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The last time I saw Bobby was the
week after Halloween two years ago. We had a minor fight the day prior so we
were both a little on edge. He went out at night to get cigarettes, or beer, or
both, I don't remember exactly. Regardless, he was only supposed to go up to
the corner store up the road, a ten-minute walk at the most. No one ever heard
him again.
I learned later that he never even
made it to the corner store, or maybe he did. The employees all told a
different version of that night. I didn't know what to think. Maybe he was
kidnapped? Murdered? Skipped town? Nobody knew and the police were at a loss. I
don't blame them, there was nothing to go on, for all we knew he simply
vanished into thin air. That would have been preferable.
About a month later someone found
Bobby's wallet, about two miles past the corner store. It still had all his
money, cards and identification in it. Although, it was caked with dirt and
mud. As though it had laid there for the past month. It was a lead after all
this time, but it did little to help the investigation.
Two weeks after that, another random
person found Bobby's watch three miles past our house. Specifically, in the
opposite direction of the corner store. The watch was cracked and broken, but
it had his initials carved into the base. I was more than a little unsettled by
this. I was afraid some madman had kidnapped Bobby and started sprinkling his
possessions around the town as part of some sick game. I honestly believed it
wouldn't be long before limbs would be found. The truth was much worse.
The pattern continued from week to
week, month to month. Some possession of Bobby's would appear in the proximity
of the corner store or our home. The police would investigate and the trail
would go cold immediately. The media started to pick up on the story at this
point. They threw out all sorts of wild theories about serial killers or that
Bobby' faked his death. It stirred up the town and earned me some stares that
ranged from pity to suspicious. At that point I was sick of the ordeal, I
wanted to know for certain what happened to Bobby. I regret that decision with all
of my being now.
I walked the path to the corner
store Bobby supposedly took the night he disappeared. In the morning, at night,
midday, forward and backward. I moved along that road in every way I could
think of, and it all amounted to nothing at first. That's when I realized
something. Not one of Bobby's possessions was actually found between the corner
store and home. Only past them.
I began to extend those walks to an
extra few miles past the corner store and home. It was after that I noticed a
disturbing pattern. Every item of Bobby's was always discovered in the same
straight line. One that ran through both the corner store and home. They were
always found in the dirt or underneath something, but not as though they were
hidden. It's more likely they were carelessly discarded. I took some time to
think, and I came to a conclusion. If I wanted to know what happened to Bobby
I'd need a guinea pig. I decided to watch this area and see if anyone else
disappears as Bobby did. That was my last mistake.
I put in some research and found
that Bobby was only the most recent and most publicized disappearance. A few
others in the past decade or so also vanished in the same area, but much less
of them was found. I studied the findings and determined that most of the
disappearances were a little past the corner store. I set myself up, not too
far from where Bobby's wallet was found, but on the opposite side of the road.
I spent more than a few days and nights in that place, doing my best not to
look creepy. Eventually, I got my answer or at least part of it.
It was late one night, I'd been
camped in place for hours and was on the verge of sleep. Then I spotted an
unfortunate soul out for a late jog. I didn't see what happened next, it was
too fast. All I know is they passed a certain point on the road and vanished.
Not as though they disappeared before my very eyes. More like I could hear
their footsteps clearly one moment. Then in the next, the sound was abruptly
cut off. The same way a radio goes dead if the power is cut off.
I searched high and low for any sign
of the disappeared person but turned up nothing. Some days later a missing
person's report appeared on tv with the joggers face front and center. I foolishly
decided to try again to catch whatever caused this phenomenon in the act. I
bought an expensive camera and tripod. Set it up in my camping spot and told
the neighborhood it was for an art project.
A few nights later it happened
again. Another unfortunate soul, a ragged man who had a little too much to
drink passed by the same spot the jogger did. Just like before he vanished
faster than I could see, but this time I had the camera set to automatic. It
managed to take multiple pictures of the moment. I should never have looked at
those pictures.
I won't tell you what I saw, because
I honestly have no idea what it was. All I will tell you is that it was not earthly.
Whatever that thing was, it's not worth it to search for it. I saw what it did
to that poor man, it was actually to the man's advantage he was drunk. He probably
didn't even have a chance to realize what happened to him. The photos are gone
now and the camera is buried in my closet. I ask that you don't pursue this any
further, I don't want to imagine what'll happen to you if you do.
There is one thing that bugs me
though. The only place I observed the disappearances was two miles past the
corner store. My only question is why was Bobby there? Could it mean that...?
No, I promised myself I wouldn't investigate this further. I don't need any
more nightmares.
~~~~
I don't have anything to say today except to look forward to night five this Thursday. I've got something special planned...Until then Read, Comment and Enjoy.
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