this happened back in 2021 when I was 16 and used to smoke one day I decided to go to the gas station and buy some cigars on my way there I felt like calling my friend but he didn't answer for privacy reasons we'll call my friend Michael I got to the gas station but and I ended up failing trying to buy some cigars I just decided to get some drinks and snacks and I started walking back home just to keep in mind my neighborhood is across the street from an apartment complex and the complex is
next to a church I always left through my neighborhood's side entrance and I took a shortcut through the apartments to get to the gas station a little bit faster well on my way back as soon as I was about to walk back into my neighborhood a white van sped past me and then swerved into the church parking lot the van parked at the front of the the lot then facing me now around this time in Louisiana there were a lot of kidnappings happening with Vans being involved which made alarms instantly go off in my head
when the van did this I decided to turn around and walk back into the apartments I wasn't too worried since there were people outside and it was broad daylight but I was still on guard after about 2 minutes of walking and people were starting to look at me I decided it was time for me to leave I walked back to my neighborhood's side entrance being vigilant of the van still parked in the church's lot as soon as I entered my neighborhood the van sped out of the parking lot driving right towards me now looking back
I know this was stupid of me but I didn't immediately run I told myself if I even feel the van is about to slow down I'm dropping my bags and running the van sped past me though right down the road I felt relieved while at the same time my friend Michael called me back who I immediately started explaining the situation to now I'm someone who always thinks about a lot of different outcomes and I'm really glad I was ready for what was about to happen next I decided to start speed walking home and as I
made it to the end of my street where I always turn onto my street my heart dropped when I saw the van at the next Corner judging by how weird and Slick the driver in the van was acting earlier I had a feeling when I was walking back into my neighborhood that he'd take the front entrance to try and catch me off guard I immediately started running while then telling Michael what was happening Michael was also yelling at me to run and get inside luckily my house was three houses away when I turned onto my
street I ran like my life depended on it not looking back I got to my front door and I hurried typing the code to unlock the door I think got got inside putting both locks in the door and I made sure every entrance to the house was locked I went to check the cameras and fortunately the van went in the opposite direction driving slowly down the street trying to find me at this point I knew almost definitely that whoever was in that van was trying to kidnap me Michael and I started talking more about the
situation and just as I started to calm down I saw the same van show back up on the cameras this time driving in the direction I came from the van started driving a little faster but a bit more careful which I assumed the driver to be obsessed with finding me and then frustrated he lost me I saw the van Circle the block two more times until I didn't see it again I was home alone when this happened and I was really contemplating about telling my parents since I didn't get the Vans plate number or anything
like that Michael strongly considered me to still tell them and which I did my parents were really glad that I was safe and knew what to do and they told me to be more careful moving forward like I said I didn't get a plate number nor a description of anyone in the van since it looked like any other white van and really wasn't anything the police could do if we even called them ever since then I haven't walked to that gas station and whenever I walk around my neighborhood I always always carry some type of
protection with me my name is Robin the story will consist of two stories both of these stories took place when I was younger I'd say I was around 12 to 13 the first took place during the summer I can't remember the specific day it happened but me and my cousin had gone for a walk to a park that was less than 5 minutes away it was a year after the game Pokémon go had come out out and since my mom was making dinner we figured we had some time to kill my cousin who I refer
to as Leah and I walked to the park we had been hanging out of the park for around 15 minutes playing Pokémon go catching Pokémon and trying to beat the gym at the park my cousin was pretty new at the game and I was showing her how it worked this park has this path that is essentially a circle so you keep walking and it'll always bring you straight back to the Park's parking lot while we were walking along this path my cousin tapped me on the shoulder and I responded back with what but she nudged
me and she gave me a really weird look like she wanted me to be quiet so I then repeated myself in a whisper Robin there's a guy who's been following us she said softly I turned around for a brief second to get a good look at the guy the guy was overweight and had BL wine glasses from what I could remember at the time I didn't believe her and I said she was probably just overthinking it and that he was probably just walking in the same direction as us my cousin didn't seem to like my
