6x04: The Scenic Route - Let's Not Meet

[00:00:00] This podcast contains adult language and content. The stories in this show can be frightening and disturbing for some. Listener discretion is advised. If you have a story to share, send it to letsnotmeetstories at gmail.com. Enjoy the show.

[00:00:19] My name is Andrew Tate, and this is season six, episode four of Let's Not Meet, A True Horror Podcast. My niece and I, who are both very nocturnal, love to go for nightly drives and listen to the podcast.

[00:01:05] And to make it even scarier, we usually take the most desolate and darkest roads we can find. Okay, so onto the story. It takes place in Norway in the mid nineties, right before everyone had cell phones. I didn't get a cell phone until the year after.

[00:01:27] I was a 20-something female student and I shared a house with three other students. All of my housemates had boyfriends or girlfriends who often stayed over, so there usually were a lot of people in the house at night.

[00:01:43] However, this particular evening, there was no one there when I got home. One of my housemates was abroad on vacation and I figured the other two were arriving late or possibly spending the night at their boyfriend's house.

[00:01:59] I had never been alone in that house at night before, but I thought nothing of it and just went to bed. My bedroom was on the second floor. The living room, bathroom and kitchen were on the ground floor.

[00:02:14] I had just started dozing off when I heard someone moving around downstairs. I didn't hear anyone talking. I just heard quiet footsteps and things being moved or used. Again, I didn't really think anything of it.

[00:02:31] I just figured it was one of my housemates who had come home and was making some food or something. But after a while, I noticed that they never sat down, whoever it was. They were still walking around and touching things.

[00:02:49] If someone were making food and then getting ready to go to bed, they would have been done by now. Or at least they would have sat down for a while to eat and not constantly walk around.

[00:03:04] So I tensed up and tried to listen to what was going on. I was too afraid to move, so I just laid there in bed listening intensely. I was still hoping that it was one of my housemates, but I had a sneaking sensation that it wasn't.

[00:03:23] After a while, I heard footsteps coming up the stairs. My room was the first room to the right off of the stairs. I was too scared to even move from my bed, so I held my breath and tried not to move a muscle.

[00:03:43] Then my bedroom door opened slowly. My bed was behind the door, so I could not see whoever it was until the door was fully open. All I could do was lay there and watch as the door slowly swung open

[00:04:04] and the silhouette of a tall, skinny man appeared in the doorway. My room was dark, but there was a light on in the hallway outside the bedroom. I really couldn't see his face though, but I knew that this person was someone I had never met before

[00:04:24] and that he had no business opening my bedroom door. What do you want? I almost spat the words out in order to sound as intimidating as possible. Upon hearing my voice, he stopped in his steps and said, Oh, this isn't where the party is?

[00:04:46] No, get out, I said. Still trying to sound tough. But inside I was shaking, I was completely defenseless. I was completely naked under my duvet and I figured they must have been in all the other rooms in the house by now

[00:05:03] and knew that I was the only one home. If he wanted to harm me, this was the perfect opportunity. Luckily, the guy backed off, closed the door, and I could hear him walk down the stairs. I was so scared, I laid there for at least a minute

[00:05:23] and tried to figure out if he had left the house. I couldn't hear anyone, but I hadn't heard him leave either, so I couldn't be sure. I mustered up the courage to get out of bed,

[00:05:36] throw on a bathrobe, and look for something that I could use to defend myself with. The only thing that I could find was a traveling iron, which is a very teeny tiny iron, much smaller than the normal iron and it wouldn't do much damage to any attacker.

[00:05:55] But it was the only thing that I could find, so I grabbed it. Looking back, I could have at least taken a few minutes to heat it up first, then it could have been useful in a fight. The phone was downstairs in the living room,

[00:06:11] so I had to get down there to call the police. This teeny tiny traveling iron in hand, I tiptoed as quietly as I could down the stairs. They squeaked with each step. I was so scared, I was afraid that they would hear my heart pounding.

[00:06:32] I didn't see anyone in the living room, but I wasn't sure if they were even downstairs or they were watching me through the porch window. I managed to call the police,

[00:06:44] and they stayed on the phone with me until there was a handsome police officer in my living room. I was very relieved when I saw him. He searched the house, and the guy was gone.

