This happened when I was 18 and on my way to college. I had packed all my belongings in the trunk and backseat of my SUV. This wasn’t just my first long road trip; it was also my first time being away from my family for an extended period. The college was 600 miles away, so I had split the trip into two days of driving. I planned to reach the hotel by 11 PM, according to my map. By 7:00 PM, the sun had completely set, and most cars had left the road. Occasionally, a car would pass, and I’d watch its headlights disappear. As the night progressed, my exhaustion intensified. At around 10 PM, I decided to stop at the next gas station. After about 10 minutes, I arrived at a gas station in the middle of nowhere—no towns or houses nearby. It consisted of only a few fuel pumps and a small convenience store. There were no other cars, and no lights from any nearby buildings. I parked at a pump and got out to fill my tank. As I looked around, I felt uneasy because a strange man was walking toward me. He was significantly larger than I, likely in his 50s, and appeared to be homeless. Still, there was no one else around, and his small smile made me feel even more uncomfortable.
“Can I help you?” I asked, hoping he would refrain from coming any closer. He stopped a few feet away from my car and glanced around before speaking. He then pointed toward the exit I had come from and told me to go back onto the highway.
Confused, I agreed, but I still didn’t understand why he was telling me to go back onto the highway. It was a one-way road, and it appeared illogical. I looked toward the ramp I was supposed to take, and there were no signs of any construction or obstacles—just a clear empty ramp.
As I got back in my car and drove toward the highway entrance, I noticed that all the streetlights were out. I slowed down, thinking it might be a construction site or something else, keeping my eyes on the road to avoid an accident. Before I knew it, a pickup truck appeared from nowhere and stopped directly in front of my car. Four people jumped out, armed with knives and metal rods, rushing toward my car. They didn’t cover their faces, and their expressions were devoid of emotion. I swiftly reversed my car, and to my astonishment, I observed additional individuals emerging from the roadside. Some even tried to chase my car. I quickly swerved and drove away, finally stopping when I felt safe enough to call 911. However, I never received a follow-up call, and it felt as if they didn’t even investigate.
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I’m still left wondering if that old man at the gas station had been trying to warn me, trying to get me to make a U-turn to save me from those people. I consider myself lucky because I still don’t know what their plan was or what would have happened if I hadn’t gotten away.