answer and she still seemed very freaked out so to show her he wasn't actually following us we just walked around in the same Circle yet again figuring the guy was walking towards the parking lot to his car but when we walked the circle again he followed at this point I was now freaking out as well we began to walk faster and began to devise a plan to lose this guy but my cousin and I had different plans before we could get one figured out my cousin just bolted and ran home while my plan was to
hide in the women's bathroom I hid in the bathroom until I then realized my cousin wasn't next to me I thought to myself [ __ ] I'm stuck here alone I I didn't know if the guy had seen me go in I didn't know if he was following me or if he could have gone after my cousin I was going to just bolt out of there and try to find her since the guy was walking towards the bathroom I finally got my [ __ ] together and I built up enough courage to just run for
it I don't think I've ever run that fast in my life I found my cousin hyperventilating in the driveway right behind my dad's car at first my instincts were to chew the hell out and ask her why the hell she [ __ ] left me behind like that but when I saw how terrified she was I decided we should just get inside and calm down we never told my mom about what happened since anytime we ever told our mom about anything she would always somehow Pin It On Us she'd always find a way to say
it was our fault so we just never said anything all right here's the next story The Second Story happened on the 4th of July just a year after our Park story and my cousin Le and I were again at the park near my house watching the fireworks go off we had already been watching them for a while and we decided to go back to my house since we saw some bigger fireworks going off closer to my house we decided to stay a bit longer and then we would head back to my house as the fireworks
went off I saw a truck pass by super slow but I figured they were maybe just looking at the fireworks too or something or maybe they were lost yeah I wasn't exactly the brightest kid back then but at the time I never really thought much about it but a few minutes later the same truck passed again it was still going super slow and at that point I got suspicious and I then told my cousin dude that truck has passed by super slow like twice now my cousin looked at me confused um what truck she asked
my cousin hadn't seen the truck and I I didn't want to worry her just in case it really was nothing so I just said whatever let's just go home and watch the fireworks from my room my cousin agreed but then said hey Robin what truck were you talking about earlier I just told her not to worry about it and I told her they were probably just lost or something but as we walked towards my house I saw the same truck pass by us and when it did pass us it literally stopped in the middle of
the street Street and the passenger side door opened and again just like the story before my cousin bolted home scared shitless leaving me behind but this time I managed to start running a few seconds after she did we then hid behind my dad's in my brother's car since they were both parked in the driveway the truck then slowly passed by as if they were looking for us and when they didn't see us they then immediately sped off when the car sped off we immediately ran ins side and then locked ourselves in my room we started
watching movies to try and calm ourselves down we started thinking back to the very first incident that we had at the park we made our promise to never make trips outside the house anytime close to or after dark we started thinking what would have happened if they hadn't parked their cars on the driveway that day would they have found us and taken us would we ever be seen again we don't know and ever those two incidents I always carry pepper spray anytime I'm out what's even more unbelievable is that these stories aren't the only ones
we have of being followed my cousin and I don't exactly have the best luck I guess always be aware of your surroundings nowadays I'm always hyperfocused on everything around me and whenever I walk out by myself I always carry my pepper spray and knife that my boyfriend gave me my mom thanks me having pepper spray let alone a knife isn't safe so I have to hide them whenever I go out luckily to this day I have yet to use them but now I'm not the same ignorant kid that I was back then and I'm not
afraid to pepper spray anyone or even use the knife if I have to and I really hope it stays that way I hope that this story encourages people to at least carry some sort of self-defense tool you just may actually need it someday so the story involves my two friends and I I was 13 at the time my friend Lana was 14 and Jack who was also 14 Lana Jack and I were hanging out at around 8:00 or 900 p.m. and since this was in March it was essentially pitch black outside aside for some street
lights near where we live there's a field just like a big patch of grass with a small strip of trees and a playground beside it we decided to go to the playground and hang around there for a bit while we were there we were just having fun and probably being too loud well we ended up hearing rustling in the strip of trees from behind us but we didn't think too much of it and we even joked around about it being a skinwalker or some other type of crypted creature we moved around and started talking about
