Many people know about how unlucky the number 13 is. I personally didn’t believe in the superstition of the number 13 because I had never experienced anything unfortunate connected to it. That was until I got stranded on Highway 13.
It was late at night when I was driving down the road. I had noticed how desolate the road seemed; I had not seen another car on it the entire trip. I was traveling somewhere nearby and had admittedly gotten a bit lost. Thick woods lined both sides of the road, giving an eerie vibe. Partly due to my own lack of knowledge regarding where I was and partly due to the fear an animal could jump before my headlights in a heartbeat, I drove very cautiously.
All of a sudden, my car started acting strange. My headlights flashed on and off, and, worried something was wrong, I pulled over to the side of the road. After parking and turning the car off, I got out and checked the engine and headlights. Strangely, there was nothing wrong, so I got back in and went to turn it on.
Then it wouldn’t start. I tried multiple times, but each time the car failed to turn on. I laid my head against my steering wheel and sighed, “Of course it wouldn’t work when I needed it to.”
I stayed there for a few minutes before a feeling of dread suddenly settled over me. My hair stood as I looked up. I could barely see in front of me, but I could make out a pale figure a few feet in front of my vehicle. It stood there, motionless. Chills covered my body as the air grew colder.
I quickly reached into my center console for a flashlight, but by the time I turned it on the figure was gone. I blinked quickly several times, before assuming that it must have been my imagination. I set the flashlight down and grabbed my phone to dial 911.
First call, no service. I called again, but to no avail. Finally, with one final attempt, my call went through.
“This is 911, what’s your emergency?” A man answered on the other end.
“Yes, hello, my car broke down on Highway 13,” I responded hastily.
“Okay, do you know where on the road you are?”
“No-” I began to hear static.
“Ma’am? Can you repeat that-” His voice was overtaken by static.
What the hell? I barely had time to sort my thoughts before a new voice bellowed from my phone.
“I can see you, but can you see me?”
I dropped the phone immediately as disembodied laughter came from it. The voice was shrill but deep, like multiple people were speaking at once. The call abruptly ended as my phone flashed “no service”.. I grabbed my flashlight once more and turned it on, shining it out my windows.
I didn’t see anything, but the chills down my spine continued. I never believed in the paranormal, and even then I was trying to make a reasonable explanation for it all. Steeling my nerves, I got out of my vehicle with my flashlight in hand. I searched around my car, looking for anything that could explain what just happened. I had walked to the edge of the road, shining the light into the woods, when I heard a twig snap. It made me jump, but I couldn’t see anything.
I took a deep breath, “It’s okay, it’s okay, it was most likely an animal.”
Taking a step closer to the woods, I heard the sound of a crying child. “Hello? Are you okay? I’m going to come to you so keep making sounds.” I called out.
I entered the woods despite every instinct of mine telling me not to. I just couldn’t ignore the voice; it might have been an actual child lost in the woods. After a little while, I came to a small clearing in the woods where I spotted a small figure.
The sound of crying was louder here, so I knew the figure had to be the child. It was squatted on the ground with its back to me.
“Hey, it’s alright, I’ll help you out of here.” I said as I walked up to the child.
The crying quieted down, and I went to place my hand on the child’s shoulder. I noticed how cold the child felt.
“Are you alright?”
In that instance, it turned around. Its face morphed into something demonic, and it leaped at me. I screamed in horror and fell back away from it. I quickly stood up, but I didn’t see it anywhere.
I ran as fast as I could back to my car, praying nothing else would happen. I couldn’t explain what I saw with any reason or logic. After a terrifying sprint, I finally made it to my car and got in before locking my doors. I tried turning my car on but it wouldn’t start.
“Come on, come on, come on!” I shouted before hitting the steering wheel.
Like a miracle the car started, but something was very wrong. I couldn’t change the gearshift. A pit settled in my stomach as the gearshift moved on its own, and my car started rolling down the road. I tried my door, but it wouldn’t unlock. I moved to try my passenger door and even my back doors, but I was trapped.
The radio cut on, static emitting from it. That disembodied laugh came through the radio once more.
I couldn’t take it anymore and yelled. “What do you want from me!”
“What do I want? I want your life!” It responded as the car accelerated.
I quickly moved back to the driver’s seat and buckled up. I slammed my foot on the brakes, but they wouldn’t budge. Tears fell from my eyes as I knew this was how I was going to die. My high beams flashed on, and I saw a bridge up ahead. My heart sank into my stomach.
I struggled more, trying to open my door, roll my windows down, or stop the car, but nothing worked. The radio still had static laughter playing through it. I prayed and prayed for something to save me.
I looked back up, and a white wolf now stood in the middle of the road. The car slowed as the radio cut off. I slammed on the brakes, and they actually worked. My car stopped a few feet in front of the white wolf which stood motionless. I cried from both fear and relief.
I could hear sirens in the distance and knew that the police were on their way. The white wolf disappeared before my eyes, leaving me in shock . It wasn’t long after that the police arrived and asked me what happened. I tried to retell what I experienced as best as I could, but I couldn’t help getting choked up on sobs as I explained what happened.
Despite no physical injuries, they insisted on taking me to the hospital to get checked over.
“But what about my car?” I asked.
“We will have one of the officers drive it to the hospital, you are too shaken up to drive right now,” the officer explained.
I agreed and got in his car. Just as he went to leave, I felt an instinct to look to the woods’ edge, and there stood that white wolf, watching me.
I’m not sure what happened that night, but I am positive that something paranormal tried to kill me. I also believe that the white wolf I saw is a guardian or protector of some kind that saved me. It answered my prayers and saved me from that demonic creature. While I didn’t believe in the paranormal before, I strongly believe in it now. Some words of advice for everyone, don’t get stranded on Highway 13, or you might see for yourself why the number 13 is feared.