The wind blew harshly on a dark and cloudy fall night. Trees were savagely wrenched back and forth by nature’s wrath as through their naked branches it tore. Eerie shadows were cast on the ground as if demons were reaching up trying to pull me into them. Would this be the night that my life was wrenched from me or would I make it clear of this hell and once again stand in serene peacefulness? The day was long as I had toiled in the woods making sure I had enough wood for the coming of the brutal and cold weather that was swiftly approaching. The fresh cuttings would replace the ones used to warm my body and soul on nights such as this. I had been on my way back home, my truck loaded down with wood when a loud bang pierced my ears. The sound seemed like that of a gun going off right by my ears and frightened me. My trucks engine died at that exact instance as if some evil magician had snapped their fingers and it was made to disappear. I pulled my truck to the side of the road and tried to restart the engine but all that fell on my ears was a barely audible click when I turned the ignition. Nothing! Not even a wanting laboring turning over would I hear on this dreary night.
I exited my truck and went to the front of it and searched for the latch that would release the hood. The cold and bone chilling wind savagely ripping at my skin as if to peel it from my body. No light did I have with me so into the darkness under the hood I slid my hand, hoping I was in the exact spot to grasp the latch. Then I felt it, searing pain shot up my arm and flooded my body as I could not move. The pulse of my heart was felt as the pain pulsed freely, my head starting to spin and I was feeling like I was going to pass out. I tried to pull my hand from under the hood to see what had caused me so much pain but pull as I might my hand would not come free. I tugged harder, harder, harder and I felt this ripping feeling at the end of my arm and horror quickly filled me. Intense, almost unbearable pain, was now flooding through me and I leaned against the truck to steady myself. Finally my arm pulled free of the vehicle and I stood there looking in total horror as now only a bloody stub was where my hand once used to be. How could this have been possible as I had looked under the hood before and never, yes never had I been cut, say nothing of my hand being totally severed from my body. I went to the cab of the truck and grabbed a towel that was on the front seat and quickly wrapped my hand to protect the raw and open end of it as much as I could.
My heart was racing and I knew I needed to find help fast or I could possibly bleed to death right there on that winding mountain road. I thought for a minute trying to decide which would be the best direction to walk and hope that a motorist would come along, stop and give me assistance. The longer I stood there the darker the night seemed to become as if it was devouring my very soul. A strong and to the bone shiver flew through my body and for this time I felt totally alone and scared. Would I die right here on this roadway or would, by the miracles of God be saved to see another day. I started walking down hill as I knew it would allow my heart to beat slower and would not pump any more of my vital fluid then it needed to. The longer I could control the bleeding, if you wanted to call it controlled, the better chance I had of making it to safety. The road was overhung with low hanging branches savagely tearing at the night air as they were beaten unmercifully by the harsh wind. As I walked along the road branches tore at my clothing that I wore as if they were the hands of demons and wanted me stripped of all my protection from them. I heard it right then, the ripping sound of my jacket as a long jagged tear was made into the soft plush leather, thinking to myself better the jacket then my skin. I walked a little faster as I knew not how long the weather would stay this way as I was sure rain would start pelting me at any time.
I looked back over my shoulder, shock, horror and wonderment filled me all at once. I could not believe what my eyes were seeing and my heart raced as I knew that something was wrong. Was it the lack of blood making me hallucinate or were my eyes really seeing this unexplainable sight? This could not possible be as I had been walking for a few minutes and even had gone around some bends in the roadway. There it was, seemingly following me, my truck, yet I heard no engine running so I knew that it still had no power. What was happening to me? I walked faster and faster and then looked back one more time and there it was still the same distance behind me. Horror was quickly consuming me and I knew that some demon was messing with my mind and was going to bring harm to me in some way. No matter how fast I walked the truck still did not get any farther away. I would stop walking and turn around and the truck, turning and continuing to walk the truck would again follow me. I started running hoping that it would pull me away from the demon possessed truck that now had me in its clutches. This was to no avail as there it was still the same distance as before. I stopped , turned to face the truck and screamed at the top of my lungs, “Leave me alone!”
The truck engine came to life in the sound of laughter as if it was amused at the fright I was feeling. The headlights came on blinding me so I could not see as my eyes had become accustomed to the darkness. I watched in horror as it seemed the drivers side headlight was flickering as if it was winking at me like this was some kind of sick joke. The engine raced a couple times as if someone had tromped down on the gas pedal feeding it its vital fluid needed to sustain its life. I heard the faint sound of music being played and my ears strained to listen to see if it was indeed coming from my truck. The tune was unfamiliar at first but soon I found myself uncontrollably humming it as if it was being forced from me. I tried to stop the humming but the harder I tried the louder it became until I started singing the song. The more words I sang pictures started to filter through my mind. I could see piles of dead bodies, people savagely ripping their skin from them and devouring it raw. Drinking glass after glass of human blood as if they were vampires having a yearly feast. I closed my eyes and shook my head trying to clear the visions from my mind but it did not work. I stood there as if I was watching one of the most grotesque horror shows I could ever think of.
