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Speaker 1: I was born into a violent family. My father was

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an alcoholic Scot with a Native American and his lineage somewhere.

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My mother was an auburn haired Irish girl who was

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naive but quick tempered. Every day of my life was

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filled with arguments that turned violent. I became a panic stricken,

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socially backward, messed up kid, where as the kids at

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school called me a retarded pansy. We lived in the

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Quad Cities area of North Alabama, a mile from the

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Tennessee River. The Tennessee Valley Authority or TVA owned the

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forested area. Those woods and the river were my sanctuary.

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I knew all the game trails, snake pits, and fishing

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holes for miles around, and I used to walk past

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the school bus stop and straight into the woods, where

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I would spend my day in peace. At school, I

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was bullied and made fun of because I was a

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nervous and shy kid. Now I realized that I was

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suffering from severe social anxiety and panic attacks, a condition

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that was not studied in those days. I grew older

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and eventually collapsed into agoraphobia and became housebound. I only

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ventured out in the early morning hours to drive a

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newspaper route. This job allowed me to pay my bills,

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but still be alone and isolated. It's difficult to describe

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the misery suffered by a housebound person. To be young

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and healthy, yet afraid to walk out the door. In

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my mind, there was a monster just outside that door,

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waiting to devour me. Now I thought I was insane,

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and that scared me even more. For years, I stayed inside,

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burying myself and pity. Because I couldn't live a normal life.

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I became jealous of others who were living the life

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I wanted, and that jealousy turned to resentment and eventually

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to pure hatred. I lived with my hatred and plotted

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my revenge. The insults and bullying never left my mind.

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Fantasies of punishing my tormentors began to consume me. The

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thoughts grew darker by the day. The torture methods I

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envisioned for my victims were only complete when at the

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last moment before I killed them, I would reveal myself.

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I wanted them to see my face and regret the

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way they treated me. But insane or not, I never

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heard anyone, even though the thoughts of revenge continued. Now

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I wondered if this was the way serial killers got

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their start, When would I snap something strange was happening though,

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The more of a monster I became in my own mind,

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the less I feared the monster beyond my door, and

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I began to venture out. Like in most neighborhoods, there

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are always the troublemakers, kids who seem to always cause problems.

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If it's a bad thing to do, When it would

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be easier to do good, they always choose the bad.

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They get a kick out of picking on kids who

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just want to have fun. They seek out the innocent

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and prey on them. Most kids grow out of that face.

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Adulthood has a way of taming the devil inside us,

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but some never learn, and you have to wonder if

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they were born to constantly be a burden on society.

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Seth was the worst in our neighborhood. He spent his

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days tormenting the younger, weaker kids. I was his special project,

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and even as an adult, he once drove by my

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house shouting insults while flipping me the bird. Seth had

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been on my list for years. Seth seemed to idolize

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all the hoods around our town. Eventually he teamed up

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with another local punk who had a worse reputation. Tony

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was a criminal who had done time in prison. When

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he was released, he showed no rehabilitation and resumed the

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life he lived previously. Robbery, burglary, and intimidation were his

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forte Tony and Seth were arrested not long after for

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crimes that would send Seth to trial on a rape

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charge and Tony to death for murder. Tony was later

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convicted and his death sentence was carried out. In January

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of nineteen eighty four. They both sat in the county

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jail waiting to be transferred to a federal facility where

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they would be held until their trial. Careless guards left

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Seth's cell unlocked, and he slipped doubt without them noticing

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he was gone for several hours. The story was soon

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breaking news on the TV. He was believed to be

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armed and considered dangerous. No one was to try to

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apprehend him without calling the police, and authorities didn't know

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where he was, but they were searching local woods. The

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image of Seth's mugshot covering the screen brought back the

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hate that had built inside me. I remembered seeing Seth

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and his buddies in years passed in the woods where

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I went for peace and quiet. I knew he would

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run to anything familiar, and sure enough, not long after

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the story broke the news, police cars were running down

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my road. They were looking for him in that place

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I call sanctuary. But I also knew that he would

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need shelter. It was cold and it had been snowing,

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and Seth wouldn't stay in the open if he could

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help it. I knew exactly where he would be. It

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would be several hours before I needed to begin my

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paper route. I had plenty of time. With my pistol,

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a knife, and a flashlight, I headed for the woods.

