Lighthouse Horror Podcast - I'm Trapped In A Blizzard. I Think Something's HUNTING Me | Scary Stories

Episode Date: September 17, 2023

There's something in the storm.   Story from Michael Kelso Make sure to check out more of their work at u/Horror_writer_1717 | Michael Kelso                          ��  Original Post: I was hunted by a cryptid in a snowstorm : r/LighthouseHorror                                     Original YouTube link: I'm Trapped In A Blizzard. I Think Something's HUNTING Me             For more stories like this one, check out my YouTube channel: Lighthouse Horror | YouTube  Patreon: Lighthouse Horror | Patreon Merch: lighthousehorror.com  Music: Lucas King - YouTube Myuu - YouTube  Incompetech Darren Curtis Music - YouTube  Thank you for listening to this scary story! If you enjoyed this new creepypasta story, please check out some of my other horror stories. We'll be uploading new episodes every day, featuring ghost stories, haunted encounters, mysteries, true stories, creepypasta, and anything supernatural and paranormal. Don't miss out on the thrill and suspense that await you in each episode!

I never thought it would end like this. My truck's windows smashed, blood all over the interior, the frigid wind and snow blowing in on me as those two empty eyes stared in it me, like a predator, sizing up a helpless animal for the kill. It didn't start out like that, of course. When I started out from my morning run, it wasn't snowing. There was some snow on the ground, though. There'd been a quick storm with some squalls that had left.

half a foot of that white stuff on the roads just a few days earlier. The state took care of it pretty quickly, and travel was barely interrupted. Everyone went about their merry way. Even me. The fact that I hated winter even more than driving a truck never entered my mind. All right, that was a lie. As I drove down the road, I found myself looking at the small piles of snow along the roadside and cursing them for not being big enough to cancel my run. I had to drive my truck through some pretty empty places, the kind that make you long for anything to break up the monotony of two lanes of asphalt surrounded by endless trees. I had to drive that route quite often, and it never got any easier to stay awake. I would imagine seeing odd things

looking out of the trees as I flew by. I knew it was my mind playing tricks. me, trying to scare me and to stay in alert and not crashing the truck, if it had been a deer or bear, or something like that. I would have just laughed it off. But this thing looked like it was out of some nightmare. That's how I knew it wasn't real. There was no way it could exist, so I put it out of my mind and kept on driving. Fortunately, with it being a two-day run, I was able to pick where I wanted to stay after I got my load. Hotels were nice. But if needed, I had the sleeper in my cab, which I called home away from home. It wasn't bad as cramped spaces go.

There was lots of shelf space above the bunk. I had a TV mounted on the wall, hooked up to a GameCube. There was a DVD player with an assortment of movies that I rotated out on a weekly basis. And there were some paperback books. Lord of the Rings, Frankenstein, This Present Darkness, along with all the indie authors' books I had on my phone. I didn't have to worry about being bored. There was always my laptop that held the novels I'd started writing and never finished.

The only thing I really needed was food in a bathroom. I had snacks stashed around, sometimes in places even I didn't find for months. But it couldn't compare to a nice hot meal. I had my favorite stops on the road, and they all had two things in common. Good food and a quiet place to park and sleep. I didn't like having my truck squashed up against other trucks, wondering if I'd be able to get my door open if they parked like an idiot. I liked parking near the outskirts of a parking lot.

It was more private, and I didn't feel as hemmed in. Of course, there was a trade-off. More privacy meant walking further to get to the truck stop, sometimes a lot further. But I used that to my advantage. Nothing like a nice long walk to get the blood flow into all those. muscles I didn't use one driving. Unfortunately, the place was a local mom-and-pop operation, which meant they didn't have the money to stay open 24 hours a day. Usually, I'd pull my truck into my spot in the evening, go get supper at the lunch counter, then grab supplies for the

night. I'd always go inside one last time to use the restroom just before they closed at midnight. That evening, I followed the same pattern, pulled in, walked to the store, got some supper, and went back in around 11.30 for restroom and supplies before going back to my truck and falling asleep. Normally, I try to keep a good watch on upcoming weather, for whatever reason. I hadn't that day. I woke up around 8 a.m. and looked out to a sea of white. It had snowed, and it had snowed hard.

