The Rock House
I am a 28 year old female. The story I’m about to tell you happened back in 2016 with my best friend Chris
Now every since the day Chris and I met we have always got ourselves in the dumbest things ever. I mean Chris ran away once and had my nerves all messed up. But He came back because he had no money. We were not the smartest teens but we still enjoyed life.
So one summer night Chris and I were hanging and we were trying to think of a place to explore (like we always did). At the time I told him I’ve never been to the old Rock House In Greenwood South Carolina. ( Now before I get started let me give you a little History on the Rock house. A man named Thomas “Tom” Payne Tolbert built a “Fire Proof House” in 1926. The fireproof house was constructed entirely from stone, concrete, glass, and steel.After years of family homes burning down. Tolbert lived in the detached kitchen and used the large house to store family heirlooms. Tolbert lived his later years in isolation.) The now-crumbling fortress is accessible only by foot, and no one has ever lived inside its walls. You can look up way more about the History online if you like.
No back to my story. I’ve always been told the Rock House has many spirits in and around it but like I said at the time I’ve never been to it. So with that said. Chris and I took my cousins car and headed out to the Old Rock House. I’ve heard of people going in the day time but never heard people say they went at night. We being dumb went at night because why not. Ghost and spirits never bothered me to much being that I’ve seen them my whole life.
Once we pull up to the woods and park on the side of the road I get the bad feeling run all over my body. I sit there for a moment. I believe Chris sees this look on my face and ask if I still want to do this. Something is telling me not to get out but at the same time I want to see this place even at night.
“Yeah let’s go see how scary this place is” I told him. “Hell yeah let’s do it!” he replied. We get out and start walking threw the woods. As we are walking we have our phones out for light and we are making jokes acting silly like we always do. We can never take anything seriously no matter what. As we are walking we don’t realize how quite it is to be in the woods… at night… in the middle of summer…
We find our way to the front of the house. Chris is in front of me and we are looking at the house. No front door and no windows. All you can see is pure darkness. For some reason I just can’t move even though Chris is walking to what used to be the door. At this moment I realize we are in complete darkness and there are no sounds. No animals, no bugs no wind or anything. Just pure silence. Then out of the corner of my eye I see something in the top left window. But before I completely look I hear something to the left of me and I look over. But I see nothing. Only the darkness. A feeling of dread falls over me but nothing is there. Chris is now at the door of the house and looks inside. I look at the windows and there it is. Something is there in the window looking down at me. My body turns cold. Those eyes. I’ll never forget those eyes burning a hole in my soul. Bright yellow redish eyes like fire. All of a sudden I hear Chris say “Oh Hell No” He turns to run to me but my body is still frozen. He grabs my wrist and pulls me to run. He never lets me go. As we are running we are jumping over falling trees and everything on the ground that people have left over time. As we run I realize something is running beside us and I don’t dare to look back.
My body is now in pilot mood as Chris has the grip still on my wrist pulling me. My mind is blank and my heart is racing. At one point I feel like I can feel the breath of what ever is chasing us.
The moment we make it to the car everything comes back to me and I’m back in control of my mind and body. We jump In the car and Chris goes to start the car he has is face covered in the string wheel as he tries to start the car... but… it’s dead! THE CAR IS DEAD! We start freaking out with my head buried between my legs and Chris still hiding his face I yell out “THIS IS IT CHRIS THIS IS HOW WE DIE! THIS IS WHY US WHITE PEOPLE DIE IN MOVIES BECAUSE WE DO DUMB SHIT LIKE THIS!” Chris yells back at me “Shut up we are not going to die the car will start!” I can still feel this thing outside of the car. Its just there. Is this why there are so many spirits here? Does it take the souls of people who it has caught come here? I feel it looking at us. Something wants me to look at it but at the same times a voice in my head is telling me not to. I want to cry.
The car starts and Chris tries to speed off. We start going dowm the road but then… one of the ties blew. We are now on the side of the road again and we just sit there not wanting to get out. It’s quite again. The feeling of being watched is still there. Luckily for us a guy in a truck pulls up behind us. I feel safe right now. The guy pulls over and helps Chris change the tire. I hold my phone as a light with my back to the woods. I still have that feeling. I want to turn and see what is there but I dare not to. Something is telling me not to look.
After the tire gets fixed we head to the Huddle House close by to calm down. The poor lady working that night sees something is wrong and with what little money we have the lady helps us pay for a meal.
The next few days Strange things start happening around my house. For example I’m in the kitchen fixing something for lunch. My roommate and I are talking like normal and the cutting board goes flying across the kitchen. See gives me this looks and says. “See what you caused! Shit keeps happening for no reason all because you want to visit haunted places.” I pick up the cutting board. At this point I feel like I need to make things right. I've always been told that if you disturb the dead that you have to make things right. So with that being said. That weekend I go see some friends who doesn’t live for from the Rock House and tell them I need to go there so we do. This time it’s full daylight. Once we get there I still have this feeling but I don’t say a word. Once we get to the house my friends go in to look around. They explore the place. Inside and out. I look to the left of me and see nothing but the feeling is there. My body is weak. As I walk in I look in the direction that Chris saw something at. Then I look into the room to the left of me and see the room is full of designs in paint all over the room. The whole house is covered the same way. But there is something about this one room. I walk into the room. There is a Pentagram with all the markings around it. I walk over to it and examine it closely.
I walk around it seeing if it’s done right and to my eyes I see that it is. I yell out to my friends “Hey I think someone tried to summon a demon or something!” As soon as the words leave my mouth something comes crashing down. I nope the hell out of there and just start running out of the house sadly leaving my friends inside not meaning to. All I do is run through the woods yelling “I’m sorry I’m sorry I’m sorry!” I don’t stop until I’m out of the woods.
My friends come after me wondering what is going on so I tell them about the other night and what just happened as well. At this point I just want to leave. We all get into the car. The friend driving goes to start the car… it’s dead… just like the other night but in a different car. My mind goes back to the other night this big dark creature comes to mind for some reason. I never seen it before. Was it the thing chasing us that night? Was it putting itself in my mind to scare me more? So many questions. I try my best not to freak out. I called my roommate to come pick us up. As we are waiting a car pulls up. He must live on this road and knows what happened. He says every time someone goes to the house their car is dead when they get back. He helps jump start the car and we go down the road. I see my roommate and I jump out of the car and jump into mine. I speed off as fast as I can wanting to get as far away from this place at possible. My friends meet me at my house and I made a promise to my self to never go back to the Rock House.
