12x19: Highway Encounter with a Serial Killer (Live Stream)

[00:00:00] This podcast contains adult language and content.

[00:00:02] Listener discretion is advised.

[00:00:04] If you have a story to share, send it to letsnotmeetstories at gmail.com.

[00:00:09] Enjoy the show.

[00:00:10] Hello everyone, it's been a while since we've had one of our Supergroup livestream episodes

[00:00:42] of Lets Not Meet, and we're well overdue.

[00:00:45] If you missed the livestream that's okay, we have all of the stories and recordings here

[00:00:49] for you, and a very special edition of Lets Not Meet, featuring the returning voices

[00:00:54] of Shelby Scott of Scare U to Sleep, Soren Narnia of Knife Point Horror, Amanda and Cassidy

[00:00:59] of Drinking the Kool-Aid, and two new guests including one of the producers of the show

[00:01:03] Jennifer Hollywood and my co-host for Odd Trails, Brandon Lanier.

[00:01:08] Everyone enjoy the show.

[00:01:26] In 2014 I moved to England from Canada to gain some work, travel, and life experience,

[00:01:33] and also to find myself.

[00:01:35] Once I was over there, I ended up living in Essex with three other roommates.

[00:01:39] They were all women, all a bit older than I was.

[00:01:43] At the time I was 24, Megan was 31, Cherry was 34, and Cassie was 38.

[00:01:50] Megan was from New York, Cherry was from New Jersey, and Cassie was from Poland.

[00:01:56] All four of us shared a three-story flat.

[00:01:59] The back wall of our home was completely made of glass, and it looked out into

[00:02:03] our fenced-in garden.

[00:02:05] This was the area of the house where our living room and kitchen were located.

[00:02:09] The house had an interesting dynamic, to say the least.

[00:02:13] I have tons of stories from that time in my life.

[00:02:17] I adored all of my roommates, except for Cherry.

[00:02:22] After living with Cherry for seven months, I was over her antics.

[00:02:26] One day when I came home from work, I locked the door, made myself something

[00:02:30] to eat, and went up to bed.

[00:02:32] I brought some work home with me, so I was just in my nightie with all these

[00:02:36] papers around me, and I was wearing headphones jamming out.

[00:02:40] I had headphones on because Cherry was out to dinner with some of her work

[00:02:44] friends, which meant she was drinking booze.

[00:02:47] And I knew that soon after a tantrum would surely come.

[00:02:51] I just didn't want to have to listen to her screaming and crying.

[00:02:55] I was busy working on stuff anyway, so I just didn't want to deal with any

[00:02:59] of that.

[00:03:01] I was completely focused on what I was working on until I felt something.

[00:03:06] I looked up to see a man standing over me.

[00:03:11] I didn't register it right away, so I dismissively said, Cherry's room is

[00:03:15] on the second floor and continued to work.

[00:03:18] Cherry regularly brought home strange men, but he didn't leave.

[00:03:25] Again, I said, Cherry's room is downstairs.

[00:03:28] I'm not here for Cherry, he interrupted.

[00:03:33] A cold chill iced my veins as my fight or flight kicked in, and I started

[00:03:37] surveying the situation.

[00:03:39] I looked him up and down and noticed he had a bottle of Prosecco in one

[00:03:43] hand and a knife in the other.

[00:03:46] He was about 5'10", with wild muddy brown hair and black eyes.

[00:03:51] He was wearing a light blue polo shirt, and one side of his collar

[00:03:55] was popped up, and he spoke with a distinct Manchester accent.

[00:04:01] Once I focused in, I realized his eyes were black because his pupils

[00:04:05] were completely dilated.

[00:04:08] Shit, I'm in trouble, I thought to myself.

[00:04:12] I needed an escape plan, but unfortunately this man was standing

[00:04:16] in between me and my bedroom door.

[00:04:19] I knew that I needed to get downstairs, but I also knew I needed for

[00:04:23] him to think it was his idea.

[00:04:25] So I decided to play along.

[00:04:29] Just then, he used his knife to pop the cork of the bottle, and

[00:04:33] Prosecco started flowing onto my carpet.

[00:04:36] I said, oh no, let's clean that up.

[00:04:39] I prefer to drink out of a proper flute anyway.

[00:04:43] He nodded and replied, yeah, you're a proper classy bird.

[00:04:47] Let's go.

[00:04:49] As we made our way out of my room, I tried to act as naturally as possible.

[00:04:53] I tried not to show that I was shaking all over, and

[00:04:56] I tried to control my breathing.

[00:04:59] We took the long journey down all three floors to the main floor of my flat.

[00:05:04] He had the back of my nightie bunched up in one hand, and

[00:05:07] I could feel the point of the knife grazing my back as it was still in his hand.

[00:05:13] I was trying to speak with him playfully as we walked down the stairs.

[00:05:17] I couldn't tell you what I was saying since I was most likely rambling.

[00:05:21] Honestly, I couldn't hear anything over the beating of my heart in my ears.

[00:05:27] We got to the bottom of the stairs where there was a hallway to my left that

[00:05:30] led to the front door.

[00:05:31] To our right, which was much closer to us, was the kitchen and living room.

[00:05:37] We made our way into the kitchen, and

[00:05:39] I pointed to the cabinets that had the wine glasses.

[00:05:42] He said he already knew where they were and started towards them.

[00:05:47] With the kitchen table now between us, I knew it was my time to run, so

[00:05:51] I immediately burst into a sprint down the hallway toward the front door.

[00:05:55] My hands fumbled over the locks shaking and sweating.

[00:05:59] When I finally swung the door open, I saw two men walking across the street.

[00:06:04] They must have been walking home from the train as there was a big train

[00:06:07] station right in front of our home.

[00:06:09] I called out to them for help, and suddenly I was flung onto the ground.

[00:06:14] The little pebbles that pierced my skin sent sharp pains where they jabbed.

[00:06:19] The intruder pushed me out of the way to try to run and escape.

[00:06:23] One of the men chased after the intruder while the other told me to go inside

[00:06:27] while he surveilled the outside of my home.

[00:06:29] So I went inside, locked the doors, and called the police.

[00:06:34] While I was on the phone with dispatch,

[00:06:36] I manically ran around the house to double check all the windows and doors.

[00:06:39] Then, suddenly, I heard a loud bang on my door.

[00:06:46] I informed the dispatcher of the banging, and

[00:06:49] she said that the police weren't at my place yet.

[00:06:52] But I thought it might be one of the gentlemen who helped me.

[00:06:56] So I went to look out through the peephole, and it was him, the intruder.

[00:07:03] He came back.

[00:07:05] He was banging on my door screaming that I had his glasses, and

[00:07:09] he was yelling at me that he wasn't done with me yet.

[00:07:13] I absolutely freaked out.

[00:07:15] The dispatcher attempted to calm me down, but I was losing my ever loving mind.

[00:07:20] She then said, they're pulling onto your street now.

[00:07:24] You should hear the sirens.

[00:07:26] And I did.

[00:07:27] Thank God.

[00:07:29] The intruder then blasted off trying to run away.

[00:07:32] One officer jumped out of the passenger side while the car was still moving and

[00:07:36] chased after him.

[00:07:37] The second officer came into my home and interviewed me and the two gentlemen.

[00:07:41] Then he collected evidence and took photos.

[00:07:45] And after some time of him being there, Cherry came home and freaked out.

[00:07:51] Once the situation was explained to her, she said, my God,

[00:07:55] I'm so glad I wasn't home.

[00:07:57] That could have been me.

[00:07:59] Yeah, thanks Cherry.

[00:08:01] It's all about you.

[00:08:03] The next morning, I was called in to identify the man that the police had

[00:08:07] in custody.

[00:08:08] I pointed him out and I went into a little room where an officer pulled out

[00:08:12] an evidence bag.

