I’ve spent the better part of the past three decades driving across America. I’ve been a trucker for almost 35 years and I’ve really been everywhere. I’m on the road so much that I recently moved my stuff out of my apartment and into a storage unit. It’s my life. I love to see new places. I haven’t started a family of my own. I’m married to the road.
My name is Sonny. Middle name. My first name is embarrassing and I’ll never tell it to anyone! My CB handle is Sonic, and that’s how most of my coworkers refer to me. It was a silly nickname my uncle gave me when I was a kid. He worked at the trucking company before I started so it followed me into adulthood.
I regularly volunteer for cross country hauls. It pays well and honestly, I don’t have much else to do. These are my saving years. I’m working hard so my spending years will be worth the wait.
As you can imagine, I have no shortage of stories from the road. I think every trucker does. I’ve had people fake a car accident to try to steal my truck. I’ve been attacked by hitchhikers. I’ve woken up to creeps staring through my windows at me. I’ve even seen a few things I can’t quite explain. Sometimes when you’ve been awake and driving for days, it’s hard to tell if your mind is playing tricks on you.
I’ve heard countless stories from other truckers I’ve met along the way. Some old wives tales too like, “Don’t take 86 east during an eclipse, Don’t tailgate, Don’t haul empty, Pat the dash and thank the truck when arriving at your destination”. One of the strangest ones stuck with me though.
When I was on my very first haul, I met an old trucker who was on his last. His handle was “Taz” He had a ton of tips for me like roads to avoid and the best places to stop for a meal. He also talked about the strange things he and other truckers have claimed to have seen. Ufos, bigfoot, ghosts, working ice cream machines at fast food joints.
He said to always follow the rules of the road. Not like stop signs and traffic laws. Unwritten rules like “give your truck a female name, Don’t cross a highway, tap the roof at yellow lights, and if you hear Eon Radio or Eon Valley come on the radio, turn it off immediately.
I was familiar with all but the last one. He wouldn’t elaborate when I asked. What? Do they play country music? I didn’t think much of it at the time.
Years went by. Now I’m on my way to the other side of the continent for the hundredth time. It’s been a long boring stretch of road. I’m looking for a station as I try to stay awake. Then I hear it.. Static clears and an upbeat voice shouts “You are listening to EON radio! The Eon Valley has been waiting for you! Where have you been?”
My first instinct was to turn it off. I’d barely remembered the man telling me that until it happened. At that moment, it was like we just got done talking. It seemed like one of those random bits of information you never forget. It just stuck..
Curiosity triumphed over paranoia and I couldn’t help but turn it back on. I listened as an animated, upbeat, raspy voiced DJ rambled about the station.
“We are starting fresh my friends! A new slew of terror tales just in time for bed time. Join us forever and never let us let you go! Keep it locked in on the station that defies creation. We’ll be bringin you some violent vignettes and terrible scarable parables. Once you’ve been here, you’ll never leave hahaha! It’s an eternity of nightmares on Eon Radio!”
I figured that the trucker who warned me not to listen must have just been a fan? He was probably playing along with the creepy stuff. I’m really not all that superstitious. I continued listening.
The host sounded like an unhinged mental patient. Giggling as he spoke of torture and death, he played the persona of a psychopath. He talked about a contest that was taking place where the winner won a one way trip to Eon Valley. I thought it was a little over the top.
Still, I didn’t change the station. I listened as the host finished with his self promotion and started telling a story.
“Story number one: ‘A boy on a bike’”.
Little Robby was a bit of a loner. His parents had become very concerned that he never spent time with other kids.
“Why won’t you get off the computer and go outside?” His mother would always ask. “Go out and make some friends.”
Robby’s response was always the same. “I don’t wanna make friends.”
His parents weren’t sure what to do. Robby was a loner but he seemed happy. He seemed like he enjoyed spending his days with his face in a screen and his headphones on.
After a while, Robby’s father got an idea. He got Robby a bike. They hadn’t gotten him one since he was five because Robby never used it and never had an interest in being outside.
Robby came home from school to find a shiny new bike in the living room. It was bright red and blue with blue rims. To his parents’ surprise, he was excited. He loved his bike. He stuck some dinosaur stickers on it and started riding it right away.