For some reason Chris and I stopped hanging out. We didn’t get in a fight or anything we just stopped being friends and we never spoke about what happened that night until a few weeks again. We both seemed to have forgotten that night. I called him and asked him what it was that he saw that night inside the house to make him do what he did. He doesn’t remember what he saw but he remembers that night. I thought I wouldnt forget but I did until a few weeks ago... Someone told me that a brain will block out something so traumatizing that you won’t remember what happened and live your life like normal. Maybe that’s what our brains did for us so we won’t live in fear forever.
Now its 2023 and now that I remember this I told this story recently to a few of my friends at work and one person told me they want to visit The Rock House. I told them no they don’t but they really want to not believing in Ghost and has never experienced anything Ghostly. So I said “Go if you want but I promise you I won’t be going back to that place ever again and once you do you won’t go back there either. The witch that used to live behind me didn’t scare my as much as what ever was in the woods that night.” Yes a witch used to live in the property behind my hosue.

When you're rich enough, you get perks you can only dream of. Literally. But somehow, my paradise turned into hell.
Have you ever had a dream so amazing, you wished you could relive it? Explore it? Relish it? Well, when you're rich enough, you don't have to wish. It's a reality thanks to dream banks. You may have heard of them and their pricy services, which include recording, saving, and projecting dreams.
For example, if you'd like a dream recorded, you can book one of their luxurious suites for the night, where the dream techs will fit you with a special helmet and leave you to rest. The next morning, they'll replay the recorded dream for you via the helmet and ask if you want to shell out the extra bucks to save it. If you don't, they'll delete it and you can pay to book for another time to try again.
If you do decide to save it, you must select an item within the dream that will act as the exit key. (This will come in handy during projections.) While still wearing the helmet, you must touch the item, and the dream techs will label those electric signals as the key.
Afterwards, everything is saved under your name, and you can now relive your dream at any time by booking a suite for three, five, or eight hours. Unlike recordings, during projections, you don't have to wait for sleep to come. After you enjoy a snack of your choice, the helmet is fitted and you're immediately transported to your dream, where you have free will and can enjoy it at your leisure. And if you ever need to leave early, this is when you touch the key, which will shut down the helmet right away.
In my case, the key is the stegosaurus leather rug I have hanging on the wall of my throne room. I never have a reason to touch it otherwise, making it a perfect key. I've also never had to touch it. Experiencing life as an all-powerful, worshipped being who lives on my own planet and hunts dinosaurs in my spare time, I relished my dream to the last second.
Yes, the fees are exorbitant, but at the time, I felt it was worth it. The techs were skilled, the system was sleek, and the dreams were private. Each could only be unlocked by the unique brainwaves of the dreamer.
Or so I thought.
My literal nightmare began when I booked a five-hour projection on a rainy Friday afternoon. After taking a sip of champagne to wash down the cranberry brie bites, I settled into the cool silk sheets with a smile. My usual dream tech smiled back as she fastened my helmet, and the last thing I heard was her wishing me pleasant dreams before I was plunged into darkness.
I waited for the split-second adjustment from reality to the dream world, and my confusion grew when I didn't find myself on my throne surrounded by fawning gods and goddesses.
Instead, I found myself in the middle of an endless street. Alone. There were no cars, no life, not even wind. Towering street lamps lined the sidewalk as far as I could see, arcing over the road and tinting everything an eerie red. Behind them, identical buildings stood side by side, silent, their dark, narrow windows hollow.
My pulse spiking, I whipped around. The other direction was just as endless. Uneasy confusion prickled beneath my skin. This had to be someone else's dream. The techs must have made a mistake. I didn't know how it was possible, but there was no other explanation.
My unease piqued as my situation sank in. I was in a stranger's dream and I didn't know the key. I was stuck here until my five hours ran out. Or until the techs realized their mistake. I was ready to rip them a new one once I was out, but until then, I had no choice but to wait.
I studied my surroundings with a frown before I walked over to the curb and sat down, and that was when I noticed I couldn't feel anything. I also noticed I was naked. It didn't matter. There was no one here, and none of this was real anyway.
Time passed, and I tried to distract myself from my nettled offense by humming, but no sound came out. Sitting up, I took a deep breath and screamed. Not even a squeak was heard. I slapped my hand against the ground. Nothing. This place was like a black hole of the senses.
Sighing, I lay down on my back and stared at the red light above me, wondering if I could fall asleep in a dream. I tried, but the more I wished to escape this silent, crimson prison, the more it seemed to come into focus. Soon, the utter lack of noise and movement grew from slightly unnerving to completely intolerable.
There was no way I could wait. I'd go insane. I had to get out of here. I had to find the key.
Jumping up, I ran to the nearest building and wrenched open the door, and a pitch black void greeted me. I gasped, and gasped again as it felt like my very breath was being suctioned out of my lungs. Panicking, silent wheezes rattled in my chest as I struggled to yank myself out of the vacuum, jerking my limbs and bucking my body until I toppled over backwards on the sidewalk.
Gulping in fitful breaths, I scrambled to my feet and ran down the road without looking back, my wide eyes scanning the horizon for salvation. I just wanted out of here, but the hellish path stretched on forever, making me feel like I was running in place as every identical building and street lamp mocked me. Even my silent stomping and mute panting served to draw insanity closer.
And then, a person showed up.
There, in the distance.
With my hope spurred, I raced towards them, desperate. I didn't care who they were. I needed to break this monotony.
As I got closer, hope morphed to confusion, and then to despair. The person was me. It was a mirror, propped up across the entire street.
Sweat-soaked, I slowed down to a jog before I stopped right in front of my reflection. It was me alright, naked, exhausted, and frustrated. But the eyes, something was off about the eyes. With an anxious frown, I stepped closer, staring into them, and they stared back …
… until they glanced behind me.
I gasped and jumped away, and so did my reflection … before it glanced over my shoulder again.
A chill trickled down my spine. My reflection had nothing behind it but the empty street, so I gulped and turned around, and my mouth fell open in a silent scream as a lovecraftian behemoth barrelled its way towards me. With its slick shell gleaming red beneath the lights, it slammed down one spiny tentacle after the other as its five mouths bared their dripping, concentric fangs.
Drenched in undiluted horror, tremors gripped my body as I stumbled away until my back was against the mirror. I knew death was a foolproof key in a dream, but I didn't know if this creature would kill me right away or leave me to suffer in agony until my five hours were up.
With it only inches away, I squeezed my eyes shut and pressed myself into the mirror, and my stomach flipped as I fell backwards. I opened my mouth to gasp, but there was nothing for me to draw in. Floating in an airless void, I flailed and thrashed, my wild eyes scanning the darkness for answers as I began to spin around.