[00:08:13] He asked me if the contents of the bag were mine.

[00:08:16] They were.

[00:08:18] There were several pairs of my underwear and photos taken from my home.

[00:08:24] The officer informed me that it was apparent that the intruder had been

[00:08:28] stalking me for some time now.

[00:08:30] He estimated three months.

[00:08:31] He had made a nest on top of a hill that overlooked our home,

[00:08:35] specifically the living room and kitchen.

[00:08:38] He was a known registered offender and drug dealer.

[00:08:42] He then told me how lucky I was to get out practically unharmed.

[00:08:47] Others weren't so lucky.

[00:08:49] So to the man who stalked me and broke into my home,

[00:08:54] let's not meet again.

[00:08:56] However, I was told that he was a drug dealer.

[00:09:00] However, I would love to run into the two gentlemen who helped me again.

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[00:11:24] There's an abandoned house between my town and the next town over.

[00:11:28] It's right on one of the country roads that connects the two towns.

[00:11:31] I've been to it before and even went inside twice with my sister and my best friend.

[00:11:37] It's an old house that dates back centuries,

[00:11:39] according to the bank records that I was able to find.

[00:11:42] Plus you can just tell it's pretty old by the design.

[00:11:45] The house is two stories with a basement

[00:11:47] and there's lots of furniture and objects strewn about inside.

[00:11:51] It's far from empty, but you can tell that it hasn't been lived in for decades.

[00:11:56] It just seems like whoever previously owned it just disappeared one day,

[00:12:00] leaving everything behind.

[00:12:03] The way I was able to get in before was through the cellar door in the basement.

[00:12:07] There's an entrance to the cellar outside which has been broken open

[00:12:11] and propped up with some big sticks.

[00:12:15] My first visits were around two years ago

[00:12:18] and I hadn't gone back there in a while.

[00:12:21] But then another friend I hadn't gone with before expressed interest in seeing the house

[00:12:25] since I told him it's an interesting place to explore.

[00:12:28] So last summer, I told him that I'd take him.

[00:12:32] I never felt that I was in danger on my previous trips,

[00:12:35] so I was expecting the same with this trip.

[00:12:39] When we went to the house, we parked across the street from it

[00:12:42] in the parking lot of one of the industrial buildings nearby,

[00:12:45] since we didn't want to be questioned by anyone.

[00:12:48] The road was rural but far from unused,

[00:12:51] and my friend, being braver than me despite my previous visits,

[00:12:55] led the way across the street into the front of the house.

[00:12:58] He asked me a couple of questions about it as we were approaching.

[00:13:02] He was particularly curious about what kind of stuff I'd found in there

[00:13:06] when I was exploring it before.

[00:13:09] He told me that the kitchen still had expired food in it

[00:13:13] and that there was a board game set upstairs

[00:13:17] that I ended up bringing home with me.

[00:13:21] As we walked from the front of the house and down the side leading to the cellar entrance,

[00:13:25] I made note that there was a lot more brush than when I had gone previously.

[00:13:29] I'd gone in the spring when I went with my sister and my best friend,

[00:13:33] and I never experienced the thick brush that I was now carefully navigating through.

[00:13:38] I commented to my friend about there being a lot more foliage than when I had gone before,

[00:13:43] and we worked together to figure out a path to the cellar.

[00:13:47] Eventually after pushing through some branches we found the cellar door,

[00:13:51] which was broken and propped open just as I had last seen it.

[00:13:55] We talked briefly about being nervous as we took in the view of the cellar

[00:14:00] that led into this dark abandoned house.

[00:14:04] I remember being intimidated while looking at the opening,

[00:14:07] and I made note that some of the sticks propping open the cellar didn't look familiar to me.

[00:14:13] I didn't state this out loud, however, I thought it was just my anxiety.

[00:14:19] My friend and I debated on who should go first,

[00:14:22] and he determined since I was the expert I should head in first.

[00:14:26] I was hesitant, but after a good five minutes of breathing and calming myself down,

[00:14:32] I started down the steps leading to the cellar.

[00:14:36] It was an awkward entrance as half the cellar was collapsed.

[00:14:40] There was very little room left for maneuvering.

[00:14:42] You had to duck under the part of the cellar door that was still intact,

[00:14:46] then inch your feet down the steps,

[00:14:49] and finally turn your body sideways to fit through the small gap to get into the basement.

[00:14:54] It took me a long time to get into the basement after ducking under the door

[00:14:58] since my nerves came back for a second.

[00:15:01] Overall, I made it in just fine, and my friend followed very quickly, which I appreciated.

[00:15:11] As we both stood in the corner of the basement, we took it in.

[00:15:14] I turned my phone's flashlight on, and so did my friend.

[00:15:19] There was a spiderweb woven across the path going up the stairs to the first floor of the house.

[00:15:24] I looked around and found some sort of tool to clear the spiderweb.

[00:15:28] I swiped it through.

[00:15:31] Then I tossed the tool onto the concrete floor.

[00:15:34] My friend and I talked quietly.

[00:15:37] I don't remember what about, but we quickly fell silent as I heard footsteps walking on the floorboards above our heads.

[00:15:48] It almost seemed like whoever was up there was heading to the stairs that led down to the basement.

[00:15:54] I remember this part pretty clearly.

[00:15:58] As I looked at my friend, I noticed he didn't seem to react to the footsteps I was hearing.

[00:16:02] I looked at him, suddenly very worried.

[00:16:05] And before I could even say anything, he said,

[00:16:09] We need to go.

[00:16:11] Then he turned around and practically jumped up the stairs leading outside.

[00:16:18] I remember thinking he got out insanely fast.

[00:16:20] I could see him turn and reach his hand back in to help pull me up.

[00:16:25] I was a bit slower than he was, but I also got up the stairs pretty quickly and he pulled me through the opening.

[00:16:30] I landed on my hands and knees outside after I escaped to the cellar and I immediately stood up, facing the weeds.

[00:16:36] I turned around to my friend who was crouched staring down toward the cellar.

[00:16:41] I told him that we should leave and he turned away and then he told me to go through the weeds first.

[00:16:47] I pretty much just ran through the brush, definitely getting caught up by something.

[00:16:51] But we made it through and we were back in front of the house very quickly.

[00:16:56] My friend kept urging me to stay ahead of him as he watched behind us.

[00:17:00] And then he flashed his light on the windows on the first floor of the front of the house.

[00:17:04] I asked him what he was doing and if he was okay.

[00:17:06] He didn't answer me at first, so I asked him if he'd heard the footsteps before we bolted out the basement.

[00:17:14] He turned to me and said that he'd heard them.

[00:17:17] And that's why he was watching the cellar to see if anyone was following us out.

[00:17:22] He continued saying that after he pulled me up to guide me away.

[00:17:27] He turned back and saw the bare feet of someone standing at the bottom of the cellar stairs.

[00:17:39] Because of the cellar's dilapidated structure, he could only see their feet and part of their legs.

[00:17:44] That's when he told me to go through the weeds first.

[00:17:47] As we made our way through the brush, he kept looking back.

[00:17:50] He never saw whoever was standing there come up the cellar steps.

[00:17:55] They also didn't move away.

[00:17:58] They just stood there as my friend followed me away from the house.

[00:18:03] I didn't believe him at first.

[00:18:07] I thought he was just trying to scare me.

[00:18:10] But I had this serious tone in his voice and this concerned look he gave me after telling me he wasn't trying to make me laugh or lighten the mood.

[00:18:18] I still asked if he was lying, and he adamantly said that he was not.

[00:18:22] We stood for a second, not really saying anything before we both agreed to go back across the street toward our cars.

[00:18:29] We stood by our cars for a while, watching the house to see if anything or anyone would come out.

[00:18:35] But nothing appeared.

