The Town Without Time - Narrated Scary Story

It's bad mom's voice quivered over thephone I could tell that she was crying Ihated to hear my mom cry I'd die athousand deaths not to hear her startsniffling how bad I asked choking backtears of my own I don't know she clearedher throat we're trying to get the nextflight outbut everything's booked up my parentshad never gone on vacation in all theyears that I've lived it wasn't easyraising a kid on minimum wages no jobwas permanent either but the little theyhad they were able to work their way upin industries they had entered out ofdesperation I highly doubt my motheraspired to a life in retail where she'dmiss holidays and soccer practices noone wants to clean up another man'sbut my father never bitched when he camehome with sustained coveralls there wasalways food in my stomach even if theyhad to skip a meal now that I have leftthe house and went away to college atfirst I might add they could save up forthemselves so this vacation was huge forthem this was the first time theytraveled to another country let aloneout of the southeast it's only fittingthey did it be cut short due toemergency I'll go I said no no she
coughed you can't you have finals I'llget an extension I said family comesfirst I can't ask you to do thatI want to we'll be there as soon as wecan okay I said I've got this don'tworry be careful I will I love you loveyou tooit was 1:30 3:00 in the morning anungodly hour and certainly not one inwhich you want to receive a phone callfrom your mom I woke up before the phonerung and seeing mom flash over thescreen sent me into a mini panic attackI knew nothing good would come fromanswering their phone and yet I had nochoice but to press talk I had to go Iowed it to them I owed it to everyone my
professor was known to arrive at hisoffice incredibly early to write thebook he assigned for classes his ownself-published book my writinghighlighted his writing process he'dlike to finish his classes in the earlyafternoon eat dinner as a late lunchspent some time thinking about his deadwife and be in bed by 5:00 in theevening hopefully he didn't feel likesleeping in today I needed to talk tohim as soon as possible I got to theEnglish department doors around 2:00they were locked so I had to wait myback slid down the brick wall and Ihugged my knees the camp is set with aneerie stillness in the middle of thenight resembling an oil painting in theblurred vision of my crying eyes I feltlike the only person left alive mybreath billowed out into the unusuallycold January air and a shadow shiftedbeyond the trees a dark figure scuttledinto the reach of a lamppost and JamesMason's hair swung wildly from itsrecent bout with a pillowhis eyes hung heavy and his potato-sackeyelids and I stood up when he got closeI haven't even had my coffee yetprofessor Mason groaned I'm sorry I saidyou wouldn't be here if you had goodnews no I sayI guess I wouldn't bad news can neverwait professor Mason unlocked the doorsand nearly fell through he disappearedinto the shadows of the dark office andI stood therepetrified over what he might say hewasn't waiting up for me and that's forsurethe door swung closed and I caught itbefore it could snap shut I entered theempty office and listened for a clue asto which direction the professor went itwas utterly silent a light flicked on inone of the back rooms a walk down thehall and looked in on professor Mason'ssacred writing ritualhe took out a hot plate plugged it inpoured water from his thermos into ateapot and let it heat up I was tooafraid to break the peaceful silence ofhis tasks he set up a French press andpoured in fresh ground coffee beans andhe waited by leaning back in his chairand staring at me with a nonchalantamusement it'll give higher grades forsexual favors he said if that's whatyou're thinking no I said disgustinglyof course not now what the hell are youdoing here okay I said breathing deeplyin an attempt to calm my raging heart mygrandmother's in bad shape she fell andhit her head and my grandpa can't takecare of her on his own and my parentsare overseas so I have to know what youwant an extension on your exam and termpaper [ __ ] he had me at a loss yeah butno but listen to mehe said clasping his hands togetherleaning forward with his elbows on thedesk and softening his voice life won'tpause at your convenience my grandmaI heard you [ __ ] you I thoughtI couldn't even say my name at thispoint anger consumed me and I wanted tosmash his ratty little face into thedesk shattering his framed family photoslook he turned his back on me andrummaged through a cabinet drawerhe pulled a stack of papers from afolder and slapped them on the desk youcan take the exam right now but I doubtyou finished the paper yet no I saidshallowly I haven't those are the onlytwo grades for the entire semester hewaited for my acknowledgment I couldonly nod my head numb Lee so either wayyou'd fail I looked over his smug smirkand came to a finite decision it waseither be there for