Hazard Lights | Teen Ink

Hazard Lights

May 15, 2014
By Bassey Arikpo BRONZE, Cambridge, Maryland
Bassey Arikpo BRONZE, Cambridge, Maryland
2 articles 0 photos 0 comments

One night you are driving home from grabbing some food. Earlier at home, you were hungry but all you had was some raw chicken, but you didn't feel like making a big production of cooking and it seems easier to spend half a ten dollar bill for gas. It's late and the town you are heading to is 10 minutes away. By the time you drive into town, the only restaurant open is a greasy rip-off Chinese place in the middle of a ghetto neighborhood at the corner of Washington and Race Street. When you pull in to park, you noticed your vehicle is making some squeaking noises that indicate something is wrong with your belt. You disregard it for tomorrow.
Afterwards, you head back out into the country and your vehicle starts making that annoying squeaking noise. Your truck starts to die so you pull over to the side of the road. You turn on your hazard lights so you don't get hit by another motorist. You take your Samsung touchscreen phone and tap the number for a vehicle tow & repair shop. The irritable guy on duty tells you a truck will arrive in 40 minutes.
You spend the first 5 browsing the news but eventually you start watching the passing traffic. However, it is scarce so you start looking at your left door mirror. There is a yellow diamond sign 200 yards behind you at the curve that gets constantly illuminated by your hazard lights. You are seemingly mesmerized by it until 5 minutes in you notice something odd.
There is a man right behind it. He is dressed in all black with a menacing face to match. You feel uncomfortable at first but what happens next raises the hair on the back of your neck. At each interval of the flash of your hazard lights, he gets closer to you. No, he doesn't walk. He is just standing, but closer to your vehicle each time. This reminds you of the slenderman myth your idiot best friend told you once. You don't know what to do. He keeps getting closer. He is not brandishing a weapon. His hands are at his sides. His head is held low but staring right at you through the mirror. He keeps getting closer. You attempt to start your vehicle again but to no avail. You look in your glove compartment for a weapon. You have none. He keeps getting closer. You start to whimper. You don't know what to do.
Then, you hear a beep. A Ford Expedition with a female driver is pulled next to you. You check your mirror. The man is gone. The lady in the car helps you put your car in her driveway while waiting for the tow truck. You tell her about what happened. She alerts you that she knew you were there because she saw your hazard lights from her house and that is what attracts him. You ask who 'him' is. She says that all you need to know is next time you need to pull over to the side of the road out here, leave your hazard lights off. It is much safer that way.



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