[00:18:38] After talking for a bit about how crazy that was and him reassuring me that he was telling the truth,

[00:18:44] it started to rain so we decided to call it a night.

[00:18:48] I fully believe him, especially since he's always stood by what he saw.

[00:18:55] I haven't gone back to that house since, and I like to tell myself that whoever was in that house was just a person seeking shelter for whatever reason.

[00:19:05] However, I still get shivers to this day thinking about how close that person was to me as I scrambled up to get out of the cellar.

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[00:20:36] Back in the 80s, my Aunt Kay was in her early 20s.

[00:20:57] Before she married my uncle, she would drive long distances back and forth between her parents and my uncle to visit

[00:21:05] since it was a transitional period for them.

[00:21:08] He had just graduated and she hadn't moved out of her parents yet.

[00:21:13] The drive that she would take was a long drive across several states through the desert, which took hours.

[00:21:21] This desolate highway that she was on had stretches of road that lasted hundreds of miles

[00:21:27] where you often wouldn't see other drivers, let alone a gas station.

[00:21:32] So when Aunt Kay was planning her visit, she began one of these journeys.

[00:21:37] A couple of hours into the drive, she noticed a dark vehicle in her mirror that was slowly catching up to her.

[00:21:44] She hardly noticed them as she continued to sing along to her music, but the vehicle got aggressively close and she started paying attention.

[00:21:55] She turned off the music and looked into her rearview mirror.

[00:21:58] The vehicle was flashing its brights and the driver was pointing at her car and motioning for her to pull over.

[00:22:05] Alarmed, she quickly slowed and began to look for a good place to pull off of the road to see what must be wrong with her car.

[00:22:13] The second she began to pull off of the road, she said that she felt and heard as clear as day,

[00:22:21] Don't pull over.

[00:22:23] Call it God intuition or just a gut feeling, but a jolt of adrenaline and fear shot through Aunt Kay's body,

[00:22:31] so she hit the gas and peeled back onto the highway.

[00:22:35] Then with her heart pumping, Aunt Kay silently asked herself what the hell was going on as she saw the vehicle peel out behind her.

[00:22:44] The dark vehicle continued to closely follow and the driver was still flashing their brights and motioning for her to pull over.

[00:22:51] Fear and confusion set in as Aunt Kay continued to question what was happening.

[00:22:57] Why was the driver so adamant about having her pull over?

[00:23:01] Was there something wrong with her car?

[00:23:03] And what the hell was that overwhelming warning that she felt?

[00:23:07] It would have been a severe situation if her car broke down out there, especially since this was well before cell phones.

[00:23:14] But she pressed on.

[00:23:16] Just as her resolve wavered, she started questioning the warning that she felt, so she began to slow down.

[00:23:24] But the dark vehicle picked up speed.

[00:23:27] Then the car entered the oncoming traffic lane to come level with my aunt's car.

[00:23:33] The driver smiled, pointed, motioning his hands and mouthed the words,

[00:23:40] Pull over to my aunt.

[00:23:42] She said that the second she looked into his eyes, she felt pure evil.

[00:23:48] She felt a horribly sick feeling in the pit of her stomach and again heard the words in her head warning her,

[00:23:56] Don't pull over.

[00:23:59] She described him as looking scary and greasy.

[00:24:04] And she said that she noticed that he was missing a couple of teeth,

[00:24:08] so his smile was a smile that she wouldn't forget, and it sent chills down her spine.

[00:24:15] This quickly dispelled any thoughts that she had of pulling over,

[00:24:19] so she put the pedal to the metal to try and lose him.

[00:24:23] Then he chased after her and started mimicking her driving style.

[00:24:28] When she slowed down, he slowed down.

[00:24:31] When she sped up, so did he.

[00:24:33] It got to the point that he began to try and push her car off of the road.

[00:24:38] Aunt Kay was to the point of tears as this creep continued to terrorize her alone out in the middle of nowhere.

[00:24:46] Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Aunt Kay saw a couple of semis off in the distance.

[00:24:53] She felt if she could only get close or even in between those trucks, she would be safe, so she went for it.

[00:25:02] The driver continued to flash his lights and honk his horn while trying to hit her car until she got close enough to the trucks.

[00:25:11] As she got in between them, she saw the dark vehicle slow down significantly, and eventually it disappeared from view entirely.

[00:25:22] She stuck with the trucks for a couple of hours until she felt safe enough to pull over at a gas station, where she began to cry.

[00:25:29] Fast forward several years later, my aunt and uncle were married.

[00:25:34] He was working at a law firm as a high-profile criminal prosecutor in Las Vegas.

[00:25:40] She was now a full-time mom of several young children.

[00:25:44] Ever since I've known my aunt, she's been obsessed with true crime.

[00:25:49] Dateline 2020 and Unsolved Mysteries were always playing on the TV at her house.

[00:25:54] This day was no different.

[00:25:56] She was folding laundry in the kitchen while listening to the TV in the other room.

[00:26:01] The panelist of whichever show that she was watching was talking about a man who was being interviewed on death row.

[00:26:09] As she paired another match of socks, she heard the man describe one of his tactics for procuring victims.

[00:26:17] According to him, he would wait on the side of the highway.

[00:26:21] If a car went by with a family, he'd wait.

[00:26:24] If a car went by with a male driver, he'd still wait.

[00:26:27] But every so often, a car would go by with a pretty young woman driving alone.

[00:26:33] So he'd pull out when he saw them and follow them.

[00:26:38] I'd flash my brights, honk, and motion for them to pull over, he explained.

[00:26:43] Aunt Kay, paralyzed in the other room, just couldn't listen.

[00:26:48] When they would eventually pull over, he continued, I'd tell them to pop the hood so that I could tell them what was wrong with their car.

[00:26:56] They would, and I would yank a couple of wires.

[00:26:59] When the car wouldn't start for them, I'd tell them no problem.

[00:27:02] My buddy has a shop in the next town.

[00:27:04] I can give you a ride, and he'll give you a fair deal.

[00:27:07] As my aunt continued to listen, she slowly moved to the living room.

[00:27:13] They'd get in, and I'd kill them.

[00:27:16] Then I'd just bury them wherever in the desert, he said.

[00:27:20] When asked how many times he did this, he responded, I have no idea.

[00:27:25] I lost count.

[00:27:26] I don't think they'll ever find all of the bodies.

[00:27:30] And how many got away? asked the interviewer.

[00:27:34] Two or three, he answered.

[00:27:37] As my aunt stood staring at the TV, she realized she was staring at the same toothless grin that she saw on the highway that day.

[00:27:46] It was Henry Lee Lucas.

[00:28:01] A few years ago, I was in a relationship with a guy named James.

[00:28:05] Our relationship lasted for about three years.

[00:28:07] In the beginning, he was wonderful.

[00:28:09] He supported me during my chemotherapy.

[00:28:11] He was funny, kind, a little bit crazy, but not in a creepy way.

[00:28:16] He helped me with surviving through my sickness, and I truly don't think I would be alive if it weren't for him.

[00:28:22] But during the last year of our relationship, he changed.

[00:28:26] He was completely different.

[00:28:28] He had become a jealous liar, and he wound up cheating on me.

[00:28:32] This was around the time that he decided he was interested in having new experiences, and he had also been taking drugs.

[00:28:39] I didn't even realize the extent of his drug usage until our breakup, and by that time he was a total addict.

[00:28:46] Honestly, I had a lot of pity for him.

[00:28:49] So after the breakup, I spent six months helping him.

[00:28:53] I was still going to school after our breakup, but he would always come to my home in pain trying to find the strength to fight his addiction.

[00:29:01] He finally agreed to go to an institution to get some professional help.

[00:29:06] But he began doing drugs only three hours after leaving the facility.

[00:29:10] This was challenging for me, especially since I chose my university to relocate close to him.

[00:29:17] So I didn't have anyone else for support.

[00:29:20] No friends, no family.