[00:06:57] I noticed that most of my housemate's CD collection and some cash were both missing. The police officer left a while after, and since it was in the middle of the night, I didn't want to call anyone and wake them up. So I tried to go back to bed,

[00:07:15] but I don't think I slept at all that night. I was far too scared to even close my eyes. I jumped at every sound. When my roommates got back the next day, they noticed that more things were missing.

[00:07:31] A police report was filed, but they never figured out who it was. I never spent another night alone in that house again. To the guy who decided to rob our house, on the one and only night I spent alone there. Let's not meet. In the summer of 1977,

[00:08:06] I was a 12-year-old girl living in a small town in rural Ohio. We had two traffic lights, a pizza place, a gas station, a dairy freeze, and even a small grocery store. For reference, I'm 4'10 tall, and until I quit smoking in my 30s,

[00:08:27] I was pretty thin, so I probably looked more like 9 or 10 years old, but I felt really grown up for my age. I was born in that place and always felt very safe. Everyone knew everyone,

[00:08:42] and I was always riding my bike and walking alone even after dark now and then. Nothing bad ever happened there. One day, I was down at the park with a couple of my friends. We were just messing around and trying to find something to get into without success.

[00:09:02] It was getting dark, and it was time to go. We said our goodbyes and parted ways. They lived towards uptown, and I lived a ways down the street. My usual route was through the park, then I would turn right,

[00:09:19] down the street a little ways, then across the tracks, and all the way down near the end of the street. But I was feeling bored this time, so I decided to take the railroad tracks, or rather the scenic route as my mom would say.

[00:09:35] I crossed through the park, all the way to the end where it meets the railroad tracks, then walked in between some bushes and down into the ditch line, and onto the tracks. Before I knew it, there was a man right behind me.

[00:09:53] He was on me so fast that I couldn't even process it. My eyes darted around in all directions as my brain struggled to figure out where he came from. I swear I could feel his breath on the back of my head

[00:10:10] as he told me how pretty he thought I was, and how my hair was so soft. How long had he been there hiding, maybe even watching me, and waiting? I knew it was very possible. I was in deep shit. My stomach dropped to my feet, and I froze,

[00:10:31] as if I were encased in cement. He was stroking my hair and telling me he liked me a lot. My brain began screaming at my feet and my lips to start moving now. I slowly began to move away, telling him thank you,

[00:10:49] but I really have to go because my brother was home from the service. He lived really close by, but I was already late for our family dinner. If I wasn't home like real soon, they would send my brother looking for me if they hadn't already,

[00:11:07] and he was a real asshole. I turned to walk away, and he grabs my wrist and tried to pull me closer to him. I looked at him for the first time really, and told him as firmly as I could manage to let me go.

[00:11:25] His eyes were flat and dark. He wasn't very tall. His hair was shabby and looked greasy. He calmly said, no. He stank, smelled like sweat, old and new. I was terrified. My heart was pounding so hard I was sure that he could see it.

[00:11:51] The noise in my ears was deafening. I felt I could hear my heart pounding and the blood rushing through my body. He told me he wasn't going to hurt me, he just wanted to buy me an ice cream cone or something, and then talk a while.

[00:12:11] He said please, and again stated that he would never hurt me. Even my 12-year-old brain knew that if a strange man was telling me he wasn't going to hurt me, he was almost surely thinking about it and wanted to. Panic overtook me, and I started yelling,

[00:12:31] go away, go away, over and over again. Startled, he dropped my wrist and slowly started backing away. He signaled me to be quiet, but I just kept yelling as loudly as I could, which is pretty loud.

[00:12:52] He then quickly turned and started briskly walking away down the ditch line. I turned and almost ran the tracks onto my street, and all the way home. I never looked back. Once inside I locked the door behind me

[00:13:10] and ran to my room collapsing on the bed and sobbing. They were tears of relief as well as fear and anxiety. I knew in my heart that I had just escaped a horrible fate. Despite everything, I didn't tell my mom or anyone else that I can remember.

