Not As Everything Seems

Chapter One:

                The night was eerie and dark, plus driving on a road that is less traveled but still manages to have more potholes than her college's parking lots did not make it any better. The fog was thick and her car's headlights barely managed to cut through the dense gray. She could barely see the lines that were painted a fluorescent yellow and white, making her have to drive around twenty miles per hour on a road with a normal speed limit of fifty five. Her music was at a reasonable level but she could still hear the rev of her engine whenever she hit a hill or went around a turn. Her knuckles were white on the steering wheel, and her eyes were glued to the thickness outside of her windshield when suddenly her car shuttered, engine screaming before shutting off completely. "No No, not now" She said to herself, looking down at the now empty gas meter, the yellow light on the dashboard glaring at her. It must have happened sometime while she was driving, or while she was out but she swore she had enough to get home. "Crap" She said to herself as she slowly coasted into one of the pull offs on the side of the road, headlights momentarily pointing at bright silver guardrails and gray fog that had yet to clear. Her car eventually stopped, now leaving her motionless. Her phone was also next to useless as it had no service, only an SOS signal. She decided to just use that and maybe a cop can give me a ride or bring some gas. She called and explained, dispatch assuring her that they had someone on the way, and to stay put. She nodded even though she knew that the person on the other end could not see her and when the phone call ended, she sat in the driver's seat, forehead on the steering wheel. It was quiet, Her radio now turned off. While she figured her car wasn't completely out of commission, she didn't want to push it or use any other features that may cause later issues. With her phone having no signal, she couldn't even watch a show or scroll mindlessly through social media. She sighed and kept her head down, not wanting to look out. She was worried that the cop wouldn't even be able to see her due to the fog so she chanced her hazards, relief flowing through her when they turned on, and stayed on, the flashing yellow lights blinking against the heavy gray

                A knock at her passenger window jolted her out of whatever daze or daydream she was in. She looked around, confused then wondering if the cop had found her already. But when she looked around and saw no other light other than her yellow ones flashing, she furrowed her brows, eyes squinting as she tried to see what or who had knocked on her window. Another knock, now coming from the rear passenger window caused her head to whip around and stare. There was nothing, no movement but somehow the fog made it almost impossible to see even if there was. She shook her head thinking that maybe she was just going crazy or imagining things in brief anxiety induced paranoia and leaned her head back on the wheel. Looking down at the phone in her lap, the screen being too bright for the darkness in her car, the numbers '9:30' shining bright back. She was supposed to be on her way home, back at campus already, finishing up whatever she needed to do before her classes the next day. But here she was, sitting on the side of the road, with no signal, with no one knowing where she was, and only a hope that a cop would be there soon to help her out. 

                A third knock, now her driver's side window, shooting anxiety through her body like a white hot bolt through her nervous system. She slowly turned and looked out the glass, the fog still hindering her ability to see anything. She tried shaking it off but to no avail. She decided to see if someone was just messing around with no intention of actually helping and unbuckled her seatbelt. Now she knew this is how people die in horror movies but she also didn't want to listen to the knocking, though maybe she was just going crazy and overthinking it. "This is a stupid idea.." She mumbled to herself, hand reaching for the door handle. "I shouldn't do this" She adds, pulling the lever, hearing the click. "Dammit," She finishes, pushing the door open. Stepping out, shivering as the cold air touched the exposed skin of my ankles, then nipped at her nose as the wind picked up. She slowly got out, looking around, eyes narrowing. "Hello?" She questioned no one in particular. Silence. That was all she heard. It was unsettling. It was as if all of the animals had vanished from the wooded area surrounding her, making it even more of an eerie quiet she already hated. The hairs on the back of her neck began to stand up which caused her to be on edge. The uneasy feeling came barreling in more and more, her gut telling her to just get back in the car and ignore the outside until the cop shows up. Disregarding her body's internal warning bells, she continued to look around. "Whoever's knocking on my window, please don't" She calls out and starts to move towards the open car door.

                More silence. At this point she couldn't tell if who or what doing this was just messing around but either way, she hated it. She was about to call out when she heard it. A voice in what she was assuming was the woods. "Come here.." it sounded. "What.." she mumbled to herself. Another 'come here'. More eerie than the last. Anxiety shot through her like a bullet. But she felt as if she couldn't move despite her body practically screaming at her. Suddenly, as if it were magic, her limbs had regained their ability to move and she about sprinted back to the safety of her car, getting into the driver's seat and slamming the door shut, locking it to be safe. When her breathing had slowed to a normal pace, and her heart regained its rhythm, she gained the courage to look out the windows. The fog had subsided just enough to see the outline of the Woodline. That's when she saw it. Two eyes, staring at her from the trees. The figure was taller than any human she had ever seen and gave off a very unsettling vibe. She gulped, their eyes meeting for a split second before she quickly averted her gaze back down to her lap.

                She stayed that way for a minute, staring at her lap frozen. That was until she heard movement to the side of the car. What sounded like nails on a chalkboard but was actually nails on the side of her car. She cringed knowing that she would have some explaining to do if there was damage. With hair covering her eyes as she slowly looked out the window again. The figure that was once in the treeline, now was walking around the car. She gulped audibly and tried to keep my breathing under control, but to no avail. The figure was still circling, getting closer and mumbling things that were only muffled. A whimper escaped her mouth, hands shaking in lap lap. It soon stopped, at the driver's side. Its eyes staring into her car through the window. Her leg started to shake uncontrollably and she tried her best to not look to the left. The figure stayed there, as if trying to figure out how to get through the glass. In a few moments she had thought that it was going to be the end but a sudden knock grabbed a scream from her throat. She looked up sharply, finally seeing blue lights in the rearview mirror, looking to her left seeing a cop with a flashlight shining into her dark car. She hated to say this, but that was the first time she was ever happy to see a cop outside of her car.