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More cars drove fast down the road as I climbed

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the hill behind my house. They were heading to the

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wrong place. Seth would have made it past those woods

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by now. So I picked a route that would take

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me away from the search area, through the woods and

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to the place that I would go if I were

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on the run. I was going to find Seth and

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I was going to kill him. He had it coming.

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The snow had stopped and the clouds began to clear.

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The full moon lit my way, Although I didn't need it.

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I hadn't been in those woods for years since the

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agoraphobia took over my life, but I knew the woods

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better than my own house. I was headed to the river.

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Years before. The TVA had piled large concrete pipes or

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culverts on the bank. They had never been used in construction,

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and I played in and around those pipes for years.

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It would be the only shelter for miles. On this

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cold night, I would quietly slip down the bank and

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approach the massive pipes from that direction. He would never

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think of anyone coming from the direction of the river.

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He would be looking toward the woods. After making it

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to the river, one hundred yards from the pipes, I

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creeped along the bank. I wasn't afraid, and that felt

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good to me. I was outside in the open air.

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The monster I had feared was outside my door had

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not attacked. I was free, and I felt like a

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kid again. The pipes came into view under the moonlight,

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and I stopped and watched for movement. Seth would be

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no problem physically. I could take him down quickly. I

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even hoped that he had a gun, so after I

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killed him, I could claim self defense, and still no

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monster came after me. Now I was the monster. All

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was quiet except the shallow waves slapping the bank, and

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since there was no movement, I began to think Seth

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had not come here. Disappointment took over, and I walked

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the last few feet toward the opening of the large pipe.

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When I entered, an odor of urine and riding fish

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hit me like a slap in the face. I stepped

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back out and took an inventory of the items around me.

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There were smaller pipes laying randomly along the bank, some

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piled up on top of each other and others I

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could see farther away from the water. With my pistol

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in hand and the flashlight on, I lit the interior

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of the pipe. I expected to see Seth right away. Instead,

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I got that strong smell again. I crept forward to

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exit at the other end and searched the pipes beyond,

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and I felt the presence of someone else there. It

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was like a sixth sense. Even though I could not

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see them, I knew they were close, and I felt

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it before I heard it. A warm wind came down

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the pipe into my face, and my chest began to

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vibrate slightly. No one was in the pipe with me.

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I could see the end, but thick brush had grown

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up at the far side opening. The air I felt

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was a breath or an exhale from something. I could

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smell it. Now stop. It screamed so loud and was

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amplified inside the concrete tunnel. Stunned and frozen, I shined

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the lights straight ahead and I saw two glowing red

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eyes staring back at me, and they were wrapped in

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the silhouette of a giant creature crouching behind the brush.

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I fired two shots at it, and then it stood up.

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The top of the six foot pipe was at its

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chest level. This thing was huge. With one swift motion,

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he was on top of the pipe, moving to the

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other end. It dropped down and glared at me, and

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I shot twice more, hitting it with both and the

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creature flinched and then roared. I had to get to

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the other end, into a smaller pipe where he couldn't

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reach me. I'm not sure I could get there fast enough.

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I sprended anyway, after crashing through the tangle of vines

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and bushes. I was looking straight into a much smaller

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pipe where I would fit, but the creature wouldn't over

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the rocks and weeds. I dove into the inn and crawled.

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Its hand brushed my shoe as it reached inside to

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catch me. I was inside far enough the tube was

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too small for me to turn around and face the beast.

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The end in front of me was ten feet away

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and completely blocked by debris, and I was trapped. So

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I waited periodically, trying to look over my shoulder at

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the thing after me, but it was pointless. Everything went

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quiet and I couldn't hear it now, no footsteps crunching

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in the rocks, no heavy breaths, no screams, and for

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a second I thought it had given up and left,

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until the whole pipe was lifted into the air. He

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was turning it on its end and trying to shake

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me out, and when he lifted the end, the pipe crack,

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giving me a handhold. I could feel myself in the

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pipe being lifted vertically and lowered several times. I could

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hear the beast frustration when I didn't pop out the end,

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but I hung on for my life. Maybe out of

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frustration or maybe from lack of interest, it finally pushed

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the end over and the pipe slammed onto another with

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a crash. I was on my back now feet toward

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the ground at an angle and still unreachable from either end.