[00:29:22] James was essentially the only one I had.

[00:29:25] But due to his addiction and his unwillingness to stop or get professional help, I had to cut ties with him too.

[00:29:31] One month after I cut him off, some strange things started happening.

[00:29:35] Oddly enough, it began with my cat.

[00:29:38] One night I went out to see a movie, and on my way home, it started raining.

[00:29:43] I remember I left my cat outside, and my cat enjoys being outside but hates the rain, like every other cat, I suppose.

[00:29:51] So when I remembered that he was outside, I started to rush.

[00:29:55] But then, when I did open the door, there was my cat on the sofa.

[00:30:01] At first I thought to myself, what a dumbass.

[00:30:04] The cat wasn't even outside at all.

[00:30:06] But then I hugged him, and he was completely soaking wet.

[00:30:10] It was really strange, but I just brushed it off.

[00:30:13] I thought perhaps one of my neighbors had opened the door for him.

[00:30:16] I kind of just forgot about it.

[00:30:19] One week later though, I started realizing that some of my clothes were going missing.

[00:30:25] Specifically, it seemed my underwear was going missing.

[00:30:31] But I have ADHD, so it was pretty easy for me to brush this off as well.

[00:30:36] And I was quick to blame myself for losing anything around my house, especially my own clothes.

[00:30:41] Then, my food and some plates started going missing.

[00:30:45] Even one of my favorite bowls, which I would never lose or misplace, it completely disappeared.

[00:30:51] Not to mention, I was living in a pretty small apartment, so it was tough to truly justify losing anything.

[00:30:58] But again, I just blamed myself.

[00:31:01] And I even started referring to myself as the magician.

[00:31:04] You know, joking about how I could make just about anything disappear.

[00:31:08] I finally felt like I had lost my mind when I returned from visiting my parents,

[00:31:12] came back into my apartment, and discovered my place had totally changed.

[00:31:17] The neighbor's mail was on my table along with a mysterious pair of headphones.

[00:31:22] The photos I had hung on the wall were all upside down.

[00:31:25] And there was a black umbrella by my bed.

[00:31:28] I didn't even own an umbrella.

[00:31:31] It was so scary coming home to all of this.

[00:31:34] The first thing I did was call my mom, and then the police.

[00:31:38] Yes, mom first, always mom first.

[00:31:41] The officer I spoke to was nice, but told me there was really nothing they could do except take a report and file my complaint.

[00:31:48] I had no idea what was going on or who could possibly be doing this.

[00:31:52] My now ex never had a pair of my keys, and after we broke up, I thought we were on good terms.

[00:31:57] I couldn't tell if something was trying to hurt me or scare me, or maybe it was just a strange prank or joke.

[00:32:04] Well, the joke did not land.

[00:32:07] I slept with a knife for two years after all this stuff started happening.

[00:32:11] I told my neighbors about all this, and they were scared too.

[00:32:14] We had a common basement and found out that someone had been breaking in there during the night.

[00:32:19] I found some supplies, including a blanket and a plate, neither of which were mine,

[00:32:23] and they had clearly been used by someone who was staying down there.

[00:32:27] A few weeks went by, and one evening I had to go to the grocery store.

[00:32:31] I was gone for maybe 30 minutes, and when I came back home,

[00:32:35] there was a sticky note with a smiley face drawn on it stuck to my bedroom mirror.

[00:32:40] It freaked me out so bad I left immediately.

[00:32:43] I called the police again, and again, they were no help.

[00:32:47] They asked me if it was possible that I had stuck the note there and just forgotten about it.

[00:32:52] I didn't even have sticky notes.

[00:32:54] I told them that, and they didn't offer any additional assistance.

[00:32:57] After that, I stayed with my mom for a week and spent all of my saved up money on a security camera.

[00:33:02] I posted to social media asking for help trying to figure out what was going on since the police were no help.

[00:33:08] I was feeling totally distraught.

[00:33:10] When I returned to my place, James' sister came to talk to me.

[00:33:14] She said that my favorite jacket was at their parents' house,

[00:33:17] but I remembered wearing this jacket after him and I had broken up.

[00:33:22] I hadn't seen James' parents for about eight months,

[00:33:25] so when she told me about the jacket at their place,

[00:33:28] I found it challenging to understand how that was even possible.

[00:33:32] And then all of the strange things just stopped.

[00:33:36] I never found out who was responsible, but I had my suspicions.

[00:33:41] Although I always thought these things could have been done by James,

[00:33:44] I also suspected my neighbor, who did have a copy of my key.

[00:33:48] This neighbor only had my key since he fed my cats sometimes,

[00:33:52] but they were out of the country while most of these things were happening.

[00:33:55] In the end, I'm just glad that these strange things stopped happening.

[00:33:59] I've been able to move on,

[00:34:01] but going through this was one of the scariest things that ever happened to me.

[00:34:04] I'll never know who was responsible,

[00:34:06] which means I'll also never know why it happened either.

[00:34:10] One thing's for sure, I will always wonder, was this my ex?

[00:34:16] To whoever was doing that, let's not meet again.

[00:34:20] I totally get the struggle of trying to get rid of a bad habit.

[00:34:37] It can feel like you're battling an entire army by yourself,

[00:34:41] and it makes even the simplest daily tasks feel like daunting challenges.

[00:34:45] I've been there. However, life is about perseverance.

[00:34:48] It's about transformation and betterment.

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[00:35:09] and instead of harmful chemicals, fume uses delicious flavors.

[00:35:13] You get it. Instead of bad, fume is good.

[00:35:16] It's a habit that you're free to enjoy,

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[00:35:29] giving your fingers a lot to do which is helpful for destressing

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[00:35:36] Initially I wasn't exactly sure of what to expect,

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[00:36:01] by going to tryfume.com slash meet

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[00:36:20] Now back to the show.

[00:36:22] This is a story that pops back into my mind from time to time.

[00:36:34] I've only told this story to a few people,

[00:36:37] but I definitely feel like it deserves a wider audience.

[00:36:41] It's for sure one of the scariest moments

[00:36:43] I ever experienced as a child.

[00:36:46] Back when I was around 10 years old,

[00:36:49] my mom finally decided that it was time for her to start

[00:36:52] taking steps toward getting her driver's license.

[00:36:55] When she began taking driving lessons,

[00:36:58] she was struggling a lot,

[00:37:00] so my dad decided that he wanted to do

[00:37:02] some additional practice with her.

[00:37:05] My dad just wanted to be supportive

[00:37:07] and help her pass her test on the first try.

[00:37:11] Around this time, my little brother and I

[00:37:13] were attending swimming lessons at a nearby university.

[00:37:18] There was a forested area near the university

[00:37:21] that was essentially this huge student parking area

[00:37:24] surrounded by trees.

[00:37:27] This area was basically vacant every weekend.

[00:37:31] My dad thought this area would be great to take my mom

[00:37:34] so she could practice driving around for a bit.

[00:37:38] My little brother and I tagged along them

[00:37:40] since we were too young to stay home alone.

[00:37:44] We brought a football to occupy us

[00:37:46] while my mom practiced driving.

[00:37:49] When we arrived at the parking lot,

[00:37:51] my parents began their driving practice.

[00:37:54] My little brother and I quickly got bored

[00:37:56] being in the car with them,

[00:37:58] so we asked if we could go over to the little grass area

[00:38:01] on the side of the parking lot to play some football.

[00:38:04] Our parents let us, since they'd easily be able

[00:38:07] to keep their eyes on us while driving around.

[00:38:11] After playing for some time,

[00:38:13] our parents ended up driving

[00:38:15] on the other end of the parking lot.

[00:38:17] They were farther away from us,

[00:38:19] but they were still visible,

[00:38:21] and they were approximately 300 to 400 meters away,

[00:38:25] which is about the length of three football fields.

