4x13: Meth Hitchhiking - Let's Not Meet

[00:00:02] My name is Andrew Tate and this is season 4 episode 13 of Let's Not Meet a true horror podcast It was a few years back I Was home alone with my daughter who was basically a newborn

[00:00:29] She was asleep in her bassinet beside my bed. This was when I was in my old house I was alone and my ex-husband was working nights My bedroom was on the second floor

[00:00:41] It was around midnight when I woke up to give my daughter a bottle as she settled back to sleep I laid in bed scrolling on my phone trying to get tired again I'm cautious about believing things people post to Facebook without sources

[00:00:58] but a few people had made the same post and then I came across an Article stating that there was a murderer on the run He had killed a man in the next town over for me and was running from the police

[00:01:12] It said that they were advising people to stay inside lock their doors and some even received phone calls Stuff like this was a rare happening where I lived though. So of course, I was freaked out

[00:01:26] I texted my husband at work who had a hard time believing this but told me to keep my police scanner on I fell asleep I'm not sure how long I was asleep But I suddenly woke up because the officers on the scanner were screaming

[00:01:45] Shots fired and then I had a hard time distinguishing what I was hearing there and what was going on outside The rapid gunfire started and sounded like it was right in the street outside my window

[00:01:59] It took me a moment to register the noise as shots to my virgin ears And then it was like time suddenly slowed down as I rolled off my bed and grabbed my daughter I remember running into the hallway and what seemed like slow motion blurry tunnel vision

[00:02:16] away from all of the windows Screaming what the fuck is happening in my head? I Shakily dialed my ex-husband at work and he still wasn't believing what was going on so I yelled at him and called my mom I

[00:02:34] Just wanted someone to talk to so I didn't feel so alone and scared. I Kept telling her there was a shooting and I was crying So maybe she didn't understand me in her half-woke state of mind

[00:02:46] I don't even remember what happened after she realized what I was saying because suddenly I was hanging up and putting the phone on The floor I stayed in the hallway for I don't know how long Clutching my sleeping baby who somehow slept through all of the chaos

[00:03:03] My body was on vibrate Sometime later. My phone was ringing and it was my mom I could barely focus enough to listen, but I thought she told me that she was coming over So I told her to stay at home where she was safe

[00:03:18] She was yelling at me that she was already on the road, but that the police had blocked it off She told them that I was her daughter and that I lived on the road and they actually let her come in They had shot the suspect. He was dead

[00:03:33] When my mom came up to the front porch we saw wet muddy footprints coming from the steps and Smeared on the door like it had been kicked I'm wondering if that is maybe what woke me up in the first place

[00:03:51] By the time my mom got to my house and came inside. It was 5 a.m It was winter. So it was still pitch-black dark outside We sat quietly in the bright kitchen Tiredly sipping coffee and passing my daughter back and forth My ex-husband arrived

[00:04:10] Shortly after and believed everything once he saw all the cops and the road blocked off Long story short this man had killed someone in the next town over from me about three to five minutes away ran to my town through my backyard

[00:04:26] To the road through the trees and killed another person in the house and back of me That's when the cops showed up and he began to shoot at them So they shot at him all the gunfire that I heard

[00:04:40] He laid dead in a measly patch of woods in the back of my house. I Had goosebumps thinking about all of this murder taking place around me as I lay in bed When my mom left and my ex-husband put our daughter back to bed

[00:04:57] I stepped outside on the back porch to smoke a cigarette eight months smoke-free by the way, I Stood there smoking and watching all of the lights a stark contrast against the very early gray morning It was cold

[00:05:13] That afternoon. I ended up having to block multiple news reporters for harassing me to tell my story I told them that I had no problem telling them the story in more detail, but I didn't want to be on television. I

[00:05:25] Had not slept and my daughter was with me They said they wanted her on camera as well after denying them They kept asking if they could come to my work to do my interview. So I ended up blocking them and moving on with my life

[00:05:45] I never thought I'd have anything to post on this subreddit. But here I go This literally just happened. So I'll try to keep this as short and organized as possible But I apologize if it is neither of those two I

