Lesson 1… An Unexpected End to an Already Bad Day

I was finally home, and the thought of erasing the day with my evening walk / jog was just what the doctor ordered. It had been a particularly stressful day, starting with my having been late due to traffic. This was quickly followed up by having my butt chewed off by my incompetent, weasel of a boss over a matter that really had not involved me. Next it was the presentation from hell, where the powerpoint I had prepared had been lost due to some glitch that IT told me was “Routine” and that I should have had a “backup”…isn’t that their job?. Finally, the day was capped off by some of the worst traffic I’d seen in the last five years. It was truly a dreadful day. However, I could let all of that go now; let it pass by, like the houses and people that I passed while walking. I live in a newer housing development out in twin lakes which is southwest of Atlanta, where the developments are in place, but the houses have yet to be built. This aspect of my area lends a sense of of abandonment, due to the paved roads that abruptly end, giving way to dirt, almost as if whoever started the project just finally said one day, “That’s it, this was a waste of time and money!” The further into the development one goes, the fewer the cars and houses, until it finally switches over to forest and marshland. For the purposes of walking off the agitation of my work day, it is perfect.

I had passed the remaining lots that were finished and started to jog, hoping to build up a good sweat. I had been running on the road which wound around the protected wetland, when I decided to turn off onto the dirt road which led to the next development a couple of miles away. Totally lost in my thoughts, it didn’t dawn on me that the red dirt that I was running on was going to be a total pain to clean off of my running shoes, but at this point, I had come too far to worry about that now. In that moment, I had suddenly become aware that the sound of birdsong had completely ceased. I also noticed that the humidity was extraordinarily high for Autumn. The air lay thick upon the ground, in a stifling miasma that somehow seemed to accentuate the Spanish moss that clung to the deciduous trees and evergreens. It lent an eerie feeling to the overwhelming quiet that surrounded me. It was in this moment that I was brought back to my senses by the sound of light foot falls behind me. I turned, jogging backwards to see where the source of the noise had come from, but didn’t see anything. I dismissed it as unimportant and turned back around to continue my run. I ran on in silence for a few more minutes when my attention was drawn to the horizon by the faint echoes of thunder and lightening that streaked the far off sky. Pap pap pap, came the footfalls behind me again, but this time louder, and much closer. I turned to look again, but didn’t see anything. Pap pap pap pap, this time, I could swear that the steps were coming from the forest off to my right. I picked up my pace in hopes that whatever it was, it would lose interest and make its way off into the marsh. The sound of the steps were growing louder now, but this time, the steps were accompanied by the sounds of labored breathing. I started to get a little bit more than nervous, as the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. I slowed my pace, deciding to turn around, and I noticed that the steps had slowed as well. Screw this I thought to myself, and turned to head for home. The footsteps were persistent as I started running faster. I constantly scanned my surroundings in hopes of seeing what it was that was definitely pursuing me. I was looking off to the left, into the trees when something out of the corner of my eye that grabbed my attention. Something was running through the grass; staying low to the ground like a cat stalking. It ran ahead and my gaze followed its trajectory, leading to the edge of the road where the grass halted. Whatever it was, it would most likely would intercept me at that junction.

The sky had darkened considerably by this time to the point of twilight making it difficult to tell distances, as well as discern distinctive shapes. Heart was tripping like a jackhammer in my chest as I ran faster. I was in an all out flight by this time, any sense of rationale gone as the panic overtook my sensibilities. The thing lunged from the bushes about twenty feet in front of me, a dark and looming shape that was low to the ground. I came to a dead stop and froze in terror. What was standing before me could only be contrived in a horror movie. It was beyond reality, like some horrible genetic science experiment gone wrong. What stood before me crouched low to the ground had the body of a large cat, like a panther, but the head and face of what looked like a cross between a dog and a primate. Its eyes were not like a cat’s eyes, the kind that glow in the dark. These were pitch black with no whites visible, like the dead eyes of a shark. It’s gaping maw was line with two rows of jagged white teeth, punctuated by it’s lower canines which protruded above its snout like those of a warthog. It eyed me with indifference, as it growled lowly, interspersed with the occasional hiss.

The creature slowly started to circle me as I stood rooted to the ground. I had to make myself move, lest this thing overtake me, so I slowly backed up, trying to make myself look bigger in an attempt to intimidate it. I screamed at it as an added shot at trying to scare it away. Then suddenly I stumbled backwards and was immediately falling to the ground. The creature in this moment, leapt at me with its claws splayed out in anticipation of the kill. Everything went black as my head struck the ground.

I was jarred awake by a sudden jolt, and the sound of a car horn droning. I blinked and shook my head trying to comprehend what was going on, but my vision was obscured by something white. It took me a moment before I realized that the it was the airbag from the steering wheel that had deployed. I leaned my head back and closed my eyes in exasperation, my fingers knitted together supporting my head. What a truly rotten day…