It looked like someone wanted to make up for the snow quota this winter and did it all in eight hours. I dressed in my cold weather gear and went out to see how bad it was and if my truck would be going anywhere today. When I jumped out of the cab, my legs disappeared. There was at least two feet of snow on the ground and it was still putting it down. I trudged around the truck to make sure everything else was okay, then got back in the cab, brushing off as much snow as I could first. I climbed into the bunk and turned on the news to the announcement that a major blizzard had hit the area. Wow, I thought.

That's some great investigative reporting right there. They were calling for another foot before the snow stopped. Great. Time to call the boss and get my ear chewed off. Why can't you get here? He growled. Well, there's this stuff called snow. I said.

It lands on the ground, it piles up until it begins to end. impede travel. All right, smart ass. When do you think you can be here? Well, seeing that I haven't even seen a snowplow go by, then I'm sitting in a parking lot that probably won't get plowed out until much later than the highways, on top of the fact that my tires are nearly bald, even though I've been telling you for months they needed changed, I'll say I have no earthly clue when you'll see my precious cargo.

He was silent for a long moment. Do you like your jab?" Not particularly, I said. Then added, when the weather's like this. You might want to update your resume. With that, the line went dead. Thanks for the support, I said to the dial town. I settled back in, turned off the TV, and went back to sleep.

When I first started out in trucking, a fellow driver gave me a tip that I never forgot. Anytime you have the chance to get some rest, take it. That little tidbit helped me tremendously over the years. A little extra sleep means a lot less coffee. When I woke a few hours later and peaked outside, it was still snowing. I looked out my driver's side window and even my tracks were gone. I was feeling the call of nature and decided to brave the elements to take the trek to the truck stop for some relief.

I felt a little silly for putting on all my calls. cold weather gear, including gloves and goggles. That feeling didn't last long, though. It was snowing so hard, I couldn't even see the truck stop. I drew an invisible line with the side of my truck, aimed in that direction, and started walking. You know, I never read Call of the Wild. I never saw alive. Maybe if I had, I wouldn't have been so eager to throw myself out into this blizzard just to go pee. Trudging through the snow, No, and the driving wind was growing old quickly. I felt like I should have reached the truck stop by now.

I paused and looked around. Two realizations hit me at the same time. First, I couldn't see the truck stop. Second, I could no longer see the truck. As a lovely addition, my tracks were quickly disappearing. I tried to focus on my path toward the truck stop and began trudging again. Fifteen minutes later, I believe by sheer luck, I saw the store appear off to the right. My track hadn't been dead on, but I was close enough to find the place.

My winter gear was starting to fail me, especially with the wind finding all the little places it could inject frigid air. As I approached, I breathe a sigh of relief at getting in out of the cold, not to mention a massive cup of steaming hot coffee. I reached for the door, but it reached. refused to open. Maybe it was frozen shut. I pulled harder, but nothing happened. I looked in through the glass and saw it no lights on. It struck me how the walkway was enchevelled either. Oh, no, I thought. The storm has stuck him at home. My hopes for a nice warm bathroom

and a steaming hot cup of coffee plummeted. I took one last forlorn look at the dark store and turned back towards my truck. My disappointment grew as I realized my tracks were gone. I was now snow blind and navigating without a compass or any means of direction. I tried to draw an invisible line with the outer wall of the store and hoped it would lead me back to the truck. I felt my cold, wet feet protest as I headed back towards the warmth of my truck. I hugged my jacket, attempting to keep the wind out. The snow was up past my knees now and seemed like trudging through mud. In a retrospect, it would have been better for me to wait in the truck until I saw a snowplow in the parking lot. I had plenty of empty tea bottles for bathroom emergencies. But there was no use chiding myself now.

