WEBVTT 1 00:00:07.679 --> 00:00:13.039 Stone River by Neoma, finn For the most part, all 2 00:00:13.080 --> 00:00:16.519 American towns are the same. That can be split into 3 00:00:16.519 --> 00:00:21.440 small villages and towns, medium sized cities, and large metropolis, 4 00:00:22.359 --> 00:00:25.800 But no matter how you slice them, the similarities are obvious. 5 00:00:26.760 --> 00:00:29.559 Each town, of course, has its own traditions or claim 6 00:00:29.640 --> 00:00:32.039 to fame that will make it unique in one way 7 00:00:32.119 --> 00:00:35.799 or another, But for the most part, all American towns 8 00:00:35.840 --> 00:00:39.640 are the same. Like most towns. Where I live, we 9 00:00:39.759 --> 00:00:43.000 have a carnival every spring, a fair each summer, and 10 00:00:43.039 --> 00:00:46.880 a harvest festival in the fall. They're no different and 11 00:00:47.039 --> 00:00:51.320 generally not as impressive as the carnivals, fairs, and festivals 12 00:00:51.359 --> 00:00:55.640 held in any of our neighboring towns. Every December of 13 00:00:55.640 --> 00:00:59.200 the mayor's office decorates main street with lights and glittery 14 00:00:59.320 --> 00:01:03.200 images of snow men, reindeer, and Santa Claus, and there 15 00:01:03.240 --> 00:01:06.959 is a Christmas parade. All of our neighboring towns do 16 00:01:07.079 --> 00:01:10.959 the same. When I was a kid, my parents would 17 00:01:11.000 --> 00:01:13.239 take me down to the town square so that we 18 00:01:13.280 --> 00:01:18.280 could walk from storefront to storefront looking at the animatronic elves, 19 00:01:18.319 --> 00:01:23.599 building toys and dioramas of Santa's workshop, or wintery images 20 00:01:23.640 --> 00:01:27.560 of forest animals decorating living Christmas trees in the woods. 21 00:01:28.599 --> 00:01:30.959 I would ooh and a, and the shop owners would 22 00:01:31.000 --> 00:01:34.560 give me a candy cane for my efforts with the 23 00:01:34.640 --> 00:01:38.400 advent of shopping malls in political correctness. Even in a 24 00:01:38.480 --> 00:01:41.879 town as isolated as ours, that is all now a 25 00:01:41.959 --> 00:01:45.480 thing of the past. The nearest shopping mall is thirty 26 00:01:45.480 --> 00:01:48.599 miles away, but people would rather go there than enjoy 27 00:01:48.640 --> 00:01:53.280 the small shops owned by locals. It isn't any of 28 00:01:53.319 --> 00:01:57.040 these things that make our town unique. Our town is 29 00:01:57.120 --> 00:02:01.159 unique because in Stone River we have rules. Don't leave 30 00:02:01.200 --> 00:02:05.519 the house alone after dark or before dawn. Lock all 31 00:02:05.560 --> 00:02:10.120 the doors and windows every night, never leave a window open, 32 00:02:10.879 --> 00:02:15.639 don't camp out. Farmers should always put livestock inside barns 33 00:02:15.680 --> 00:02:18.919 at night, never leave them to graze in the pasture. 34 00:02:19.680 --> 00:02:23.639 Travel in pairs, never alone, And before you leave home, 35 00:02:23.719 --> 00:02:26.520 call ahead to let them know you're coming, and when 36 00:02:26.560 --> 00:02:29.879 you get there, call home to let them know you've arrived. 37 00:02:30.840 --> 00:02:33.919 These rules, and the dozens of variations of them, are 38 00:02:33.960 --> 00:02:39.120 what we live by in Stone River. When the occasional 39 00:02:39.199 --> 00:02:43.000 stranger moves to town, here or she will inevitably break 40 00:02:43.039 --> 00:02:46.520 those rules out of ignorance, we have a welcoming committee 41 00:02:46.520 --> 00:02:49.439 here for the express purpose of letting the stranger know 42 00:02:49.520 --> 00:02:53.120 as soon as possible about our rules. But without a 43 00:02:53.120 --> 00:02:56.599 clear understanding of why we have such rules, they generally 44 00:02:56.759 --> 00:03:01.360 ignore them, sometimes until it's too late. We could tell 45 00:03:01.400 --> 00:03:04.680 them while we have rules. It's just that explaining our 46 00:03:04.759 --> 00:03:08.840 reasoning isn't as easy as it might seem. After all, 47 00:03:08.960 --> 00:03:12.080 how do you tell a stranger that monsters live in 48 00:03:12.159 --> 00:03:17.719 our woods and they have a preference for human flesh. 