(This is a direct excerpt copied from the text thread with one of my friends. Some details have been omitted for privacy and safety. He suggested I post this here.)
[08:01] Last night I went out driving through the ******* forest instead of just going home. Its my Friday and I was in the subaru so I wanted to christen her as it were and get her on some unpaved roads, of which there’s tons. Some are old logging roads, others are roads to certain peaks or lookout spots, hiking trails, etc. I forgot how early it starts getting dark, and I don’t exactly know the trails…. and ofc no cell service. I’m not too worried though. I’ve got a full tank of gas and nowhere to be. So I’m trying to figure out how to get back but by this point it’s dark; and in darkness the forest all kinds blurs together which wasn’t helping. On top of the fact I don’t know these trails at all and maps is just trying to refresh so my GPS signal is even screwy out here. Still trying not to worry but my anxiety is starting to rise. Worst case scenario I can sleep in the car. It’s a wagon, so there’s enough room to fold the seats down. Just trying not to freak myself out at this point. It’s dark dark at this point and I’m just meandering around a black and empty forest. I finally find a break in the canopy, this little stretch of the trail not covered in darkness. The sky is clear, not quite a full moon… maybe ¾ full. Big enough to have that kinda natural moon light that illuminates just enough to see. At this point I’m annoyed and stop to have a smoke. Just trying to relax and enjoy the moment. There’s a handful of stars lit up in the sky and it’s just nice to be able to look at in the moment. In hindsight I shouldn’t have stopped… because as soon as I turned the key on, I saw something I can’t describe and has kept me up all night.
[08:12] It was… idk. I somehow channeled the spirit of Colin McRae because I floored it out of there as fast as I could. Probably too fast in hindsight. I’m not sure exactly how long I was driving but I eventually found a turn off to actual asphalt which meant I could go even faster. I was trying to keep the mental image in my head… but it was fading and I didn’t want to stop in darkness so I kept driving until I found a gas station that was still open. I happened to have some big post it notepads one of the commercial reps gave me. I’m not an artist… and this thing was gone as soon as the lights started to warm up, like crazy fast. I swear I saw this thing staring at me just ahead where the road went dark again….but I tried to sketch it out while it was still kinda fresh in my mind.
[08:12] Image