I had to get back to the truck to keep this mistake from becoming a fatal one. If I got lost and couldn't find the truck, no one would come looking for me. They might not find my frozen body until spring thaw. That was a cheery thought. As if my journey hadn't been hard enough, after a while, something caught my foot and sent me sprawling face first in the snow. I struggled to right myself and quickly wipe the snow from my face, silently thanking God that I'd worn the goggles.

I tried to get my bearings again, but curiosity nagged at me. What had I tripped on in the middle of a parking lot? I dug down and discovered the offending object. It was a parking space barrier. I chuckled for a moment, until I realized to my horror that I should never have come near any of these in the middle of the lot. In fact, a straight trail from the store to the truck the barrier I'd tripped on would be a couple of dozen yards to the right.

I scraped the rest of it off and saw it. while it was running nearly parallel to my path, I'd veered off course badly. The bright side was I now had a point of reference and hopefully could correct my course. I looked around and found myself adrift in a sea of white. The store had disappeared, and the truck was nowhere to be found. I took a deep breath and used the barrier to aim towards where the truck should be. I remembered one key fact in the process. These barriers lined the edge of the parking lot and just past them was a drop off. In retrospect, it was lucky I tripped on it instead of stepping over it, and rolling down a hill that I might never make it back up again. I turned to aim myself where I thought my truck was.

When out of the corner of my eye, I thought I saw a shadow of a figure walk by. I couldn't be sure because of the blowing snow made visibility nearly impossible. It could have just been my imagination. I'd been out in the cold for much longer than I planned, and it was time to get back to the truck. I was suddenly reminded why I got out of the truck to begin with. I had to pee. I took a quick look and saw nothing but snow.

I fought to unzip my frozen zipper as my bladder screamed a full red alert that it was about to release the floodgates whether I was ready or not. When I finally got the job done and started the yellow stream, the wind shifted direction, sending it spraying all over my pants. I quickly turned so that the stream was downwind. When I finished, I looked down at the front of my now wet pants and swore internally. Yet another reason to find the truck quickly. Wet pants turned to frozen pants, turned to dangerous pants.

I looked down at the barrier, now covered in flex of yellow snow and started on my new course. The snow had not let up one bit, and my energy started to wane, even though I'd just been standing around for the last ten minutes. Tudging through nearly waist-high snow was making me more tired than I'd been in a long time. The wind rushing in my ears tore away my hearing. There wasn't anything out here to listen to, and yet I thought I heard something. I looked around, but only saw white. Was this my mind starting to play tricks on me like it did when I was driving, and thought

I saw the creature that doesn't exist peeking out at me from the trees? I turned back to my imagined destination, wondering if delusions were the first step in freezing to death, as if to answer, the wind hit me with a solid gust, knocking me down. If I didn't know better, I'd swear I felt a giant, hand. hand in the middle of my back. I looked up and saw nothing but snow, swirling around, making mini tornadoes. I chuckled at the irony of them being called snow devils. I guess my own personal snow devil was pushing me around. I got up and started for the truck again. Every step felt like my feet were encased in concrete. I plotted on, trying to pull away from whatever

reserve energy I had. I couldn't die in the middle. middle of a parking lot just yards away from my nice warm truck, that would be the ultimate irony. I walked on, barely conscious, wanting only my 18-wheeled safe harbor from this merciless storm. My head was down. I wasn't even looking anymore. Didn't make any difference.

I knew I'd never find it. I knew it was like looking for a needle in a field of haystacks. There was no way I would ever get. I slammed into something and fell back. The snow was so deep, I just lay there like a turtle, unable to get off my back. I looked up and saw the thing that it hit me was the back corner of the truck, two feet to the right and I would have missed it. I smiled, but it took a lot of energy.

I focused everything I had into getting up. Adrenaline took care of the rest. I marched up to the driver's side door and reached into my pocket for the key to unlock it. I couldn't find the key. I ripped off my glove and searched again. Still no key. Despair smothered my mind. If I dropped it one of the times I fell in the snow, it was lost forever.

