It’s already a huge miracle that I’m alive and write this, I can hardly believe that despite of everything I’m still alive and made it through the night, though not unscratched.
I named those things I saw in the dark nighters (short for night terrors) but the name is the least important thing about them, what’s important is that one of them almost killed me at some point.
I was on my last drops of window cleaner when it stroke midnight. I realized I’d either make a run for it or wait until the bottle’s effect to wear off and have them surround me while trapped inside the crane.
Just a few minutes past since I last sprayed the inside of the cabin, I noticed a creature on the side of the crane close to the engine’s air vents. It was hard to see it clearly with barely any light on the outside but it looked like a human face with tentacles coming out of where its neck should be. The thing had an agonizing facial expression like something out of a medieval painting. It opened its mouth and blew a dark mist which was absorbed into the cabin through the air vents.
I immediately held my breath, cranked up the AC, opened the door and the windows. At which point the thing took the opportunity to jump inside the cabin. I tried pushing it back with my bare hands but that sucker was slippery. It landed on my lap and firmly choked me with its tentacles. I couldn’t breath at all, even now that the dark mist had abandoned the cabin. I saw my own reflection through the rear view mirror and my face had turned purple by now, it would be a matter of time before I’d pass out and shortly after, I’d die.
With what little strength I had left, I reached for the window cleaner and sprayed the last bits over the Nighter. The thing screeched in pain and let go of my neck, I gasped for air desperately as the thing twitched in pain. I grabbed a salt crystal and shove it into the Nighter’s mouth while it screamed. It didn’t took long for the thing to start convulsing and drop dead shortly after.
I kicked it out of the crane quite literally, then immediately shut the door closed. Not long after I saw the pale humanoid creature approach the crane. Thinking that would be the end of me I held on tightly to a salt crystal, but it didn’t came after me, that thing grabbed the dead Nighter and gladly munched on it like a snack.
Far away I heard an engine revving, the sound getting closer and closer by the second until I was momentarily blinded by a pair of headlights right in front of me. At the opposite end of the gate I could distinguish a white Corolla. The driver flashed his lights as if saying “Get ready” before driving straight into the gate and pushing it open.
The car wasn’t unscratched by any means, the front bumper was barely hanging on to the car and the hood had bent quite badly, but the gate was open and that’s all that mattered. The car backed up slowly and I advanced as fast as I could.
A canalero tried shutting the gate again but the car hadn’t moved apart from the gate completely just yet, so the gate just hit the side of the car about two times before a Nighter pushed the childlike figure to the ground and struggled to take a bite out of its neck.
I managed to get to the gate, at that point the car backed off from the gate completely and drove away. The car had windows tinted and no license plate so I couldn’t see or reach out for whoever just saved me, unfortunately. Once I finally got on the road, I drove away with a huge feeling of relief.
It was about midnight when I escaped so the roads were pretty much empty. I saw my own reflection on the rear view mirror, I looked like shit. My eye’s whites had gone red and my neck had a black line going around it. “This is how it looks like to be choked to death” I thought.
While driving down the street out of the canal I thought of catching up to the corolla, but realistically I would never catch up to him on this crane going about 6mph at most. I said to myself that I’d live another day and as long as I’m alive I’d be able to meet up with that person and thank them for saving my life.
At about 1am I arrived at the mechanic, he had already gone home but he had a copy of the crane’s keys so I just dropped it off in the back and walked back to my car. Luckily I had parked by a nearby lot instead of driving all the way into the canal.
I drove straight to the nearest hospital, parked my car and walked inside. As soon as I walked in I saw the receptionist cover her mouth and shift her unbothered expression into one of pure horror.
“My God!! What happened to you?” She asked before calling an on shift nurse through her walkie talkie.
“I got mugged” I lied.
The nurse took me to a room which two other patients inside. They didn’t seem wounded or anything, can’t say the same thing about me, they both stared at me in horror when I first walked in and then looked the other way.
Before the doctor arrived, the police had been called and they asked me if I was okay to give a full report which I did. While I was driving to the hospital I rehearsed a story about dropping off the crane at the mechanic and walking back to my car. I told the officers how some guy tied me by the neck with some kind of thick rope while the other guy took my watch and emptied my wallet, I told the officer how the guy just took the cash and dropped the wallet on the ground. Then, right before I lost consciousness, they pushed me into the ground and ran.
