“It’s not real,” I told myself out loud.
I was crouched over a trash bag in the red glow of my tail lights. I’d always pulled over to open them. Who doesn’t wonder what’s inside when they see them on the side of the road?
Most of the time it’s just rubbish. Sticks and compost, literal trash, toys or clothes probably meant for donation. Sometimes…a dead animal. Those I’d always rebag and find a dumpster for. Isn’t it some kind of biohazard to leave it laying out like that?
Anyways, I’d never really had an interesting find, but I couldn’t ever just continue driving without knowing. Safe to say it was probably the weirdest of my many quirks.
I was on my way home from my friend’s house. It was dark and there was a light mist, but there was no one else on the backroad. I figured a quick hop out and I’d be on my way.
I grabbed my gloves.
I crouched down and tore into it to find another layer of black plastic. Double bagged.
“Damn,” I muttered.
Double bags significantly increased the chances of super rancid trash and dead things. The only triple-bagger I’d ever found was two bloated raccoons on a hot summer day. The stench didn’t leave my nostrils for a week, I swear. I’d definitely heard at least one of them “deflate” inside the new bag as I threw them in the back of my truck.
I was hesitating, wondering if it was gonna be worth it to tear through the second layer of bag, when I heard a snap and a crunch. My head jerked up towards the woods.
I thought I’d seen something, maybe a leg, disappear behind a tree just at the edge of the treeline, about 10 meters ahead of me.
I held my breath. The rain was getting a bit heavier. It had soaked my ball cap and started to drip from the bill. Could it have been a raindrop coming off my hat? A trick of the light? Just an animal? I couldn’t see well enough past my little red spotlight’s edges.
Ten seconds went by and there was nothing else. I breathed a sigh of relief.
“It’s not real,” I said out loud, for comfort. It felt too quiet suddenly.
I lowered my head to the bag again. When I did, I looked to its edge on my left. It was frayed and holey in some spots. My eyes drifted a little further and I could see a rut in the fine dust off the edge of the road.
Had this bag been dragged?
At the realization, my head snapped back up to the treeline. I squinted, aware that I’d just been blasted with adrenaline. After a moment I stood, slowly, my eyes never moving from the trees in front of me. The ones where I thought I’d seen the movement.
I decided it was best to just leave. Plus I was getting unnerved. Losing my wits.
“It’s not real,” I said one more time for comfort, before turning to walk away.
“Wait!” A sharp whisper pierced the dark, barely audible above my idling engine.
My heart jumped in my chest and I spun around, fists raised. I was unsure if I was going to fight, or run, or both. There was no one behind me and my gaze shot immediately across my truck bed to the woods.
I didn’t see anyone, but someone was out there. Suspicion pushed the scenario through my head. They were walking down the road in the middle of the night and saw me coming. I spooked them and they ran into the woods. I was sure of it. It might have been paranoia, but I could feel their eyes on me.
What were they doing? Why did they hide? Why were they trying to get my attention? I would say that they left the bag as bait, but who would stop to check out a trash bag?
I moved past scared and into angry. I clenched my fists harder and looked behind me to make sure it was clear. I decided to say nothing else and back up slowly. I just wanted to get the hell out of there.
I took my first silent step backwards when the voice came again, louder.
“Is he gone?!” It cried out near my feet.
The bag started to shake and flail as a figure bolted towards me from the woods.