49 00:03:17.759 --> 00:03:20.759 I don't know when the rules began. I'm almost sixty 50 00:03:20.800 --> 00:03:23.759 three years old, and as far back as I can remember, 51 00:03:24.039 --> 00:03:28.280 those rules have existed. My grandmother, however, was fond of 52 00:03:28.360 --> 00:03:32.039 talking about a time before the rules. She was born 53 00:03:32.120 --> 00:03:35.439 in nineteen nineteen, and that means they were set in 54 00:03:35.520 --> 00:03:39.560 place sometime during the twentieth century. That isn't when the 55 00:03:39.599 --> 00:03:44.000 monsters first appeared. Local lore indicates that they were here 56 00:03:44.080 --> 00:03:49.120 long before Europeans arrived. The earliest tales came from the 57 00:03:49.240 --> 00:03:52.360 native people who lived here. They spoke of wolves that 58 00:03:52.400 --> 00:03:54.919 would come into their camps at night and steal away 59 00:03:55.039 --> 00:03:59.599 children and the elderly and the weak. In these stories, 60 00:03:59.639 --> 00:04:03.000 the wolves hunted in packs like other wolves, but on 61 00:04:03.080 --> 00:04:06.879 two legs like a man. That's how we know it's 62 00:04:06.919 --> 00:04:10.400 the same creature that hunts our woods. Today they're all 63 00:04:10.439 --> 00:04:13.639 on two legs, and they no longer hunt in packs. 64 00:04:14.199 --> 00:04:18.879 Maybe they've advanced beyond pack mentality. Maybe they've become so 65 00:04:19.040 --> 00:04:22.160 aggressive that they can't get along with each other, so 66 00:04:22.199 --> 00:04:25.680 they have to remain solitary. Or maybe there aren't enough 67 00:04:25.680 --> 00:04:29.600 of them left out there to form packs. That is 68 00:04:29.720 --> 00:04:35.800 our town's one great hope. Maybe they're dying out, going extinct. 69 00:04:36.120 --> 00:04:40.560 Maybe someday we'll be free of them until such a 70 00:04:40.639 --> 00:04:44.040 day as the two legged wolves disappear. Forever, we keep 71 00:04:44.079 --> 00:04:48.240 our rules. Every child born in Stone River knows them 72 00:04:48.360 --> 00:04:52.680 by heart before they enter school. Every newcomer is worn 73 00:04:52.800 --> 00:04:57.519 and prayed for, and every visitor is watched over. Even so, 74 00:04:57.800 --> 00:05:03.360 there are some who don't survive. My grandmother was fond 75 00:05:03.399 --> 00:05:06.879 of telling her stories. A favorite one was the story 76 00:05:06.879 --> 00:05:09.680 of the man who came through Stone Rivers shortly after 77 00:05:09.839 --> 00:05:13.879 World War II ended. It may have been before the rules. 78 00:05:14.120 --> 00:05:17.160 I couldn't say. He was a wealthy man and a 79 00:05:17.160 --> 00:05:21.399 bit full of himself, grandmother would tell us. She described 80 00:05:21.439 --> 00:05:24.279 him as a big dresser. Now, I used to imagine 81 00:05:24.319 --> 00:05:27.000 a man as a tall piece of bedroom furniture when 82 00:05:27.000 --> 00:05:30.800 I was little. It wasn't until I was fifteen or 83 00:05:30.839 --> 00:05:33.560 so that I realized that she meant that his clothes 84 00:05:33.560 --> 00:05:37.720 were fancy. His suits were clearly tailored to fit his 85 00:05:37.839 --> 00:05:41.879 broad physique, and his shoes were polished to a brilliant shine, 86 00:05:42.199 --> 00:05:45.040 and he wore a fedora cocked sideways on his head. 87 00:05:46.079 --> 00:05:48.920 In addition to this, he kept a cigar firmly gripped 88 00:05:48.920 --> 00:05:54.079 between his teeth at all times. No one ever forgot 89 00:05:54.120 --> 00:05:57.279 the man's name, because he walked around in town introducing 90 00:05:57.399 --> 00:06:02.279 himself constantly. His deep booming voice reverberated up and down 91 00:06:02.279 --> 00:06:05.160 the streets as he reached out a big hand and 92 00:06:05.279 --> 00:06:10.199 violently shook the unsuspecting hand of whomever he crossed paths with. 93 00:06:11.160 --> 00:06:15.759 How do you do? He'd say? Names, Parker, Everett, Gordon, Parker, 94 00:06:16.360 --> 00:06:20.519 Folks call me EG for short. The poor fool who 95 00:06:20.560 --> 00:06:23.240 allowed him to virtually shake an arm off would then 96 00:06:23.319 --> 00:06:26.319 be forced to listen while he regalled him or her 97 00:06:26.680 --> 00:06:29.839 with stories of a resort. He planned a bill outside 98 00:06:29.920 --> 00:06:33.680 the town. He assured everyone that it would bring wealth 99 00:06:33.720 --> 00:06:37.079 and prosperity to our little village, and everyone would thank 100 00:06:37.160 --> 00:06:41.920 him for it. Later E. G. Parker brought a small 101 00:06:42.079 --> 00:06:45.040 crew of men to look over the land shortly after 102 00:06:45.079 --> 00:06:49.319 he arrived. There were four of them. Two were surveyors, 103 00:06:49.399 --> 00:06:51.560 one was an engineer, and the other was from the 104 00:06:51.600 --> 00:06:56.279 bank that was helping to finance this magnificent resort. They 105 00:06:56.319 --> 00:06:59.560 all arrived on a Friday and checked into the local hotel. 