And so was I. I leaned against the truck door so close and yet so far. I could almost feel the heat through it. I smashed my fist into my leg in frustration, but felt more pain than I should have. I patted the other pocket and felt a lump. I tore off my other glove and reached into the pocket, pulling out the holiest of holies. The key. Tears streamed down my face and quickly froze as I stuck the key in the lock and opened the door.

It took every ounce of the energy I had left to climb up into the cab and collapse into the driver's seat. A wave of heat washed over me. For the longest time, I just sat there until I mustered the strength to start pulling off my cold weather gear. One piece at a time, I threw them into the passenger seat until I sat in my underwear only. I leaned my seat back and basked in the warmth that flowed over me like an ocean wave. I imagined sitting on a beach with the sun shining down on me and the water

beckoning. I fell asleep like this. I woke to a sore back and stretched as best I could in my seat, then looked at the windshield. The snow seemed to have let up a little bit, and the wind wasn't nearly as fierce as before. There was still no sign of a plow, and there was no way I was getting anywhere without one. Off in the distance, I could almost see the outline of the store. I wasn't going there again until the parking lot was plowed. But looking around, I couldn't imagine how long that might be. There was at least three feet of snow already on the ground and it was still putting some down. I crawled into the bunk and covered up for a serious nap. Hours later, I was starting to feel refreshed. I rolled over and turned on the TV, trying to

see just how bad things were. I couldn't even pick up the local station, so I stuck in a movie. After it was done, I decided I should probably take stock of my supplies since I might be here for a while. I had plenty of snacks, chips, pretzels, and jerky, among other things. As long as I didn't binge, I should be fine. I had drinks in the mini-fridge, too. But water wasn't a concern. All I had to do was bring some snow inside and melt it.

I only needed to check one last thing to make sure I could outlast this storm. I looked at the fuel gauge. I rubbed my eyes and looked at the fuel gauge again. I only had a quarter tank left. That might last, and it might not, depending on how long it took to get plowed out. Obviously, once the plow freed me, I could drive a hundred yards or so to a gas pump. As I was looking at the fuel gauge, my eyes drifted to the windshield and the field of white that stretched out in front of me.

The snow had finally stopped. How long that would last? I had no idea. I could finally see the store clearly, but I could also see clearly that it remained closed. It was hard to believe anyone would be plowing that amount of snow anywhere. I guess that's why they had to drop off along the edges of the parking lot. As I softly chuckled at my realization, my eyes caught movement. There was some kind of animal walking around in the parking lot.

At first, I thought it was a deal. deer because of the wide horns on its head. But the longer I looked, the more I realized this creature was something else, it seemed bigger than any deer I'd ever seen. Its torso rode above the snow like it was a ship. Its face looked like it had wasted away to the bear's skull, and it had massive teeth that went far beyond its jaw. It was rather haunting to look at. It was sniffing around in the snow. The more I thought about it, I began to realize that was probably the spot where I'd taken a leak. I was mesmerized and horrified by this thing at the same time.

I was nearly convinced my mind was playing a trick on me, when it looked right at me. And my blood turned to ice. Its look pierced my soul and made me wish I'd never come to this place. When it took its first step in my mind, it took its first step in my life, my direction. I dove back into the sleeper and drew the curtain. I shook for reasons that had nothing to do with the temperature and was breathing in panicked gasps. What was that thing? Did I really see what I thought I saw? How could a creature like that exist? I tried to settle down and get my breathing back to normal, but my mind refused to let go of the image of that thing. It's just a little. It's just a little bit of the

Just my imagination, I told myself. It's just a deer roaming around out there. I told myself that same thing over and over until my mind finally believed it. However, I didn't look through the curtain to confirm it. I didn't call it denial. I called it not pushing my luck. I pulled out a pack of cheese crackers and turned on the first die-hard movie to try and forget about the deer outside. I was 15 minutes into the movie. When I felt the first nudge, I didn't know what else to call it. It felt like something just nudged my truck. It was almost like when a strong wind gust pushed the cab, but I didn't hear any wind outside. The two sides of my mind engaged in a shouting match over whether I should check it out or ignore it. Fear threw its two cents in, and,

ignore it one out until the second nudge. Actually, it was like the fifth or sixth nudge until curiosity took over and made me go take a look. I peeked through the curtain and didn't see anything but snow through the windshield. I climbed out and looked through the passenger's window, but saw nothing. I trided myself for my skittishness when I looked through the driver's side window and saw a set of horns. I rubbed my eyes and looked again, but they were gone. There were tracks in the snow that looked like deer tracks only bigger, or was that my imagination carrying me away again?