my grandparents orpass the class some deep dark part of methought of a third option kill him Idropped out of college right then andthere I'll never put work or school orsome [ __ ] obligation over my familyI saw how that affected my mom and dad Isaw how it wore them down with eachmissed opportunity I'd stand midfieldand look to the sidelines without themthere the packed bleachers always feltso miserably empty that's not the life Iwant to lead I took off northbound oni-95 from Miami my grandparents lived onMyrtle Beach so I had a good 10 to 12hours ahead of me I left in a rush andit wasn't long before I had to pull offthe highway to take a piss I hit up arest stop for some relief the moment Istepped out of a car the stars struck mewith all their glistening glory myengine popped and sizzled under the hoodit was like the universe was passingthrough me and not the other way aroundI felt at ease by the freedom of theexpense it crushed by the nothingness ofthe space around meit was one of those smaller rest stopswith bathrooms on either side and avending machine in the middleI hurried inside a stall I have a thingabout being seen when I pee and damnnear exploded before I got my junk overmy basketball shorts I let out of breathand I was like my soul was squeezed outof me I was left with an ultimatelysatisfying calm that was shattered whenthe door swung open and slammed shutwith a deafening echo I jumped my nerveswent haywire and a quiver spasmed up myneck too hard boots stomped down witheach heel and slept the tiles with thetoes two-timed methodical and menacingthey clocked over to my stall andsettled before me the massive weight inthose boots crushed the dirt with aprickling precision he pulled on thehandle and the locks smacked against thedoor jamb the door shuddered as hefrantically pumped the door against thehinges then he released the handle andstepped back into the corner thefluorescent lights burnt out and thebathroom fell dark the silence made theair heavier I could hear breathing fromthe corner I'm not a big guy so I bracedmyself to be mauled by a monstrous beastthe breathing ceased and I was left withmy pulse pounding against the walls ofmy brain I waited for someone to make amove but it felt like I was the only onehere to do so I couldn't tell you howlong I stood there trembling with fearwhat the [ __ ] did this guy want moneysexthe thrill of acquiring bothhello I called out without thinking andI was met by an empty echo ten minuteswent by before I turned on my phoneflashlight and Seana through the cracksin the door I couldn't see anythingthrough the slit I bent down and flashedthe light in the corner no shoes no feetno one it must have been bugging out Imean I hadn't slept for more than twohours that night I just jumped right onthe road and tossed caution out thewindow maybe I needed a couple of hourssleep in the caryeah that's what the door lock crashedagainst the jamb with the force of akick and I nearly fell into the toilet Idesperately sought an escape from thecoffin-sized walls there was only onething I could do fight or flightI unlocked the door and drove myshoulder through it expecting to be metby a wall of meat and bones and organsbut instead smacked right into the tilewall I swung my cell light around andrevealed an empty room I checked theother stool ready for murder nothingthere was nothing my head throbbed Ineeded to eat yeah that's it I got sourpatch kids and a soda from the vendingmachine sugar could keep me goinganother couple of hoursI couldn't sleep here I turned to thecar and my shadow stretched out beforeme standing at the end of it was a manblacked out by the nighthis features were hidden under thestreetlamp sharp glare I was frozen withfear expecting him to rush me with thefury of a demon he just stood there inthe empty parking lot watching me as Iwatched him no other cars were around
did he walk here who walks to a reststop maybe he was some truck driverhopped up on meth I took a step forwardand so did he heading on a diagonal tocut me off from my car i stalled for amoment as did he we were trying to readthe others next move here we go I brokeout into a sprint to the driver's sidedoor and he rushed to the passenger sideI unlocked the car with my fob andpulled open the door throwing myselfinside the door slams shut and Idouble-click the lock button the doorsclicked and there was a thud against thepassenger door the car rocked on itsshocks the handle jiggled furiouslyaccidentally hit the panic button andthe yellow lights blinked to the soundof a de-stressing horn I turned theignition kicked it into reverse anddrove the [ __ ] out of there I glancedinto the rearview and the shadow justwatched me as he sunk in the distancemaking no more effort to chase after meeven with the red brake lightsreflecting off the trees around him hestayed sunken in darknessmerging onto the highway my mind went oncruise control when the sky began tolighten I was taken aback by mysurroundings a light fog hung betweenthe trees lining the highway like ahammock and a lazy deer grazed on thegrass and mere feet from the concretethere was no way that I could havetraveled so far in a single night theland was flat and marshy and dominatedby longleaf pines I must have broken allknown traffic laws last night theshadows of the grazing deer got closerto the road and I decided it'd be bestto slow down but like falling into aspeed trap where the limit goes from 70to 35 I was too late a deer crossed into