106 00:07:00.519 --> 00:07:03.399 That night, they ate a big dinner at Belitera, a 107 00:07:03.439 --> 00:07:08.079 fancy little Italian restaurant down on Third. The next morning 108 00:07:08.120 --> 00:07:11.879 they got up and headed out to the woods. Grandma said, 109 00:07:11.920 --> 00:07:13.959 the men drove out of town in the kind of 110 00:07:14.079 --> 00:07:18.160 maroon station wagon with wood panel doors that people used 111 00:07:18.160 --> 00:07:22.120 to call woodies. When everyone saw the camping gear piled 112 00:07:22.160 --> 00:07:25.959 on the roof, they knew these men wouldn't be coming back. Well, 113 00:07:25.959 --> 00:07:29.240 why didn't anyone stop them? They used to ask at 114 00:07:29.240 --> 00:07:33.439 this point, But Grandma would shake her head mournfully and say, 115 00:07:33.800 --> 00:07:38.240 who would have believed them? A week later, some men 116 00:07:38.279 --> 00:07:40.319 decided to go out to the woods to try to 117 00:07:40.399 --> 00:07:43.920 find them. They found the campsite, They found the woody. 118 00:07:44.399 --> 00:07:47.240 They found all the camping tools and the surveying tools, 119 00:07:47.279 --> 00:07:50.360 in a good supply of food, most of which was 120 00:07:50.439 --> 00:07:54.279 never touched. They even found a chewed up cigar on 121 00:07:54.319 --> 00:07:57.680 the ground with a single tooth embedded in it, but E. G. 122 00:07:57.879 --> 00:08:01.879 Parker and the crew were gone. When they walked around 123 00:08:01.959 --> 00:08:04.439 to the far side of the tents, they discovered torn 124 00:08:04.560 --> 00:08:07.399 shreds like some kind of an animal had clawed its 125 00:08:07.399 --> 00:08:12.360 way in, dried blood stained the tattered edges of the canvas. 126 00:08:13.079 --> 00:08:16.360 Any other evidence of what might have happened was gone 127 00:08:16.639 --> 00:08:21.480 a race by rainstorm earlier in the week. Grandma said 128 00:08:21.480 --> 00:08:23.600 the old cor could still be found in the woods 129 00:08:23.600 --> 00:08:27.279 by anyone brave enough to venture out there. There aren't 130 00:08:27.279 --> 00:08:29.759 many who will go into the woods around our town 131 00:08:31.000 --> 00:08:34.320 each fall. There are a few determined deer hunters. In 132 00:08:34.360 --> 00:08:37.320 every spring at least two or three turkey hunters wander 133 00:08:37.360 --> 00:08:41.440 out there, but most of us are too afraid. I 134 00:08:41.480 --> 00:08:44.879 can still remember what happened back in the early nineteen 135 00:08:45.000 --> 00:08:51.240 seventies to Alan Finnegan and Lisa Tinsdale. Alan and Lisa 136 00:08:51.399 --> 00:08:55.120 were the darlings of Stone River High School. He was 137 00:08:55.120 --> 00:08:57.440 a star running back of the football team and a 138 00:08:57.480 --> 00:09:01.320 captain of the basketball team. He was a cheerleader and 139 00:09:01.440 --> 00:09:05.840 president of the Future Homemakers of America club. To No 140 00:09:05.919 --> 00:09:09.240 one's surprised they were crowned King and Queen of the Homecoming. 141 00:09:09.840 --> 00:09:11.960 It said that they would have been crowned King and 142 00:09:12.039 --> 00:09:17.000 Queen of Prom too if they had lived. Who knows 143 00:09:17.080 --> 00:09:19.440 what made them think that they would be okay to 144 00:09:19.519 --> 00:09:23.440 go parking in the woods that night. The general consensus 145 00:09:23.519 --> 00:09:27.200 is that they weren't parking at all, at least not intentionally. 