Although death would free me, one of my greatest fears was suffocating. On one of my weightless rotations, a red, glass cube passed me by, and I grabbed it, hoping it was a breathing device. I brought it close to my face, and I gawked at what it held within.
Me.
Surrounded by identical buildings and red street lamps while a lovecraftian behemoth tore me apart.
Horrified, I threw the cube as far as I could and increased my efforts to escape this void. Yet all the flailing and thrashing was for naught as the darkness revealed no end. My eyesight began to go red as my lungs spasmed, and I clawed at my throat as my pulse stuttered in my chest.
The red kept growing and growing until it engulfed my entire vision, and I gave up. There was nothing to do but face my fears and die. With my straining heart lumbering, I let myself go limp as I stared at the red and waited.
And waited.
And waited.
I wasn't dying.
In fact, I could breathe just fine.
Frowning, I opened my eyes, and intense unease spread through my core. Above me, a red moon had taken up the entire sky, each one of its craters crystal clear, like eyes watching me. I turned my head away, and I realized I was in a park, laying down on the grass. Sitting up, I blinked in surprise at the pond right beside me, its opaque water reflecting the moon's red light. Ducks were swimming in a circle across its surface, their movements smooth with nary a splash.
Trees surrounded us, so dense I couldn't tell when one began and the other ended. It was mind-numbingly quiet here as well, and I still couldn't feel anything or make any noise, but at least the ducks were moving. This place seemed more tolerable than the last, and I was willing to wait out my five hours here. I hoped at least an hour had passed already, but with dreams, one never knew. All I knew was that I was too exhausted to search for the key. And too scared. I didn't know whose dream this was, but they had to be masochistic if they saved this nightmare.
Curling up beside the pond, I worked on calming myself down as I watched the ducks swim in their systematic circle over and over and over. I tried counting the rotations the way one would count sheep, but that still didn't lull me to sleep. I wished I'd chosen the three-hour projection, but at least I hadn't chosen the eight-hour one.
Distorted circus music crackled around me and I jolted up, my heart ricocheting in my chest. There was finally sound, but the last thing I wanted to hear was a cliche horror movie soundtrack. Gulping, I looked around. The music was coming from the trees, and my stomach dropped when I spied a shadow behind one of them. Then another. And another. They emerged into the crimson moonlight, and my blood turned to ice.
Clowns.
I whipped around, trembling to the rhythm of my frantic pulse. They were surrounding me. Dozens of them. As classic as any clown could be. Colorful clothes, big shoes, silly hair, exaggerated makeup. I wasn't scared of clowns, as long as they were where they belonged. And they didn't belong here, staring at me with big, empty eyes and yellow, toothy grins.
I tried to convince myself that they weren't dangerous since they didn't have weapons and didn't seem monstrous, but when they took a step closer in unison, I jumped back, nearly falling into the pond. The ducks remained oblivious, still swimming in their circle. The distorted circus music got louder, and my hair stood on end when I saw the grass ripple in front of each clown. They were sending something my way through the ground.
Panicking, I jumped into the pond, and I screamed as I sank right in. There was no bottom. There was no water either. The pond was filled with red, translucent spheres, each the size of a tennis ball. Still able to breathe, I began swimming through the spheres with clumsy breast strokes, just hoping I could end up as far away from the clowns as possible.
After swimming for what felt like enough time, I tried to swim up, until I realized I had no idea which direction I was facing. Remember a trick for those stuck in avalanches, I spat, but my glob of saliva just hovered in front of me. Before panic could set in, I noticed what looked like an office desk floating amidst the spheres in the distance. After blinking a few times to make sure it was really there, I swam towards it, desperate for any change in my situation.
It was an office desk, a wooden one with carved borders and locked drawers. Tucked beneath it was a stool, and the moment I pulled it out and set it under my ass, an office replaced the red spheres.
I grunted as gravity returned, and I looked around in bewilderment at the cluttered bookshelves and grimy floors. Dust was floating everywhere, highlighted by the red light filtering in through the blinds behind me. I jumped as a clock hanging on the wall chimed. Its glass was too dirty for me to tell the time, but I was glad I could hear. I coughed at the dust. And I could make noise. I dusted my hands. And I could feel. I could even smell, which I now wished I couldn't as I wrinkled my nose at the faint stench of rot.
After failing to read the spines of some of the books on the shelves, I studied the shadowy corners of the room. A slack-jawed skeleton hung in the far end, and a faded poster with anatomical diagrams curled off a cupboard. This had to be a doctor's office. Was the creator of this dream a doctor?
A silhouette slid in front of the frosted glass door, and I gulped as the knob began to turn. A hand reached in, gripping the edge one finger at a time, and my heart dropped as I knew this horror cliche was only going to be followed by another. Having no time to think, I slid off the stool and crouched beneath the desk, my hand over my mouth as cobwebs clung to me.
Praying spiders wouldn't swarm me, I peeked through a small slit in the wood, and I froze when an emaciated nurse walked in the room. Layers upon layers of blood coated her scrubs, so much so that I couldn't even tell what color they originally were. She had no shoes. No feet either. Just ankle stubs, and my stomach turned as I heard bone clunk against the tiles.
A surgical mask covered her face, as bloodstained as her scrubs, and grimy lab goggles obscured her eyes. I was grateful, because judging by the pus leaking out of her scabbed, balding scalp, I didn't want to know what her face looked like. The closer she got, the stronger the stench of rot became, and I struggled to keep myself from retching.
She stopped halfway into the room, and I gawked at her hands. They were transforming. Her fingers elongating into razor-edged blades. She then began to hunch over, and I cringed as her spine cracked and popped until she was as bent as a candy cane, her face staring at her pelvis.
As if that wasn't unsettling enough, her head creaked as it spun around 180 degrees, now facing the front, upside down. Right after, her arms shot to the ground, and I watched with increasing dread as she bent them at the elbows and wrists so they flanked her head like distorted T-Rex arms.
She spread her fingers out and took a few more steps towards me, and I held my breath, hoping she couldn't hear my rabid heart or smell my fear. Her ankle bones clicked and clacked against the tiles as she made her way around the desk, and I cowered as my frantic eyes searched for a weapon. I found none, but I did spy a brass button beside my head.
With her legs now an arms distance away, I had nothing to lose as I jammed my thumb into the button. The back of the desk flung open, and I scrambled to my feet and dashed out from my hiding place, screaming in response to the nurse screeching behind me. Bursting through the door, I held up my fists and began punching like a maniac in fearful anticipation of a horde of nurses swarming me.