I looked in the rearview mirror and saw the creature poking at my tires with its horns. I was fairly sure it couldn't puncture one with just horns, but I didn't want to chance it. I reached down, grabbed my club, and opened the door to scare it away, but again, it was gone. I was beginning to question my sanity. Was this thing real? Was it my mind playing tricks on me? Or was the creature toying with me, trying to draw me out of the truck?

I closed the door and went back to my movie, but I couldn't get that creature out of my head. I was on pins and needles waiting, listening, anticipating the next nudge. Before the movie was over, I somehow fell into a fitful sleep. I was in a tall building, and there were bad guys everywhere. I had a machine gun, but had been better served hiding and picking them off one by one. I was sneaking up on one who was standing guard on an isolated floor. when I turned the corner and there stood the deer creature. It was massive, standing on its hind legs and its horns scraped the ceiling.

It looked at me with those empty eye sockets from its bare skull face. It made a sound that was half grunt, half growl, then started towards me. I backed away around the corner, trying to get back to my hiding space. But as I turned to run, suddenly the creature, creature was in front of me. I pulled up my machine gun and started firing short bursts. I hit it in the chest, but it kept coming. As I backed away, I shot it several times in the head. I watched as chunks of bone flew, but it kept coming as if it didn't care. I shot at its legs, hoping to throw it off balance, but it had no effect, as if it had enough. It charged, pinning me to

the wall with its horns. I looked down as the blood began to seep from my belly around its horns. It pulled back and charged me again and again, sending shockwaves of pain through my body and crushing me. It pulled back and allowed me to fall to the floor. Blood pulled around me as I tried to crawl away from the creature. I could only use my arms. I couldn't feel anything below my waist. which was a partial blessing because it cut my pain in half. After I crawled a few feet, I suppose it had enough of toying with me. It stumped its foot down on my neck so hard I heard a snap, and my arms went dead. I could feel it tear into my back, ripping away pieces of meat.

I could hear the sickening, chewing, and slurping as I was eaten alive. I woke with a start, sweat pouring from my forehead and looked around the sleeper cab looking for the creature that was tearing me to pieces. After a few seconds, I came to the realization it had just been a nightmare. I turned off my DVD player and stuck my head out through the curtain to check on my fuel situation. The needle was well below the quarter mark, almost down to an eighth. I looked out through the windshield and the snow had not magically melted. In fact, the wind had picked up, and now it was starting to drift.

Where there was once an even field of snow, now there were peaks and valleys forming, like dunes in the desert. The store was still dark, and there was no traffic moving on the road. The sun was riding low in the sky, and I'd yet to see another living soul. I wondered if my fuel would last until a plow could rescue me. Soon I'd have to give some serious thought to conserving. It wasn't ideal. The thought of bundling up in blankets in the dark with no heater and no TV to watch wasn't

exciting to me, but it was better than waiting until my fuel ran out and I froze to death. As I killed the engine, I chided myself for not coming up with this plan sooner. I would have conserved fuel when the sun was out and the temperatures were higher. Now, I was going to have to pay for my lack of foresight. I dug out every blanket I had stored in my closets and laid them over the bed, then tucked in for a long nap. When I woke, I was drowning in utter darkness. I panicked for a moment before I remembered where I was.