146 00:09:28.159 --> 00:09:30.759 Lisa lived on a farm at the edge of the woods, 147 00:09:31.080 --> 00:09:35.480 and Allen lived in town. The popular theory indicates that 148 00:09:35.519 --> 00:09:38.440 they were most likely driving around and spending every last 149 00:09:38.519 --> 00:09:41.639 minute together that they could before Lisa had to be 150 00:09:41.720 --> 00:09:45.480 home for curfew. They probably didn't notice that the gas 151 00:09:45.519 --> 00:09:48.679 tank was nearly empty. The car was out of gas 152 00:09:48.759 --> 00:09:51.360 when they found it, but the ignition was on, so 153 00:09:51.440 --> 00:09:53.679 it might not have run out of gas until after 154 00:09:53.720 --> 00:09:59.519 they were gone. That's only speculation. The morning after the 155 00:09:59.559 --> 00:10:02.440 kids I didn't come home, both sets of parents called 156 00:10:02.440 --> 00:10:05.799 the police. A search party was formed to comb the 157 00:10:05.840 --> 00:10:09.360 town in all of the surrounding woods. It didn't take 158 00:10:09.440 --> 00:10:12.279 long to find them, less than a mile from Lisa's 159 00:10:12.320 --> 00:10:15.799 family's farm, on a narrow gravel road that cut through 160 00:10:15.840 --> 00:10:19.440 the woods down to the river. Allen's in nineteen sixty 161 00:10:19.480 --> 00:10:24.720 eight green Mustang Fastback sat alone. It looked as though 162 00:10:24.720 --> 00:10:27.240 the kids had parked it and decided to go for 163 00:10:27.320 --> 00:10:31.360 a stroll. Anywhere else on earth that might have been 164 00:10:31.399 --> 00:10:36.399 a consideration, but not in the Stone River. Children no 165 00:10:36.519 --> 00:10:38.960 more than five, no better than to get out of 166 00:10:39.000 --> 00:10:41.399 a car and walk through the woods at night in 167 00:10:41.559 --> 00:10:47.200 Stone River. Bob Dettweller, the deputy in charge, claimed to 168 00:10:47.240 --> 00:10:50.919 have nightmares about that day for the rest of his life. 169 00:10:51.000 --> 00:10:54.000 It was his group that first discovered the car, and 170 00:10:54.039 --> 00:10:57.000 when they walked around to the passenger side, it was 171 00:10:57.080 --> 00:10:59.799 clear that the window on that side was broken out. 172 00:11:01.159 --> 00:11:04.200 Little rivers of blood traced their way down shards of 173 00:11:04.240 --> 00:11:07.840 glass and dried in mid flow before reaching the bottom. 174 00:11:08.879 --> 00:11:11.879 Ted Brenner covered his nose and hissed at the acrid 175 00:11:12.000 --> 00:11:16.000 odor that drifted out of the vehicle. Smells like something 176 00:11:16.039 --> 00:11:19.120 marked it's turf here, he said, through a handkerchief that 177 00:11:19.159 --> 00:11:23.080 he pulled from his pocket. Everyone around him stopped and 178 00:11:23.159 --> 00:11:26.799 turned to look into the dense woods around them. Over there, 179 00:11:27.120 --> 00:11:30.240 Charlie Henderson cried, pointing at something that could have been 180 00:11:30.279 --> 00:11:34.519 nothing more than a pile of discarded clothing. The men 181 00:11:34.639 --> 00:11:37.320 walked the twenty five feet to the clothes and stared 182 00:11:37.360 --> 00:11:41.519 down at it. Bob Datweller knelt down on one knee 183 00:11:41.559 --> 00:11:44.960 and pushed at a piece of cloth. It flopped to 184 00:11:45.000 --> 00:11:50.559 the side, revealing Alan's sightless eye. Someone gasped, and someone 185 00:11:50.559 --> 00:11:55.360 else's gagged. Another person issued a horrified oh my God, 186 00:11:55.879 --> 00:12:00.960 and still another said what in the hell. Deputy debt 187 00:12:00.960 --> 00:12:04.399 Weller pulled the material back a little further and revealed 188 00:12:04.480 --> 00:12:07.879 what was left of Alan's face. His jaw had been 189 00:12:07.919 --> 00:12:11.080 partially ripped off, and the tip of his nose looked 190 00:12:11.080 --> 00:12:13.919 as though it had been bitten off, and his tongue 191 00:12:14.039 --> 00:12:18.080 was gone. When Bob poked around the materials some more 192 00:12:18.120 --> 00:12:21.000 and realized that only Alan's head was under this pile, 193 00:12:21.600 --> 00:12:27.399 he quickly looked around for more. Fifteen or twenty minutes later, 194 00:12:27.679 --> 00:12:32.120 and partially buried under some dried leaves, they found Alan's torso. 