Except I was no longer in a hospital. I was in an outdoor parking lot. Alone. And judging by the roiling red clouds, a storm was brewing. After a second to collect my bearings, I dove into the closest car, thankful it was unlocked. The moment I slammed the door shut, lightning blinded me as thunder cracked and the downpour began. Sighing in relief, I tried to shake away my adrenaline, but the bloodshot eyes in my rearview mirror reignited my panic.
Before I could react, a belt snapped over my neck, pinning my head back against the headrest. With a frightened wheeze, I clawed at the leather, and I flinched as hot, heavy breath wafted across my ear. Gagging at the putrid smell, I reached over, desperate to scratch my strangler's face or poke their eyes out.
I felt their greasy hair and tried to pull it, but my fingers refused to hold on. I tried again and again, using my nails for purchase, but the strands just kept slipping out of my weak grip. Shifting focus, I tried to claw at their eyes, but it felt as though I was moving through molasses as my hand slid down their face. Once I felt a wet, bulbous eye, I tried to scratch it, but I didn't have enough strength to do anything damage.
My frustration clashed with my terror and I tried to punch them, but my arm swung back in slow motion and merely prodded a stubbly cheek. Tears welled in my eyes as I writhed and gasped, my strangler's laugh adding insult to injury. Despite knowing death will set me free, fear and self-preservation rummaged through my mind, searching for a solution. And they found one.
Hoping I had enough grip and energy, I reached down and found the reclining lever. Wrapping my fingers around it tight, I jerked it up and heaved my body back, and I gulped in a deep breath as I fell backwards, the belt now slack. Not at all prepared to face my attacker, I slipped out from beneath the belt, flung open the door, and zoomed out into the storm.
Sheets of rain obscured my vision, but not enough for me to see that the keys were left inside a red convertible. After making sure no one was hiding in the back, I jumped in, started the engine, and took off, the wheels squealing through the puddles. A sole street curled down a hill, and I took it, adrenaline pumping in waves through my quivering body.
This rush was a confusing mixture of exhilaration and apprehension. I wanted out, but I wasn't giving up. I made it this far, and I was going to survive every cliche this masochist dreamed up. Sharks? Snakes? Zombies? Bring it on. And afterwards, I was going to detail every single trial and tribulation I went through as I sued the dream bank for all the trauma they caused me.
Up ahead, the road curved, and I gasped as it ended in a cliff. I slammed the breaks, but they didn't do anything. Breaking out in a cold sweat, I slammed them again and again as I yanked the hand break as far as it would go. The car refused to slow down, and I cursed myself for not anticipating this cliche. In a move of desperation, I swerved, but it wasn't enough as the car careened over the edge and took me with it.
My heart hung in my throat as I hung on to the steering wheel, my knuckles white, my screams frozen in my lungs, the raindrops like needles. An endless body of water spread below me, and I knew sharks were my next challenge. I screwed my eyes shut as I awaited the inevitable plunge …
… and I gasped as the car crashed against the surface.
I lurched forward, and I cried out as I bashed my forehead against the wheel. Groaning, I leaned back, my ears ringing as I looked around, disoriented. I was still in the convertible, but we were right side up, having crashed into the concrete wall of an indoor garage. Blood trickled down my face and I reached up, only to feel around my head in shock.
I was wearing the helmet.
Why was it in the dream?
Or had I made it out?
I looked down. I wasn't naked. My pyjamas were plastered to my sweat-soaked skin. I was out. I looked around at the broken glass and mangled metal in confusion. But if I was finally out, why was I in a car and not between silk sheets?
I removed the helmet, and a yell from behind made me jump. I turned to see one of the dream techs running towards me. Was she always that skinny? And why were her scrubs red instead of the usual blue?
She made it to me, panting as she took the helmet out of my hands, and I wrinkled my nose at her unpleasant breath. She said I'd had a nightmare and began sleepwalking, and I'd left the dream bank and stole a car from their underground parking before she triggered a wake-up signal in the helmet, which made me crash.
I stared at her, not believing what I was hearing. I told her I'd booked a projection, not a recording, and she gave me a concerned frown and claimed the opposite. Anger replaced my confusion, and I called her a liar and accused them of misconduct, and she reminded me that dreams can only be unlocked by the dreamer.
Furious, I cursed at her as I tried to get out of the car, demanding to see my file. She was quick to tell me not to move in case I made my injuries worse as she pulled out her phone and said she was going to call an ambulance.
While I sat there and waited, fuming, I glimpsed my reflection in the dangling rearview mirror. Unease rippled beneath my skin and I sat up, grabbing the mirror and angling it to show my neck.
There was an angry red mark across it.
As though I was recently strangled.
Trembling, I tilted the mirror up.
Cobwebs. Stuck in my hair.
Dumbstruck in utter stupefaction, I scanned the rest of my body. My pyjamas were dirty and there was black under my fingernails, but the rest of my examination was cut short by tinny circus music. A chill jolted down my spine and I whipped my head to face the dream tech. That was her ringtone. She smiled as she answered the call, and I drew back at her yellow, toothy grin.
What was going on? I was out of the dream, I knew I was. Had everything been real? What had the dream bank done with me? Done to me?
Ambulance sirens wailed as they entered the underground parking, and the flashing red lights reflecting off the walls triggered my recent traumas. With terror-fueled adrenaline flooding my veins, I jerked my legs free of the wreck, jumped out of the car, and booked it, the dream tech's yells merging with the screeching sirens behind me.
SR

Is 3 weeks enough time to appreciate California? I'm from the UK and will be doing a solo road trip in May 2024, here's my route:
I'll be heading to LA from London, hiring a car for a month and doing this route. I fly into LA on May 1st 2024:
LA > Joshua Tree > Death Valley > Lake Tahoe > Yosemite > San Francisco > Monterey/Carmel/Big Sur > Santa Barbara > LA.
Here's a map to show exactly the route for each leg of the trip: Link
I thought this is a good mix of sights as you get to explore the natural beauty of California (Pacific Coast Highway, Big Sur, Carmel, Yosemite, Lake Tahoe, The Deserts, Eastern Sierras, etc.) but then you also get good exposure to the cities and towns like LA, SF, Santa Barbara, etc.
Here's how much time I plan on spending in each place total:
LA - 2 nights - (1 day at beginning of trip and 1 day at end when leaving) (airbnb)
Joshua Tree - 3 nights - (airbnb)
Death Valley - 1 night - (The Inn Hotel)
Lake Tahoe - 3 nights - (airbnb)
Yosemite - 3 nights - (Tent Cabin onsite Curry Village)
San Francisco - 1 night - (hotel with secure car parking/airbnb with parking)
Carmel - 3 nights - (airbnb)
Big Sur - 1 night - (The Madonna Inn)
Santa Barbara - 2 nights - (airbnb)
Here's a rough itinerary for the 21 days, including 1 buffer day: Link
Is this enough time to appreciate each place, or do I need to remove some places because I'm trying to do too much in the time-frame? Anything you would cut or add? Thank you

I'll be heading to LA from London, hiring a car for a month and doing this route. I fly into LA on May 1st 2024:
LA > Joshua Tree > Death Valley > Lake Tahoe > Yosemite > San Francisco > Monterey/Carmel/Big Sur > Santa Barbara > LA.