I looked at my watch, and it was four in the morning. I pulled the covers off me and was immediately assaulted by cold air. I grabbed the flashlight and found my way into the cab. I turned the key on and waited with bated breath that billowed out in clouds that filled the cab until the engine turned over. As it roared to life, I felt even colder. I looked to my left and froze. The driver's side window lay in pieces on the seat and furled.

floor. I slowly turned to look at the passenger's side window when fear grabbed me. There was a face looking in it, May. But it wasn't a human face. It was the ungodly face of the dear creature that had gored me to death in my dream. I stared into the dark hollow eyes of this thing sent straight from hell. It reared its head back and then smashed into my passenger's window, splintering it. It reared back again, and this time shattered the window, reaching in for me with its fierce long teeth. I jumped back and landed in the driver's seat full of glass. I knew I was dead. There was nothing I could do.

I sat there as it entered the cab, coming for me. Its head was halfway inside, when it suddenly stopped. It moved around a little bit, then roared in frustration. Its horns were too wide to fit in the window. It tried over and over again to get in, but there was no way it could fit. As suddenly as it appeared, it vanished. I looked around to see where it had gone, but the darkness of the night covered it. it like a shroud. As I was looking, it silently reached in behind me, and it would have had me

if it hadn't breathed out, warning me of its approach. I dove into the center console as its deadly jaw snapped shut right where my spine had been. It continued its assault on the window, gaining ferocity as it frustrated itself by not being able to get a hold of me. I stood in between the two windows, hoping I was safe from either direction. It was then I decided to go back into my bunk and close the curtain. I covered up and reached underneath the bunk to a secret compartment, and I pulled out my 40-caliber automatic handgun. I took the magazine out and made sure it was loaded with all 10 rounds, then put it back in and pulled back the slide. It made me feel a little better, but not much. I didn't know how true my dream was, or if bullets would do anything to this

monster. I no longer had any illusions that this was a deer. It was something much more dangerous and terrifying, and it was after me. I covered up with my blankets again, holding my gun close. The heater wasn't doing much good with two windows broken out. I'd try to do something about them in the morning when it was light. There was no way I was doing anything in the dark with that thing lurking out there. I lay there for an hour, watching every second of the clock tick by, eyes wide open, ears listening for any sound. But there was none, just the wind howling in between the two broken windows making my curtains flutter. Eventually, I recognized the futility of having a truck running and the warm air just escaping before it could even get to me.

So I got out of my bunk, keeping my new best friend with me, and slowly made my way out to the cab, my head darting left and right to see if the creature was about to launch itself through either of the windows. I turned the key off, and before I could pull it out of the ignition, a set of horns smacked against the frame of the window, and the deadly teeth came in and snapped. just inches from my face. I whipped around and pulled the trigger, but nothing happened. It snapped at me again, and I panicked until I realized the safety was on. I flicked it off and aimed, but the monster was gone. I didn't dare make a move toward the window, for fear it would

launch itself back in it may. I stood still as a statue and stared at the window it had come through, then slowly turned to the other side. I kept looking back and forth between the two, trying to get my peripheral vision on both at the same time. I was shaking, not only from the cold, but also from the sheer terror of not knowing where or when this thing was going to show itself. I decided my cold weather gear would be my best option, so I climbed back into the bunk and put on as many layers of clothes as I could find.

When I popped my head back out, I was met with the most terrifying sight imaginable. The monster had climbed onto the roof of my truck and was now bashing its head against the windshield, trying to make its way inside. I knew the windshield was wide enough that it would be able to get its antlers inside, and I'd be done. I pulled the gun up, aimed at its head, and fired. The explosion was massive. I instantly lost my hearing except for the ringing in my ears. I staggered back, but the monster kept coming. Not only had my bullet done nothing to it, it weakened the windshield, making it easier to get inside. The monster shook its head in

surprise when the bullet ricocheted off the bone and then continued its assault on the windshield. It hammered on the glass until it shattered. I was already aiming at its face and fired two shots before the glass even hit the floor. They both ricocheting off its skull, causing it to rear up just enough for me to fire two shots into its chest. It didn't collapse, screaming in agony like I wanted, but I could tell it didn't like it either. It jumped down off the hood and disappeared. I stared out into the inky blackness, trying in vain to pick up any glimpse of it. I whipped around from one side window to the other and back again, waiting for it to show its face.