People devouring other people that had been weaker and lost the right to live. Legs, arms, torsos and even brains ripped from the skulls was eaten raw and savagely. I watched as eyeballs were stabbed by sharp skewers and the children were given them to enjoy as if they were tootsie roll pops. Without hesitation the children sucked and licked on them, smiling and laughing in total enjoyment. I could not believe the carnage filled sight that was fueling my mind at this time. I knew I detested horror stories and had never watched any. I could not understand what was possessing me to envision this at this time and place. I watched in horror in my vision as people came to me and started pulling at me trying to knock me off my feet. My clothes were savagely ripped from my body by strong hands as soon I stood there naked shivering from the cold. Would I be the next meal of these demons or would I escape from them and find safe haven in my home. My mind was suddenly awakened again as I now knew the name of that song that I was singing so loudly, Savage Beast Take My Body and it was by the Demons From Hell. Horror filled me even faster as I could not understand how I would know all the words to a song I was sure that I had never heard before, me being a strictly country and western fan and all.
Trembling now, not sure if it was from the wind or the horror that was consuming me, I could feel the beads of perspiration as they started to form on my wind beaten brow. I knew one thing for sure I needed help for my hand as I was feeling fainter and fainter as time slipped so slowly past. If I could not get help soon this would be the place that I was destined to take my final breath all alone, my world empty of family and friends that had meant so much to me. I started walking back towards the truck since the engine was running to leave this mountain road for the comforts of my house and its surroundings. Every step I took was for not as the truck never came any closer either, how silly of me to think that saving my life would be this easy. I darted towards the truck thinking I would catch it by surprise but to my amazement tires squealed, dirt flew and the truck moved back away. It was really strange as it seemed the faster I ran at it the faster the truck, yes my truck, would pull away from me.
This was all to horrifying so I decided arm injury or not I was going to get away from there as fast as I could. The faster I ran the faster came the truck as if it did not want to lose sight of me. Down the roadway I ran, my heart racing at a speed that made it feel like it would explode. Pain filled my chest as I was asking my lungs to work overtime, forcing air in and out faster then I ever had. Branches were ripping at my skin as the wind threw them around in the night air sporadically. The whipping stinging sensation I felt as the landed on my skin reminded me that I was still alive. I could feel the thin branches opening cuts in my skin as if they were small razors with a keen edge. I could feel more of my warm blood as it trickled down over my cheek. How much more blood could I afford to lose before I went into shock and passed out? I looked down the road and horror hit me instantly. How could it be happening, where did it go, what would I do, as the road disappeared and there was nothing but trees. I was going to stop then I realized if I kept running I would enter the woods and the truck would not be able to follow and then maybe I could find my way away from the demon. I ran even faster knowing I would soon be able to escape this hell that I had somehow entered.
I had just about reached the wood line when I heard the truck engine race, wheels scream and it race towards me as if it was trying to get me before I got to safety. Looking back over my shoulder I saw how fast the truck was coming and I knew that if it hit me I surely would be dead. Suddenly my toe caught a rock and crashing to the ground I went sliding along the rough and brutal ground. I could feel the harsh jagged gravel as it dug and cut into my skin, feeding my body more pain, as if it needed it. My body ached from the slamming down onto the ground but I knew now that I could not waste one second. I was kicking, clawing the dirt and scrambling trying to get to my feet and get into the woods. The harder I tried the worse traction I got until Finally I caught a foot hold and with my arms pushing me half erect I lurched forward. Two quick steps and I dove for the protection of the trees around me knowing that they were close enough to preclude the truck from getting me. I laid there for a minute, my eyes closed, my breathing labored, my heart pounding and filled to the brim with fear. Then I heard the one thing that I did not want to hear as the loud crash of heavy metal ramming the trees filled my ears. I could not believe this was actually happening to me, my truck was possessed and was trying to kill me, Stephen King story this I was sure of.
