Dead in my tracks.
“in 400 meters K E E P - G O I N G”
it said, i gasped in my mind there for a second.
I’m on my way to my parents for the holiday, they live in a remote place outside of the city, 3 hour drive… That’s if the traffic gods are in my favor, which of course, they never are.
i was never good with directions, every time i had to go somewhere outside my small town i would never leave without a full battery on my cell phone or a charger to use “waze” , it took my a while to finally get my drivers licenses because i was always afraid of the roads, where to turn, where to stop, what if i day dream about some stupid shit like i always do and crash? I’m lousy with directions. that is the reason why even though i know the way to my parents down to every little detail, i used waze, “well it’s not gonna hurt anybody.” - is what i say when people judge me for it.
like with every weird thing that happens, it was normal at first, “in 100 meters, take a left” , “stick to the right lane”, you know, the typical GPS sayings, but something was off.. it was ever so slightly… different, i do not know how to really explain it but with every sentence the GPS lady said, she got more… human, the robotic undertone of her voice started to disappear, at first, i thought that because i’m in a remote area it is some sort of glitch or i was just nitpicking, but i swear to everything i love.. It was like an actual person was giving me directions.
After about 10 minutes after i noticed it, thats when shit got very odd,
the GPS lady, gave me different directions, you guys need to understand i do this drive almost every weekend for dinner with my parents, i know every turn, every sign, how to road is a little old and the car shakes after a particular pillar, how the letter “A” was missing from one of the signs, the beardy old homeless who knows me by name now, Alfred, he’s a very cool fella, always smiling, always. and how in the old graveyard theres 1 tombstone missing, i specifically remember that one because ive always felt sad for whoever is buried there .. probably long forgotten, erased for life and memory.
so when the different directions came, i was confused, and stopped for a second to check out my phone, to see if it glitched or maybe i pressed something wrong when shuffling my playlist, i didn’t.
i thought - “huh , maybe there’s construction or something up ahead.”
so i took the “wrong” turn and another , and another , by that point im in full panic mode, it was dark with the most overly aggressive fog i have ever witnessed, i tried to call my parents, but all i heard from the car speakers was “in 400 meters #$%\^$%\^$#%” static..
i even turned off the GPS, called again, the same happened.
and yes by the way, her voice at that point was human. 100 billion percent human.
I’ve had enough, I got out of the car, turned the alert blinkers on, and out on that yellow vest thingy you always have in your glove box, and waited.
for what you ask? a savior ? god? death to finally take me out of this nightmare? thoughts were rushing into my brain people i NEED YOU TO UNDERSTAND im not a suicidal person, i love my life, my wife and kid are already at my parents waiting for me i should’nt have acted like a child and get into that fight with her, oh Cara, will i ever see your face again? i hope i will.. , i have a good fulfilling job, and for CRYING OUT LOUD im happy. i couldn’t help it. “Just kill me please please please please I beg you whoever or whatever you are just end it, you got me, i BEG YOU.”
I was ready to die.. when I heard the GPS lady.. in a cold, robotic voice.. “ G E T - B A C K - IN“
“hell nah” I thought. this car wants to kill me, i started to theorize in my mind that some dark web rapist took control of my GPS to lead me to his basement or something, what if he already got Cara ?
I was a shell of a man.. pissed in my pants and tears all over my face, i got back in the car.. “IN 400 METERS .. D O - N O T - S T &\^% - K E E P - G O I N G - A L M O S T - T H E RE - P L E AS E - Y O U - H A V E - T O - T R U -”
I slammed the breaks so hard my phone flew out of his holder, probably broke it. I stopped because dear heavens what i saw in front of me shook me to my core.
A man, with a dark, long, trench coat, tall hat and a cane stood in the middle of the road with 2 large briefcases on each side of him,
staring at me with a cold, almost dead face, like someone dug up a dead body, cleaned the corpse, dressed it up nicely and made it stand up somehow. i swore to my god that moment that i was looking a death itself.
“KEEP GOIN\^&\^% KEEP GOING DO NOT STOP KEEP GOING YOU HAVE TO TRUST ME KEEP GOING”
all the sudden the GPS was clearer than ever , screaming at me to ignore the epitome of horror that is currently in front of me , confused, terrified with my hands shaking over the steering wheel and my legs shaking on and off the gas padel… i was completely finished ? have i fall into madness ? pondering, thinking non stop in such speed that i could feel my brain cramps like a muscle, i decided to leave it up to fate and …
I SLAMMED the gas pedal as hard as humanly possible, so hard that I could hear my ankle snap. I decided that if I had the ever so slight chance of getting out of this hell that i am in, to get back to my family, i HAVE to take it. when i hit the man i phased through him as if he wasn’t there, i wish i could tell you if i was hallucinating him, but i didn’t even look back, i didn’t care, the roaring sound of my engine, the tears all over face, the smell of piss on my pants, all of that just flew out of my mind, i’m coming Cara, i promise i would never live your side again, i love you baby, i don’t care how long i have to drive or walk or crawl, my love to you is stronger than any goddamn demon, fantasy or god knows what THAT was.
‘Cara,’ I whispered her name, as if invoking her presence could shield me from the horrors that unfolded. The image of her face, the warmth of her smile, and the love we shared became my beacon in the overwhelming darkness.
you , are my path i’ll always keep on, i will never fall dead in my tracks again.