I was driving back late at night from Las Vegas to Los Angeles, and I decided to take a shortcut a friend had told me about. The road was completely empty—no cars, no lights—so I turned on my high beams and played some music to stay awake.
After about an hour, a thick fog started forming around me, even though the weather wasn’t cold enough for that time of year. A few minutes later, I saw a man standing on the side of the road, waving for a ride. He looked normal, but something about seeing him out there, in the middle of nowhere at midnight, felt wrong.
I didn’t stop. I just kept driving. But when I looked in the rearview mirror, he was gone. No trace of him. I tried to shake it off—maybe I was just tired.
A few miles later, I got a flat tire. I pulled over to change it, and as soon as I stepped out, I felt this sudden chill, like the temperature had dropped out of nowhere. While I was working on the tire, I heard footsteps approaching from behind. I turned around—and it was the same man I had seen earlier.
In a strange, low voice, he said, “Why didn’t you stop for me?”
My heart nearly stopped. There was no way he could’ve gotten there that fast. I jumped into my car, slammed the door shut, and started praying while flooring the gas, even though the tire wasn’t secured yet.
When I finally looked in the mirror again… he was gone.
I made it to Los Angeles shaking, and from that night on, I’ve never taken that road again.
stake: kingtaani10