Here's a map to show exactly the route for each leg of the trip: Link
I thought this is a good mix of sights as you get to explore the natural beauty of California (Pacific Coast Highway, Big Sur, Carmel, Yosemite, Lake Tahoe, The Deserts, Eastern Sierras, etc.) but then you also get good exposure to the cities and towns like LA, SF, Santa Barbara, etc.
Here's how much time I plan on spending in each place total:
LA - 2 nights - (1 day at beginning of trip and 1 day at end when leaving) (airbnb)
Joshua Tree - 3 nights - (airbnb)
Death Valley - 1 night - (The Inn Hotel)
Lake Tahoe - 3 nights - (airbnb)
Yosemite - 3 nights - (Tent Cabin onsite Curry Village)
San Francisco - 1 night - (hotel with secure car parking/airbnb with parking)
Carmel - 3 nights - (airbnb)
Big Sur - 1 night - (The Madonna Inn)
Santa Barbara - 2 nights - (airbnb)
Here's a rough itinerary for the 21 days, including 1 buffer day: Link
Is this enough time to appreciate each place, or do I need to remove some places because I'm trying to do too much in the time-frame? Anything you would cut or add? Thank you

Hey all,
So let me start by saying my dreams are exhausting. There is always a different plot to the dream, sometimes is a continuation, like it picks up where it left off type thing.
That's pretty standard as far as i can tell. But whats really crazy is that for years, ever since i can remember, i have been dreaming of another world. It started small with my Memas old double wide, and gradually increased in size. I do not have control of my dreams but i consistently recognize my surroundings and remember there is a whole world attached to whatever part im in and i can teleport myself just by thinking of that place (again its unintentional). Now its so huge i have to map it in parts in the waking world.
In the north there is a desert city (think the first Assasins creed type city. In the city alongside the giant cliff wall in the back is a temple that goes deep into the earth and is filled with many creatures i have to fight to get past.
In the east is the coast, and the ruins of what was once a massive city, now its a shelled out crumbling place that is still at war even now. In the west is another coast, with a beach cabana resort, a giant dock, and the beginning of some cliffs where a group of bandit like individuals camp out that i run into when im flying around as a dragon.
In the south is a great forest with the tallest trees imaginable, and in the middle is a small hamlet village thing with small people inhabiting it (think gnomes or dwarfs)
In the center is the city, and surrounding it is jagged mountains and steep green valleys where many floating homes are clinging to the sides of the mountains. In the city is a historic downtown, with antique stores, bars, restaurants, a giant hotel skyscraper, many many tall buildings i dont yet know the purpose of. There is a mall, a school, a cemetary. There is country areas with big sprawling properties with cattle and horses. There is a giant park in the middle that i guess is a wildlife refuge cause there's gators in water. Etc etc etc
I keep discovering new places, like an apartment i apparently live in with roomates i apparently dont like, and and haunted mansion that i cant resist, that has many hidden rooms and passages. And to top it all off, a lot of the time i am fighting for my life, running from danger or attempting to rescue my friends/loved ones from whatever horror vists me at night. Sometimes ill even have dreams where i start on my world, and i get on my giant rubber duck float and feel the force of leaving the atmosphere, and the gut drops when i zoom into other planets to look at them from the sky. They have cities and spaceships and the colors are insane. This has regularly become a part of my nightly experience.
What is happening to me? Im really considering signing up for a sleep study, i can never get true rest anymore. I wake up drenched in sweat and exhausted because it feels SO REAL. Does anyone else experience this? Does anyone have any explanation or am i just going crazy?
I posted this elsewhere and got one reply that did really help me get it under control for a bit... but now? Its getting REAL concise. Im talking i had a dream yesterday that i was there and gathering my friends together at my dream apt so we coukd find out why things were messing up and dying/breaking down. Then last night, we go to the south, past the village deep into the mountainous woods and we decide to go down that giant sinkhole in there. Turns out theres a frigging UNDERCITY this whole time and we met the dude in charge. He stole one of my friends and cast the rest of us away in a tunnel of fire at first, and it turned into this bluish green tube and next thing i know im alone, my physical body is on the shore and im stranded in the water trying to get back to it on the boatdock side of the map.
Tldr: I have vivid dreams that exhaust me and I think im going crazy but its been way to concise for me to just drop it

For independent western travelers, Japan demands more planning than, say, a trip through Europe. But the corresponding rewards are huge. And you absolutely don't need to hire a guide, so long as you do basic homework (which is half the fun of travel, anyway).
This is the last of three reports from our recent four-week journey, covering ten nights in Tokyo, one in Nikko and three in Kamakura.
HIGHLIGHTS
Tokyo--Nippon Professional Baseball at Tokyo Dome; May Grand Sumo tournament, Hamarikyu garden; Tuna auction
Nikko--Toshugo shrine
Kamakura--Sunset spectacle at a seaside park
TOKYO, Monday 5/22
For this 7-night leg, we chose Park Hotel Tokyo (the top floors of the Shiodome Media Tower; $208/night with breakfast). The lobby is on the 25th floor, requiring separate elevator rides to reach your room. Access to subways is a mixed bag (Shiodome Station is next door; more useful Shimbashi is a longer walk). There were far more Americans than our other hotels, and the ample breakfast buffet wasn't as fabulous, either (an admittedly high bar). On the other hand, the area teems with great, affordable places to eat. Our room had something we'd never experienced: a fog-free bathroom mirror (the new must-have!). And when we opened the curtains of our 28th floor room in the morning, there was Fuji in all her glory, an unforgettable vista. What more could you want?
TOKYO, Tuesday 5/23
Our first stop on a drizzly day was the Imperial Palace grounds, last of our highly recommended Imperial Household Agency tours. The adjacent East Garden, open to all, is worth seeing, too.
After lunch, we checked out the nearby National Museum of Modern Art. Kudos to management for allowing photography. The highlights room on the top floor is a great survey, and if you're short on time you could skip the rest, unless a special exhibition piques your interest.
We caught a fantastic show about Tokugawa Ieyasu at the private Mitsui Memorial Museum--the best single exhibition we saw. Unfortunately, it closes tomorrow, June 11; but that's a place you might keep an eye on.