195 00:12:33.039 --> 00:12:37.159 It had been disemboweled. The autopsy report would indicate that 196 00:12:37.240 --> 00:12:41.120 all major organs were missing. His legs and arms were 197 00:12:41.159 --> 00:12:44.440 found scattered about the forest floor within one hundred feet 198 00:12:44.480 --> 00:12:49.320 of the torso. Debt Weller called in there fine and 199 00:12:49.399 --> 00:12:52.360 requested the corner, and then he looked around for the 200 00:12:52.360 --> 00:12:57.279 female body. When Lisa didn't immediately reveal herself on that 201 00:12:57.440 --> 00:12:59.879 side of the road, the men crossed over and began 202 00:13:00.120 --> 00:13:03.120 to search the woods on the opposite side, and that's 203 00:13:03.159 --> 00:13:06.639 where they found her. I was an adult before I 204 00:13:06.720 --> 00:13:09.799 learned the full details in the condition of her body, 205 00:13:10.320 --> 00:13:13.200 and to this day I can't bring myself to describe it. 206 00:13:14.240 --> 00:13:17.320 My eyes always glaze over when I think about it, 207 00:13:17.399 --> 00:13:19.720 and by all wells up in my belly and I 208 00:13:19.759 --> 00:13:24.559 have to stop. There's a corner's report on record at 209 00:13:24.559 --> 00:13:29.080 the courthouse. I'm told it includes photographs, and it isn't 210 00:13:29.120 --> 00:13:33.679 something that I want to see. The hunters who go 211 00:13:33.799 --> 00:13:37.559 into the woods sometimes don't come back, and those who 212 00:13:37.600 --> 00:13:41.720 do tell horrific tales of being stalked, or give descriptions 213 00:13:41.720 --> 00:13:46.080 of tall, wolf headed animals on two legs, howling and 214 00:13:46.159 --> 00:13:50.200 sometimes growling at them. Once in a while, a hunter 215 00:13:50.360 --> 00:13:52.440 will bring something out of the woods with him that 216 00:13:52.519 --> 00:13:56.600 will explain this disappearance or that. One man found a 217 00:13:56.639 --> 00:13:59.440 doll that belonged to a little girl who disappeared out 218 00:13:59.480 --> 00:14:03.440 of her backyard. Another brought out parts of a bicycle 219 00:14:03.480 --> 00:14:06.000 that looked like the one ridden by a teenage boy 220 00:14:06.120 --> 00:14:10.639 who had vanished. These are the reasons why we have 221 00:14:10.879 --> 00:14:15.080 rules in Stone River. It's just too bad that sometimes, 222 00:14:15.159 --> 00:14:18.279 and through no fault of our own, those rules have 223 00:14:18.440 --> 00:14:21.720 to be broken. I would never have broken any of 224 00:14:21.759 --> 00:14:24.720 them if I could have helped it, I certainly never 225 00:14:24.799 --> 00:14:30.519 meant to. It just happened. My grandson turned seven years 226 00:14:30.519 --> 00:14:34.000 old last year. He is the light of my existence. 227 00:14:34.799 --> 00:14:37.279 When my son and his wife decided to move away 228 00:14:37.279 --> 00:14:40.240 from here, I thought I'd die of loneliness until I 229 00:14:40.320 --> 00:14:44.840 realized that they wouldn't have rules where they moved to. However, 230 00:14:45.039 --> 00:14:48.600 in order to spend my grandson's birthdays with him, I 231 00:14:48.679 --> 00:14:53.000 have to drive sixteen hours. Last year, I went out 232 00:14:53.039 --> 00:14:56.159 on a Monday intent on spending the entire week with 233 00:14:56.279 --> 00:15:00.759 my grandson. We were going to visit the zoo, go fishing, 234 00:15:00.799 --> 00:15:04.360 and watch TV together. It was his week and anything 235 00:15:04.440 --> 00:15:08.159 he wanted was all right with me. On Thursday, I 236 00:15:08.159 --> 00:15:10.679 got a phone call that I would cut my visit short. 237 00:15:11.320 --> 00:15:13.519 My little brother was in the hospital and he was 238 00:15:13.559 --> 00:15:17.080 barely hanging on to life. He had apparently had a 239 00:15:17.120 --> 00:15:21.320 heart attack. And even though we have never been especially close, 240 00:15:21.759 --> 00:15:24.480 he's eight years younger than I am. He was my 241 00:15:24.559 --> 00:15:28.919 little brother when we were younger. Despite our age difference, 242 00:15:28.960 --> 00:15:32.480 we were close. However, his wife never approved of me. 243 00:15:33.320 --> 00:15:36.679 She's better educated and probably a great deal more intelligent. 