[00:13:27] My 12-year-old brain had his priorities. I did not want my mom to go all over protective on me. Besides, I learned a lesson, and no real harm done, right? Wasn't that the most important thing? I never took the railroad tracks home after that,

[00:13:46] and I never encountered that man again. However, several months later, I saw his face in the paper. The article said that he had been jailed for sexually assaulting his biological daughter during their weekend visitation. She fled through his bathroom window and ran to the neighbor's house for help.

[00:14:05] I know he went to prison, but for how long, I don't know. I'm sure it was not long enough. I never tried to follow up on him though. I just put the whole thing behind me. So, to that creepy pervert on the tracks,

[00:14:22] I hope you met Bubba and all his friends in prison, but let's not meet again. It was September of 2016, and I had just graduated high school earlier that year. I was 18 at the time, and I am a female. I was currently attending a local university,

[00:14:55] and I decided to stay on campus in the dorms. Some of my friends from high school also attended this university, but none of them decided to live on campus, so I got paired up with a girl I had never met before. I'll call her Abby.

[00:15:11] Abby and I actually ended up becoming good friends, and we still keep in contact to this day. One night, we decided to go drinking at Abby's boyfriend's house, which was off campus but pretty close, about five miles away.

[00:15:30] So, we get ready to go, and I drive us over in my car. Once we arrive, we're greeted by her boyfriend and his roommate. We're taking shots, playing beer pong, and listening to some really loud music, drunkenly singing the words all together.

[00:15:50] As the night goes on, I'm getting more and more intoxicated, and so is Abby. She decides that she wants to stay there with her boyfriend, and extends an invite to crash on the couch. I really want to go back to the dorm and sleep in my own bed.

[00:16:09] I look around at everyone else, and I'm very aware of the fact that none of us should be driving. In my drunken state, I start scrolling through my contacts, looking for someone that would be able to give me a ride.

[00:16:24] At the time, there was this guy who I'll call Henry. I wouldn't say that we were talking, but we had been Snapchatting for a few days. Henry attended a high school in a small town not too far from mine.

[00:16:39] He dated a girl I used to be friends with in high school, but as far as I was concerned, that was old news. Plus, I didn't keep in contact with that friend following graduation. Anyways, I knew that Henry also attended school at my university now,

[00:16:56] so I sent him a message asking him if he wouldn't mind coming to pick me up and dropping me off back at my dorm. He said it was no problem. I informed my roommate that I found a ride and proceeded to wait for him.

[00:17:12] He arrived, I said my goodbyes, and we left. In the car, everything seemed normal. Well, as normal as it could be considering that I was pretty drunk. We exchange a few words about how crazy it is that he's giving me a ride

[00:17:30] and how he has had a crush on me for a while. At the time, I was pretty naive, and I liked the attention that I received from men, so I didn't see any red flags.

[00:17:42] He pulls up to a house on campus, on the opposite side of the campus than my dorm. I look around and realize that we're at his fraternity house. It's embarrassing to admit just how naive I was, considering how this wasn't a red flag either.

[00:18:01] I'm excited to keep partying, honestly. He tells me that we won't be here long, so I leave my things in the car. To my surprise, no one was partying. There were a handful of guys there, but not a lot going on at all.

[00:18:19] Odd, but I've had to use the restroom all night, so I ask where it is and I head upstairs. The bathroom was occupied, so I knocked and waited in the hall, examining their strange frat boy decor. Once the guy in the bathroom was finished, he came out

[00:18:40] and gave me a very intrigued look. He said, Oh, hey, and slurred out an, Uh, hey, excuse me, as I slid past him and locked the door behind me. I don't know what clicked, but now it's all hitting me like a pile of bricks.

[00:19:04] I'm not in a good situation. How could I be so stupid? I'm that girl in scary movies that's so oblivious that she willingly walks right into a trap. I'm doing my best not to panic. Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe he doesn't have ill intentions. Naive.

[00:19:26] I start thinking of an escape plan, but it's a long walk from here to my dorm. Plus, I'm drunk. Plus, it's raining. I quickly decide that I don't care about any of that. I'm leaving now. I quietly opened the bathroom door

[00:19:45] and sneaked down the hall towards the stairs. I scope out the living room on the first floor, seeing no one. So I bolt out the door. I run down the steps of the large porch and remember that I left my bag in his truck. Shit.