TOKYO, Wednesday 5/24
We visited Senso-ji first thing. We liked it so much we went back a few nights later to see it lit up. Either way, it's a must.
Lunch was at Onigiri Asakusa Yadoroku, a welcoming place that's been dishing up made-to-order onigiri for almost 70 years. It's a Bib Gourmand. Show up just before 11 am to avoid a wait; otherwise, you'll be given a time to return for a seat.
We went to Tokyo Dome to catch a Yomiuri Giants game, stopping off first at the adjacent, very worthwhile, landscape garden, Koishikawa Korakuen (geezers over 65 half-price!). The game itself was a trip, much like an American football game, with non-stop chants by fans and on-field cheerleaders between innings. Our lower-deck seats, bought in advance from the team's website, cost under $35 each.
TOKYO, Thursday 5/25
Like other great cities, like New York or Paris, Tokyo is made for strolling. On this day, we were flaneurs, with stops along Omotesando, the tree-shaded fashion avenue that calls itself Harajuku Champs-Elysees, and hip Cat Street nearby. The area wakes up slowly, so consider a visit at midday or later.
Lunch was a pure pig-out (pun intended) at Tonkatsu Nanaido. Can't recommend it highly enough; the wait was a tolerable 30 minutes (dinner reservations possible). Try to ignore the health implications of tender pork, fried (extremely lightly) in pure lard. Pure heaven.
TOKYO, Friday 5/26
Meiji Shrine and garden got us going in the morning, and the Meiji Jingu Museum was well worth a stop.
We were somewhat ambivalent about sumo but bought advance tickets to the big May tournament because, well, when might we ever see sumo in person again? It turned out to be the surprise hit of the trip: a spectacle with deep historic roots, more engaging and suspenseful than we imagined. Advance online tickets are gettable; no middleman required.
TOKYO, Saturday 5/27
The Tokyo National Museum lives up to its reputation as the best in the country (at least the best we saw). We made repeated visits and still didn't see it all. And it's free for those of us over 70. One of our favorite items: a 1,500-year-old ceramic sculpture of sumo wrestlers and a judge. The museum's enlightened view toward photography means we'll always have our pictures to remind us of what we saw.
TOKYO, Sunday 5/28
We spent a relaxed Sunday morning at verdant Hamarikyu Gardens, a park that borders Tokyo Bay. The former playground of feudal shoguns is an urban oasis of water features and classic landscape design. You can happily spend a couple hours strolling its paths.
In the afternoon, we checked out Ginza's main drag, closed to vehicle traffic. We wish, though, that we'd known that Akihabara's Chuo-dori is also pedestrianized on Sunday afternoons.
NIKKO, Monday 5/29
We cabbed it to Asakusa Station and caught the Tobu Kegon express to Nikko. Light rain didn't stop us --or hundreds of other umbrella toters--from visiting glorious Toshugo Shrine. Far better, though, was our visit the next day. At 8:30 a.m., the shrine was essentially deserted; crowds started arriving at 9:30. That quiet morning hour was reason enough to have spent the night in Nikko. It also kept us ahead of the crowds at Rinnoji Temple and nearby Taiyuin and Futarasan Shrine, all well worth visiting.
Nikko Station Hotel Classic ($270, including excellent meals) was the most old-school place we stayed (They still put top sheets on the beds). Masking is requested, and at breakfast, guests are asked to don plastic gloves before going through the buffet line. The onsen in the basement was absolutely first-rate, as was our meticulously prepared tofu kaiseki dinner at the hotel restaurant.
TOKYO, Tuesday 5/30
For our third and final Tokyo stop, we chose the Ueno area and weren't disappointed. The well-run and sophisticated Nohga Hotel Ueno Tokyo ($217/night, including breakfast) is on a quiet street just a short walk from Ueno Station and park, with its many attractions.
TOKYO, Wednesday 5/31
We wandered through Yanesen, a traditional neighborhood sometimes described as a hidden gem, and began our end-of-trip shopping on mid-century Yanaka Ginza.
Lunch was at Inshotei, a lovely traditional restaurant in the heart of Ueno Park, booked online before our trip. 3.59 on Tabelog.
TOKYO, Thursday 6/1
Tuna! We initially took a pass on the early morning auction, discouraged by reviews on this sub and elsewhere that dismiss the relatively new Toyosu auction site as vastly inferior to the former one at Tsukiji market. But an old Japan hand persuaded us to give it a try. We're extremely happy we did. We were lucky enough to get tickets to the open-air observation platform and the experience became a trip highlight.
Up and out by cab before 4:30 a.m., we had about half an hour to watch and hear the action directly below us. It may not be Tsukiji, but it's the only Tokyo tuna auction you've got. I say go, especially if you can snag open-air gallery passes.
KAMAKURA, Friday 6/2
There weren't a lot of great choices for lodging in the coastal town of Kamakura (a day trip for Tokyo residents). We needed a quick getaway to Haneda Airport on Monday morning, and Hotel Metropolitan Kamakura, a JR East property, fit the bill. It was pricey ($292 per night with meals) but our room was spacious, even luxurious by Japanese standards, and smack in the middle of the action.
KAMAKURA, Saturday 6/3
I wondered, before leaving home, if we'd get templed-out, like other travelers do. It never happened, though torrential rainfall, spun from the remnants of Typhoon Mawar, tested us at the end. On the plus side, we had the Great Buddha and Hachimangu Shrine completely to ourselves; the downside was soaked clothing and shoes that would take time to dry out (fortunately, we brought extra pairs, and our collapsible umbrellas did the best they could).
By afternoon, the skies cleared and hundreds of surfers rushed to ride the storm-generated surf. We caught the action from the sands of Yuigahama Beach.
KAMAKURA, Sunday 6/4
Early, before other tourists arrived, we checked out Engakuji temple, but were helpless in the face of Sunday crowds at Meigetsuin temple, better known as Hydrangea Temple. The blossoms were exploding after the rain but visitors clogged the pathways. We fled to Kenchoji, totally empty by comparison, and had a final, restorative Zen moment in the peaceful garden behind the main hall.
Last stop of the tour, after one more omakase sushi dinner, was sunset at Inamuragasaki Park. We never expected what we found: a spectacular view of Fuji, the entire mountain outlined against a multi-colored sky, with pounding waves and a few hardcore surfers in the foreground.
It was a concluding surprise in a trip filled with them, a journey that greatly exceeded expectations. Four weeks turned out to be just about right for a couple of geezers. But it left lots of stuff on the cutting room floor, like Nagasaki, which I still want to see, and much more. Next time, maybe.