[00:38:29] Then suddenly, this white Toyota pulled into the parking lot.

[00:38:34] My little brother and I were playing

[00:38:36] right at the entrance of the lot.

[00:38:39] The car turned around and stopped on my right side,

[00:38:43] with their vehicle facing the exit.

[00:38:46] The driver rolled his window down,

[00:38:49] said hello, and introduced himself as Thomas.

[00:38:53] He looked friendly and young.

[00:38:56] If I had to guess, he appeared to be about 30.

[00:39:00] This is where things started to get weird.

[00:39:04] In the passenger seat, there was a woman

[00:39:06] concealing her face with an open newspaper.

[00:39:10] All I could see was long blonde hair,

[00:39:13] and in the back seat, there was a baby in a car seat.

[00:39:17] Thomas immediately stated

[00:39:20] that he was from the police department.

[00:39:23] He told me and my brother

[00:39:25] that we had to get into the car

[00:39:27] because he had to talk to us.

[00:39:30] My brother actually took two steps toward the vehicle,

[00:39:34] but I stuck my arm out in front of his chest

[00:39:37] as I was sensing something was off.

[00:39:40] The woman was still covering her face,

[00:39:43] and she hadn't even said a single word yet.

[00:39:46] Thomas then raised his voice

[00:39:49] and told us once again to get in the car,

[00:39:52] or else he'd get out of the car and get us himself.

[00:39:56] My brother and I froze in fear.

[00:39:59] The woman abruptly lowered the newspaper

[00:40:01] and showed her face.

[00:40:04] Then she told us in the most calm and motherly voice,

[00:40:08] just listen to the man.

[00:40:11] The woman was young, pretty,

[00:40:13] and looked like the sort of person

[00:40:15] who wouldn't hurt a fly.

[00:40:18] At this moment, I began screaming as loud as I could.

[00:40:22] My brother and I were so focused on Thomas and this lady

[00:40:26] that we didn't even notice that our dad was already

[00:40:29] tearing across the parking lot.

[00:40:32] My mom was still driving,

[00:40:34] but he hopped out and he was running

[00:40:36] as fast as he could towards us.

[00:40:39] He was coming from behind the vehicle

[00:40:41] that Thomas and this lady were in,

[00:40:43] so we didn't see him coming.

[00:40:46] Right when I started screaming,

[00:40:48] my dad yelled as loud as he could,

[00:40:51] hey, who the fuck are you?

[00:40:53] Get away from my children.

[00:40:56] As soon as Thomas heard my dad,

[00:40:58] he realized my brother and I weren't alone,

[00:41:01] so he threw his car into gear

[00:41:03] and took off as fast as he could.

[00:41:07] He most definitely wasn't expecting that.

[00:41:10] He looked like he shat himself

[00:41:12] when he heard and saw my dad.

[00:41:15] Our dad was furious as he told me and my brother

[00:41:18] to hurry up back into the car.

[00:41:21] He was so angry that he didn't even think

[00:41:23] about calling the police.

[00:41:25] He was more than ready to deal with Thomas himself.

[00:41:30] We wound up driving around for the next hour,

[00:41:33] trying to find Thomas and this lady,

[00:41:35] but we never could find them.

[00:41:38] When my dad finally cooled down,

[00:41:40] he decided that we should call the police.

[00:41:43] We gave them a call,

[00:41:45] but we never found out who those people were.

[00:41:49] This situation taught me to never judge a book by its cover.

[00:41:53] People can be the most normal

[00:41:55] and friendly-looking people in the world

[00:41:58] and still wish evil upon you,

[00:42:01] and you would be none the wiser.

[00:42:03] I'm not sure what they had planned for us,

[00:42:06] but I'm absolutely sure about one thing.

[00:42:09] They were not from the police department.

[00:42:12] When I was growing up, I lived in a border town.

[00:42:34] Mexico was pretty safe at that time,

[00:42:37] so high school kids going across the border was no big deal.

[00:42:41] Many of our parents did it as well.

[00:42:43] It was the summer before I went to college,

[00:42:46] and I was working as a cocktail waitress

[00:42:48] at an upscale club that catered

[00:42:50] to the white-collar residents of the city

[00:42:52] as well as people who were stationed

[00:42:54] at the nearby Air Force base.

[00:42:56] I was becoming friends with another waitress

[00:42:59] who worked there.

[00:43:00] She was a blonde-haired, blue-eyed girl

[00:43:02] who was pretty well off.

[00:43:04] Her parents frequently left her by herself

[00:43:06] at their house which was by the lake.

[00:43:08] I was lower income,

[00:43:10] but she was always really nice to me.

[00:43:12] The club we worked at closed at 2 a.m.

[00:43:15] So this meant, if we wanted to have fun after work,

[00:43:19] we would have to cross over to Mexico

[00:43:21] since everything was closed on our side of the border.

[00:43:24] My friend from work had been dating

[00:43:26] a rich guy from Mexico.

[00:43:28] She was about 18 at the time,

[00:43:30] and he was 19 or 20.

[00:43:32] Now that you have some backstory,

[00:43:34] let's move on to the incident.

[00:43:37] After one of our shifts,

[00:43:39] my friend asked if I wanted to go with her

[00:43:41] and her boyfriend to a party in Mexico.

[00:43:45] I agreed, and we were picked up

[00:43:47] in a beautiful black car

[00:43:48] by her boyfriend's personal driver.

[00:43:51] When he arrived to pick us up,

[00:43:53] he had a couple of friends with him.

[00:43:55] Everyone in the car was good looking

[00:43:57] and well off.

[00:43:59] They took us to a club where the owners knew them.

[00:44:02] As soon as we walked in,

[00:44:04] the waiters brought us multiple bottles

[00:44:06] of high-end liquor, mixers, and garnishes.

[00:44:10] I had a blast,

[00:44:11] and my co-worker's boyfriend's friends

[00:44:13] were kind and respectful.

[00:44:16] We were only there for about an hour

[00:44:18] when the bars started to close.

[00:44:20] So then the guys suggested

[00:44:22] we go to Boystown.

[00:44:24] For those who don't know

[00:44:25] about the US-Mexico border,

[00:44:27] I should mention that there's a bit

[00:44:29] of a red light district there

[00:44:31] that has easy access to drugs

[00:44:33] and sex workers.

[00:44:35] I agreed to go because I felt safe

[00:44:37] with my current group,

[00:44:39] and I like adventure.

[00:44:41] Plus, I'm a bit of a risk taker,

[00:44:43] so I figured, why not?

[00:44:45] We were then driven in this fancy black car

[00:44:47] down a dark dirt road

[00:44:49] outside the city limits

[00:44:51] of the small town we were in.

[00:44:53] We drove until we saw the flashing lights

[00:44:55] of Boystown.

[00:44:57] It was like a movie set.

[00:44:59] We went to the first bar we saw

[00:45:01] and just...enjoyed the show,

[00:45:03] so to speak.

[00:45:05] The crowd there was a mix of drunk college boys,

[00:45:07] cowboys,

[00:45:09] and women looking for their mark.

[00:45:11] I was surprised to see

[00:45:13] there really was a donkey show,

[00:45:15] but it's not what you think.

[00:45:17] The whole night, my friend's boyfriend

[00:45:19] and his friends had treated us

[00:45:21] to drinks.

[00:45:23] As the night wore on, I was getting drunk,

[00:45:25] so I needed to use the restroom.

[00:45:27] I walked down this hallway

[00:45:29] lit with red lights,

[00:45:31] and as I was walking,

[00:45:33] I encountered a sex worker

[00:45:35] who was wearing nothing but a see-through scarf

[00:45:37] around her hips.

[00:45:39] She smiled at me and curled her finger

[00:45:41] beckoning me over to a small room.

[00:45:43] She was beautiful,

[00:45:45] with wavy black hair.