Mom and dad were ecstatic! After all these years, their kid was finally spending some time in the sun.
“Now if we could just get him to stop wearing headphones 23 hours a day.” mom said.
Robby wasn’t losing the headphones though. He wore them constantly. The kids at school thought he was a little strange because he never took them off unless he was forced to and he never wanted to speak with anyone.
Robby began riding his bike to and from school. Mom and dad were happy about that, but he still spent his weekends in front of the computer.
Dad became increasingly concerned with Robby’s internet usage.
“What is he doing on there?” dad asked mom.
“Oh, who knows. Probably playing games or something.” Mom replied.
“How do we know? He could be chatting with weirdos or being recruited by a terrorist organization.”
“I think you’re being paranoid,” mom replied.
“It happens!” dad exclaimed. “I’ve had enough of this.”
Dad stomped down the hall and stormed into Robby’s room. Robby was in front of the computer with his headphones on as always. Dad grabbed the headphones and pulled them off Robby’s head.
“What are you doing!?” screamed Robby.
“It’s time to go outside!” Dad yelled.
“I don’t want to!”
Dad ran into the living room and unplugged the modem.
“Stop!” Robby screamed.
“You need to go outside. Be a normal kid! Make some friends! Go to the park or something.”
“I need my headphones,” said Robby.
“No,”’ Dad replied. “You’re officially kicked out of the house for the afternoon. Go ride your bike. Go to the park. Play some basketball. I’m gonna hold on to these. You’ll get them back later but only if you go play outside and only if you stop talking back.”
Robby begrudgingly agreed. He hopped on his bike and headed off to the park. He didn’t try to talk to other kids. He didn’t play or get exercise. He just sat at the park, waiting until the sun started to set so he could go home and get back online.
After a boring afternoon, Robby got on his bike and headed back home. He realized as he started riding that he might have waited a little too long. It took about 20 minutes to get home and it was already almost completely dark out.
He started pedaling faster while telling himself that there was nothing to be afraid of. He sped down the quiet empty road. Each side of the road led into the forest. He started hearing the occasional animal noise from the woods. His anxiety intensified. He stood up on his bike and started pedaling as fast as he could.
Out of nowhere, he heard a screech come from the woods next to him. He looked back and within seconds, he hit something on the side of the road and flew over the handlebars. He landed hard on his shoulder and sustained some road rash. He yelled out in pain before noticing the tree branch he had hit.
It was a very large branch that almost looked like it was placed there intentionally. Robby ran over and picked up his bike. His chain was broken and his rim was bent. The frightened boy started walking with his bike when he heard another screech. He turned around and what he saw made the hair on his neck stand.
It was a creature. Small, about 2 or 3 feet tall. It was hairless with black and dark gray skin. It had no ears and minimal facial features. Its eyes were sunken in and all black. It had a humanoid figure and moved like an ape. It had very long arms compared to its body. It looked like a wingless bat mixed with a hairless ape. It was a hell spawn. A demon. Something not of this world.
The boy stared at the creature, petrified. Moments later another one crawled out from the woods, then another. Before long there was a pack of them, all staring at Robby. The first one opens his mouth, showing off multiple rows of pointed razor sharp teeth. Robby shuttered and the creatures began running toward him.
He threw his bike to the ground and took off into a sprint. The creatures followed. They frantically bounced from side to side and leaped around as they chased the boy. Almost like they were playing with him the way a cat plays with a mouse. They zigged and zagged as Robby ran for his life.
He cut into the woods toward a trail that led to the river. He’d always used a shallow area of the river as a shortcut home. As he got into the woods, he lost sight of the creatures. He could hear them jumping and screeching from seemingly every direction. He felt a searing pain in his abdomen as he pushed himself to keep running.
He gasped for breath and his legs began to feel like jello. He stopped to lean against a tree for a quick second when he couldn’t force himself to keep running. He looked behind him as he tried to catch his breath. The creatures had all stopped and were about 20 feet away just staring at him.
He slowly stepped backward and the creatures each took a step forward. When he stopped, they stopped. They were toying with him..
He stepped back slowly until he hit the river and felt water fill his shoe. He turned and started running across. When he looked back, the creatures were again in pursuit. They sprinted toward him, but stopped when they reached the river.