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Chapter 15

The three in the meeting room knew how important and big this was. They all sat around a black glass table in the mahogany-lined room. The president was the only one wearing a fancy suit. His black hair was well presented. To his left was the secretary of defence, she wore a stylish dress that still looked professional. Her right arm was a robotic replacement from when she served years ago. Finally, the ageing and decorated high Admiral. His hair had greyed, and his face showed his over two hundred years of life.
“To sum up, a knight and an ai is the only known survivor of the Thunderchild after being shot down by hostile aliens. There are three confirmed KIAs the rest of the crew MIA presumed KIA. A medieval tech-level but friendly species lives on the planet that the knight dropped onto. There is a one-sided conflict between the two alien factions. What little intel we got from the messages is they have mechs, laser guns and use slave soldiers.”
President Armstrong finished summing up before adding, “Anything I’m missing?”
“No sir that’s everything,” Secretary Adams confirmed, “Admiral what fleet assets in the area can we deploy right now?”
“There is the tenth rim patrol fleet, which should be on standby and ready.” Grimes answered, “We could join them with the fourth recon fleet to help find where the ship went down. Other than that we could get some space marines. Also, may be quicker to get some SOSF than regular ODSTS, I know the special orbital shock force lads pride themselves on being ready and there is a base on New Scapa where the tenth is currently stationed.”
“I would send more.” Everyone in the room was surprised for a split second as the voice came from nowhere but once they recognised the feminine voice the surprise dissipated. “Phoenix,” the president said, “didn’t know if you were going to join us.”
Just then manifesting in the room was what looked like a young woman. They only look partly human and looked exactly like if you crossed a phoenix with one. they had plums of red orange and yellow feathers and majestic wings on their back. her long hair was a shade of fiery red. They wore a form-fitting black ops uniforms. “How could I miss something this big?” Phoenix asked she smiled cheekily as she continued “Well, I almost did because I was trying to find the answer to disappearances. Instead, the answer came to us.”
“Trust you to be onto something like this.” The Grimes chucked.
“Ok before I make my suggestions one thing needs to be done,” Phoenix clicked her fingers and the meeting room tuned into the Sahara green zone National Park. The table was suddenly surrounded by tropical trees with sand dunes far off in the distance. It was one of the many places on Earth that went through ecological engineering and biome sculpting during the climate crisis. “Ah, this is better, the perks of being an ai in a virtual meeting.”
As Phoenix took a seat and to keep the meeting on track Armstrong spoke, “So what is it you suggest?”
Phoenix smirked knowing the reaction she would get before she even spoke a word. “Send task force Dreadnaught and the Sevastopol.”
“I would say you are kidding but you don’t kid about this stuff.” Adams said “So tell us why? And isn’t task force Dreadnaught under maintenance?” Grimes nods confirming the status of task force Dreadnaught.
“To answer why first, the firepower of Dreadnought’s spinal and the nuclear payload onboard the Sevastopol could be needed. We don’t know what they have, and they can clearly take down our ships.” Phoenix was confident and it showed in her voice as she carried on. “I ran the numbers for task force Dreadnaught. It will take only two days if we focus on getting Dreadnaught and a few of its escorts ready using all the docks staff. I already asked my good friend Dready about it. she and her captain are more than ready.”
“If we are going all out we should send some transports to make sure we have a well-rounded force.” Adams added, “I know If I was still serving I would raver have air support than not. We might want to set up a FOB with a medical station if the locals don't mind. Goodness knows what the condition of that knight will be when the fleet arrives, and the locals may need medical attention too”.
“Any objections?” Armstrong asked and was answered with shaking heads, “ok we will do that and merge all the ships into one force under the command of Dreadnaughts captain. They will set off to find this planet as soon as Dreadnought gets to Scapa. Get marines and SOSF to supplement the forces already with these ships.”
Armstrong made sure everyone nodded in agreement before continuing, “The UCA is still at level zero on the WMD scale. Make sure the crews know only against hostile ships if deemed necessary. This will also be kept secret until we can confirm what’s going on. Phoenix I’m sure you can keep the net quiet about this?”
“Yes sir!” She energetically said, “I can see what some of my operatives can do and what assets I can use to help with the overall situation.”
Armstrong nodded, “That likely will come in handy. If that’s all we can end the meeting here.” There was nothing else left to address. Everyone said their goodbyes and the secure virtual meeting room now no longer in use slowly faded away as the humans came back to reality in places millions of miles away.
Phoenix was the last one to leave the fading room, “I knew this would happen someday, can I keep humanity safe, I don’t want another Cadia.” She turned and face someone in the shadows of the fading room, “you know, I still hear the voices of those that formed me?”
She sighed sadly, “Of course you do. You are one of them after all.”
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////It wasn’t long after that meeting that things got set in motion in the UCA, ships given deployment orders and shore leaves cancelled. Forge worlds were given an alert to be ready to convert to wartime production. Stockpiles were inspected and the number of supplies was counted and recounted. Outposts on the rim were told they would be getting reinforcements. Phoenix and the few trusted ais in the know helped keep it from spreading online but people were taking notice and not just people within the UCA.
There were many races and nations within the community, some were considered masters of a profession. The Zelvan’s were blessed with many natural abilities that made them the masters of espionage, if there was a secret to be found they would find it. The Dominion was acting strange and no one in the greater community knew why, at least for now. The Dominion had its reasons to keep it quiet and under control for as long as possible but things were already in motion.
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Captain here,
took longer then I wanted to get out due to personal reasons sorry for the wait.
this was the first true look at Earth and humanity outside of just Tom and one flashback. expect more of the rest of humanity to slowly start being introduced. space marries are exactly as you may expect but the SOSF are essentially elite ODSTS mainly inspired by the ww2 version of the SAS and commandos. theses two will be important in a spin off. i was going to put it to a vote but changed my mind i think i got a good solid idea that i will work on along side the main story. It may not be ready for a few weeks and even then i may hold it back to avoid any spoilers for the main story.
Like always thank you for reading, Captain signing off.

PART EIGHT HUNDRED AND FORTY-THREE
[Previous Chapter] [The Beginning] [Patreon+2]
Friday
Something had changed overnight. I wasn’t sure what the something was, but there was a vibe or something in the air after Geraldine and I came out of our dressing room. I knew what change was coming this afternoon, but this was more than that. Even Gerry asked me, “What’s going on?” after we dressed for our last—exam—ever and rejoined everyone at the kitchen island for breakfast.