[00:45:47] Being the curious girl I am,

[00:45:49] I started to give in to the temptation a bit.

[00:45:51] I smiled

[00:45:53] and started walking towards her,

[00:45:55] but then I suddenly felt...strange.

[00:45:57] I stopped in my tracks

[00:45:59] as I started to feel very uneasy,

[00:46:01] but she continued attempting

[00:46:03] to lure me into one of the small side rooms.

[00:46:05] I shook my head

[00:46:07] and returned to the table with my friends

[00:46:09] where another drink was waiting for me.

[00:46:11] I took a couple of sips

[00:46:13] and began to feel more and more uncomfortable.

[00:46:15] I told my friend

[00:46:17] I wasn't feeling well,

[00:46:19] so I asked them to stop buying drinks for me.

[00:46:21] This is the scary part.

[00:46:23] My friend turned to me and said,

[00:46:25] We haven't bought your last few drinks.

[00:46:27] She said this so casually.

[00:46:29] It was like...

[00:46:31] it was totally normal

[00:46:33] that drinks kept showing up for me.

[00:46:35] I quickly snapped my attention to the bar

[00:46:37] and noticed that several men

[00:46:39] were looking at me.

[00:46:41] That's when I realized

[00:46:43] someone I didn't know

[00:46:45] was sending me drinks.

[00:46:47] I told the group

[00:46:49] that I had to leave immediately.

[00:46:51] I even said if we didn't leave right away

[00:46:53] I would make a scene,

[00:46:55] so...we left.

[00:46:57] As we headed home

[00:46:59] I didn't speak at all.

[00:47:01] I felt super amped.

[00:47:03] It was so bizarre.

[00:47:05] I had never felt like that before

[00:47:07] and I haven't felt like that since.

[00:47:09] My whole demeanor was off

[00:47:11] and I felt like I wasn't in control.

[00:47:13] I got home at about 6am.

[00:47:15] My mother was waking up

[00:47:17] when I got home and she was wondering

[00:47:19] what I had been up to.

[00:47:21] I told her that I hung out with my friend from work,

[00:47:23] her boyfriend, and their friends,

[00:47:25] but I didn't elaborate on much else.

[00:47:27] And I proceeded to stay up for hours

[00:47:29] since I was so wired.

[00:47:31] I was trying so hard to act normal

[00:47:33] but it was difficult.

[00:47:35] I'm not sure who was trying to hurt me

[00:47:37] or trick me that night.

[00:47:39] I was just trying to get out of the way

[00:47:41] I'm not sure who was trying to hurt me or trick me that night.

[00:47:43] Was it the men at the bar?

[00:47:45] Was the sex worker involved?

[00:47:47] Or was she luring me into something else?

[00:47:49] Who was buying me

[00:47:51] the drinks that kept showing up that night?

[00:47:53] What were the drinks laced with?

[00:47:55] I'll never know.

[00:47:57] So, to whoever

[00:47:59] might have had a plan for me that night,

[00:48:01] let's not meet

[00:48:03] ever again.

[00:48:05] This show is sponsored by BetterHelp.

[00:48:18] We walk around all day carrying

[00:48:20] with us different stressors in life,

[00:48:22] worries about all kinds of different problems.

[00:48:24] It's not good to keep them all

[00:48:26] locked inside your head all of the time.

[00:48:28] It starts to have a very

[00:48:30] negative effect.

[00:48:32] Therapy is a safe space

[00:48:34] to get things off of your chest

[00:48:36] and to figure out how to work through

[00:48:38] whatever is weighing you down.

[00:48:40] With every therapy session that I go through,

[00:48:42] I find myself learning something new

[00:48:44] and helpful, like how to set boundaries

[00:48:46] and empower myself.

[00:48:48] It's such a necessity for me,

[00:48:50] and I know that there are many of you

[00:48:52] that could benefit from it just like me.

[00:48:54] If you're thinking of starting therapy,

[00:48:56] give BetterHelp a try.

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[00:49:30] Now back to the show.

[00:49:32] This happened a few years ago.

[00:49:49] It was pretty late,

[00:49:51] sometime past 2am.

[00:49:53] I was living with this pretty abusive

[00:49:55] boy and he had gotten really

[00:49:57] jealous at this party we were at earlier

[00:49:59] that night.

[00:50:01] Not even an hour after we'd gotten home,

[00:50:03] he tossed me out onto our front

[00:50:05] porch and locked the

[00:50:07] door behind me.

[00:50:09] I was knocking and pleading for him to

[00:50:11] please let me back inside

[00:50:13] as I was still wearing what I had worn

[00:50:15] to the party and it was freezing out.

[00:50:17] Plus, I wasn't sure

[00:50:19] what to do since he had

[00:50:21] my phone, purse, and wallet

[00:50:23] in the house with him.

[00:50:25] So I just

[00:50:27] sat on the porch crying.

[00:50:29] When he turned off the lights,

[00:50:31] both inside and outside of the house,

[00:50:33] I knew he wasn't going

[00:50:35] to let me back inside.

[00:50:37] I felt so helpless

[00:50:39] and cold.

[00:50:41] I thought about knocking

[00:50:43] on a neighbors door, though we didn't have

[00:50:45] many, but I had

[00:50:47] anxiety about waking any of them up

[00:50:49] and causing trouble.

[00:50:51] So instead,

[00:50:53] I decided I would try to walk to this

[00:50:55] station and motel, which was a little less

[00:50:57] than a mile away.

[00:50:59] I figured I could use a phone there

[00:51:01] and try to call a friend of mine to see if

[00:51:03] someone could pick me up and

[00:51:05] let me sleep over.

[00:51:07] Ironically enough, the road I was

[00:51:09] walking on was Donner Pass Road,

[00:51:11] so the freezing cold

[00:51:13] was fitting.

[00:51:15] A little bit into the walk,

[00:51:17] this tall white pickup truck was approaching

[00:51:19] on the opposite side of the road that I

[00:51:21] was on. I tried not to make

[00:51:23] eye contact for obvious reasons,

[00:51:25] but then I heard the truck stop

[00:51:27] and begin to make a U-turn,

[00:51:29] which made my heart start pounding.

[00:51:31] I just about froze up

[00:51:33] but forced myself to pick up the pace

[00:51:35] at the very least.

[00:51:37] The truck pulled up to me and this guy

[00:51:39] rolled down his window.

[00:51:41] He asked what I was doing out this late.

[00:51:43] I told him I was going to meet a friend at the

[00:51:45] gas station and that she was expecting me.

[00:51:47] He sort of smiled

[00:51:49] and offered me a ride, to which I said,

[00:51:51] No thank you,

[00:51:53] citing that I shouldn't hitchhike.

[00:51:55] He replied,

[00:51:57] Well good, I don't pick up hitchhikers.

[00:51:59] You don't look like a hitchhiker to me though.

[00:52:01] You do look like you need

[00:52:03] some help.

[00:52:05] He just kept driving next to me.

[00:52:07] As he told me, I shouldn't think

[00:52:09] he was a creep and pulled out what

[00:52:11] looked like a police badge.

[00:52:13] He told me he had just gotten off duty,

[00:52:15] which is why he was out so late

[00:52:17] and in civilian clothes.

[00:52:19] He said he wouldn't mind driving next to me

[00:52:21] just to make sure I got to where I was heading safely.

[00:52:23] I was

[00:52:25] naive and a bit too trusting

[00:52:27] of his kindness and his

[00:52:29] credentials, so

[00:52:31] when he offered me a ride again,

[00:52:33] I accepted and said

[00:52:35] that it would be nice.

[00:52:37] The gas station wasn't that far away

[00:52:39] anyway.

[00:52:41] Then he popped the door open for me

[00:52:43] and I hopped in.

[00:52:45] The radio was low and

[00:52:47] a little messy in his truck.