whatever until we then heard screaming like literal loud cries of distress out of nowhere Jack took off running and he shouted for us to run too which we didn't Lana and I stayed in the park looking to see who and where the screaming was coming from we eventually made it out to be a woman who appeared to be all alone once we located her Lana started making her way out of the park and in the direction of the woman I went over to Lana and I had asked her what she was doing she said that
we need to go see if the woman was okay and I essentially said absolutely not in my mind I came to the conclusion that perhaps this woman was having an episode or maybe she was even on drugs which would make her potentially very dangerous and unpredictable but Lana came to the conclusion that maybe this woman had been attacked robbed or even assaulted and that she needed comforting if so I tried to explain my thoughts but I didn't really word it very well and Lana didn't understand why I didn't want to approach her I said the
best way we could help is to probably call someone one but Lana didn't fully listen and she started to make her way to the woman I really didn't want Lana to go all alone so I went along too by the way the woman is still screaming at this point and when she noticed us walking over to her she stopped screaming completely the screaming and crying ended just like it did when it had started it was as if it was a switch that she turned on and off she started screaming when she first seen us and
then stopped when she seen us approach her this of course is red flag number one and red flag number two is that she completely changed her route and she then started going to a completely different direction she was luring us somewhere and we fell right for it she stopped walking once she got to a street light this is when Lana changed her mind about comforting her we now noticed that this woman had no tears in her eyes and no other signs of crying she didn't even look distressed she was staring blankly at us with her
hand in the pocket of her hoodie almost like she was holding something she had blonde hair and her clothes were tattered and mismatched we couldn't tell what age she was she could have quite literally been anywhere from 16 to 30 we went past her and she just watched us walk all the way down the street note from where she was standing she could have seen all of our homes anyway we eventually reun United with Jack here and he started low-key scolding us for not running when he told us to we were all watching the woman
and she was watching us as well we were all just staring at one another then she turned around then walked back into the pitch black field this gave us a horrible Sinking Feeling deep in our stomachs one that's really hard to describe but just dread that felt like it was crushing us we decided to then hide behind someone's car we were still just staring into the darkness watching to see if she would eventually come back out and she did but not alone her and about four or five people dressed head to toe and all black
walked out of the darkness and right underneath the street light we all started freaking out at this point and we got an awful feeling that got about 10 times worse now at this point we were closest to my house so we ran there and we ran straight to the door but it was locked I had forgotten that my parents went out to dinner from my garden we can now see the woman and the others as well as a black car that drove up to them and they then jumped right inside the car this was when
we made our way to Lana's house and then ran inside but the people must have seen which house we went into because we watched the car pull up outside of her house from an upstairs window the car had literally stayed there for like 20 or 30 minutes before then eventually just driving away unfortunately nothing else has happened since we never did reported to the police or even told our parents for that matter you know out of fear of being wrong or not being believed I guess the memory of her walking into the darkness and walking
out not alone still haunts me I try to tell myself that it was just a sick joke but it's just really weird we all still talk about it sometimes and I really wonder if the woman was a willing participant or if she herself was also a victim I guess we'll never really know I want to tell this story to warn others I'm an 18-year-old female and I live in Maryland USA I work at a very popular burger restaurant I work at the payment window which is where I stand all night I'm very friendly I know
sometimes a smile and a compliment can really make someone's day just a little bit better just the same night just before the creeper came I had a customer to tell me then I was so [ __ ] happy and she loved me for it that gave me the courage and energy to survive this next interaction I'm used to the awkward comments and stars from Old Men I'm sure it's my friendliness that attracts them are uniforms are not revealing they think I'm naive maybe I am a lot more than I thought not I'm fully aware of
the dangers of trafficking this particular old man came through just before 6 he pretended to not hear his order then laughed like it was some kind of joke between two friends this is not uncommon it's an old man thing no red flags yet I told him his total and he hands me all but the change when he does this he waves the money around making me Chase it I was was able to snatch the cash but again it was just an old man thing not concerned yet he stared at the company name on my shirt