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And then one last lift dashed my hopes of surviving

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the night. As it lifted the pipe I suppose over

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its head and through a thousand pounds of concrete and

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terrified human. My body tensed for the impact, and I

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expected the brittle covert to break apart enough for it

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to reach inside and pull me out. But it hadn't

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thrown me to the ground the pipe and I sailed

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several feet in the air into the river. The cold

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water rushed in and shocked me, and if I crawled forward,

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I would be heading to the river bed. Backing out

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of that broken pipe was difficult. My coat was hung

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on the reinforcing wire fabric and it dug into my clothes,

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through into my flesh, but I pushed through it. My

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air was running out fast. My feet cleared the end

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of the pipe and only had a few more feet

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to go and I would be free. One last push

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backward folded my coat over my head, so I allowed

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my body to relax enough to slip out of the

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heavy jacket. Without the coat, I was smaller, and I

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pushed free from the pipe. The river was shallow in

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this spot, and one easy push off the pipe upwards

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sent me to the surface. My eyes searched the bank

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for the creature. It wasn't there. Thinking it had finished

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me off, I assumed it had left the area, and

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then a few strokes toward the bank until I felt

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the sandy bottom, and then I walked out of the water,

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frantically looking everywhere for my attacker, and still nothing came

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for me. What now, I thought I had a long

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walk back home. I would freeze in this weather, but

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that was my only option. Before heading back up the

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bluff to my trail home, I looked for my gun

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in flashlight, and a few feet into the pile of

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discarded construction material, I saw the light I had dropped,

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and not far from the light, I saw my pistol

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laying in the leaves. And then I started straight up

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through either debris, working my way through the maze of pipes,

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trying not to break a leg an injury now it

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would be a death sentence. When I was clear of

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the pipeses and up the bank a bit, I looked

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back over the area and I saw the creature walking

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away from me and knee deep water. The splashing had

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drawn my attention, and in the moonlight I could finally

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see its full form. Long legs stepped high in the water,

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and they carried a frame that no man could contend

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with in a fight. I expected it to return to

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the bank and head up the mountain where the bank

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leveled out, but instead it walked out deeper into the

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water and disappeared. The swirling of the slow current was

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all I could see on the surface. Patten Island was

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out there. Maybe that's where it was headed. The monster

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had come in and out of my life in a maddening,

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violent way, and I would never see it again. That

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moment was perhaps one of the most profound epiphanies of

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my life. For years, I had dreamed of becoming the

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monster that brought vengeance to my tormentors, and now, watching

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this magnificent creature walk away from me, I knew I

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was not, nor did I want to inflict the same

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terror on anyone as I had just experienced. I had

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just gone through something that few survive. It wasn't the

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size and vicious nature of the creature in that moment

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that brought on my epiphany. It was the image in

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my mind, still fresh as if I saw it an

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hour ago, of Seth's limp body hanging from the left

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hand of the beast. Seth's arm dangled free and his

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fingers dipping into the surface, pushing a tiny wake. The

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beast had found its meal, and Seth, the rapist, vanished forever.

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I started for home, a changed man, wondering if I

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could make it back alive. On the side of the mountain,

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already feeling weak, I saw lights moving through the woods

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toward me. I stopped and yelled, and soon I was

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surrounded by searchers. Once they were sure that I wasn't Seth,

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they bummled me up and helped me get home. They

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all left after depositing me in the house, except one deputy,

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who stayed to make sure that I was not in

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serious hypothermia. After taking a hot shower and getting some

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microwave food in me, he and I sat at my

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table sipping coffee, and I explained that I had suspected

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Seth would be sheltering in those pipes, since it was

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the only place he could have escaped the snow and wind.

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And then I lied and said that My plan was

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to hold him there until the searchers arrived. There was

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no need to say that I had planned to kill

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the guy for making fun of me. If by some

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strange event, the creature didn't eat Seth that night and

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his corpse was found floating in the river, I might

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be implicated and questioned. I had fallen in the river

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like an idiot on the coldest night of January, is

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what I told him. And then I headed straight for home,

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hoping to not freeze to death, and thank goodness that

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I had run into them not long after and sure

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that I was healthy. The deputy left. Now alone with

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my faults, all the repetitive visions I conjured every day

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over the years seemed to slip away. I wasn't a

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blooming serial killer, after all. I felt sane for the

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first time since I was a kid. I slept well

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that night and woke the next morning to the news.

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I already knew that Seth the rapist, had not been captured,

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but the search continued, and then, without hesitation, I walked

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out the door into the world with no fear, no anxiety.

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After finishing my paper route, I stopped at a local

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diner and ate a hearty breakfast, and I began to

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think of all the places I was now free to go.

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The monster was actually in the woods, not outside my door.

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Now I was free