I listened as the truck kept backing up and ramming into the trees as if to destroy them one after another to get to me. I knew I had to hide and in a hurry before it succeeded in getting to me. I forced myself to my feet and though I was filled with pain I moved still deeper into the woods. I found a windfall and slipped in behind the ripped up roots as it provided me with a safe haven from the harsh wind. I knew it blocked the line of sight between me and the truck but as deep as I was in the woods I knew the truck could not get to me. I rested my back against the roots and dirt and removed the towel from the end of my arm. As I unwrapped the bloody stump I felt that something was different in me as if a change was taking place. I got to the last wrap of the towel and when it fell away I could not believe my eyes as there hanging from the end of what was once a bloody stump was my hand. I tried to move the fingers and they worked perfectly, pinching it I could even feel pain shoot up my arm. I picked up the towel, lifted it and looked at it to see if I had imagined all this or if it was full of blood as it should have been. I could see the outline of darker material against the towel and the heft of it told me that it was more then filled with fluid which I took as my blood since it was so dark I couldn’t really see for sure.
My hand that I had so violently had torn from my body was now reattached and running my fingers around my wrist I could not even feel a tear in my skin. Had this all been a bad nightmare or was there something really bizarre going on here? I was willing to take a chance and figured if the hand had grown back maybe I had imagined it all and my truck was not chasing me. I slowly stood up to look over the top of the roots and horror filled me once again. There I was, standing there frozen, eyeball to headlight with the meanest looking truck I had ever encountered. It has somehow located me and was getting ready to destroy the one protection I had found. I looked in horror as it rammed back to get a running start to over run me, crushing me under all that dirt, roots, vehicle and weight. I had to do something quick as it was very evident to me that the truck was out to destroy me. As the truck lurched ahead I darted to my left and ran through the bushes. Low hanging branches were once again lashing at me, stinging my skin with every whip and scratch. I heard the truck hit the mound of roots and dirt from the windfall and I could tell it was now hung up.
This would afford me a while to get away and luckily there in front of me was a cliff with boulders that I could hide behind or climb around them making my way upward. I thought for a quick second and decided that I would head for higher ground. I looked back at the truck as tires were spinning and dirt was sent flying by tires that worked so hard trying to pull the truck off the stump it had become hung up on. I decided that that would be the last time that I looked back so I turned and started my climb up the side of the cliff carefully working my way around the boulders. Huffing and puffing, my lungs starving for air, my chest ached as upward I went. Soon I was almost half way up the hill side and figured I could stop and rest for a few minutes. I looked back to where the truck had been hung up and in amazement I saw that there was nothing there. I knew the truck had not quit and figured it would be only time before the demon was after me once again. Then I heard the loud crash ands I felt the ground shake and stood up to see what was going on. There about two hundred feet below me was the truck smashing itself into large boulders as it tried to move them.
Would this crazy attack from this truck ever be over with and would I even be able to survive it? Harder and harder the truck worked making its way up to me. Seemingly nothing would stop this truck until it had destroyed me. I screamed at the truck to leave me alone and go away but that only seemed to make the truck that much more determined. I started climbing once again as I wanted to get to the top of the hill and possibly to safety on the other side. Turning I grabbed for a small tree and pulled my elf upward. Grabbing anything in front of me I made my way along slowly. All the time I could hear the racing of the trucks engine as it filled my ears. I could not believe this was happening to me. Finally I made it to the top of the hill and without noticing it before I heard nothing. The sound of the truck’s racing engine was now gone and for the first time I breathed a sigh of relief. I wondered to myself where the truck had gone and had it actually given up the fight trying to get to me? I brushed off the dirt and debris that I collected from slipping and sliding while climbing the hill. I now stood in a clearing lit by the light of a full moon as it shown down from its bed high in the sky.
I looked around for some place I could call a shelter and maybe get some sleep. I wanted something so that if the truck came back it would not be able to get to me. Finding nothing I started walking across the open area to see what laid along the other side. My eyes locked onto a group of huge rocks that would certainly provide me protection as I knew the truck would destroy it self if it tried to get to me. Closer and closer I came to the rocks and I found them in a circular shape with a small opening in the middle where I could sleep for a bit. I looked around to see if there was any sign of the truck as all I heard now was the harsh howling of the wind that had suddenly picked up. All was dark around me and I could not make out any shape that looked anything like that of the truck. I knew then I was safe as it had disappeared almost as quickly it had appeared before. In the dark I tripped over a rut in the dirt as I had not expected any tire marks to be in my way. Looking and feeling the rut I could tell it had been made by a heavy lugged tire. I wished that the vehicle that had been here was only here now as I would be able to get completely away and to safety. I tried to tell which way the truck had been traveling so that I could figure the best way out of the woods I found myself in.