Robby looked back as the creatures stared at the river. They seemed deterred by it. Robby felt a rush of relief for a brief moment. He felt victorious.
Then he turned around and almost ran straight into another beast. Robby looked in horror at a creature that resembled a giant water bear. It was large and obese with multiple stubby legs on each side. It had a featureless face and a circular open mouth filled with spiraling teeth. It had
spear-like appendages that moved out from its mouth and back in repeatedly.
After a moment of being frozen in place by a level of fear Robby had never even imagined, he turned and started running along the river. The tardigrade looking creature followed behind, but very slowly. From the corner of his eye, Robby noticed the smaller creatures throwing each other across the smallest opening of the river. Very quickly, all but one of them got across.
They continued pursuing Robby. Before long, they had caught up to the exhausted boy. One of the creatures reached out and dug its nails into Robby’s arm. He cried in pain as he tried to pull his arm away from the creature. Its nails were barbed and latched on. When it finally came loose, it took a hunk of flesh with it.
The boy felt another claw cut into his leg and rip away skin and flesh along with it. He tried to throw the frantic creatures off of him but each time, they bounced up and latched back on. The pain and panic were immense as Robby tried to escape.
He pushed himself to continue, but tripped and fell down a large embankment. The creatures fell off of him for a brief moment. He stood up. He could see where the woods ended in the distance. There were houses just outside of it. Someone who could help him might be within reach.
He ran as fast as he possibly could. The creatures followed closely behind, screeching and howling. He closed in on the edge of the woods. He could even see a house in the distance. Just as he began to feel optimistic about escaping, Another creature jumped out from behind a tree ahead of him. It was the one who didn’t have another to throw it across the river.
The boy tried to turn, but the creature lept right at his face. It dug and slashed violently as the other creatures caught up. They swarmed Robby and viciously scratched and mauled him, tearing away chunks of skin effortlessly.
Within minutes, it was over.. Robby wouldn’t make it home. He’d come head to head with beasts from another world. He was theirs now.
His parents would eventually report him missing, to no avail. They looked at his search history, worried that he might have been talking to strangers. What they found was an internet radio station which the boy visited daily. Eon Valley Radio..
While his body was left bloodied and disfigured on the side of the road, his soul remains, forever in the Eon Valley…
The strange story ended and the excited DJ rambled on about spooky stuff.
“Poor little Robby.. Just goes to show all you parents out there to encourage your kids to try new things! ..Because the Eon Valley is waiting, and the kiddies are our favorite! There are worlds around us that most cannot imagine. Worlds filled with monsters, demons, and tortured souls.. Come join us..”
The DJ launched into a fit of hysterical laughter. He tried to speak but continued cackling.
“Let’s take a call! Hahah!”
He laughed as the sound of a boy screaming started to grow louder. It was sickening. It sounded like a young boy crying out for help. The actor they had doing it was a pro. The screams were blood curdling. The hairs on my neck actually stood up. I decided that I was done listening to this bizarre station and turned the radio off.
I was tired, but I pushed myself to continue driving until I couldn’t keep my eyes open. The rest of the night was quiet. I don’t think I saw another car on the road. After another 3 or 4 hours, I pulled into a rest stop to get some sleep.
I passed out immediately, had some oddly vivid nightmares, then woke up to a presumably homeless man staring at me through my window. I had slept longer than I planned to so I got right back on the road.
I was on pace to reach my destination by nightfall. The plan was to head straight through to Seattle, then turn around and head straight back to New York. It was gonna be a long drive.
It was a drive I was used to, but the boredom was getting to me. I felt my eyes getting heavy within an hour and it was way too early to stop for a nap. I started looking for something to listen to. Nothing.. As hard as I tried, I could not find a working station. I had a list of stations in different cities but none of them seemed to be working.
I randomly turned the radio dial until finally, I heard something. I turned it back and found the station. I couldn’t believe it.. EON Valley radio.. I’m not gonna lie, I was a bit creeped out. What are the odds that this weird station would be the only one I could find, 500 miles away from where I first heard it. It seemed to pick up right where it left off last time too. It was odd, but I chalked it up to paranoia, sleep deprivation, and coincidence. As I said, I’m not very superstitious. Having nothing else to listen to, I left it on. The raspy voiced DJ was introducing another story.