244 00:15:37.840 --> 00:15:40.600 His job with the city was a lot more impressive 245 00:15:40.679 --> 00:15:44.000 than mine at the factory. Well, none of that mattered now. 246 00:15:44.399 --> 00:15:46.320 My sole thought was to get home and to be 247 00:15:46.440 --> 00:15:50.840 with him. I was nearly all the way there when 248 00:15:50.879 --> 00:15:53.360 my sister in law phoned to let me know that 249 00:15:53.440 --> 00:15:57.759 he didn't make it. I was too late. We spoke 250 00:15:57.840 --> 00:16:00.600 for quite a while. It was a close she and 251 00:16:00.679 --> 00:16:04.559 I had ever come to having a real conversation. She 252 00:16:04.679 --> 00:16:08.240 expressed her plans for his funeral and burial, and I 253 00:16:08.279 --> 00:16:10.240 told her that I would do whatever I could do 254 00:16:10.320 --> 00:16:13.080 to help. Well. She thanked me and asked me if 255 00:16:13.080 --> 00:16:15.200 I thought our church would be willing to host the 256 00:16:15.279 --> 00:16:18.720 dinner afterward. I said I was sure it would, and 257 00:16:18.759 --> 00:16:22.159 that I would contact our pastor in the morning. We 258 00:16:22.240 --> 00:16:24.919 hung up and I pulled over for a minute. I 259 00:16:25.000 --> 00:16:28.480 tried not to cry. I'm old fashioned that way. Men 260 00:16:28.559 --> 00:16:33.360 don't cry. I cried that night. Once I was in 261 00:16:33.399 --> 00:16:35.879 control of myself again, I got back on the road 262 00:16:35.919 --> 00:16:38.679 and headed home. I knew I would have to call 263 00:16:38.759 --> 00:16:42.360 my son in the morning. For now, I simply wanted 264 00:16:42.399 --> 00:16:45.759 to go to bed. My phone beeped a short, high toned, 265 00:16:45.879 --> 00:16:49.559 ringing sound. I picked it up and stared at the screen. 266 00:16:50.360 --> 00:16:52.720 It didn't appear that there was any reason for it 267 00:16:52.799 --> 00:16:56.279 to do that. Another ten miles and I would be 268 00:16:56.360 --> 00:16:59.360 off the interstate, and then it would be seven miles 269 00:16:59.399 --> 00:17:02.200 to town, three or four minutes to cross it in 270 00:17:02.240 --> 00:17:05.799 two more miles to my house on the other side. 271 00:17:05.920 --> 00:17:09.160 My phone made that strange beeping sound again, and I 272 00:17:09.200 --> 00:17:11.799 picked it up, and I stared at the screen, and 273 00:17:11.880 --> 00:17:14.319 again there didn't seem to be a reason for it 274 00:17:14.359 --> 00:17:18.079 to do that. I was off the interstate and on 275 00:17:18.119 --> 00:17:21.079 the highway to town when my phone made that strange 276 00:17:21.160 --> 00:17:24.720 sound again, and once again there was nothing to indicate 277 00:17:24.759 --> 00:17:28.119 what that sound meant. It occurred to me that I 278 00:17:28.200 --> 00:17:30.720 had heard it making that sound once or twice while 279 00:17:30.759 --> 00:17:33.960 I was speaking with my sister in law. The last 280 00:17:34.000 --> 00:17:36.000 thing I needed was for my phone to give out 281 00:17:36.039 --> 00:17:38.960 on me. Now. I didn't want to make the forty 282 00:17:38.960 --> 00:17:41.640 mile drive to Springfield to get it fixed or to 283 00:17:41.680 --> 00:17:44.079 buy a new one. And for the love of Pete, 284 00:17:44.160 --> 00:17:49.680 why why now? Irrational anger was taking over when that 285 00:17:49.759 --> 00:17:54.799 sound happened one last time before my truck died for 286 00:17:54.839 --> 00:17:57.519 the first time in hours. I glanced down at the 287 00:17:57.599 --> 00:18:00.839 dashboard and I coasted to a star as my eyes 288 00:18:00.920 --> 00:18:05.039 fixed on the little red gas indicator. It wasn't my 289 00:18:05.200 --> 00:18:08.039 phone that had been beeping at me. It was my 290 00:18:08.119 --> 00:18:10.440 truck telling me that I hadn't put gas in it 291 00:18:10.480 --> 00:18:13.799 for some three hundred and fifty miles. How could I 292 00:18:13.839 --> 00:18:17.519 have been so stupid? As late as it was, I 293 00:18:17.599 --> 00:18:20.440 knew there wouldn't be any open gas stations in town. 294 00:18:21.079 --> 00:18:24.720 We have rules in Stone River. Even if there were 295 00:18:24.839 --> 00:18:27.640 an open gas station, how was I going to get there? 