[00:20:01] I started to panic at this point. I'm yanking hard on the door handle, almost in tears. Henry and some other guys step outside and they see what I'm doing. Henry shouts, Hey, get back inside. What are you doing? I say, I just want to get back.

[00:20:23] Can you unlock the door, please? His face now looks irritated as he shoots back. We will leave in a minute. Just come back inside. It's raining. Come on. Fear shot through my body. I shouted, unlock this fucking door! Still tugging at the door handle. He screams back, fine,

[00:20:46] and hits the unlock button on his keys. I grabbed my bag and shut the door. When I looked back over to him, he slammed the door shut to the house and locked it. Normally this would have seemed offensive, but I was just so relieved.

[00:21:05] Now I've got a long, wet, drunken walk to the other side of campus. To make matters slightly worse, I wore those tennis shoes with the hidden wedge, so I end up walking barefoot. I don't care though. I rushed back to my dorm and went to bed.

[00:21:24] In the morning, I had my dad come pick me up and take me back to my car. Once I was sober, I brushed it off as a weird misunderstanding. Maybe I had just been overreacting and he was going to bring me back untouched.

[00:21:40] Well, a few months pass by and I keep going out to drink with my roommate, pretty much forgetting about Henry and the entire night. Until I get a message from a high school friend that had known Henry mutually. She told me that I needed to go on Twitter

[00:21:59] and see all of the posts being made about Henry. I was shocked. So many other girls were speaking out about him. Every tweet was a personal experience that these girls had had with him in the past and he turned out being a huge creep.

[00:22:19] Some saying that they were raped by him. He was expelled from his fraternity and the university. He transferred schools to a town hours away from mine and basically fell off the grid after all of those girls spoke out against him. I don't know what his intentions were

[00:22:38] had I stayed longer that night. But I am very thankful I wasn't there to find out. So Henry, I don't know where you ended up but I hope it's very far from here. Let's never meet again. I am a server at a fast food establishment.

[00:23:13] The customers stay in their cars outside, order through us and we bring them their food. I've had plenty of odd and weird encounters but this experience was extremely terrifying. Names will be changed for protection. So I'm Steph, a 20 year old 4 foot 8 female, 120 pounds. This will be important later.

[00:23:40] One of my coworkers Faye had her cousin Joseph put in an application and soon enough he was hired as a cook and then his girlfriend Claire was too soon hired as a switchboard answer and drink maker. Joseph is 6 foot 6, 200 pounds. He's practically skin and bones,

[00:24:03] most likely from meth. Claire is 5 foot 2, 230 pounds. A lot heavier set. Joseph is known for his anger issues and he even gave Claire a black eye once. Now the first couple of days I didn't speak to them much. It's Thursday now but of course things change.

[00:24:26] Like Claire screaming at a customer for asking a small question. My sister who works there and is a manager pulled her to the side and very nicely said you can't talk to customers like that. Let's just try and be nicer, okay? Everyone makes mistakes, it's no big deal.

[00:24:47] Of course Claire snapped back and yelled that we can't tell her how to do her job. This is one of the few incidents to come. 45 minutes later a customer pulls me aside and asks me not to let Claire make her drinks because she was sucking on her fingers.

[00:25:05] I'm mortified. I run inside and ask her to wash her hands to which she replies no. I say awkwardly but as sweetly as I can it's no big deal we have to wash our hands often anyway. Within seconds she's three inches from my face.

[00:25:25] You're going to be nicer to me, she yells. I stumble back and my sister quickly gets between us and says you aren't going to talk to her like that. Claire's response is she's been a bitch to me since day one. My sister replies

[00:25:43] she's the sweetest person in this store and she's nice to everyone. Claire storms back to the stockroom saying I hate that bitch. I'm just not peppy like her. When she comes back up front she throws her headset and yells I'm not answering anymore.