[00:52:49] The ashtray was full of cigarettes

[00:52:51] and there were a lot of newspapers

[00:52:53] on the passenger floor.

[00:52:55] As I was moving my feet, some

[00:52:57] of the papers shifted, exposing

[00:52:59] a pair of handcuffs,

[00:53:01] some coffee cups, empty water

[00:53:03] bottles, rags, a

[00:53:05] high-light yellow brightly colored bandana

[00:53:07] and some other things.

[00:53:09] He apologized,

[00:53:11] saying that it was the truck he took hunting,

[00:53:13] but it was super warm

[00:53:15] so I was happy and

[00:53:17] didn't mind the mess at all.

[00:53:19] He told me his name was John

[00:53:21] and he asked why I was scantily dressed

[00:53:23] without a jacket.

[00:53:25] So, I started to tell him about

[00:53:27] the party and the fight I had been in with my

[00:53:29] boyfriend. He was super

[00:53:31] charming and attentive. He even

[00:53:33] jokingly scoffed that he could arrest

[00:53:35] my boyfriend.

[00:53:37] I asked him about himself and he told me about

[00:53:39] his family. He said he was a

[00:53:41] young dad and he had a wife,

[00:53:43] a daughter, a son and a dog.

[00:53:45] I told him

[00:53:47] it was like he had the perfect little family

[00:53:49] and he agreed as he laughed and said

[00:53:51] he most certainly did.

[00:53:53] Then, it had sort of

[00:53:55] clicked for me to ask him if

[00:53:57] I could use his phone,

[00:53:59] but he said no and explained that

[00:54:01] he had to save his battery.

[00:54:03] We approached the gas

[00:54:05] station and then

[00:54:07] he drove right past it.

[00:54:09] I politely said,

[00:54:11] I think that's the one,

[00:54:13] but he didn't answer me.

[00:54:15] I felt sick to my stomach.

[00:54:17] My heart started pounding.

[00:54:19] I started getting choked up and my eyes

[00:54:21] started tearing up as I was looking

[00:54:23] out the windows and watching the

[00:54:25] lights of the gas station behind us

[00:54:27] getting further and further

[00:54:29] away.

[00:54:31] It was hard for me to even speak

[00:54:33] but somehow I murmured, asking

[00:54:35] if he could please turn around,

[00:54:37] but he ignored me.

[00:54:39] Whenever I would look at him,

[00:54:41] his eyes were vacant

[00:54:43] and emotionless,

[00:54:45] totally dead and glazed.

[00:54:47] I looked back out the window to

[00:54:49] glance down at the road to see if we were

[00:54:51] going slowly enough for me to leap

[00:54:53] out of the car without seriously injuring

[00:54:55] myself.

[00:54:57] I remember always hearing,

[00:54:59] never go to the second location,

[00:55:01] but I thought about the possibility

[00:55:03] of jumping out and breaking an ankle.

[00:55:05] I knew it would be a

[00:55:07] lot harder to get away with one foot

[00:55:09] as opposed to two.

[00:55:11] I debated with myself

[00:55:13] about how there was snow on the ground

[00:55:15] but snow is hard to maneuver

[00:55:17] in, especially when you're

[00:55:19] not dressed to be out in it.

[00:55:21] I was getting increasingly scared

[00:55:23] though, especially since

[00:55:25] there was nothing but trees and empty

[00:55:27] road and

[00:55:29] us.

[00:55:31] I was crying pretty badly at this point

[00:55:33] and asked if I could please borrow his phone

[00:55:35] again. I don't know why I even asked.

[00:55:37] Then he told me

[00:55:39] to stop talking.

[00:55:41] He started talking under his breath

[00:55:43] saying, girls shouldn't be out

[00:55:45] so late. You shouldn't have been alone

[00:55:47] this late. Look what you're

[00:55:49] doing to me, dressed like a slut.

[00:55:51] And all kinds of

[00:55:53] other derogatory things.

[00:55:55] He kept saying these terrible things.

[00:55:57] I wasn't even responding. I was just

[00:55:59] crying and trying to think past the fear

[00:56:01] I was feeling. I remembered the pair

[00:56:03] of handcuffs I saw under the newspapers

[00:56:05] beneath my feet. So

[00:56:07] I discreetly scooped up

[00:56:09] the handcuffs with my feet.

[00:56:11] I managed to use my heels and toes

[00:56:13] to push them under the bottom of my seat

[00:56:15] as far as they would go.

[00:56:17] I was thinking of different things

[00:56:19] I could do to try to help myself.

[00:56:21] Like, if we were close enough

[00:56:23] to some upcoming lights or structures

[00:56:25] I could just grab the wheel and

[00:56:27] cause us to crash into them.

[00:56:29] Or maybe if I got lucky enough for

[00:56:31] a cop to pass us, I could

[00:56:33] grab the wheel and swerve so he would

[00:56:35] appear to be a drunk or reckless

[00:56:37] driver and we'd get pulled over.

[00:56:39] Then I guiltily

[00:56:41] thought about how this man might have just

[00:56:43] been having a weird night and how

[00:56:45] if I did anything

[00:56:47] it would hurt him.

[00:56:49] But I also told myself that that sort of

[00:56:51] thinking is what got me into this mess in the first

[00:56:53] place. He pulled off the

[00:56:55] road where there were still woods on

[00:56:57] either side of us. On his

[00:56:59] side, the wooded trees were closer

[00:57:01] to the road. On my side

[00:57:03] there was a small gap

[00:57:05] fully covered and thick

[00:57:07] I don't know how many feet of snow.

[00:57:09] The gap

[00:57:11] was about 30 feet wide and

[00:57:13] then there were a ton of trees beyond

[00:57:15] that. He turned off

[00:57:17] the car and coldly said that there was something

[00:57:19] wrong with the car and

[00:57:21] he told me to get out with him.

[00:57:23] As he grabbed the keys

[00:57:25] and stepped out of the car

[00:57:27] I held onto the center console and cried.

[00:57:29] I pleaded for him

[00:57:31] not to make me get out with him because it was

[00:57:33] too cold. He turned around

[00:57:35] to face me, his door still

[00:57:37] open and shouted at me to get

[00:57:39] out of the car. I dug

[00:57:41] my fingernails deeper into the console

[00:57:43] thinking my cries and head shaking were going

[00:57:45] to cause him to come around to my side of

[00:57:47] the car and drag me out himself.

[00:57:49] I cried, please

[00:57:51] John, I'm so cold and scared.

[00:57:53] I was thinking

[00:57:55] of everything I ever heard regarding situations

[00:57:57] like this. Humanize

[00:57:59] yourself, use first names.

[00:58:01] Then he stared at me

[00:58:03] in this way I

[00:58:05] can't even describe to this day.

[00:58:07] He got back in the car

[00:58:09] and I slinked

[00:58:11] towards my window, scared he would

[00:58:13] drag me over the console.

[00:58:15] But he just turned off the

[00:58:17] headlights, darkening everything

[00:58:19] until our surroundings

[00:58:21] became a dark blue.

[00:58:23] He sat in the driver's seat staring

[00:58:25] at the steering wheel for what felt like

[00:58:27] years before lighting

[00:58:29] a cigarette. He kept looking

[00:58:31] out his window, looking back at me

[00:58:33] and then looking back out his window again.

[00:58:37] He heard me shuffle my feet on

[00:58:39] the newspapers, but

[00:58:41] while still staring out his window

[00:58:43] he told me if I thought

[00:58:45] about running, he had

[00:58:47] a quick way to get me where

[00:58:49] he wanted me.

[00:58:51] Oddly enough, I

[00:58:53] was sort of thinking of running minutes

[00:58:55] before that, but reasoned

[00:58:57] that if he wanted me out of the car

[00:58:59] then I would be better

[00:59:01] off staying inside.

