I'd crawled a few feet I suppose it had enough of toying with me it stomped its foot down on my neck so hard I heard a snap and my arms went dead I could feel it tear into my back ripping away pieces of meat I could hear the sickening chewing and slurping as I was eaten alive I woke with

a start sweat pouring from my forehead and looked around the sleeper cab looking for the creature that was Tearing Me To Pieces after a few seconds I came to the realization it had just been a nightmare I turned off my DVD player and stuck my head out through the curtain to check on my fuel situation the needle was well below the quarter Mark almost down to an eighth I looked out through the windshield and the snow had not magically melted in fact the wind had picked up and now it was starting to drift where there

was once an even field of snow now there were Peaks and valleys forming like Dunes in the desert the store was still dark and there was no traffic moving on the road the sun was riding low in the sky and I'd yet to see another living soul I wondered if my fuel would last until a plow could rescue me soon I'd have to give some serious thoughts to conserving it wasn't ideal the thought of bundling up in blankets in the dark with no heater and no TV to watch wasn't exciting to me but it was

better than waiting until my fuel ran out and I froze to death as I killed the engine I chided myself for not coming up with this plan sooner I would have conserved fuel when the sun was out and the temperatures were higher now I was gonna have to pay for my lack of foresight I dug out every blanket I had stored in my closets and laid them over the bed then tucked in for a long nap when I woke I was drowning in utter Darkness I panicked for a moment before I remembered where I was

I looked at my watch and it was four in the morning I pulled the covers off me and was immediately assaulted by cold air I grabbed the flashlight and found my way into the cab I turned the key on and waited with baited breath that billowed out in clouds that filled the cab until the engine turned over as it roared to life I felt even colder I looked to my left and froze the driver's side window lay in pieces on the seat and floor I slowly turned to look at the passenger side window when fear

grabbed me there was a face looking in at me but it wasn't a human face it was the ungodly face of the dear creature that had gored me to death in my dream I stared Into the Dark Hollow eyes of this thing sent Straight From Hell it reared its head back and then smashed into my passenger's window splintering it it reared back again and this time shattered the window reaching in for me with its Fierce long teeth I jumped back and landed in the driver's seat full of glass I knew I was dead there was

nothing I could do I sat there as it entered the cab coming for me its head was halfway inside when it suddenly stopped it moved around a little bit then roared in frustration its horns were too wide to fit in the window it tried over and over again to get in but there was no way it could fit as suddenly as it appeared it vanished I looked around to see where it had gone but the darkness of the night covered it like a shroud as I was looking it silently reached in behind me and it

would have had me if it hadn't breathed out warning me of its approach I dove into the center console as its deadly jaw snapped shut right where my spine had been it continued its assault on the window gaining ferocity as it frustrated Itself by not being able to get a hold of me I stood in between the two windows hoping I was safe from either direction it was then I decided to go back into my bunk and close the curtain I covered up and reached underneath the bunk to a secret compartment and I pulled out

my 40 caliber automatic handgun I took the magazine out and made sure it was loaded with all 10 Rounds then put it back in and pulled back the slide it made me feel a little better but not much I didn't know how true my dream was or if bullets would do anything to this monster I no longer had any illusions that this was a deer it was something much more dangerous and terrifying and it was after me I covered up with my blankets again holding my gun close the heater wasn't doing much good with two

windows broken out I try to do something about them in the morning when it was light there was no way I was doing anything in the dark with that thing lurking out there I lay there for an hour watching every second of the clock tick by Eyes Wide Open ears listening for any sound but there was none just the wind howling in between the two broken windows making my curtains flutter eventually I recognized the futility of having a truck running and the warm air just escaping before it could even get to me so I got

out of my bunk keeping my new best friend with me and slowly made my way out to the cab my head darting left and right to see if the creature was about to launch itself through either of the windows I turn the key off and before I could pull it out of the ignition a set of horns smacked against the frame of the window and the deadly teeth came in and snapped just inches from my face I whipped around and pulled the trigger but nothing happened it snapped at me again and I panicked until I

realized the safety was on I flicked it off and aimed but the monster was gone I didn't dare make a move toward the window for fear it would launch itself back in it may I Stood Still as a statue and stared at the window it had come through then slowly turned to the other side I kept looking back and forth between the two trying to get my peripheral vision on both at the same time I was shaking not only from the cold but also from the sheer Terror of not knowing where or when this thing