296 00:18:28.240 --> 00:18:34.240 Walk alone at night? Not in Stone River. I ran 297 00:18:34.279 --> 00:18:37.279 through the list of rules that had regulated my entire 298 00:18:37.319 --> 00:18:41.759 existence since birth. What should I do? My mind was 299 00:18:41.880 --> 00:18:44.880 mired in a fog of exhaustion from the long driving, 300 00:18:45.039 --> 00:18:48.680 sorrow from my loss. I couldn't seem to remember what 301 00:18:48.720 --> 00:18:51.000 I should do, So I decided the best thing for 302 00:18:51.079 --> 00:18:54.559 me to do would be to sit still. Certainly the 303 00:18:54.559 --> 00:18:57.880 police would be out on patrol. My phone told me 304 00:18:57.960 --> 00:19:01.240 it was eleven thirty PM. I sat it down on 305 00:19:01.319 --> 00:19:03.480 the seat beside me and took a deep breath and 306 00:19:03.559 --> 00:19:07.920 exhaled slowly. Why couldn't I focus enough to know what 307 00:19:08.079 --> 00:19:12.680 to do. Minutes later, it occurred to me that I 308 00:19:12.720 --> 00:19:15.880 should use my phone to call the police if I 309 00:19:15.960 --> 00:19:20.079 needed further proof of my mental exhaustion. Not thinking to 310 00:19:20.079 --> 00:19:23.319 make a simple phone call would have been it. I 311 00:19:23.359 --> 00:19:25.720 reached down to pick it up, and of course I 312 00:19:25.799 --> 00:19:29.720 knocked it onto the floorboard. It's sixty one. The thought 313 00:19:29.759 --> 00:19:32.119 of squirming around in my seat to reach down and 314 00:19:32.160 --> 00:19:36.359 pick up made my bones hurt, so before doing so, 315 00:19:36.880 --> 00:19:39.559 I reached up and flipped on the interior light so 316 00:19:39.640 --> 00:19:42.720 I could see it. It had slid all the way 317 00:19:42.759 --> 00:19:46.680 across the passenger door. I sighed, and I lifted my 318 00:19:46.880 --> 00:19:48.960 arm rest out of the way and bent over and 319 00:19:49.039 --> 00:19:53.160 stretched out my arm. My fingers barely touched the phone, 320 00:19:53.759 --> 00:19:56.200 and little by little I managed to work it toward 321 00:19:56.240 --> 00:20:00.240 me until I could get a good grasp on it. Now, 322 00:20:00.279 --> 00:20:03.000 the blood had rushed to my face, and my lungs 323 00:20:03.039 --> 00:20:06.200 felt deprived of oxygen, and a muscle on my left 324 00:20:06.240 --> 00:20:10.160 side was threatening to cramp. I sat up and flipped 325 00:20:10.160 --> 00:20:13.119 off the overhead light and stared at the wolf that 326 00:20:13.279 --> 00:20:15.839 was now standing at the front of my truck, staring 327 00:20:15.920 --> 00:20:20.920 back at me. The ridiculous image of bugs Bunny doing 328 00:20:20.960 --> 00:20:23.720 battle with the big bad wolf flashed through my mind. 329 00:20:24.559 --> 00:20:28.640 It was everything I had ever imagined. It was large 330 00:20:28.759 --> 00:20:32.000 and had upright ears and red glowing eyes and a 331 00:20:32.039 --> 00:20:35.559 mouthful of sharp, jagged teeth, and it was standing on 332 00:20:35.640 --> 00:20:40.599 two legs like a man. There was something malevolent in 333 00:20:40.640 --> 00:20:44.880 that creature's expression. Even more frightening was the level of 334 00:20:44.960 --> 00:20:50.200 intelligence that I could see. White hot anger permeated the 335 00:20:50.240 --> 00:20:53.240 air around it in the form of steam that rose 336 00:20:53.240 --> 00:20:56.759 off its heavy muscle fur covered body and swirled in 337 00:20:56.839 --> 00:21:00.839 the beams of my headlights. Our eye eyes were locked 338 00:21:00.880 --> 00:21:04.519 in a silent battle. The physical fight would be useless. 339 00:21:05.599 --> 00:21:09.200 Somewhere deep inside my conscious mind, I felt some primal 340 00:21:09.319 --> 00:21:14.240 voice screaming for flight. That too, would end badly. I 341 00:21:14.279 --> 00:21:17.640 wasn't going to outrun this thing at the height of 342 00:21:17.680 --> 00:21:20.359 my youth, when my body was at its finest. I 343 00:21:20.359 --> 00:21:24.240 would not have outrun this monster at my current age. 344 00:21:24.400 --> 00:21:26.640 I wasn't sure that I could even slide to the 345 00:21:26.680 --> 00:21:30.599 other side of the truck. My hand ran along the 346 00:21:30.759 --> 00:21:33.039 arm rest on the door to find the lock button, 347 00:21:33.400 --> 00:21:35.799 and I hit it and then jumped. When that thing 348 00:21:35.880 --> 00:21:41.480 reacted to the clicking sound with deliberate movements that I 349 00:21:41.559 --> 00:21:45.000 was sure were meant to instill absolute terror in me. 350 00:21:45.640 --> 00:21:48.119 It turned and began to