my lane and I tugged on the wheelswerving to avoid it the deer stood dumbto the danger staring at me like thespecter at the rest stop my cast spunout of control and crossed over to themedian and into the southbound lanes thecar nearly tipped when I finally came toa screeching stop my heart was racingand I looked back over to the northboundlanes the deer had fled with his life Inever felt more alive and burst into thehappiest of tears I could smell theburnt tires and the overworked engine myflesh tingled with electric spasms I wasalive by the grace of God there were nocars coming at me so I had a moment tocollect myself once I got back on thehighway I felt an overwhelmingthankfulness and sob freely thank youthank you thank you I kept whispering Iturned on the music and the melodiesnever sounded so pure I opened thewindows and the Earth's aroma filled mylungs with purpose wind ran through myfingers tickling my hairs thank youa couple of miles down the road red andblue flashing lights emerged over thehorizon on the southbound lanes thelanes were completely blocked off and acolumn of headlinesidled in anticipation as I got closer Islowed to see a team of emergencyresponders working on a total car theytook their time the car looked familiarlike I drove side-by-side with him atsome point in the night smoke rose fromthe engine and the mangled body of adeer was crushed in the grill a gurneywas loaded with a limp body and cartedslowly to the back of an ambulance therewas no need to rush the poor guy was agoneronce again I cried knowing that it couldhave been me no it should have been me Iwas grateful and found peace neverhaving to go back to school such thingswere so miniscule in the grand scheme ofthings I was barreling down u.s. 17 just
north of Charleston when I heard thetire blow the car jolted and sunk downon the rear passenger axle I pulled overto the side of the road to inspect and Ifound a slash along the sideit was amazing to me that the bubble hadheld on for this long must have happenedwhen I miss the deer a creeping part ofme thought otherwisesomething lingered inside of mewhispering that it was the man at therest stop he did this he's responsiblefor all of it of course that wasnonsense he didn't step out in front ofmy car he didn't push my grandmotherover in the bathroom he probably wasn'teven real just a hallucination in mymindi limp my way to the nearest exit andgot off this wasn't your typical highwayexit there were no gas stations no fastfood options just abandoned food andfireworks stands surrounded by anendless woodsI must have crept for nearly three milesevery minute worried me more I wasprobably doing serious damage to the rima costly misfortune I couldn't dream ofaffording eventually the woods opened up
to a small town forgotten by time thecars were vintage and kept in mintcondition the kids ran about in front oftheir homes in their Sunday best womenstrode down the sidewalk gossiping undermeticulously groomed poodle clips softBob's and pageboy hairstyles theirdresses were simple but elegant the menhad cropped hair and their neutralbutton downs were tucked into slacksthat rested near their belly buttons thetown was buzzing with activity in thegolden glare of the High Noon Sun Ipulled into the parking lot of apiggly-wigglythe sign above the supermarket was alarge blue circle with a pale yellowcartoon pig smiling at me while wearinga white triangular service hat cocked onthe side of his head I got out of thecar and looked down at the sunken rim[ __ ] I popped the trunk and lifted thehatch to the spare tire and got out theiron and the jack looking at them as ifthey were alien objects this was onething my father never had the chance toteach me another casualty to his busyschedule I didn't know what the hell Iwas going to do with these uselessobjects maybe I could check the menuhowdya voice chimed from behind meI turned and saw a man wearing a tuckedin white dress shirt navy blue tie andmatching blue slacks his hair was combedover and greased with pomade his smilewas crooked like the television stars ofa bygone era he strode over gracefullyuntil he was standing by my side lookingdown at the torn-up threads of what wasonce my tire looks like you're in a bitof a pickle he chuckled yeah I said Idon't know the first thing aboutchanging tires he held out his hand andlooked down to the jacknever a better time to learn them rightnow are you sure I asked I don't want tobe a Bert why of course son it would bean honorI dropped the heavy Jack in his hand andhis