was going to show itself I decided my cold weather gear would be my best option so I climbed back into the bunk and put on as many layers of clothes as I could find when I popped my head back out I was met with the most terrifying sight imaginable the monster had climbed out of the roof of my truck and was now bashing its head against the windshield trying to make its way inside I knew the windshield was wide enough that it would be able to get its antlers inside and I'd be done I pulled

the gun up aimed at its head and fired the explosion was massive I instantly lost my hearing except for the ringing in my ears I staggered back but the monster kept coming not only had my bullet done nothing to it it weakened the windshield making it easier to get inside the monster shook its head in surprise when the bullet ricocheted off the bone and then continued its assault on the windshield it hammered on the glass until it shattered I was already aiming at its face and fired Two Shots before the glass even hit the floor

they both ricocheted off its skull causing it to rear up just enough for me to Fire Two Shots into its chest it didn't collapse screaming in agony like I wanted but I could tell it didn't like it either it jumped down off the hood and disappeared I stared out into the inky Blackness trying in vain to pick up any glimpse of it I whipped around from one side window to the other and Back Again waiting for it to show its face after what seemed like forever I saw horns Rising through the passenger side window I

fired a shot into its face and it disappeared I threw myself back into the passenger seat when suddenly I saw its head rising in the driver's side window I fired a shot making it disappear again I jumped up and threw myself to the other seat knowing it would be on the passenger side soon sure enough 10 seconds later it appeared and I fired another shot it was toying with me it disappeared and I threw myself over into the passenger seat waiting aiming at the empty driver's window but instead I felt teeth clamp down on my

neck it had fooled me I shoved my gun up under its skull and fired a shot if I hadn't been deaf from the first shot this one right next to my ear would have done it and yet somehow I heard it squeal in pain as it released me I knew I'd been inches from death I reached up and touched the wound on my neck and came away with a handful of blood I went back into my bunk tore away a piece of sheet and pressed it to my wound then I tore some more of the

sheet and tied it around my neck to hold the bandage in place I went back out to the cab only to see it crouching on the hood waiting for me I never thought it would end like this my truck's window smashed blood all over the interior The Frigid wind and snow blowing in as those two empty eyes stared in at me like a predator sizing up a helpless animal for the kill I crawled in through the remains of the windshield I knew I was dead in desperation I shoved the gun into one of its eye

holes and squeezed the trigger the sound it made was something I'd never heard before and I never wanted to hear again the scream was both a low guttural sound and a high-pitched shriek it sounded like someone had Unleashed a demon from the pits of hell my mind screamed at me get out of there I fumbled with a driver's door and ended up falling out when it opened on a clear day with no snow I would have gotten a concussion or broken bone falling on the bare asphalt with three feet of snow on the ground I

landed on a soft cold pillow it was the only time in the last 24 hours that the snow had helped me I immediately jumped up and looked around for any place to hide but there was nowhere everything was covered in snow I glanced back at the trailer and realized the snow was so high that it reached the bottom of the trailer I couldn't see underneath at all I quickly Dove under it and turned around and tried to pile snow into the opening to hide where I'd gone I lay there on my belly looking all around

trying to see in every direction at once to see where the monster would attack from my breath blew out in Billows of desperate smoke as I came up empty there was nothing the monster wasn't there yet I didn't dare hope to imagine that my shot had killed it if anything it probably had made it even angrier there was probably destroying the inside of my truck what I didn't trust was that the monster wouldn't find me underneath it I looked around for anywhere I could use as a better hiding place my eyes fell on the wheels

of the truck it looked like there was just enough room between the tires and the differential it would be a tight squeeze but it was better than that thing Finding Me I turned around and slid my feet in first the further I slid the titeric got ironically the grease and oil from the differential helped me slide through a little easier when I almost had my shoulders through it suddenly felt too tight I was stuck I couldn't move forward or backward Panic flooded my mind and I struggled frantically like I couldn't breathe after the longest minute

of my life I finally managed to maneuver my shoulders through and into my hiding spot the hood of my coat did double duty of keeping me warm and completing my Hiding Place I lowered it to the level of the asphalt and would raise it just an inch when I wanted to look out the first half hour was the worst the ringing in my ears had begun to subside but I still couldn't hear anything outside but my own breathing the cold slowly leaked through my clothes still no sign of the monster another hour passed my muscles