“Welcome back friends and fiends! It’s fright night in the valley as always! It’s alright if you’re tired. We’ve got screamers for the dreamers and an eternity of nightmares right here on EON Valley Radio!
“Story number two: “Shadow business”
Dinar grew up ready to pursue the American dream. He only wanted a small piece of the pie. Just enough to fill his belly. After growing up poor, he wanted something to call his own. He wanted to own his own business.
He’d been working as many hours as he could get at a local truck stop, saving every dollar he didn’t need for essentials. He put meeting someone and starting a family on hold in order to focus on his goals. After ten years of hard work and a few smart investments, he found himself a little over halfway to his goal. For the first time in his life, he was considering a shortcut.
A week prior, Dinar was talking about his plan with his coworker, Rob. Rob made a suggestion that Dinar had never considered.
“I may know a friend of a connected friend who could help you out.”
“If you’re implying what I think you are, it’s not for me..” Dinar replied.
“You’re right man. You’re a worker bee if I ever saw one. I look forward to visiting your store someday. Maybe we can play some backgammon and eat some sticky lint covered butterscotch candies when I visit!”
“Because we’ll be old people by then.”. Dinar said sarcastically.
“I don’t know how old you are, man. Maybe you’ll still be a spring chicken a decade from now. Who am I to say?”
Dinar considered the options. Work another ten years to maybe have enough to make an attempt at starting a business, or hear what Rob’s friends have to offer.
“I’m willing to hear them out.. If you wanna set it up”
“I’ll give em a call”, said Rob.
A few days passed and Dinar had almost forgotten about the conversation until Rob called one morning. He told Dinar that his contact would meet him at a local spot around noon. Dinar was somewhat uncomfortable with the idea but couldn’t pass up a chance to realize his dream.
Dinar prepared to meet with Rob’s contact. He had to go straight to work after that for a long overnight shift. More motivation to put his values aside. He believed that the ends would justify the means. He’d do so many good things once he had the money. He’d donate to worthy causes and help the less fortunate.
As he was getting into his car, Dinar noticed something strange and off-putting. Across the street, there was a mime performing for no one in particular. The mime’s make up was smudged and dirty. There was black all around the eyes with eyebrows painted into a scowl. The mime looked homeless and held a cardboard sign which he held up and presented to people passing by. The sign had nothing written on it.
Dinar got into his car and tried to avoid eye contact. He started the car and looked back over to see the mime was intensely staring directly at him. The unnerving looking mime then took out a gas mask and put it on, never breaking eye contact with Dinar. After that, he made explosion gestures with his hands. He then looked up into the air for a few moments before covering his ears with his hands and falling to the ground. He then proceeded to rock back and forth in the fetal position, still covering his ears.
Dinar quickly pulled out and headed to the diner. He was nervous. He continuously questioned his choices. He tried to rationalize it in his head. The ends justify the means.
He pulled into the parking lot. He sat in his car for a few minutes panicking. He finally worked up the nerve to get out and enter the diner. He felt a chill as he noticed the mime sitting against a building across the street. The same strange mime, wearing the same gas mask, holding the same blank cardboard sign.
The mime dropped the sign and threw their arms up and waved them like they were falling. Then they pretended to check a wrist watch that wasn’t there, then continued miming falling. Dinar tried to ignore it and went inside..
That’s enough of that. I turned off the radio. I was within an hour of my destination and tired of listening to stupid stories. When I couldn’t find a station, I just turned it off.
I reached my drop off on schedule as always. The guys at the warehouse were ready to rock when I got there. We had it unloaded in no time. A+ haul if i do say.
Once all the paperwork was signed I started gearing up to head right back. I checked the truck, made sure I had everything, and started closing the trailer door when one of the guys grabbed the door as I was shutting it.
“What the hell are you doin?” I asked.
“Don’t haul empty,” he replied.
“Just for that I am goin back with nothing. Ha.”
I got back on the road planning to head straight home. It’s a depressingly long drive but I can sleep when I make it to my bed.
As soon as I started the truck, I heard that raspy voice on the radio again.
