It was 1977 and Terry purchased a used corvette at a car lot in the next town over. Brightly colored, his new car was an eyeful. When he pressed the accelerator that engine would scream. He could feel the power surge through him as he clenched the wheel. She was a smooth ride. He went hard and got accustomed to how the corvette handled, adapting very quick.
He worked hard and saved his money without help. As he parked his corvette in his parent’s driveway he really felt like he could make them proud. He showed the car off to his dad who was at the house when he arrived. His dad liked the way the car looked and wanted to hear the engine. Terry made the door on the garage rattle and his dad laughed. “Sounds great, son.” his dad said.
One day later he went and retrieved his girlfriend Rhonda at her parents’ house right at sunset. They were going out to eat dinner and see a drive-in movie together. She loved his corvette a lot. She would hug him tight when he hit the accelerator and give him bad girl looks when he used swervy maneuvers through traffic to get ahead. They couldn't remember half of it if you asked them about it.
They went to a steakhouse diner and filled themselves up. They were both hungry, having not eaten all day, anticipating their date together. They started dating about a month ago and saw each other regularly around twice a week. It was the summer and they were going to college next year.
They discussed what college was going to be like and what college meant to them and what sort of career they wanted to get involved in. They liked each other's company and got along well. They left the steakhouse in high spirits. The movie was going to start soon so they hurried to make it to the drive-in on time.
They weren't old enough to purchase alcohol, both of them being 19 years old, but Terry's older brother got him a bottle of whiskey a week before and Terry hid the liquor inside a duffle sack that he left on the rear seat of his corvette. He wasn't going to drink more than a shot or two because he was driving but he wanted to get some liquor in him anyway because he liked it.
The young couple cuddled together as the romantic action movie played out on the huge screen. They made out for thirty minutes and when it got too hot a lot attendant hit the driver side window with his fist, his ring tapping loudly and shouted, “Hey, no hanky panky in my lot!”
Terry replied, “Hey, watch the window you bastard!”
The movie was great, both Terry and Rhonda gained a small buzz off the whiskey and they were anxious to leave the drive-in and the nosy lot attendant.
Terry parked in the gas station convenience store lot outside of the drive-in so Rhonda could use the restroom. He turned the radio to an FM rock station and decreased volume levels to a nice background noise. Across the intersection was the entrance to an old electricians road that few people rarely used because of the degraded state it was in. There wasn’t lighting at all along the electricians road and tended to be too eerie for most people's tastes. The road was long and went the length of the city almost all the way to where Rhonda lived. Terry wondered if she'd want to give it a try.
When Rhonda finally returned Terry asked her, “Hey Rhonda, want to go check out the trail, it leads almost directly to your house.”
“You mean the old electricians road? I wouldn't want to get stuck out there. You sure we can make it?” she said.
“I am damned positive I can make it.” said Terry. The intersection was empty and all the other drive-in customers already left. They were all alone. Rhonda checked her watch. “One A.M.” she said.
“Hold on.” said Terry as he started his corvette. He throttled the engine and shifted into gear at a high idle. The tires spun then caught and the car yanked suddenly ahead, leaving a tread trail diagonally through the gas station lot. Terry went through the intersection incorrectly, but for all he cared though speed was never wrong.
The pavement ended at a left turn into the dense woods where it turned into a littered dirt road that was rough with holes and small branches and stones. Terry turned on his high beams when the last lamp post disappeared in his mirror. Terry was skilled enough to avoid any obstacles that would stop him. His adrenaline surged as he increased speed.
The quiet radio and the crunch of littered debris was all the sound that there was. Their sense of adventure turned to unease as they went deeper. The trees looked as though they turned as Terry drove past them. The headlights pierced unevenly between the trees, reflecting back irregular shapes. They didn't speak, they became more and more nervous. Geoff thought he saw something staring at him through the trees more than once so he accelerated, slowly increasing his speed as the anxious nervousness overtook him.
A cloud of dirt snaked behind the corvette. Terry kept increasing speed, swerving around the scars of the unkempt road. The corvette shuddered here and there but didn't bottom out. Small tree branches and rocks were thrown out from underneath the tires, some of them hitting the undercarriage and making loud noises.
The road was mostly a direct shot from one end of the woods to the other end, stretching a good seven miles. Of the bends there were, the road simply diverted around something large like a boulder or a bank that descended into a creek bed, but the road would always return to the original course. When that first bend came he wasn't prepared, hitting his breaks and sliding his corvette sideways. He gained control but was a lot more cautious of the road ahead of him and would slow down at the next bend enough to keep a lock on his driving.
“Terry, watch out!” Rhonda screamed in horror.
A hideous shape came fleeting across the road from the passenger side and Terry couldn't see it was coming till it was too late. He hit his brakes again and the car went sliding without traction on the loose dirt, throwing up a ton of dust that clouded their entire surroundings.
SMACK!
Terry's corvette plowed into the monster right near the center of the hood and the monster went flying through the kicked up dust and out of sight.
The engine quit and they sat there silently wondering what in the world they hit. It wasn't human, that was for sure. He was sure though that he saw it earlier on the road, staring at them through the trees, its animal eyes and hairy face.
“Where did he go?!” Yelled Rhonda.
“I don't have any idea but I'm not going to sit here and find out.” said Terry. He turned over the ignition but the engine wouldn't start. “Too much damn dust makin' my car non-responsive.”
A loud roar came hurling through the dust as the monster appeared out of the dust cloud into the headlights. There was no blood on him, didn’t seem to be hurt at all. He looked like a corpse brought back to life.
Misshapen, furry and oversized with disproportionate limbs, his head was bulging in a way that made him resemble a beaten and swollen animal. A long fang stuck out over the side of one lower lip and his nose was almost non-existent, more like a shallow hole in his face than anything. His eyes seemed to glow, being one solid color. His clothes were torn and dirty and stringy. He might as well have been a bear because the clothes did nothing to make him seem human.
The monster charged towards Rhonda's side of the car. A third attempt to start the engine worked and Terry was able to get the corvette in motion once again. The monster tried to break the passenger side window but was unsuccessful, his oversized monster hands scratching along the car as Terry ditched him. They were on their way once again and this time full speed ahead.
Rhonda was hugging Terry closely and crying. Terry said, “Don't worry baby, everything's gonna be alright. I'll protect you.”
Sometime later they eventually made it out of the woods and in one piece. Terry parked the corvette at another gas station convenience store that stood in an identical position to the one at the other entrance to the old electricians road. Rhonda was still hugging him but she quit crying.
Terry said, “I don't know what that was in the woods but I won’t go there again without a shotgun and dynamite. Who’s going to believe us? Should we tell anyone?” Terry looked at his watch, 1:45am. “Are you awake Rhonda?” He said. She was clinging to him and hasn’t moved in a long while.
“Yeah.” Rhonda almost whispered.
“How about another shot of whiskey before I take you to your house.” said Terry.
“I don't want any, thank you.” she replied.
Terry said, “Well, I am going to drink me a shot of whiskey. Gimme a second.” He reached over the seat to retrieve his whiskey bottle and took a deep swig. He tossed the bottle onto the rear seat and then started the engine. “Ready, baby?” he said.
She didn’t say anything.