[00:26:02] The GM turns around and goes excuse me? No idea what happened there but my sister and I, she being 27 were both given an apology afterwards. Saturday comes and it's the first time seeing her since our incident. The manager Max, 5'2", maybe 150 pound male

[00:26:27] asks me to hold back on talking to her which is fine. Claire did try to give me attitude a couple of times but I always returned with an awkward smile. A few hours passed and it's 8.35pm. There's a car event going on so it's pretty busy.

[00:26:46] Joseph comes and asks Max for a smoke break. Max says in a moment when it slows down. Joseph shrugs and goes back to the kitchen. A moment later, Max tells Claire we no longer have an item and to stop letting the customers order it.

[00:27:02] We hadn't ever had this item. Claire freaks, storms to the back and tells her boyfriend we are disrespecting her. Now shit absolutely escalates. Joseph storms up front and begins yelling what the fuck? You're working me like a dog. I deserve some respect. Joseph looked possessed, just completely inhuman.

[00:27:30] Max turns around and says excuse me? You're not going to speak to anyone like that. Joseph storms to the back screaming come and fight me you little bitch. I'll beat your ass bloody. He rips off his shirt, throws boxes everywhere

[00:27:47] and kicks the back door open and storms out. Now once that back door closes it's locked. So I say, okay I'm calling the cops. I grab my phone and start dialing 911. Claire laughs and says he's not dangerous. He'll be fine if you just talk to him.

[00:28:07] Absolutely not I thought. Maybe he would go on a rampage and kill everyone if he did. He was acting like a wild animal screaming that he was going to kill Max and a lot of other things. And of course Claire ran back there and opened the door

[00:28:26] and let the raging monster back inside. Claire comes back up front and realizes I was serious. You can hear Joseph yelling things that I do not wish to repeat but here are a few things. I'm going to beat your ass bloody you bitch. Get back here.

[00:28:46] I'm going to beat you over and over again. Throwing things, slamming stuff. The customers can literally hear him. Everyone is leaving. Eventually he storms out once again. I tell everyone to stay in the front where I can see them knowing that he's in a blind rage

[00:29:05] like he would easily injure someone or even kill someone. I knew I needed to protect the poor petrified kids. While this is going on Claire starts yelling Can't you cut him some slack? He's on probation. Please guys, he's not dangerous. Please just talk to him. Excuse me?

[00:29:26] What the actual heck? All of the other employees, me, Max, the two cooks, the two other girls, we all just stare at her. I finally yell I don't care, we're in danger. He wants to fight. She cries out He doesn't want to fight you.

[00:29:42] He only wants to fight Max. He's honestly not even dangerous. Just go talk to him please. This isn't okay. She runs to the back. There are two ways to that spot. So I grab a box knife

[00:29:58] and attempt to run back there to stop her from letting him back in. Max grabs me and pulls me back not letting me get my ass beat. Obviously. Claire yells They're calling the cops. If you're going to do something, do it now.

[00:30:14] Wasn't she just worried about the cops? And him going to jail? Then my heart dropped when I heard him scream I'm coming up there to beat your ass bloody you bitch and screams racial slurs at me multiple times. I'm clutching my knife prepared to help defend Max.

[00:30:33] But thankfully, he never came back to the front. He storms out again. The entire time I'm trying to stay calm. The petrified teens around me certainly did not need to see one of the two adults have a full-blown panic attack. Although the only thought in my head was

[00:30:52] I'm going to die. I want to see my mom and my dad. The operator is talking to me still telling me what to do asking questions. I ask Claire if he has weapons and she yells I'm not telling you. The operator responds with

[00:31:10] I'll take that as a yes. I also tell her that he's known to hit and get physical. We know Claire is not going to give us any information to help so we pull up his employee file and tell her the info that she needs.

[00:31:27] The cops are finally here. Claire yells I'm leaving. I'm not letting you talk to the cops. You're all liars. I say if you step foot out there you're fired too. She sighs and Max goes and asks for him to be removed from our property

[00:31:46] as the insane man is still banging on the back door demanding to come back in. Claire starts yelling you're a dumb bitch. You shouldn't have called the cops. No one was ever in danger. I was pretty sure I was going to die.

