Let's Not Meet: A True Horror Podcast - Wednesday One-Shot: Jewel Van

Starting point is 00:00:00 Welcome to Wednesday One Shots, the series where we share a bonus story with you to help you get through the week. This time around we have a story by a listener named Mark. When I turned 16, I immediately made it a point to get a part-time job after school. I wanted to find a job to teach me the responsibility to become the upstanding young man my parents had wanted me to be. There was a shoe repair shop owned and operated by a man named Gino, who lived locally. He was looking for an assistant and he gave

Starting point is 00:00:46 me the job on the spot. For three days after school, I would work for Gino from 330 till about 7, as I didn't drive. I needed one of my parents to come and pick me up since there was no public transportation and it was too far for me to walk. One evening, I was told last minute that I was going to have to walk home, as neither one of my parents were available. I was slightly annoyed by this, but at least the autumn weather was cool and crisp. I set out right after my shift ended for the long walk home, through the small but densely populated New England town. About 500 feet away from my work, I noticed

Starting point is 00:01:26 a brown van, slow down as it drove by in the opposite direction. I glanced up, thinking that the driver was going to ask me for directions. When our eyes met, I had to take a second to catch my breath. This guy was very creepy looking. He had long greasy hair down to his shoulders that was scraggly looking. He had a round pale face. It was littered with pock marks, and the darkest, most dead-looking eyes. I looked back down and continued to walk. He drove away. A few minutes later, as I continued my walk, I heard a vehicle pull up next to me and slow down without coming to a full stop. I was expecting to hear

Starting point is 00:02:13 the sound of a car being put into park and an engine turning off, but that didn't happen. Instead the same van drove alongside me as I walked, and this time in the same direction, less than ten feet away. Just to confirm, I looked over and sure enough, it was the same scary man in the same van, with the same dead eyed glare. This time, I noticed the word jewel on the side of his van. The word jewel was displayed on the van and was branded, implying that it was the name of a business. The window was rolled down and I looked away from him for a split second and then picked up my pace since I was starting to get worried.

Starting point is 00:03:02 I had never been in this kind of position before, and I wasn't sure what to do. He then raced ahead of me, flipped the U-turn in the street and drove back towards me again. Wouldn't you know? During this whole time, there was nobody else around, not a soul. A sidewalks and the side streets were all empty except for just the two of us. After his third pass, I assumed that he would either lose interest or get the hint that I wasn't going to give him any attention, but something told me to run. So I did. I saw a large free-standing city mailbox up ahead, and I told myself that I could easily hide

Starting point is 00:03:40 behind it to make him think that I took a different route. I bolted to the mailbox, crouched down behind it, and I was only there for maybe a matter of seconds when I heard the van pulling around again. He pulled up right next to me, making me realize that my attempt at hiding was a few tile one. At this point, I was both angry and panicked. I stood and glared at him for a second, hoping to elicit some sort of shame or embarrassment from him, but I got nothing. Just that same awful-looking face, with zero emotion or expression in his eyes. Finally, he drove away, and I bolted down some side-street and hid as I saw him cruise

Starting point is 00:04:22 by yet again on the street that I had turned down. I didn't have any money on me. There were no payphones, and I had no way to contact my parents. Although I felt very alone at this moment, I also knew that I couldn't easily run up and ring the doorbell of any of the houses that I was walking by and get the help that I needed. After what seemed like an eternity, I arrived back home both mentally and physically spent. I didn't say anything about what happened to anyone in my family, as I somehow felt that it was my fault. After dinner, I grabbed both the white page and yellow page phone books.

Starting point is 00:04:59 I scoured over the J-section in both, looking for a company called Jewel, but I couldn't find any. This guy was most likely from another town or city, and was praying on people far from his own town. Something tells me that he was more successful with other people who weren't as savvy as I was, but I hope not. Thanks to Mark for submitting that story, and if you have a story to share, make sure you send it into Let's Not Meet Stories at gmail.com. I'll see you all at 7pm Pacific on Friday over at twitch.tv slash Anditate Live for

Starting point is 00:05:34 the live stream special episode of Let's Not Meet, with a number of guests and plenty of terrifying stories. However, if you cannot make it, don't worry, the audio version will be available on the next episode of Let's Not Meet the Following Monday. Everyone, stay safe! you you

Let's Not Meet: A True Horror Podcast - Wednesday One-Shot: Jewel Van

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