strength didn't drop an inch he wentabout changing the tire with proficiencyhe showed me where to place the jack howto loosen the bolts and lift the car hewouldn't let me touch a thingand dirtied up his white wardrobewithout care he never big-eared orcussed like my old man used to do foreven the smallest household tasks hesimply smiled and went about his dutythere you gohe dropped the jack and the vehiclesettled on the donor he kicked the tireto make sure it was firmed now he musedI don't suppose you'll get very far onthat there donut but if you head up theroad to Deer Run and hang a right you'llcome across a mechanic's shop at the endof the road place called Henderson'sI'll give him a call and let him knowyou're coming you'll fix you right upthank you so much I said I can't tellyou how much this means to me goes toshow you still good people in this worldhe said with a smile you're living proofI shook his hand and nodded respectfullyI walked back to the car turned back tohim hey what's your name so I can thedoor to the piggly-wiggly closed and Isaw his shadow passed by the windows anddisappear into the depths of the store amother pushed her shopping cart by methe baby kicking wildly in the seat hewas holding a spinner and he giggled andit made my heart smile I found themechanic shop at the end of deer runeasy enough and mr. Henderson sent me upwith the closest tire he had that couldmatch my set it ain't exact but it oughtto do he said I pulled out my wallet andfished through my remaining cash most ofit was gone with the gas hopefully Icould cover it Henderson held out apatient hand no sir Henderson saidyou're already paid in full I arguedwith him but his southern pride wouldn'tallow him to back down he explained tome that Roy Morrow offered to foot thebill is that the manager Piggly Wigglyyes sir he said the very one I can't lethim pay for this I said he's alreadydone enough you gonna have to take thatup with him Henderson said thanks againI shook his hand and despite the greaseand calluses and scars it was the smoothas flesh I've ever felt I wanted to goback to the Piggly Wiggly and thank Royagain for his kindness but it would havetaken me out of the way I was worriedabout my grandparents and this flat tookup more time than I'd hoped I figuredthat I'd come back on my way south andpay back my debt then I got into MyrtleBeach just as the Sun was setting and bythe time I entered the hospital visitinghours were long over I'd come this farthe nurses wouldn't stop me I waiteduntil they were busy until slippingthrough the double doors when I enteredI found my grandpa snoring in a chairpositioned in the corner of the room Iapproached grandma and her eyesfluttered awake they sparkled uponseeing meRichi a voice cooed is that really youyes grandmaI nearly cried it's me I never thoughtI'd see you againI'm here you see that Bethel rich ishere with us I looked over to where shehad turned her focus the room was emptyexcept for the three of us not tomention I knew who Bethel was fromphotographs and stories she wasgrandma's sister she died just before Iwas born my grandmother used to alwayssay that she gave her life so I couldhave mine that always made me feelguilty for breathing I pressed my lipsagainst her hand and kissed it as shesaid he's really here my parentscouldn't catch a flight back to theStates until a week later so I made sureto watch over them once grandma wasreleased from the hospital the nextmorning all of her tests came back finebut her mind was clearly scrambled afterhitting her head on the lip of the tub abruise not shot out of her forehead inan almost comic proportion I don't knowif you've ever cared after a loved onesuffering from dementia but I found iteasier to play into her fantasies thatway I wouldn't leave her all confuseduntil she forgot about it again andmoved on to the next thing sometimes sherecognized me and other times she seemedto be horrified by my presenceit was worse at night my grandpa was aproud man so he didn't let me help out awhole lot so my efforts were bestprovided when he wasn't around that'swhen my talents shinedI slept in such a shallow state thateven the quiet Creek from her Walkerwould wake meI'd leap out of bed and help it to thebathroom grab her from under the armpitsand lower her to the seat she'd oftenmake a mess and I'd clean her up somenights had awakened to the clatter offine china then enter the dining room tofind her sitting at the head of thetable set for a feast the silverware waspolished and placed meticulously she'dspeak to each absent guest in turnmainly her father sister and a fewpeople I didn't know I'd watch frombeyond the shadows he she tilted theteapot pouring air into the cups I'doften stand in the shadows and watch Ilearned a lot about her life that wayshe'd recount stories that I didn't knowshe still had access to like how she gota toy rocket for our eighth birthday andthe first time she'd popped it off itflew and hit her mother between the eyesor how her father took her to theWorld's Fair and they walked up thesteps to see the New York skyline fromLady Liberty's crown she'd cackles soloud that my grandfather would wake upand escort her back to bed the party'sjust gettin startedshe'd say one night I woke to the sound
