Sinister Tales

Followed

Followed

2014 © All Rights Reserved

Ever can't shake the feeling you were being followed? Natalia wishes it was just a feeling.

Natalia pulled her car into the almost empty parking lot of a gas station. Her head rested on the steering wheel, letting out a big sigh. After a couple minutes of relaxation, she grabbed her wallet, taking out some money then got out of her car.

The brisk wind of the night air washed over her body, waking her up slightly.

Stars colored the sky and the moon hung high, giving some light to the dark roads.

Natalia walked into the store, squinting her eyes from the quick change of light. When they adjusted she walked around, deciding what to get.

Her hands grabbed at a few bags of her favorite chips. As she made her way over to the drink section, the sound of the bell ringing, indicating someone came into the store, made her turn around to see who it was.

A man with a shaggy beard, stained clothes and an angry expression walked in. Natalia wasn't sure if he was having a bad day or naturally looked mad.

She turned back to the drinks, her eyes scanning the potential candidates to quench her thirst. When she grabbed a few drinks that she was satisfied with, she turned to walk up to the counter, only to bump into the man she seen walking into the store.

He didn't say anything, just stared at her. Natalia stepped to the side right as he stepped to the side.

"My bad." She said, feeling slightly uncomfortable of the vibe the man gave off.

Before he walked around her, he looked straight in her eyes and spoke. "Yeah.. Your bad." His voice was raspy and deep, making him just a scarier man all around. The man pushed past her to get to the drinks and she was left there stunned by the rudeness of the strange man.

Natalia finally walked up to the counter, ready to get her stuff and leave.

She put the food and drinks on the counter. The woman at the cash register rung up her stuff. "That'll be $12.89."

Natalia dug into her pocket to fish out one of the twenty dollar bills. "Here." She handed it over.

"So what are you doing over in this bland, small town?" The woman asked while getting her change.

"Passing through." She answered.

"Where you headed?" The woman handed over her exact change.

Natalia stuffed the changer in her pocket. "Family summer home in Florida." She smiled at the talkative old woman.

Her eyes widened a bit. "Oh my, that's far. Why didn't you just fly?"

"I'm scared of planes." She paused, thinking of what she said. "It's not that I'm really scared, I'm just terrified of crashing."

"Oh yeah, the news doesn't help, does it? There's been quite a few plane crashes lately." The woman seen another person waiting to check out their things. "I'll let you head on your way out. Nice talking to you."

"You too." Natalia responded as she grabbed her bag and headed out of the store.

Natalia got into her car, shoving the bag in the passengers seat. The roads were empty, a car only passing by her every now and then.

Her phone rang, startling her. Natalia answered the phone when she saw the caller ID. "Hey mom."

"When are you going to be here?" She asked. Noises erupted in the background, sounding like people taking. "Okay, okay I'll tell her."