Look, I don’t want to post this just for it to be called a piece of fiction, but if it does, I guess I can’t do anything about it. Some of you might not believe this, some of you might say this is fake, truth is, I don’t care anymore. All I want is to get this out as a warning.
Currently, I’m staying at a Motel and it’s like 2am. There’s some signal here. The incident I experienced earlier caused me to not get any sleep, hence the reason as to why I’m posting this here. I guess I’ll just start then.
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Yesterday was my mom’s birthday. She and my dad lives in the rural part of a different state, which means miles and miles of driving for me. I decided to bring my cat, Mip. It was around a 8 hour drive. I also can’t wait to test out my new car camera that I just got the other day. I bought it for a pretty cheap price, primary because I’m low on money.
Our trip towards there was rather uneventful. I just listened to some music while Mip does his everyday 16-hour nap. We arrived at my parents house at around 11:40am, just in time for lunch.
My parents house was an old, standard American style house that dates back to the mid-1900’s. I remember them saying they got it from my grandparents. The house was very ornate, and I kinda like it. It had a wide garden to the front, and a garage for a single car. The house had a second floor and attic, while the roof was blue. Meanwhile, the walls were painted with a type of white.
My dad was also there, as he was just recently retired from his job. Time goes by fast, doesn’t it? After lunch, I stayed to watch a movie together with my parents. They had a movie projector attached on their ceiling, and they even had a projector screen.
The movie was… it’s mediocre I guess. My parents picked it, so you can expect what it’s like. But my parents enjoyed it, and that alone made me happy. My mother was very grateful. Her birthday might not seem much, but seeing her son after a year for her 56th birthday with the whole family together? Now that is something that makes her happy. And trust me, not a lot of things make her happy.
After the movie, we ate some cake, talked about our life, and I said farewell to my parents. It was time to take the 8 hour drive back home. I left at around 4:30pm. My parents tried to convince me to stay, but I told them that my girlfriend was waiting at my apartment, and that she might get mad at me for leaving her or something, you know, normal problems.
And so, I started up my car, turned on the music, and drove out of there. Along the way, we crossed towns, major cities, lots of forest, and a few rivers. From what I can remember, at around 10:00pm, we were driving through this rarely used road.
At this point, the only light source came from the inside of my car and the headlights itself. My car started running low on gas. We were far from any gas stations, so I parked to the side of the dirt road, halfway through some woodlands.
“We’re just gonna get a quick refill, okay?” I said to Mip.
It was quickly responded by an annoyed meow. He doesn’t like being bothered in his sleep.
Luckily, I remembered to bring some gas, as suggested by my girlfriend. So I got out the car, bringing a gas canister with me, and started pumping gas into the fuel tank. After emptying the canister, I had a look at the place. I mean, Mip wouldn’t mind, he’s busy sleeping. I grabbed the flashlight from my bag and brought it with me to have a look outside. Maybe get some fresh air or something.
I could describe the place as being relaxing in a way. We were in an area where the roads weren’t pavement. It stretched on for about a couple miles, with only woodlands on either side of the road and occasional rivers. It was a great place for any outsider like me.
I know some of you might say that this is a bad idea, especially in the dark, but I’ve been driving for 6 hours nonstop at this point, and I would love to have a break.
The place was also very windy. I used to play in the woods with my friends when I was a child, so I almost didn’t get bothered when I heard a distorted shriek coming from in front of us. It sounded like it was coming from the road ahead, but quite a distance away.
It wasn’t that loud, so I presume it was around a mile away or something. I shrugged it off as some kind of wild animal or owl that I haven’t seen before. Besides, we were still in a very rural area. After that, I got back in the car and prepared to continue the journey. As I was putting back the flashlight in my bag though, I saw Mip standing up in my passenger seat.
I thought he was finally done with his nap, so I looked at him. But he seems paranoid, his green eyes dilated, his hair was stood up, and he was looking around, primarily at the direction of the shriek.
“What’s wrong buddy?” I asked.
He didn’t respond. He normally always meows back. Instead, he just keeps staring into the distance, like he was scared of something. And then I heard the sound again. This time, quieter. But that was the breaking point for Mip. He jumped to the back of my car and hid under my seat. I bent down and tried to calm him down.