and he asked if that was my name I don't wear a name tag for this reason I joked that I was going to change my name permanently to that he parked up at this point I should state that he was white mid 60s to 7s driving a small white SUV with a kayak on top he had some SC rough on his face and he was holding a phone to his ear this entire time when I finally began to engage with him he had moved the phone to be facing me looking back I really believe he
was recording me at no point did he speak into the phone or acknowledge it in any way he then probed with more pressing questions here's the thing I have the same last name as someone from US History most old people really like talking about that stuff enough so I told him my last name he didn't reflect or laugh he just accepted and continued asking questions that's when I started to get this sinking feeling he still owed me change and I told him he grabbed another dollar and he handed it to me but he wouldn't let
go he wanted to know my first name and I dodged answering because I was getting creeped out he wouldn't let go of the money and he was practically drooling for more data about me I gave him a name I don't use and he smiled finally letting go I got his change and I told him to have a nice day I then immediately left the window and I told one of my co-workers about the weird experience he returned 2 hours later I didn't recognize his car on the cameras until he got to my window I hadn't
thought too much about our interaction and I was busy texting my dad about whether or not a chicken sandwich was a burger my stomach dropped when I saw his face now I have many regulars all of whom I'd be happy to see I really hope he doesn't become one I'll call the police they smiled and said hey the one with the last name I smiled back and I wish for the days when we all wore masks I tell him his total and he makes me Chase the money yet again for the entire time he had
his phone against his ear facing me he starts asking me even more intimate questions about me I lie or Dodge them the best I can giving him zero correct answers wanting our interaction to be as short as possible here's some of the questions he asked me how often do you work what time do you leave how old are you for that one I knew he wouldn't leave without a number and I had a nasty feeling the younger wouldn't be the better so I said said probably 20s he then joked about me being legal I made
a face and I tried to get his change even faster then he asked if I had a boyfriend I was getting more and more nervous so my ANS started getting more sarcastic I told him that boys were trouble he specifically talked about himself and he said he'd treat me right I handed him his receipt and I told him to have a great night he then threw his hands in the air then saying a come on don't be like that I'll treat you right I then shut my window and Ian said bye he made a bit
more of a fuss but eventually drove forward from his question about when I got off work I really believed he was watching the restaurant I was shaking by this time and I called my mom she immediately drove up I talked to my manager and I was a little un sure of the car's color so he checked the camera for me big shout out to my manager he's the best I continued in my window watching for the old guy but I didn't see him again I left an hour early and I gave my manager Specific Instructions
to not place a girl at my window and he agreed these interactions are unfortunately would caus formerly happy and cheerful service workers to become sour and quiet I think I'm going to be taking a couple of days off I had already had another job lined up and I'm really excited to start it thank you all for taking the time to listen update so I wanted to mention a few extra things I didn't mean to make light of trafficking victims with my story I did feel trapped by this guy and I felt real fear he would
be waiting for me no matter when he thought I got off shift I don't have a car and I take myself home on a bike after Dark I think it would be very easy to follow and trap me I did not tell him how I got home also in case it's confusing and I didn't elaborate enough on his phone he held it facing me for the extent of both of our interactions roughly 5 to 8 minutes and he wouldn't leave never moving it or lowering it I have two guesses he was recording me and he
could be possibly preparing to use that video or send it to someone or he was on a call with someone listening in who who I can't identify trafficking was not my first thought I'm more concerned about how easy I would be to kidnap at night on a dark Suburban Road and yes after kidnapping any number of things could happen to me just because I have a job and people assume that my father lives in state doesn't mean I shouldn't feel threatened that's the reason I left so quickly by car with a trusted adult who could
pick me up the reason I made this post was to warn others in my area that's why I gave a description of him in his car please be safe out there everyone seriously hey everyone I hope you all enjoyed these stories if you ever want to submit your own you can do so at Southern cannibal tocom have a good night everyone and remember to always stay hungry