The cops seemed to buy the story, they just asked where this had taken place and why didn’t I called 911 if they didn’t took my phone? I said I didn’t get a good look on the guys and didn’t thought of anything other than running to the safety of my car when it happened. It didn’t sit well with me to escalate a lie to such lengths but had I told them what actually happened they’d just assume I was either wasted or high.
I spent the night at the hospital. By the morning I sent Roger pictures of both the police and medical report explaining I’d be home for like three days before I could come back to work. He understood and seemed apologetic that this all happened because he had sent me back (He was right about that, even without knowing the whole story) and told me to just focus on getting well for now.
I thought about calling Jorge to tell him what happened the night before, I still hadn’t confirmed if it had been him who saved me back then. However, he was the only one I told about what was going on that night so there’s no way someone else could’ve known what was going on and come to my rescue, right?
I sent Jorge a text asking where to get more of that special window cleaner, I had ran out through the night and I’d been proven that there’s no surviving this job without it. Shortly after I got a reply from him, only two words “You’re Alive??” Followed by a phone call I didn’t picked up.
Later that day when I felt somewhat better I asked the doctor to let me get some rest at home for now to which he agreed. It took me about an hour to get through the remaining paperwork and so on before they actually allowed me to leave. It was about 3pm by the time walked out of the hospital and got into my car. I opened the door on the drivers seat then pulled out the keys from my pocket and ran them through the ignition. Wait… did I just pulled out the keys? How did I opened the door without them? I was absolutely sure I’d locked my car the night before, I always do.
I looked at the backseat and noticed a paper bag that wasn’t there the night before “how strange” I thought. Without delay I grabbed the bag and placed it over my lap, it wasn’t heavy or anything. Once I looked inside I felt a big relief noticing the transparent spray bottle inside, it was the same window cleaner I’ve been using at work. I also found some more salt crystals and a handwritten note.
“Don’t tell anyone about last night, for your own safety I hope you haven’t done so already” -E.SF
I browsed through my glove compartment, looking for the note I got on my windshield after the meeting with Jorge, once I found it I compared handwritings, it was a match.
So my mysterious ally who I had been almost sure had been Jorge this entire time wasn’t really him but the driver from last night, ESF. I didn’t knew anybody by such initials and it’s not like I had enough information to try to find them anyways. The only clue I had would be to be on the lookout for a white Corolla with a fucked up front.
In any case, ESF had been the one who helped me last night and kept me stocked on essential supplies, if they’d rather stay anonymous it would be stupid of me to go after them. He must have his reasons, or maybe her? I knew absolutely nothing about this person except that no one else but ESF helped me with my canal issues.
I drove home, exhausted from all the crap I had dealt with in the past few days and looking forward to doing nothing for the next couple of days while I recovered. I received a message while I was pulling up on my driveway, it was from Jorge apologizing for not knowing where to find more of the spray. He called me shortly after and I felt the urge to block him and cut all ties with him, I couldn’t trust him anymore. However, I couldn’t deny that I was curious as to why ESF distrusted him, he went though the same shit as me not too long ago and ESF had helped and supplied him just like with me. I answered the call.
“Dave, amigo, how on earth are you still alive??” he seemed extremely surprised.
“I made a hole in the ground and just wait until morning” I joked, but he wasn’t amused.
“Take this seriously, you’re the first person to ever make it out alive as far as I know. You gotta give me the details, man” He practically begged.
“Listen, there were canaleros and hooded shadows. I don’t know what else to tell you” I said dismissively, telling him what he already knew by now.
“What about the shadows?” He asked rather exited.
“Shadows? Did somebody else told you there would be shadows? but I thought I was the first one to make it out alive. Is there something you’re not telling me?” I feigned ignorance.
“Okay listen, I haven’t told you everything just yet” He stopped for a second. “There’s a second part to the list of rules, also notes left by my predecessor”
“Why didn’t you told me before?” I asked angrily.
“I didn’t want you to quit and if you knew what I know, you would’ve left a long time ago” He made a nervous chuckle. “Listen man, can you drop by my place? I’ll give you the notes and you can tell me everything in person, about last night. I’ll send you my address right now”
I didn’t even had time to decline, Jorge just hung up and shortly after I received a message from him with an address in Miami about two hours away from my place.