[00:32:02] I get up in her face this time and point at her girl, honey he punched you in the face and gave you a black eye. He told everyone about it. He is dangerous. She scoffs and went excuse me? Max asks us to stop

[00:32:21] knowing this altercation could be even worse. I back up and roll my eyes. Claire yells she can't talk to me like that. She doesn't need to. Max tells her to shut up. She says this is just ridiculous. I say yeah it is get out. You're fired.

[00:32:42] Now I have no authority to do this so why she listened I have no idea. Joseph is still throwing a fit and tears up his shirt in the parking lot next door. Our GM finally goes to talk to them

[00:32:54] to tell them that they're not allowed to come back inside. Joseph asks Claire still has her job right? He says no. When your final checks are here Faye needs to get them or you have to wait in your car. You cannot come back in. So payday rolls around.

[00:33:14] Claire is texting Faye demanding that I give an apology for calling the cops and talking to her like I did. Faye reminds her she can't come in or she'll go to jail for trespassing. Claire says I deserve an apology. She can come out here.

[00:33:32] That little ass girl doesn't need to be scared. I won't hit her. So she shows up and stays in her car. The GM takes her the checks and she quite shockingly doesn't say anything to him. He then told them they weren't welcomed back.

[00:33:51] So to the crazy people who think what happened was okay let's not meet again. This happened in 2010 when I was 28 years old and single. I'm a 5'4 attractive African American woman. My story actually begins a week in advance. One Friday evening

[00:34:28] the majority of my family were hanging out at my grandmother's house which isn't unusual and we decide to order soup and sandwiches from Panera Bread. My aunt and I were designated to pick up the carryout order and we arrived at our local Panera Bread at approximately 7pm.

[00:34:47] We lived in Chicago and it was unseasonably warm that November evening. It was almost 60 degrees. As we emerged from my aunt's vehicle we noticed a male dressed in all black standing in front of the Panera Bread. He was wearing a black, koofy skull hat a black short-sleeved shirt

[00:35:09] black jeans and sneakers as well as black leather gloves that were open at the fingertips. He looked a bit creepy although it was warmer than usual outside it was definitely leather jacket or at least windbreaker weather. As we approached the entrance

[00:35:28] I noticed the guy had an object in his hand it looked like a tiny, colorful notebook but I didn't pay too much attention to it. I was immediately aware of the way that he glared at me though his eyes were dark and crazy he looked pretty wired.

[00:35:45] He was also sweating profusely. As we were passing he said in this low, raspy voice as if he were trying to catch his breath Do you want to buy some books? I've got all the books you could want right here. I just ignore him

[00:36:04] and proceed into the restaurant. When I turned to open the door and let my aunt enter first she wasn't behind me. She stopped to say to the guy I don't but maybe she does she's a teacher. First of all the book he was holding at second glance

[00:36:23] looked like a preschool book. I teach high school. A fact my aunt was very much aware of plus who stands in front of a restaurant selling a single children's book? It was very odd. Our local Panera Bread is a popular meeting spot with free internet.

[00:36:41] It's always busy with college students high school students, families and Chicago police officers but it was odd for someone to solicit there especially in front of the restaurant. That was something I had never seen before. The guy was about 6'4", maybe over 200 pounds

[00:37:01] and again those gloves without fingertips really made me a bit uncomfortable. The way that he stared at me freaked me out as well. It was as if he were trying to look into my soul with his piercing wicked eyes. For the life of me

[00:37:19] I don't know why my aunt addressed him. After we entered and placed our orders I looked outside the door and he was gone. And that was that. Or so I thought. Fast forward to a week later. It was the night of a parent-teacher conference

[00:37:36] and it was customary to grab drinks at this bar that's about four blocks from the school. I'm a teacher in case you missed it. I'm what you consider a lightweight when it comes to drinking though. I rarely drink anything but wine

[00:37:50] but that night I was drinking rum and coke and it was pretty strong. I wasn't drunk but at some point I was definitely pretty buzzed. A little after 11pm we decided to leave the bar and although it wasn't that late

[00:38:06] it was past my usual bedtime on a school night. After we said our goodbyes we headed to our vehicles. I was parked on the street because I didn't like the parking lots that have angular parking spaces. It's a silly pet peeve of mine.

