Viscera and Other Tales

The Unending Road

Marcie always talked about going on a road trip.

When we first got together 3 years ago, she always brought up wanting to hit the road and just travel. All the places she'd go to, the destinations she'd reach, the tourist traps she'd visit.

"I'm gonna do it, Johnny." She told me recently. "I'm gonna hit The Road."

That was 3 weeks ago.

There's been no sign of her since.

Not long after not hearing from her, I reported her missing and that launched a wide search for her.

She had left behind detailed information on where she'd be heading and stopping. Police and volunteers scoured every roadway and found nothing.

No car, no signs, no Marcie.

Every gas station she had marked as a potential stopping point had its camera footage combed through and she wasn't on a single tape.

The last footage of her found was from a Walmart, she had stopped in to purchase some snacks. The parking lot footage showed her leaving and after that...nothing.

Down a ways from the Walmart was a Dollar General that had a security camera in the parking area. She didn't appear on the footage.

In between the Walmart and the Dollar General was just a straight road. No detours, no turns, no places to stop.

But somewhere, in between those two stores, she disappeared.

Everybody was dumbfounded. In such a small stretch of road, both a fully grown woman and a whole damn car went missing.

And no trace of either remained.

It was frustrating. She left us all the information we could ever need and yet, she was unfindable.

Deciding to be proactive, I packed my bags and set out to do one more search.

Although it had already been the focus of the investigation, I was going to the stretch of road she disappeared on.

Every time I approached, I could feel a pit forming in my stomach.

I passed the Walmart and drove slowly down the road. When nearing the Dollar General, I stopped and pulled over.

The road felt eerily calm, cars zoomed by me and a couple people stopped to ask if I was having car troubles.

Yet it had a stillness to it.

So much movement, and yet, still so still.

I turned away from the road and back to my car and stopped dead in my tracks.

The pit in my stomach grew heavier as I saw what was before me.

A road.

Right next to my car, a goddamn road.

It wasn't there before, there was no way it could've been there.

I had been on this stretch of road so many times in the past weeks, I would've seen another road connecting to it.

Even if I had missed it, SOMEBODY would've seen.

Right?

I mean hundreds, if not thousands, of volunteers. Cops, professional searchers, friends, family, me. Somebody would've pointed out this road.

I got into my car and adjusted it to turn towards the road. I considered calling the police first, but I felt like something didn't want me to.

As if I told someone, the road would disappear.

"Fuck it." I said to myself, maneuvering myself forward.

I accelerated and began to make my way down the road.

At first it seemed so oddly empty. Not even a pebble in sight, just smooth road and and flat plains. As I drove onwards and onwards, expecting to eventually reach something, I felt dread.

I looked in my rear view mirror and no longer saw where I had come from. Just more road.

Finally (after 2 long hours) I saw something.

It was a sign nailed to a big wooden pole that rose from a crack in the ground. I pulled up to get a closer look and it read:

WRONG ROADWAY. CAN'T TURN BACK BUT OKAY TO KEEP GOING. GIVE WHAT IT WANTS IF YOU NEED TO KNOW

Not exactly reassuring but I felt a little better knowing that there wasn't just more road ahead. There must be something else right?

I continued on downward for another hour or so until my clock gave out. The numbers jumped around erratically until it finally went dark.

Strangely, the gas gauge never changed. I had been on the road for roughly three hours and it was still the same as when I had started.

An unknown amount of time passed before I reached the next landmark.

This one appeared to be some kind of mannequin. It was posed to be on all fours, head up and facing my car. As I passed it by, the head turned to follow my vehicle.

I didn't stop for that one.

I turned to my phone to see that I, somehow, still had reception. Full bars but, when I tried to make a call, it wouldn't connect. I could still browse the internet though.

The next landmark I saw was what appeared to be a crow (or possibly a raven?) perched atop a rock. This one I decided to stop for.

I got out of the car and began to approach it but, suddenly, it floated up into the air.

It flew down and began to peck at my hand, it's beak clasped tightly onto one of my fingernails.

I screamed and tried to shake it off but that just made it hold on tighter. I grabbed it by the neck and yanked it, my fingernail ripping off and going along with the bird.

The animal returned to the rock and swallowed my fingernail. It nodded to me and I returned to my car.

I continued to drive, haphazardly trying to nurse my damaged finger. Time continued to float by, I no longer knew how long I had been on here.

It wasn't long before I saw it.

Marcie's car.

I quickly pulled over and ran to it, throwing open the driver's side door, only to find it empty.

I looked through it, trying to find some sort of clue as to what might've happened to her.

But instead, I found nothing.

I fell to the ground and began to cry. I had never felt so helpless, so disappointed. I lay there for who knows how long before I heard a loud scurrying noise.

I looked up to see the Mannequin running on all fours towards me.

With a leap to my feet, I ran back to my car but before I could open the door it reached me. I screamed and it wrapped it's limbs around me and knocked me to the ground.

It's neck extended upwards before it's head came crashing down, head butting me and knocking me out.

I don't know how long it was until I woke up in the Walmart parking lot.

I quickly turned my car on and drove out towards the road but when I reached the area where I had first entered, there was nothing there.

Just like before, the road was no where to be seen.

I tried to tell my story to people, to explain what I saw.

I tried to get them to believe.

No one did.

The sign, the mannequin, the bird, Marcie's car. Everybody said I must've passed out in my hot car and dreamt it all.

But I knew the truth.

Every time I looked down at my finger and it's missing fingernail, I knew.

Marcie was still out there somewhere.

On the road.