“Woah, don’t worry Mip. It’s just an animal. I’m sure of it.” I reassured him.
He still doesn’t meow. I let out a sigh, and opened the windows to let some fresh air in. I also turned off the radio, as there was only static. This area didn’t have any signal.
“I mean, Mip will come out eventually, right?” I thought to myself.
I looked at the time. It was 10:17pm. It was getting very late. My eyes started feeling heavy. I started yawning more often. I can’t delay any more time. Theoretically though, I should arrive at my apartment by 1:00am if I just drove without any stops, and so that’s what I planned to do.
As I was cruising down the road, I noticed a bright yellow sign up ahead. While rubbing my eyes, I slowed down and tried to read it. From what I can remember, this is what it said:
WARNING: IF YOU SEE THEM SMILE AT YOU, PLEASE SMILE BACK. Otherwise, injury, dismemberment, or death may occur. You have been warned.
Part of the sign was smothered over with a crimson-reddish substance. Instead, at the bottom of the sign, the phrase “TURN BACK” was written messily, like if the person writing it was in a hurry. To the left of it, I also saw a poor attempt at drawing a face.
The sign itself was… questionable. The sign was made of metal, with a bright, yellow color on the front. The metal pole holding it up was very rusty, and as I checked, so as the back of the sign. Vines had grown all over the sign, but it was still readable. The overall feel of it was making my spine shiver. So much so that I closed the windows. I stayed there for a minute, not knowing what to do.
“Uhm, who’s them?” I mutter to myself.
I took a sip from my water bottle, and decided to continue through the road. And holy f*ck, what I saw next was sickening and horrifying. I wished I would’ve just turned back. As I was driving through there, I thought I caught a glimpse of something. Something on the trees. Because I was curious, I wanted to have a look at it. I already passed it though, and it was almost pitch black outside, so I got out with my flashlight to have a look. And as I pointed the light to where I saw it, I stumbled back and almost threw up.
Nailed to some of the trees, were human faces. I saw at least 5 of them there. Some were old and rotting, but some looked like they were new. They all had a number scratched messily at the bark under them. They were 22, 23, 24, 25, and 26. And on the side of the road near the faces, was a headless woman lying on the floor. It looked like it was there for days now. Flies and maggots were swarming it. I immediately turn my head around and got back in the car.
I tried my best not to vomit, thus making me cough and making my eyes teary. But as I looked up, there was something in the distance. I wiped the tears from me eyes.
I saw them. Lanky humanoid figures, around 8 feet tall. They were standing in the middle of the road, in the distance. There were 4 of them as far as I can see. Their skin was white, and they looked like they were facing the opposite direction, away from me. They had these long and slender arms and legs, with frail looking fingers. They weren’t there before. They just appeared. But they sure as hell aren’t human.
And one by one, they started turning around. The skin on their face was removed, revealing the flesh underneath. It was a mix of pink and red. I let out a loud scream. My body was shaking. I couldn’t move.
Blood was dripping down from their faces, slowly dribbing down their neck and onto their chest. Their eyes were bulged out, facing opposite directions before locking them at me. But the worst part was their mouth. When they saw me, they started smiling, a horrifying grin from ear to ear.
Within this long, unsettling grin, were humanoid looking teeth, with a yellowish tint to them. One of them motioned at me to come forward, using it’s long fingers. The others let out this loud childish giggle.
They stood there motionless for a mere few seconds, before slowly walking towards me. Adrenaline kicked into my body. I started turning the car, but it took longer than usual, as the road wasn’t that wide. My breath quickened. My heartbeat grew faster. I felt tears rolling down my eyes.
They were only a few feet away from my car by the time I fully turned it around, startling me. One of them got a hold of the car, but I almost floored the pedal, getting out of there as fast as I can. I kept screaming the whole time. I was speechless. I could even hear them running after my car. At first I didn’t even bother looking back, but something was telling me to do it.
And so, as I looked in the rear-view mirror, the last thing I saw was one of them raising a severed head by it’s hair, raising it proudly with that unsettling smile on their face, still facing me as they all disappeared into the darkness of the forest behind.