started to cramp up still no sign of the monster another hour I felt like my bladder would burst and still no sign of it during the long moments in between I pulled the magazine out of my gun and counted how many bullets I had left no matter how many times I counted it always came out to the same number one I knew one bullet wouldn't save me from this thing there was only one thing I could do with one bullet end my suffering if it found me I took it out of the magazine and stared

at it I used my coat to Shrine it up then stared at my reflection in the gleaming metal the edges of the snow around the trailer began to Glow I knew the sun was coming up Darkness was no longer my friend and then I heard it a soft sniffing sound I lifted my hood an inch just enough to peek out and there it was its head had broken through the wall of snow close to where I dove under the trailer there were a few drops of blood from my neck wound and it was sniffing them

these drops would lead it right to me sure enough it took a turn towards the front of the trailer and looked in my direction I lay there still as a stone as it inched its way toward me it was having trouble squeezing its massive body under the trailer and I could hear it growling with frustration it came closer crawling right toward me there was no doubt it knew I was there I closed my eyes and stuck the barrel of the gun under my chin suddenly it shrieked and I could feel the truck bucking above me

I opened my eyes to the most amazing sight its horns had gotten caught in the chains hanging down underneath the trailer and it was Tangled it screamed and bucked and fought to be free from its metal captors it yanked backwards so hard I felt the truck moved sideways an inch the differential was pressing on me now and I had to shimmy over to avoid being crushed I watched as the chains broke away one by one and then it was free I took the opportunity to crawl out from under the truck it was useless as a

hiding place now it had already tracked me here I was almost out when I heard another sound and saw a shadow pass by the other side of the truck it was coming back but it was trying from the other side I crawled as quickly as I could this was my chance if it searched from the other side it might not know I'd left I had no idea where I would go but it was better to be out of a useless hiding place as I stood next to the truck I saw a large patch of red

in the snow I guess shooting it wasn't as useless as I thought I looked at the ruined cab of my truck when the nightmare crept around the corner I stood there helpless it had caught me flat-footed I had nowhere to go this time it stared at me as it limped around the corner it's empty eyes seemed to exude rage this was it I pulled up the gun with one last bullet and I aimed it at the creature when it disappeared in a moving mountain of snow the snow plow had finally arrived I watched as the

plow pushed its mound of snow past my truck and over the edge of the parking lot the driver backed up and stopped beside me hey there you've been here all night yeah yeah yeah since before the storm what uh what happened to your truck he said looking up at my shattered windows I followed his eyes and fought for a moment someone tried to rob me I said knowing the truth was unbelievable well by sea you took care of it he sent looking at the gun in my hand I looked down at the gun and stuck

it in my waistband it's been a hell of a night and I said well don't worry roads are getting cleared and I'll get you plowed out of here he nodded at me and backed up to continue plowing I looked at where he just plowed beside my truck and I saw a long smear of a red I followed it to the edge of the parking lot and looked over the side with my hand on my gun the drop-off was a good 10 feet or more and the snow had already started to pile up I followed the

path of red down the hill with my eyes and I saw antlers poking out of the snow I stared at them looking for any sign of movement for 10 minutes I watched and they didn't move I was interrupted when the plow pushed another pile of snow over the side covering the antlers I watched for another five minutes just to be sure the plow guy pulled up beside me you okay he said I pulled my eyes away from the snow pile yeah yeah I think I'm good you sure he said pointing at my neck yeah yeah

I just got nicked by some glass I said remembering the teeth of the monster clamping down on my neck well I think someone just pulled into the store he said maybe you should get something for that yeah yeah I will thanks I said knowing I would do no such thing I wanted to avoid as many questions as possible I climbed into the cab brushed the glass off my seat and drove over to the fuel pumps after filling up I started the long trip home I kept my cold weather gear and mask on having no windows

or windshield made for a frigid trip the heater was on Max and aimed at my feet keeping the bottom half of me warm at least I didn't call for a tow truck because I just wanted to get away from there I never went back to that truck stop again I didn't want to take the chance of that thing being alive as I drove towards my home terminal through the endless stretch of trees I saw one of the creatures peeking out at me that I used to think was just my imagination now I know better [Music]