[00:06:07] Am a 29 year old female and my partner is 23. She's female as well We're back in her hometown Visiting her family for about a week It's a very small isolated town in the middle of nowhere and basically in the middle of the woods

[00:06:26] While we were here she wanted to meet up with an old high school friend who still lives in the area We'll call him Kyle So we meet Kyle at the beach and right away

[00:06:37] he's acting very weird making jokes about having a three-way with us and just making a bunch of Unwelcome overly sexual gross comments about us. It's obvious that we're unfortunately used to this stuff to a certain extent

[00:06:54] But coming from someone who was supposed to be her good friend. It was extra annoying So my girlfriend and I are shooting each other panicked looks the entire time Once he's out of earshot for a second

[00:07:08] She says that she's sorry, but he's never been like this before and we can make an excuse to leave When he comes back we tell him we want to get dinner at a local bar, but he just asks to join us

[00:07:21] We felt awkward. So we end up saying yes, he says he doesn't know quite how to get there So he follows us We get there order drinks and food and then head out to the patio with the drinks

[00:07:36] He makes a few more gross comments, but is generally being way more cool and normal than he was at the beach where we were We're smoking weed on the patio and chilling The food comes quick and we finish it even quicker

[00:07:53] Now here's where it gets really messed up So halfway through my first drink, I'm feeling very tired which makes sense as we've had a long day I Give my girlfriend the signal that I want to go

[00:08:08] She makes an excuse that we need to go and he keeps trying to get us to come to his house I've got good weed and dabs there. You can meet my cats blah blah blah He's being really pushy We keep saying no and making excuses

[00:08:25] We need to check on her grandpa, etc So we finally get in the car and say good night We've parked next to each other and we walk up and into the cars together while saying our goodbyes

[00:08:40] When we get into the car, my girlfriend informs me that she wants to stay at the bar But fake it like we're leaving because she doesn't want to chill with him anymore, which is understandable So we're sitting in the car waiting for him to leave first

[00:08:56] When he signals us to roll down the window We do and he says his GPS is being funny and can we lead him to the main road? To be fair. We are in the middle of nowhere. So it didn't seem too outlandish

[00:09:11] So obviously staying behind at the bar was out So in the car We're talking about how pushy he was being and she admitted she feels weird driving back to her grandpa's house So we should drive into town until we lose him

[00:09:27] He's behind us for a long time even after he should have gotten off on his exit We think it's weird, but we aren't sure what to do So finally we get on a two-lane road and he pulls up next to us and he's waving his phone

[00:09:44] Which is clearly my girlfriend's phone in the window We pull over he gives her phone back chats for a few seconds Then leaves in a hurry Here's the part that makes my skin crawl We know she had her phone

[00:10:02] She put it in her fanny pack which was on the table along with my phone and her weed a Few minutes before we left the bar as we were preparing to leave

[00:10:12] She didn't take it back out. There is literally no way she could have left it at the bar More importantly he got in his car and left the bar at the same time as us meaning that he had to have already Had the phone when we were leaving

[00:10:28] It's not like we left the bar first and he saw it left on the table or something He literally had to have been walking to the cars with us and calmly saying good night with the phone already in his possession now the kicker

[00:10:43] apparently unbeknownst to me my girlfriend had tasted a very weird bitter taste in her straw at the bar and Was already suspicious, especially with how he'd been acting

[00:10:55] This is why she wanted to stay back at the bar to get away from him and stay in public where she felt it was safer So when he walked up to the car to return her cell phone

[00:11:08] She casually but very deliberately flashed the knife that she kept for protection in her jacket I didn't know at the time That she had done this So that's why he left so quickly

[00:11:23] Obviously, I was annoyed with her for not telling me her suspicion sooner, but she didn't want me to panic I'm really shaken up a few things are clear He stole my girlfriend's phone and it seems

[00:11:36] Like he did it so that we would be forced to pull over on a dark road in the middle of nowhere He quickly ended the conversation and left when my girlfriend flashed her knife They've been quote-unquote good friends for almost 10 years