“Is it story time again already?!? It’s a soul buffet in the valley these days! Getting crowded down here, but that’s the way uh huh I like it!! An eternity of nightmares continues with a tale of a “deadhead” on the road.
I turned the radio off again. I wasn’t in the mood for any more weird stories. I had given up on finding a station that actually played music. I assumed that either my radio was messed up or that streaming had killed the radio star.. I really regret not getting a cd player for the truck either way.
I traveled in silence for miles. It’s a weird part of the haul. You’re relieved to have delivered your load on time and to be heading home, but you know that you have to repeat the long cross country drive all over again. It was a quiet, boring couple of hours until I heard the CB.
“Anyone copy?”
“Copy, go ahead,” I replied.
“Hey I’m sittin on the side of the road stuck on an embankment with a black eye.. I could use a hand if you’re nearby. I have chains, just need someone to pull me out.”
I considered ignoring it at first. I couldn’t though. I’ve been stranded before.. I’d want someone to help if it were me.
“What’s your 20?..”
He responded and told me where he was. It was about a half hour out of my way but I’d feel guilty if I didn’t lend a hand.
He radioed again after ten minutes or so and gave me his exact coordinates. After another half hour of driving, I arrived at the location. There was no truck..
I drove further up the road and saw nothing but a quiet empty road surrounded by trees and forest. I was enraged! I figured it was some punk kids pulling a dumb prank. This is what I get for being a good samaritan.
I drove back to the exact coordinates he gave me just to make completely sure I’d been duped. I stopped and got out of the truck. I took a few steps into the woods, but of course there was no truck. I was so angry that I screamed into the air. I even lit one of my emergency cigarettes I had in the glove box.
I’ve had a half a pack in there since I quit smoking years ago. I smoked one a while back when I was on a haul and learned of a family member passing. This was my second from that pack. I was frustrated, but thinking about the previous one kind of put it into perspective for me. I was annoyed, but it could be worse.
I walked around the truck to stretch my legs while I smoked the cigarette. I was about ready to get back in the truck when something caught my eye. It was the reflector from a bicycle. I walked closer and noticed a bike laying in the woods next to the road. When I noticed the blue and red bike with blue rims, a broken chain, and the bent rim, I got a little freaked out but tried to tell myself it was a coincidence. As I noticed the dinosaur stickers, I started smelling something..
I slowly walked further into the woods. I couldn’t help but think about that first story I heard on that weird radio show. A boy on a bike.. The awful smell grew stronger as I got further into the woods. I got a little further and started noticing more bugs. I came upon a large bush, surrounded by flies.
It was clear that whatever was under or in the bush was causing the smell. The bugs were orbiting the bush. Part of me didn’t want to look. I wanted to turn around, get in my truck, and go home. I couldn’t though. I pushed some of the bush out of the way, hoping to find a dead animal..
A boy on a bike.. I sprinted out of the woods, jumped into the truck, and called the police. I didn’t want to sit there and wait for them but leaving probably wouldn’t look great. Time crawled as I sat in my locked truck.
I have had dash cams in my truck ever since someone attempted to steal it a while back. I went through the footage as I waited for the police. I had to hear that story again. It was way too odd of a coincidence. It was exactly as described in the story.
I decided to write the stories down, as well as everything that had happened since I heard the first one. I had packed the tablet that my cousin got me for christmas. She thought I could use it to watch movies on the road, though I seldom did. I rewatched the footage during both stories and wrote them down verbatim in the tablet. Whatever was happening, I assumed that this could help the police figure it out.
Finally, they arrived. I walked them into the woods and pointed to the bush. The smell seemed worse even though I braced for it this time. I began to feel sick and ran back out to the road to dry heave.
I waited a while until the cops came out from the woods. They asked me some questions and I answered the ones I could. Then I told them about EON radio.
“You’ve been through something traumatic,” officer Bailey said. “Once you’ve seen a child who’s… it’s a tough thing to see.”
I tried explaining that the station was real and that I had been lured to this location after hearing a story about it. I told them about how not one other station has worked no matter where I was. It was clear that they didn’t believe me. I offered them the dash cam footage where you can hear the story but they didn’t care.
“You have to look into this!” I urged the officers.