make its way around the 351 00:21:48.160 --> 00:21:51.640 side of my truck. Oh my god, it was coming 352 00:21:51.640 --> 00:21:56.039 to the driver's window. I remembered that Lisa's car window 353 00:21:56.079 --> 00:21:59.920 had been shattered all those years ago. The screeching sound 354 00:22:00.000 --> 00:22:02.599 one of the long claws being dragged along the side 355 00:22:02.599 --> 00:22:05.519 of my truck rang in my ears, and I realized 356 00:22:05.519 --> 00:22:08.359 then that my heart was beating against my ribs, like 357 00:22:08.400 --> 00:22:13.319 a moth against a screen window. No, I yelled, but 358 00:22:13.440 --> 00:22:17.920 I'm not sure if I did so out loud. Somewhere 359 00:22:17.960 --> 00:22:21.039 in the back of my mind, A voice was calmly saying, 360 00:22:21.640 --> 00:22:24.519 call the police. Your phone is in your hand, Call 361 00:22:24.759 --> 00:22:28.920 the police. And my hands obeyed, even when my mind 362 00:22:29.039 --> 00:22:33.039 could not nine one one. What is your emergency? A 363 00:22:33.160 --> 00:22:37.640 voice said, I'm broke down on Highwaii nineteen. I answered, 364 00:22:38.160 --> 00:22:41.240 there's a I suddenly didn't know what to call it. 365 00:22:41.680 --> 00:22:45.039 What did we call them in Stone River? It occurred 366 00:22:45.039 --> 00:22:47.039 to me that no one had ever given them a name. 367 00:22:48.200 --> 00:22:51.839 These days, people would say dog man. I didn't remember 368 00:22:51.880 --> 00:22:56.359 anyone in Stone River ever using that word. It was 369 00:22:56.480 --> 00:23:00.200 now staring at me through the driver's side window. What 370 00:23:00.400 --> 00:23:05.160 are you, I ask in a small, pathetic voice. At 371 00:23:05.200 --> 00:23:09.039 any other moment, under any other circumstances, I would have 372 00:23:09.160 --> 00:23:13.720 laughed at myself for being so ludicrous, Sir. The voice 373 00:23:13.759 --> 00:23:16.599 on the other end of the phone asked, is someone 374 00:23:16.640 --> 00:23:22.279 else there? Yes, I said meekly. Is that person threatening you? 375 00:23:22.640 --> 00:23:29.119 She asked, yes, No, yes, it's not a person, I stuttered, 376 00:23:29.880 --> 00:23:34.319 not a person. The panic I was already fighting increased 377 00:23:34.440 --> 00:23:38.440 exponentially with the realization that I might not have connected 378 00:23:38.480 --> 00:23:42.119 with a local nine to one one operator. A local 379 00:23:42.160 --> 00:23:44.880 operator would not have sounded quite so shocked at the 380 00:23:44.920 --> 00:23:49.160 words not a person. It's a I tried to say. 381 00:23:49.960 --> 00:23:54.519 It growled fogging the thin sheet of glassed between us. Oh, 382 00:23:54.680 --> 00:23:58.200 she said when she heard the sound. Thank god it 383 00:23:58.279 --> 00:24:01.359 was a local operator. She knew what I was dealing with. 384 00:24:02.160 --> 00:24:05.880 Help me, I said, shaking. It's right outside my window. 385 00:24:06.880 --> 00:24:10.759 Can you get away? She asked, Now, my vehicle's out 386 00:24:10.759 --> 00:24:13.960 of gas. Do you know what my marker your own? 387 00:24:14.759 --> 00:24:18.200 I don't. Looking around, I tried to find a landmark 388 00:24:18.240 --> 00:24:21.440 to indicate how far I was from town. The world 389 00:24:21.480 --> 00:24:24.440 around me was nothing but black, dense woods to my 390 00:24:24.599 --> 00:24:28.680 right and an empty corn fill to my left. Maybe 391 00:24:28.720 --> 00:24:31.119 I'm three or four miles out of town, I offered, 392 00:24:31.920 --> 00:24:35.400 never mind, she said, I pinged your cell phone. There's 393 00:24:35.400 --> 00:24:38.200 a patrol car minutes from you. Help us on the way. 394 00:24:40.400 --> 00:24:43.680 The loud pop of breaking glass shocked me out of 395 00:24:43.720 --> 00:24:47.440 a microsecond of relief that I felt. I saw a 396 00:24:47.440 --> 00:24:50.599 spider web of cracks, behind which I was sure that 397 00:24:50.640 --> 00:24:54.119 face was laughing in victory. I slid as far from 398 00:24:54.160 --> 00:24:56.400 the window as I could, and I turned to reach 399 00:24:56.480 --> 00:24:59.279 for the opposite door. Was I really going to jump 400 00:24:59.359 --> 00:25:02.799 out of this truck? Beside me? I heard another loud 401 00:25:02.839 --> 00:25:05.920