[00:11:50] If he wasn't planning on doing something malicious I feel he would have acted confused about the knife or said something like whoa What the fuck why would you flash a knife at me? What is this a bad movie or something? but instead

[00:12:05] He just booked it which tells me he knew exactly what she was doing Reacting to a threat and preparing to protect herself and me Three he probably spiked our drinks my girlfriend noticed a weird taste in her straw that night and she chose not to finish it

[00:12:23] I have finished my drink and felt very tired a Few more things. I just don't know how he managed to nab the phone without us knowing or noticing It doesn't really make sense, but he did

[00:12:37] Me and my girlfriend both remember her putting it in her fanny pack perfectly We also have no idea how he could have spiked our drinks unless he was working with the bartender But we were the ones who suggested that bar. I Don't know exactly how he did it

[00:12:56] But I think I know why and for that reason my girlfriend's now ex-friend who made creepy sexual comments Probably tried to drug us and stole her phone in order to get us on a dark road alone

[00:13:08] Let's not meet again. I was on a hitchhiking adventure from Canada to Guatemala Which started in September of 2019? This post is taken from the notes in my journal, which I wrote as soon as I could after this insane experience If you've ever hitchhiked before

[00:13:43] You know how amazing it is and how many cool people you can meet Out of thousands of rides across 40 countries, I've only had two bad or dangerous encounters thumbing it This was my second one I was taking a break from traveling to find a weed trimming job in

[00:14:03] California's Nevada City a beautiful little town with a very interesting crowd But I got stuck a few towns over for not getting a ride all day. I Ended up sleeping a night at the loves gas station

[00:14:18] Which I had done plenty of times before I've slept at worse places at least loves has a bathroom in The morning I was a little more desperate to accept rides because no one was stopping and it had already been a whole day. I

[00:14:34] just wanted to get out of there a pickup truck is speeding past me and Slams on the brakes then they slowly back up Inside is a man and a woman in their late 50s. He has a husky voice Where you headed boy?

[00:14:54] Nevada City any distance helps though. We'll get in we're going to Yuba They seemed normal enough even without most of their teeth and hair So I jumped in it all happened in rapid succession I

[00:15:11] Toss my bag in the back and jump in I shut the door then I notice a pile of guns and bullets on the floor Before I have time to rethink my decision we speed off So as I'm trying to assess whether or not I'm in danger

[00:15:28] They start telling me how this guy just got out of jail for aggravated assault How he beat that motherfucker so bad he can't think straight no more and they laugh about it She's holding his seat belt over his chest

[00:15:46] They both smell like shit and they start asking how much money I have I think Yep, I'm not safe here after hitchhiking all this way. I don't look particularly wealthy I'm filthy. I need a shower. I look no different than the stereotypical homeless guy

[00:16:04] So I try to seem more poor than I am and more tough than I am as well I'm broke as fuck man. That's why I'm trying to get to the city I'm hoping to make some cash trimming The man looks me in the eye

[00:16:21] Well, you'll find it. All right, you'll find it good. Don't be afraid to do dirty work If people try and they will try to fuck you you fuck them first you get what I'm saying

[00:16:34] Put your eyes on the damn road Jesus Christ the woman shouted as she pointed forward and he swerves back into the right lane He asks me if I smoke and knowing that California has legalized weed. I put two and two together

[00:16:49] He's offering me a joint. So I say yeah, I smoke With the wild look in his eyes he exclaims great and We turn off the highway and start down a dirt road I'm more than worried and

[00:17:04] I'd look behind us in the back of the truck is a bag a Chainsaw a pickaxe and a plastic tarp over something It didn't help my anxiety Finally we stop in front of a clearing The woman takes out not a joint but a meth pipe

[00:17:26] It's the first time I've seen a meth pipe and a lot of things start to make sense While he lights up and exhales into the car. I've never seen smoke so white

[00:17:38] I'm rolling down the car window as fast as possible because I don't want to smoke that shit The woman takes some as well and They tell me how they were going to collect money that a woman owes them that bitch is gonna pay one day or another

[00:17:53] Damn straight. She better have the money. I'm gonna grab her and say where's my money bitch? Oh She'll have it. All right. She'll have it or else Say son You ever steal something?