“You should get some sleep,” Bailey replied. “You truckers push yourself too much. I respect it. I do. But get some sleep and stop listening to scary stories.”
I pushed a little more but I didn’t want to end up detained and I knew they didn’t believe me. I decided to just keep driving. Jump in my truck and not look back until I’m back at my own place.
The cops took my information. They weren’t going to investigate my claim, but they might accuse me of the boy’s death when they discover that it wasn’t natural. They assumed a hit and run or an accident of some kind caused his death and that the dismemberment was caused by animals picking at the body.
I tried to avoid thinking about it when I got back on the road. I spent the next several miles trying to rationalize it in my head. It’s a coincidence or maybe I’m actually going insane. Maybe it is from extreme sleep deprivation… Even I didn’t believe that.
Head straight home. No detours. Radio off. CB off. No stops… except for gas..
I was honestly so freaked out that I hadn’t even considered gas. By the time I had to stop, I had calmed down a little. The sun had just gone down when I pulled into a truck stop. There weren’t many cars in the parking lot.
I paid at the pump and filled the tank. I went inside to grab a drink and use the bathroom. There was a stressed out looking guy sitting on the ground against the building near the entrance. I tried to avoid eye contact.
“Hey man! I hate to ask but do you have a few bucks I could borrow? I’ve had the worst day, man.”
I gave him the three bucks I had in my wallet.
“That’s not enough!” he yelled.
“Do you want me to take it back?” I asked.
He shook his head and started muttering to himself. I went to the bathroom. While I was seeing what nasty gas station food they were offering I noticed an exchange between the two cashiers.
One of them ran up like he was late for work and the other guy was goofing on him for it. I saw the cashier’s nametag.. Dinar. I felt that chill up my spine sensation, but quickly began telling myself it was a coincidence. Then I overheard them talking.
“Hey, Dinar.. Nice of you to show up!”
“Another day in paradise,” Dinar replied.
“This isn’t funny, man! Do you know who you stood up?”
“I know who I met with.. And I’m not afraid anymore.”
“You really should be, man!”
“It’ll be okay.” Dinar calmly said.
Dinar’s coworker rolled his eyes and left for his lunch break.
The guy who had asked me for money outside got to the front of the line. He said something under his breath to Dinar. I couldn’t hear what he said at first. Dinar glared at him. Then he pulled a pistol out of his pocket and pointed it at Dinar. He demanded all the money in the register. His hand was shaking and he looked terrified. Dinar stayed calm.
“No,” Dinar said in a stern voice.
The man became irate and looked like he was panicking. He waved the gun around and started yelling, “Empty the register!” He was pacing in front of the counter. He seemed desperate. I looked toward the door. I don’t know if it was lack of sleep or some other reasonable explanation, but I saw a mime.. It was unbelievably creepy. He was standing directly outside the door, wearing a gas mask just like in Dinar’s story.
I looked back at Dinar as the gunman started screaming even louder than before. Dinar didn’t look worried at all. He calmly said no as the man yelled louder and louder. The person in between me and the angry customer had not moved. I couldn’t see their face under the hood and scarf. They started moving slowly closer to the now screaming customer.
The gunman repeated to Dinar that he would kill him if he didn’t empty the register and Dinar continued saying no as if he wasn’t the least bit afraid of the gun pointed at him. The gunman looked more afraid than the cashier did. He was almost in tears as he pleaded for Dinar to give him the money.
The person in between us got right up behind the gunman and pulled their hood down. It wasn’t a person.. It was the giant tardigrade, just like the one described in the first story. Its multiple appendages and horrifying head had been hidden under the large coat and hood. It wrapped its mouth around the top of the gunman’s head. Its rows of teeth swirled as blood sprayed in every direction. The gunman was still screaming as the creature pulled him outside.
Both Dinar and I were panicking and screaming. I yelled to him “we need to go”, and he didn’t hesitate to follow me to my truck. As we ran outside, I could see the creature dragging the gunman around the side of the building. Other smaller creatures followed behind. They looked exactly as described in the first story. Some sort of little ..demonic, wingless murderbats. There was no sign of the mime. It was all difficult to process in the chaotic moment.
We jumped in the truck and I drove back onto the highway as fast as I could.