Picking myself up off the ground I wiped the dirt from my clothes and started, once again, off towards the rocks. I had taken a couple of steps when I heard the roaring sound of the engine and suddenly I was engulfed by the bright headlight beams of light. I was horrified as I knew that the demonic truck had been lying there in the dark, all this time watching me. It had intentionally lured me into a false sense of hope as it let me think I would be able to make the safety of the rocks without no problem at all. Now doubt filled my mind but I knew I would have to try. I took off running for the rocks and heard the truck as it growled its anger. The revving of the engine told me that the battle we were having was not yet over. Faster and faster I ran towards the rocks until I finally dove in between them. I was not sure if the truck was going to attack but I wanted to make sure that I had made the rocks. Turning around I laid flat on the ground and peered around a rock to see what if anything was happening. I saw the truck sitting there, engine revving and its headlights were like eyes just glaring at me. My heart was beating faster and faster as I knew not what I was going to be able to do to free myself of this nemesis
I wondered why it didn‘t attack me as it had done before as it chased me through the woods. Was it now satisfied that there was no way to get to me or was it waiting to see if I would leave the confines of the rock and then corner me? I guess only time would tell and that was something that I now appeared to have plenty of. Sometime in the dark of the night I had succumbed to the total exhaustion of my body and has closed my eyes to sleep. I had been awoken by the sun beating down on me from above and the hot temperature of the day. I wiped the sleep from my eyes as I was sure that this day would bring to the end my dilemma one way or the other. I listened to see if I could hear the truck and there was nothing. I looked up over the rock and there it sat. Its big yellow frame, black grille painted as if it was a mouth, and huge tires with massive lugs to give it its traction. Its headlights looked as if they were the eyes of the devil as they could pierce through anything burning all the way to ones soul. What a truly demonic truck this was and what made it even worse was the idea that this truck was out to kill me.
I watched the truck sitting there as if it was sleeping. The lights had been turned off and the engine now sat idle as no sound came from it. Could the driver of this truck actually be sleeping or was it another game of opossum? I decided to play a waiting game with it and see if it would give in. The day grew hotter and longer and there I was with no water and or food. The sweat had beaded heavy on my brow now and my shirt was already sweat soaked from the heat. My stomach rumbled continuously now as if it was asking my politely for food. Still there the truck sat as quiet as could be and not making a move of any fashion. I knew that I was not going to be able to sit here for days and wait for the truck to decide what it was going to do. I finally decided I would have to leave this place and get back to my home which I had left a couple days before. Once there I would be safe back inside its confines as I knew the truck could not get to me. I decided I would have a better chance finding my way during the daylight so before I lost too much more sun I decided to head for home. I stood and looked at the truck and watching it carefully I stepped from between the rocks that had been my security.
I was half way between the rocks and the tree line when the truck roared to life. I heard the powerful engine as the sound filled the air. I then heard it shift into gear and the tires spin as it fought for traction. Looking over my shoulder all I could see was dust that surrounded the truck and rocks and dirt being thrown by the tires. The tires were savagely digging deep into the earth looking for their first feeling of traction. I took off running for the trees as I knew it was my one chance at safety. The squeal of the tires as they finally caught traction pierced me as the loud noise made me shudder. I knew it was now bearing down on me as I could hear the noise getting closer and closer. Faster and faster I ran as it gained on me. Just then my foot stubbed a rock that was sticking up out of the ground and I lost my balance. Stumbling I tried to regain my balance but downward I fell, skidding across the loose gravel. Jagged and pointed rocks dug and scratched at me as I slid violently across them. The truck was now upon me as one of its tires had my foot pinned. Tugging and tugging I knew now that I was not going to be able to get away.
Farther and farther up my leg I felt the truck roll as its pressure against my skin became greater and greater. I laid there screaming for it to release me and not crush me to death. I knew my chances of it letting me go were slim but it was now the only hope that I had. The purrrrr of the engine almost sounded like one of joy as it revved louder and louder. Could this be the end I was destined to face when God made his calling, being killed by a demonic truck? More and more pressure built on my leg as the tire rolled up onto my thigh. I closed my eyes as I knew the end would be soon. Soon I would be buried under the heavy weight of that massive tire and the truck would crush the last breath from me. Higher and higher it rolled as I felt the pressure build on my chest, the end was here. I started praying to God placing my life in his hands and suddenly I heard a heavy laughter. I opened my eyes for what might be the last time and the sight before me was totally horrifying.
There was my little brother running his brand new toy truck up over my body yelling, "Get up sleepy head and play with me before I crush you with my truck." I looked at him and smiled and grabbed the truck. A huge sigh of relief came over me and then I started laughing out loud. He looked at me like I had lost my mind and maybe I had. I was remembering back to the time my mom had told me that since I abused my trucks when I was small that one day a truck would attack me while I was sleeping. She surely was not kidding either.
© Tall Mountain Dreamer December 7, 2002