[00:59:03] Otherwise he could chase me or

[00:59:05] shoot me. He might have had hunting

[00:59:07] rifles in the back, but I didn't know for

[00:59:09] sure and I didn't

[00:59:11] dare look.

[00:59:13] I think by that point I

[00:59:15] hit some sort of bottom of my reserve

[00:59:17] so instead of panic

[00:59:19] there was numbness and exhaustion.

[00:59:23] There was still an occasional hot tear or two

[00:59:25] rolling down my cheek, but

[00:59:27] I mostly remember feeling numb.

[00:59:29] I talked to a psychiatrist

[00:59:31] about this sensation in particular

[00:59:33] and he thinks it just came from

[00:59:35] my ex-boyfriends giving me PTSD.

[00:59:39] I was dead quiet, but I finally

[00:59:41] just barely audibly

[00:59:43] told him that my friend was still

[00:59:45] waiting for me back at the gas station

[00:59:47] and I asked about his wife

[00:59:49] and children.

[00:59:51] He flatly said

[00:59:53] he didn't have a wife or children

[00:59:55] and that his house was empty.

[00:59:59] I asked him what he was thinking about

[01:00:01] and he said,

[01:00:03] I'm thinking of what to do with you.

[01:00:07] He didn't say this angrily.

[01:00:09] He just said it

[01:00:11] flatly and coldly, which

[01:00:13] sort of scared me

[01:00:15] even more.

[01:00:17] I started getting worked up again

[01:00:19] until I was back up to a cry.

[01:00:21] He told me not to cry and turned the car

[01:00:23] on offering me some heat.

[01:00:25] I just cried and said I wanted

[01:00:27] to go home.

[01:00:29] Eventually, he started

[01:00:31] driving and kept driving until

[01:00:33] we were approaching a gas station.

[01:00:35] I was gauging the right time

[01:00:37] to reach for the wheel, but

[01:00:39] before I could

[01:00:41] he started slowing down.

[01:00:43] While pulling up, he told me

[01:00:45] not to tell anyone about what just

[01:00:47] happened or he would find me.

[01:00:49] Then he told me

[01:00:51] all he was doing was

[01:00:53] teaching me a lesson not to hitchhike

[01:00:55] with strangers.

[01:00:57] He was almost coming to a complete stop

[01:00:59] when he told me to get out

[01:01:01] before he changed his mind.

[01:01:03] Before he could even

[01:01:05] get another look at me to assess any

[01:01:07] further, I was already out of the truck

[01:01:09] and sprinting towards the gas station.

[01:01:11] The panic was overwhelming me,

[01:01:13] but then I stopped

[01:01:15] so I could try to see his license

[01:01:17] plate, but only

[01:01:19] caught the blur of the last three numbers

[01:01:21] as he was driving off.

[01:01:23] So I ran inside

[01:01:25] and asked the clerk behind the counter to call

[01:01:27] the police. I waited

[01:01:29] until the officer got there and

[01:01:31] I'll be honest,

[01:01:33] I was a little scared

[01:01:35] it would be John.

[01:01:37] My fears melted away when the policeman

[01:01:39] who wasn't John got there.

[01:01:41] I gave him a description of John,

[01:01:43] his appearance, the vehicle

[01:01:45] make, model and color,

[01:01:47] and the parts of the license plate number

[01:01:49] I had caught, and

[01:01:51] the fact that he said he was an off-duty

[01:01:53] cop. I basically told

[01:01:55] the policeman anything I could. I asked

[01:01:57] him if he could look at the gas station's

[01:01:59] camera footage and the officer

[01:02:01] disappeared in the back for a little bit

[01:02:03] then came back out saying there was nothing

[01:02:05] on them.

[01:02:07] I asked if I would be able to look and the officer

[01:02:09] said no and asked me

[01:02:11] if I didn't trust him.

[01:02:13] Then the officer gave me a ride to

[01:02:15] my friends. On

[01:02:17] the way there he was lecturing me for hitchhiking

[01:02:19] which mainly consisted of him

[01:02:21] repeatedly asking me if I knew who Ted

[01:02:23] Bundy was. Of course

[01:02:25] I knew who Ted Bundy was and of

[01:02:27] course I knew the dangers of hitchhiking

[01:02:29] but I guess I was just

[01:02:31] naive to think

[01:02:33] it could never happen to me.

[01:02:35] I never heard anything back about

[01:02:37] the report that was made. I tried

[01:02:39] to follow up and each time I did

[01:02:41] no one ever got back to me aside

[01:02:43] from this one time I was told my case

[01:02:45] number didn't exist

[01:02:47] but that never stopped me from continuing

[01:02:49] to try to follow up.

[01:02:51] Throughout the months

[01:02:53] and years I asked my friend

[01:02:55] whose home I slept over at that night

[01:02:57] if she'd ever heard of

[01:02:59] any weirdness happening in the area since

[01:03:01] that incident

[01:03:03] and she'd always said no.

[01:03:05] So eventually I sort of let

[01:03:07] it go. Sometimes

[01:03:09] I try to tell myself that maybe John

[01:03:11] actually was just trying to teach me

[01:03:13] a lesson or something. I mean

[01:03:15] I definitely never hitchhiked again

[01:03:17] so if it was a lesson

[01:03:19] it certainly worked.

[01:03:21] But honestly

[01:03:23] I think I tell myself that

[01:03:25] to help me sleep better at night.

[01:03:27] It all felt

[01:03:29] really real.

[01:03:31] I'm really glad

[01:03:33] I didn't get out of the car

[01:03:35] in the woods that night.

[01:03:37] Thanks for listening and make sure to stick

[01:03:46] around after the music for your extended

[01:03:48] ad free version of this week's episode

[01:03:50] if you're a patron. If you'd like

[01:03:52] to get access head over to Patreon.com

[01:03:54] forward slash let's not meet podcast

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[01:04:00] free bonus content with stories you

[01:04:02] won't hear anywhere else.

[01:04:04] This week you have heard

[01:04:06] I escaped an intruder by playing along

[01:04:08] by loud and proud

[01:04:10] bare feet by settled snow

[01:04:12] highway encounter with

[01:04:14] the serial killer by Kid Charles

[01:04:16] Rock of the 3am scary

[01:04:18] stories podcast. Maybe

[01:04:20] my ex by alternative status

[01:04:22] 644

[01:04:24] man claimed that he was from the

[01:04:26] police by HMU bro

[01:04:28] my night in boys town

[01:04:30] by fabulous cucumber

[01:04:32] 40. And finally I barely

[01:04:34] made it out of the woods by sweet Tangerine.

[01:04:36] All of the stories you've heard

[01:04:38] this week were narrated and produced with

[01:04:40] the permission of their respective authors

[01:04:42] let's not meet a true horror podcast

[01:04:44] is not associated with Reddit

[01:04:46] or any other message boards online. As

[01:04:48] always if you have a story to share send it to

[01:04:50] letsnotmeetstories at gmail

[01:04:52] dot com. And finally a very

[01:04:54] special thanks to all of the guests

[01:04:56] that appeared on this special

[01:04:58] live episode of let's not meet

[01:05:00] including Amanda and Cassidy

[01:05:02] of drinking the Kool-Aid

[01:05:04] Sora Narnia of knife point horror

[01:05:06] Brandon Lanier co-host of my other podcast

[01:05:08] odd trails a fellow

[01:05:10] producer of the show Jennifer Hollywood

[01:05:12] and finally Shelby Novak

[01:05:14] of scare you to sleep. Make

[01:05:16] sure you check out their links in the show notes

[01:05:18] if you want to check out their podcasts however you can

[01:05:20] find those podcasts anywhere that you

[01:05:22] listen to your podcasts.

[01:05:24] We'll see you all next week for a brand new episode

[01:05:26] of let's not meet. Everyone stay

[01:05:28] safe.