[00:18:08] Because we could make you $20,000 today I didn't know how to answer this guy and he repeats $20,000 to day here smoke some of this He hands me the pipe Nothing like meth ain't that right? I

[00:18:28] gently reject it and say meth's not really my thing which he surprisingly takes well and Smokes more before putting it away and driving off back towards the highway His driving is terrible swerving speeding hitting the brakes abruptly

[00:18:45] He starts trying to convince me to help them steal marijuana plants you'll hold my gun and I'll drill the hole and I'll keep a lookout. Yeah, baby girl will keep a look now

[00:18:58] You got to be careful if you hear the dogs because them sons of bitches are nasty nasty See this bite He reveals what looks like a terrible scar on his arm I Didn't really know how to get out of this situation

[00:19:14] So I sounded as confident as possible and said that I was meeting a friend To look for work together and they would be expecting me today We neared the end of Yuba City where they pull over to the side of the road

[00:19:27] Well, it's your funeral. You don't want to eat fine by me, but if you ever want that cash you call me He hands me his number Hell no, I think Thanks, I will quickly retrieving my bag smiling nervously

[00:19:45] the woman says with the wave take care now God bless and They sped off I'm standing on the side of the road thinking what the hell was that? Happy to be out of my car

[00:20:00] Methods one and two thanks for the offer to still marijuana plants, but let's never ever meet again One night I got a knock at my door I Lived in a small studio apartment by myself at the time and barely knew anyone in the entire apartment complex

[00:20:30] including my only neighbor I Lived next to a corner unit and had a hallway on the other side So his unit was the only one sharing a wall with mine. I

[00:20:42] Opened the door and it was my landlord who promptly asked if I had been hearing any loud noises next door It was a noise complaint No, I barely hear them at all. I

[00:20:56] Stepped out into the hallway and saw him for the first time a short stocky guy with a few prominent words wearing a hoodie The apartment building was mostly low-rent housing and I had no reason to

[00:21:11] Distrust the guy after living next to him and barely hearing a peep for a year plus So I vouched for him because I don't like seeing landlords use complaints as an excuse to kick people out but big mistake I

[00:21:27] Go back inside after telling the guy to knock on my door again if it ever happens so that I can help out. I Go back to what I was doing another knock at my door This time it's the neighbor. He says

[00:21:43] I'm just feeling rattled. Could I ask you to come over? I can make tea I politely declined saying that I was in the middle of something 30 minutes later another knock

[00:21:55] I've got some games if you want to play those we could smoke and hang out, please. I just need someone he pleaded Again, I said no and yet another knock he finally wore down my patience Fine, I'll come over for a bit, but I'm bringing my own drink

[00:22:15] I'm bringing my own drink. I grabbed my pepper spray and stuff it into my back pocket just in case His room was dimly lit and full of large Surrealist paintings that depicted people in twisted positions He had a lot of keepsakes

[00:22:33] Everything from dolls to woodcut idols nailed up on the walls He clearly didn't get a lot of visitors He starts brewing some tea and asks if I want some I politely declined

[00:22:47] Then out of the corner of my eye. I notice a hammer sitting directly next to the tea kettle. I Eye that thing like a hawk making sure his hand never strayed from the kettle I'm a shut-in kind of girl

[00:23:05] So I'm not exactly strong or anything and he could have easily overpowered me I try to put it out of my mind, but the atmosphere keeps sending me into fight-or-flight Something about this guy was wrong and my brain was telling me to leave

[00:23:24] But for some reason I stayed He and I started talking about art and he seemed oddly fixated on the concepts of masculine as dominant and feminine As the artistic self. I'm an illustrator and I'm not super familiar with high art