After what seemed like forever, I saw horns rising through the passenger side window. I fired a shot into its face, and it disappeared. I threw myself back into the passenger seat, when suddenly I saw, I saw its head rising in the driver's side window. I fired a shot, making it disappear again. I jumped up and threw myself to the other seat, knowing it would be on the passenger's side soon. Sure enough, ten seconds later, it appeared and I fired another shot. It was toying with me. It disappeared, and I threw myself over into the passenger seat, waiting, aiming at the empty driver's window. But instead, I felt teeth clamped down on my neck.

It had fooled me. I shoved my gun up under its skull and fired a shot. If I hadn't been deaf from the first shot, this one right next to my ear would have done it. And yet somehow I heard it squeal in pain as it released me. I knew I'd been inches from death. I reached up and touched the wound on my neck and came away with a handful of blood. I went back into my bunk, tore away a piece of sheet,

and pressed it to my wound. Then I tore some more of the sheet and tied it around my neck to hold the bandage in place. I went back out to the cab, only to see it crouching on the hood waiting for me. I never thought it would end like this. My truck's windows smashed, blood all over the interior, the frigid wind and snow blowing in as those two empty eyes stared in it may, like a predator, sizing up a helpless animal for the kill. I crawled in through the remains of the windshield. I knew I was dead. In desperation, I shoved the gun into one of its eye holes and squeezed the trigger.

The sound it made was something I'd never heard before, and I never wanted to hear again. The scream was both a low, guttural sound and a high-pitched shriek. It sounded like someone had unleashed a demon from the pits of hell. My mind screamed at me, get out of air. I fumbled with the driver's door and ended up falling out when it opened. On a clear day with no snow, I would have gotten it. concussion or broken bone falling on the bare asphalt. With three feet of snow on the ground, I landed on a soft, cold pillow. It was the only time in the last 24 hours that the snow had

helped me. I immediately jumped up and looked around for any place to hide. But there was nowhere. Everything was covered in snow. I glanced back at the trailer and realized the snow was so high that it reached the bottom of the trailer. I couldn't see underneath at all. I quickly dove under it, and turned around and tried to pile snow into the opening to hide where I'd gone. I lay there on my belly, looking all around, trying to see in every direction at once,

to see where the monster would attack from. My breath blew out in billows of desperate smoke as I came up empty. There was nothing. The monster wasn't there. Yet. I didn't dare hope to imagine that my shot had killed it. If anything, it probably had made it even angrier. It was probably destroying the inside of my truck.

What I didn't trust was that the monster wouldn't find me underneath it. I looked around for anywhere I could use as a better hiding place. My eyes fell on the wheels of the truck. It looked like there was. was just enough room between the tires and the differential. It would be a tight squeeze, but it was better than that thing finding me. I turned around and slid my feet in first. The further I slid, the tighter it got. Ironically, the grease and oil from the differential helped me slide through a little easier. When I almost had my shoulders through, it suddenly felt too

tight. I was stuck. I couldn't move forward or backward. Panic flooded my mind, and I struggled frantically like I couldn't breathe. After the longest minute of my life, I finally managed to maneuver my shoulders through and into my hiding spot. The hood of my coat did double duty of keeping me warm and completing my hiding place. I lowered it to the level of the asphalt, and would raise it just an inch when I wanted to look out. The first half hour was the worst. The ringing in my ears had begun to subside, but I still couldn't hear anything outside but my own breathing. The cold slowly leaked through my clothes. Still no sign of the monster. Another hour passed. My muscles started to cramp up. Still no sign of the monster. Another hour.