“What do you know about all of this!??” I asked Dinar.
“It’s hard to explain,” he responded.
“Try your best.. I heard a story about you. I also heard a story about.. Your coworker said that you didn’t meet up with his contacts. Why didn’t you?”
“Something came up.. I wasn’t comfortable with the idea anyway. They’re criminals”
“You’ve heard the station too! How did the story end?” I asked.
“You didn’t hear it?” he responded.
“How did it end?” I asked again
Dinar paused for a moment. He looked down at his hands and fiddled with his fingers nervously.
“I did go to meet with Rob’s.. Friends. I got nervous though.. Instead of meeting them at the bar, I went into a diner nearby.”
“I thought you were supposed to go to the diner.” I interrupted.
“Well, in a way I was.. I was supposed to meet Rob’s guys at the bar. The story though.. It wanted me at the diner..”
“The story wanted you there?” I condescendingly asked.
“It’s what was supposed to happen. A man approached me. He told me he knew about the stories I’d been hearing. He knew about the mime.. The man says that he will help me through it. He said he’d help me get my business started if I did what I was supposed to.. He said the mime would come to the truck stop and kill me..”
“That’s not what happened,” I interrupted again.
“He said that a customer would pull a gun on me and try to rob the place.. He told me that if I gave the gunman the money, the mime would kill me. If I stood my ground and said no, I would survive to the next story. I had to choose whether to trust him. I don’t even know why I did.”
“What’s the next story?” I asked.
“..Yours.”
“What’s mine?!”
“I don’t know.”
“Is someone messing with us?” I yelled. Someone talked to you. Someone is orchestrating all this.”
“You saw what I saw at the checkout.” Dinar said calmly.
“Yeah, the water bear,” I said.
“Water bear?”
“It looked like a giant tardigrade. They’re micro animals. Microscopic in size. They’ve been found everywhere on earth and are able to survive extreme conditions like radiation, extreme pressure, starvation, air deprivation. They can even survive in space!”
“I know what a tardigrade is..” he said, sounding a little insulted. “I just hadn’t heard the term water bear.”
“Maybe it’s a clue?” I said. “Maybe the station is located somewhere we can’t enter, but a tardigrade could.”
“So, it could be at the bottom of the ocean, the center of the earth, inside a volcano, or in outer space,” Dinar said while rolling his eyes. “How does that help us?”
“I guess it doesn’t.. I’m just so confused and freaked out..”
“Me too,” replied Dinar. “If it is a giant ‘water bear’, all that means is that we probably can’t kill it..”
“I kinda figured that either way.”
“That doesn’t mean we can’t defend ourselves,” Dinar said with a grin. “We need to stop at my place.”
“For what?”
He insisted on stopping at his house. He said he didn’t have his wallet. He didn’t take it to work because tonight wasn’t the first attempted robbery at the store. His place wasn’t far from the truck stop.
As we headed to Dinar’s house, I wondered if anyone else nearby had seen anything strange. I picked up the CB microphone and called out. “This is Sonic, headed west on the highway wondering if anyone has seen anything odd out there tonight.”
There was no reply.
“Sonic?” Dinar asked. “Like the hedgehog?”
“Dumb nickname,” I replied. “I like to think it’s after the band, The Sonics. Punky garage rock band from the 60’s. One of my favorites.
“I’m betting it’s after the hedgehog.. Or the fast food place,” Dinar laughed. “Sonic the hamburger hedgehog!
“In that case, you can call me Sonny!” I joked.
We arrived at Dinar’s house. I let him out and told him to hurry. I decided to write more of what happened (this) down so I wouldn’t forget any details. I didn’t know what to do. It’s a helpless feeling. We could keep driving but our location didn’t seem to matter. I wanted to go home. I guess Dinar just wants to get distance from this town. All of his craziness happened here.
I don’t know what’s going to happen going forward. At this point, I just want to be home. I’m gonna post what I’ve logged so far in case.. Just so someone knows what happened. If you’re reading this, I hope it’s not the last you hear from me. No matter what happens, I’ll update tomorrow if I can. Wish me.. Wish us luck. I’m just trying to understand what’s happening. If you’re reading this, have you ever heard of Eon Valley Radio?