[00:38:22] Everyone else parked in the lot next door to the bar. I could have asked someone to walk or drive me to my car since it was very desolate on that street but I figured I'm about a block away and this is a safe neighborhood.

[00:38:35] Again, I wasn't really thinking logically but once I passed the parking lot I was out of view. I couldn't see the parking lot or my colleagues and they definitely could not see me. As I began to walk there was not a soul in sight.

[00:38:51] Every business I passed was closed. That encouraged me to increase my speed. Suddenly I feel like someone is watching me and I quickly scan my phone and I quickly scan my surroundings. I continue to look around out of fear and that feeling of being watched.

[00:39:10] Then there, across the street separated by four lanes of traffic was a figure in all black. I couldn't see his face but I knew it was a male and his head was aimed in my direction. I hadn't noticed him before. It was eerily quiet.

[00:39:30] There wasn't a car in sight and I was really starting to get uncomfortable. I increased my speed and started walking in the direction which I was headed but on the opposite side of the street. I wondered, if he's waiting for the bus

[00:39:47] why is he walking down the street? I had my cell phone in my pocket and my keys with mace attached in my hand but I was still scared. All I wanted to do was make it to my car. My heart skipped several beats. The adrenaline began to pump

[00:40:04] and then I took off running sprinting in my four inch heels and very fitted pencil skirt but my feet were headed in different directions and I dropped my keys to the ground. Within seconds, I scrambled to pick them up and started running again

[00:40:22] but now the guy was running too in my direction. He started across the street. The closer I got to my car, the closer he got to me. I pressed the unlock button on my remote several times. In a matter of seconds,

[00:40:37] he was just a few feet away from me and as I jumped in the driver's seat closed and locked the doors the guy slammed against the driver's side window with such a force that I felt the entire car move. I looked at him

[00:40:53] and screamed at the top of my lungs. Those eyes. I've seen those eyes before. In a matter of seconds, the key was in the ignition. I shifted into gear and made an illegal U-turn without checking for oncoming vehicles. I know that was extremely dangerous

[00:41:11] but there wasn't a car in sight. I ran every light until I reached a major intersection and when I finally stopped tears were streaming down my face and just at that moment I realized that the guy who chased me

[00:41:23] was the same guy who attempted to sell me children's books at Panera Bread just a week earlier. I arrived home and told my family what had happened. While they encouraged me to call the police, I didn't. I was a little embarrassed at how much I drank that night

[00:41:42] and how I handled it. My family asked why I didn't return to the bar and call home or the police to ask for help. I don't know. Again, while I only had a few drinks, clearly my judgment was impaired. A few weeks later, a flyer was distributed

[00:42:03] to the staff and students at my school to be aware of a male fitting the description of the guy who chased me. The drawing depicted him wearing a black koofy hat, face stubble and wearing all black. He attempted to assault a woman a few blocks away

[00:42:21] from our school. Now I really wish that I would have reported the incident and thank God that that woman escaped. However, I have learned to never leave restaurants or bars alone at night no matter how close I think I parked the car.

[00:42:38] And I limit myself to one drink no matter the occasion. To the guy clad in all black who was planning to do God knows what to me, I pray we never meet again. Thank you for listening to this week's episode of Let's Not Meet, a true horror podcast.

[00:43:07] This week you have heard I Never Spent the Night Alone in That House Again by Eileen. Don't Take the Scenic Route by a listener that asked to remain anonymous. Acquaintance from High School by Ashley Lin. The Time I Thought I Was Going to Die by Steph. And finally,

[00:43:26] The Panera Bread Solicitor by Lauren. 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.

[00:43:41] If you have a story to share on the show send it over to letsnotmeetstories at gmail.com And if you want to get access to all of the bonus content we have half hour bonus episodes every week plus a bunch of other additional content

[00:43:55] as well as exclusive merchandise and things like that head over to patreon.com forward slash let's not meet podcast or follow the link in the show notes to support the show today. This show is not possible without all of the wonderful supporters over at the Patreon.

[00:44:09] I'll see you all next week for a brand new episode of Let's Not Meet, a true horror podcast. Stay safe. You