I felt like my bladder would burst and still no sign of it. During the long moments in between, I pulled the magazine out of my gun and counted how many bullets I had laughed. No matter how many times I counted, it always came out to the same number. One. I knew one bullet wouldn't save me from this thing. There was only one thing I could do with one bullet. my suffering if it found me. I took it out of the magazine and stared at it. I used my coat

to shine it up, then stared at my reflection in the gleaming metal. The edges of the snow around the trailer began to glow. I knew the sun was coming up. Darkness was no longer my friend. And then I heard it. A soft, sniffing sound. I lifted my hood an inch, just enough to peek out, and there it was. Its head had broken through the wall of snow close to where I dove under the trailer. There were a few drops of blood from my neck wound, and it was sniffing them. These drops would lead it right to me. Sure enough, it took a turn towards the front of the trailer and looked in my direction. I lay there still as a stone as it inched its way toward me. It was having trouble squeezing its massive body under the trailer, and I could hear it growling

with frustration. It came closer, crawling right toward me. There was no doubt it knew I was there. I closed my eyes and stuck the barrel of the gun under my chin. Suddenly, it shrieked, and I could feel the truck bucking above me. I opened my eyes to the most amazing sight. Its horns had gotten caught in the chains hanging down underneath the trailer, and it was tangled. It screamed and bucked and fought to be free from its metal captors.

It yanked backwards so hard, I felt the truck moved sideways an inch. The differential was pressing on me now, and I had to shimmy over to avoid being crushed. I watched as the chains broke away one by one, and then it was free. I took the opportunity to crawl out from under the truck. It was useless as a hiding place now. It had already tracked me here. I was almost out when I heard another sound and saw a shadow pass by the other side of the truck. It was coming back, but it was trying from the other side.

I crawled as quickly as I could. This was my chance. If it searched from the other side, it might not know I'd left. I had no idea where I would go, but it was better to be out of a useless hiding place. As I stood next to the truck, I saw a large patch of red in the snow. I guess shooting it wasn't as useless as I thought. I looked at the ruined cab of my truck when the nightmare crept around the corner. I stood there helpless.

It had caught me flat-footed. I had nowhere to go this time. It stared at me as it limped around the corner. Its empty eyes seemed to exude rage. This was it. I pulled up the gun with one last bullet, and I aimed it at the creature. When it disappeared in a moving mountain of snow, the snowplow had finally arrived. I watched as the plow pushed its mound of snow past my truck and over the edge of the parking lot.

The driver backed up and stopped beside me. Hey there, you been here all night? Yeah, yeah, yeah, since before the storm. What, uh, what happened to your truck? He said, looking up at my shattered windows. I followed his eyes and fought for a moment. Someone tried to rob me, I said, knowing the truth was unbelievable. Well, I see you took care of it, he said, looking at the gun in my hand.

I looked down at the gun and stuck it in my waistband. It's been a hell of a night, I said. Well, don't worry, roads are getting cleared, and I'll get you plowed at. out of here. He nodded at me and backed up to continue plowing. I looked at where he'd just plowed beside my truck, and I saw a long smear of red. I followed it to the edge of the parking lot and looked over the side with my hand on my gun. The drop-off was a good ten feet or more, and the snow had already started to pile up. I followed the path of red down the hill with my eyes, and I saw antlers poking out of the snow. I stared at them, looking for any sign of movement.

For ten minutes, I watched, and they didn't move. I was interrupted when the plow pushed another pile of snow over the side, covering the antlers. I watched for another five minutes just to be sure. The plow guy pulled up beside me. You okay? He said. I pulled my eyes away from the snow pile. Yeah, yeah. I think I'm good.

You sure? He said, pointing at my neck. Yeah, yeah. I just got nicked by some glass. I said, remembering the teeth of the monster clamping down on my neck. Well, I think someone just pulled into the store. He said, maybe you should get something for that. Yeah, yeah, I will, thanks.

I said, knowing I would do no such thing. I wanted to avoid as many questions as possible. I climbed into the cab, brushed the glass off my seat, and drove over to the fuel pumps. After filling up, I started the long trip home. I kept my cold weather gear and mask on, having no windows or windshield. made for a frigid trip. The heater was on max and aimed at my feet, keeping the bottom half of me warm at least. I didn't call for a tow truck, because I just wanted to get away from there. I never went back to that truck stop again. I didn't want to take the chance of that thing being alive.

As I drove towards my home terminal through the endless stretch of trees, I saw one of the creatures peeking out at me that I used to think was just my imagination. Now I know better.