of her crying and lept out of bed Ithought I'd find her in the bathroomsquirming around in a puddle of herblood a face streaked with manic crimsonthe bathroom was dark and empty and hissobs fluttered from around the farcorner of the hallway like always Iapproached on soft feet to hide myentrance she was pleading through hertears bent over with her elbows on herknees speaking low in confidence likesomeone whispering a confession to apreacher I don't know what to do shesaid I'm worried for him no I don'tthink he knows I shifted my weighttrying to get closer and the woodcreaked underfootshe turned sharply to me and her facerecoiled in fear she was shocked by thesight of me pale in the moonlightflooding through the window you're notsupposed to be here she snarled I heardyou crying I saidI wanted to make sure you were all leaveme alone she hissed I'm not ready youshould get back to bedI said softly reaching for her forearmupon touching her skin she snapped herforearm away I'm not readyher eyes were wide and wild I'd neverseen her like this she turned mad as ifspitting venom in an attempt to ward meoff she didn't recognize me as her fearwas channeled into an unbridled ragethat erupted out of nowhere I'm notready I don't want to go that's okay Iassured we can stay a little longerleave me alone I won't go with you I'mnot ready a light came on in mygrandpa's room and he hurried out to uswhat's going on what are you doing Idon't know I stammered I was just tryingto get her back into bed come on hewhimpered with worried come on dearlet's get back to bed I'm not ready Idon't want to go he can't make me it'sokay my lovemy grandfather cradled her in his armsand escorted her out of the chair it'sall going to be okay he barely had totouch her and she moved to his whimit wasn't power or dominance or fear butreverence they would dance partners forlife when he swayed to his right she'dstep to her leftshe didn't repulsed his guidance but waslulled by it like a melody the door totheir bedroom shut gently behind themand her cries were reduced to silencealmost immediately I was left in utter
despondencemy parents came a few days later andtook over the duties from my grandfatherI had to return to Miami to get my stuffand flanked my parents that I had moreexams I couldn't bring myself to tellthem that I was going to drop out quiteyet on my way down I wanted to stop bythe old Piggly Wiggly and give Roy aproper thanks for going out of his wayto help me out not to mention I wantedto pay him back somehow once I pulledoff on the exitI stopped by one of the fruit stands andgrabbed a peach cobblerperhaps Roy's wife if he had one hewould appreciate it as I rolled intotown I couldn't help but notice astrange nostalgia that crept deeper intomy psyche the structures were the samebut they weren't in their former glorythey were dilapidated and ruinous thewindows to the shops were boarded up andthe mannequins set dusty eternallystaring out into the empty streetsbarbecue grills were rusted and turnedover on their sides absent of the smokyaroma of charred meat reaching into theheavens the street lighting hung absentof color or power in the town square andthe clock atop the bank no longercounted the timewhen I reached the parking lot of thePiggly Wiggly I couldn't figure out whatthe hell it happened in only a week thepavement waved over growing roots andcracked over the shifting earth weedsand grass grew out of the concrete andstreaks I got out of the car and tookthe peach cobbler with memy shadow hit underfoot the supermarketitself was just a structure without asign peering through the spotted glass Icould see one or two non-essential itemslike Crisco still on the shelves but itwas absent of any life the roof hadcaved in some time ago and sharp beamsjutted into the gray overcast skies Iheard an old melody that poked my ears Irecognized it as one my grandfather usedto play on Saturday mornings Ambrose andhis orchestra in the middle of a dream Ifollowed the brass band around thecorner of the building and the trumpetsflowed across a small golden field fromthe open windows of an old Victorianhouse with a wraparound porch the windblew the curtains out of the openwindows the clouds dissipated and thecolour returned to the earth I placedthe cobbler on the porch banna stoneknocked on the door a shadow racedacross my peripheral vision and a youngboy's giggle caused me to turn sharply Istared out across the empty overgrownfield I shook it off and reached for thepeach cobbler my fingers stopped upontouching the tray a slice had beencarved out of the pie and only a divotremainedthe wind blew through my fingertips andthe leaves rustled and shook I stoodbefore a perfect day lost and alone in a
ghost town
you

"The Town Without Time"