[00:23:39] So I tried to make normal conversation about his paintings and his job But it kept steering back to his fascination with gender demorphism then he says want to see something I'm working on a Chill runs up my spine and for some reason I say sure

[00:23:59] He then boots up his desktop and shows me what he calls a machine It's a video shot in and around the city it contained the occasional shots of random subway walls and buildings old machinery and Then it starts showing Random people from off the street

[00:24:21] It was shot from a camera phone and the angle suggested that those people were not aware that he was filming them And I recognized the locations all places relatively nearby This continued for 10 minutes until I had finally had enough I said

[00:24:41] Sorry, man. I've really got to get back. My friends are waiting on me. Oh But the tea isn't done yet and he walks over to the kettle again The hammer still right there on the stove next to his hand. I Start walking to the door

[00:24:58] It's at this point that my brain is telling me to get out even though nothing Was especially a giant red flag so far just an eccentric painter guy with some weird hobbies who really Wanted me to stay over Thankfully, I managed to politely make my escape

[00:25:15] Mind you this man is my neighbor and has been the entire time that I've lived here. I Call up a nearby friend and asked to stay the night But it didn't matter. This is where I lived. He knew exactly where I lived in that. I lived alone

[00:25:32] The next morning I returned to my place. I felt awful I had barely slept the night prior so I decided to take a shower and that's when I saw it a Small hole in the tile wall just big enough to see through

[00:25:49] This bathroom shared the same wall with his How long had that been there I looked through it and Clear as day I could see back into that dingy apartment. I promptly covered it I Never heard from him again. No knocks or anything Two months later

[00:26:13] I just decided to move the landlord's brother who was filling in for him for a week while I was moving out asked me Why I was moving and I mentioned that I had a bad experience with someone in the building

[00:26:25] I didn't want to rat him out or anything, but the brother already knew who he was. Oh Him don't worry about him. He's harmless How did the landlord's brother who barely even operated in this building before know about the neighbor

[00:26:43] Had someone else had similar experiences with him. Was this common enough that even he was aware? I Couldn't stop thinking about the hole in the shower the hammer the dolls nailed up to the wall his machine and Why was this guy so sure? About him being harmless. I

[00:27:06] Want to believe that he was just some eccentric artist with strange fascinations But that old gnawing feeling just won't go away Either way, let's not meet again Thank you for listening to this week's episode of let's not meet a true horror podcast this week

[00:27:38] You have heard the dead man in my woods by reddit user gypsy kitty XO My partner's friend just stole her cell phone in order to get us to pull over our car in the middle of the night and also

[00:27:52] Probably drugged us by reddit user and I'm going to butcher this completely Olivier labe law neck Hopefully that'll do Look for the name in the show notes just in case meth hitchhiking by reddit user kitten Kalen and

[00:28:11] Finally the creepy dude next door by reddit user cascada katana all of the stories You've heard this week were narrated and produced with the permission of their respective authors Let's not meet a true horror podcast is not associated with reddit or any other message boards online

[00:28:28] Remember if you want to hear your story on the show email me at let's not meet stories at gmail.com And as always if you want bonus material and to support the show go to patreon.com forward slash

[00:28:39] Let's not meet podcast. I apologize for any kind of droning noise that you may have heard in the background during this episode It seems that lately whenever I try to record my downstairs neighbor Turns on what my brain can only visualize as some kind of

[00:28:55] Giant machine that makes these David Lynch like droning noises. I can't figure out quite what it is I know it's not the air conditioner because that has a very specific sound in a different room of the house I need to figure out what it is

[00:29:09] I'll keep you all updated and I'll do my very best to record around the noise in the future Also, thank you for all of the positive feedback on my story that I told last week However, there have been a lot of questions and inquiries about it

[00:29:21] I do not want to talk about it and I'm not going to respond to any comments or questions about that story I just don't want to talk about it anymore I was happy to share it with you all but it's not something I care to elaborate on anymore

[00:29:35] But I appreciate all of the feedback and I appreciate all of my listeners I'll see you all next week for a brand new episode of let's not meet