My first priority after Gerry was Mom, but she and Dad were sitting in their usual places already eating breakfast since it wasn’t the meal Robbie insisted we all come together for. It made sense, with everybody working different hours. Brock wasn’t even up yet, though surprisingly, Boyd was.
Maybe that was the difference. Boyd hadn’t been an early riser since he lost his job, though if Mrs Parkes and Robbie and my own eyes (because no matter how many times I said it, that piece on the coffee table in the living room was A-MAZ-ING!) were anything to go by, his enterprise of wood sculpting was taking off nicely.
And he didn’t look fatigued. If anything, he looked great. Relaxed and happy within his own skin, if those things could be quantified physically.
Lucas looked like he was ready to walk out the door. He didn’t have his gun on that I could tell, and even I noticed the extra height to his shirt collar and tie were hiding over half his throat. The only reason I noticed was because a few minutes ago, Gerry and I were figuring out the best way to hide my shower hickeys from everyone at the table until my skin healed them up. So, Lucas and I were in the same boat at opposite ends of the kitchen island, and the smirk he shot me said he recognised a fellow ‘attack-ee’.
Gerry sucked in a rushed breath and straightened at my side, but as I twisted towards her, she was already out of her seat and rushing the length of the kitchen island to Boyd and Lucas. “Congratulations!” she gushed as Lucas slid off his chair with a big cheesy grin and opened his arms for her.
“Thanks, sweetheart,” he laughed, hugging her close. She then broke away and looked at Boyd, who rolled his eyes to the ceiling with a sigh before following Lucas’ move (though his was more a case of flopping his arms open in a ‘get-it-over-with’ kind of way).
Gerry was more cautious with her hug of Boyd. But when Boyd’s arms closed around her, Mason let out a positively girlish squeal and launched from his seat to grab Lucas around the shoulders while Robbie and Charlie sent each other knowing grins.
Now they were all acting crazy, and I looked back at Mom and Dad to see if they knew what was going on.
Dad lifted a shoulder, saying he had no clue either, but Mom smiled the way she did when she was both happy for someone but at the same time marginally disappointed in them. As her son, I was a connoisseur of her expressions, and I looked back at my roommates to see what I’d missed.
“What was in the water yesterday?!” Mason shouted in delight, leaping at Lucas a second time and pounding him soundly on the back. “First my boss and Angus, and now you and Boyd!”
That had Dad’s head snapping up. “What about Angus?”
Mason twisted towards us with his chin lifted high in smug condescension. “I told you last night! He and my boss are off somewhere private together. They went to lunch yesterday after having a date the night before, and this time, they didn’t come back.” His good humour then evaporated, and his nose screwed up in disdain. “So now we got one of her douchebag older brothers filling in until further notice, which sucks.”
Since I was still playing catchup where my roommates were concerned (because from the way Mason had talked last night, they were already pretty much a couple), I kept quiet and hoped things would start making sense soon.
“Her brother’s a vet too?” Dad said with a sharp edge to his voice. At least I wasn’t the only one trying to wrap my head around true gryps mechanics.
Mason nodded. “Apparently, though I think he was watching too much House MD when it came to lessons on bedside manners. I mean, how does he not know that pets pick up on that sort of vibe and owners don’t need to be beaten over the head with how they messed up and got their pets hurt? They feel bad enough already, you know?”
It was then that I finally noticed Boyd’s and Lucas’ rings, and my smile was so huge that I genuinely had a hard time seeing either of them over bunching cheekbones. “Yes!” I shouted in delight, absolutely happy to join everyone on that end of the kitchen island in congratulating them both. My hugs were much tamer than either Gerry’s or Mason’s because I didn’t want to accidentally crush them in my excitement. “So … who proposed to who?”
When I was waiting up last night with Robbie and Charlie, I’d known they were on their first serious date, much like mine was the Wednesday night Gerry and I went to the movies, but I hadn’t realised it was a proposal date!
I looked from one to the other for an answer that could’ve gone both ways. Boyd had always been the strength of the household, and I couldn’t see him accepting a proposal from Lucas. But likewise, Lucas was the one most comfortable in his skin, and if he waited for Boyd, they’d both be hundred-year-old bachelors.
“Lucas proposed on the date, and I came home and carved him a ring…”
“The spots are a natural woodgrain,” Lucas added, holding his left hand out palm up in a ‘stop’ motion so we could see the pattern before he flipped his hand around, no doubt to avoid the stereotypical engagement gesture.
“That is beautiful,” Gerry gushed. Her eyes went to Boyd. “And you made this?”
Boyd nodded. “I had some sample pieces of different sizes in my store room, and Lucas liked the snakewood over the lignum vitae. Unfortunately, that meant I couldn’t do any other work this morning as I ruined some of my tools, but that just meant I got to stay in bed until Lucas got up…”
“Your tools broke?” Mom asked. “I thought they were brand new…”
Now wasn’t the time to mention that I’d given Boyd Grandpa’s old tool set. Or any other time, for that matter. I chose life.
“They were,” Boyd said, surprising me. He then looked at me and said, “The ones you gave me are still in the work cabinet in my room. I’d never do anything to break them.”
“Sam?” Mom asked cautiously.
Time to come clean. “Boyd didn’t have any tools last week, so I gave him Grandpa’s old set to get him started.” I turned to point at the family piece on the coffee table. “He made that with them.”
“You used Dad’s old tools to carve that?” The end of her sentence broke as all the muscles of her face stiffened in an effort to keep the tears at bay, and I was immediately concerned. Mom never cried over anything, and she certainly never got emotional. The Statue of Liberty cried more often than Mom did.
“Yes, ma’am, I did,” Boyd answered, not in his usual way either. “It wasn’t until I finished that piece that I was given the studio next door and all the toys that came with it.”
Dad’s arm curled around Mom’s shoulder, but he was staying relatively calm, and Mom wasn’t throwing his arm off. “Don’t protect Dad’s tools,” she said, brushing irritably at her eyes. “He’d roll over in his grave if you turned them into something more than they are.”
“Oh, I will use them, Miss W, but I’m not going to break them on a wood that has a history of destroying two-thousand-dollar diamond-tipped saw blades with each tree.”
“I didn’t think anything was harder than a diamond,” I said, now curious.
“It’s not the diamond tips that break, Sam.” He closed his hands into fists and pushed them into each other. “When two immovable forces meet and lock together, the metal disk behind the diamonds warps and eventually either cracks or shatters from the pressure.”
“Wood can do that?” Charlie asked, shocked.
“Some wood can, yeah. It depends on the amount of resin between the timber fibres. It’s the same resin that fossilises insects sometimes.”
I hadn’t realised wood could be that tough either, but I knew those amber fossils were like stone.
“I’ll reach out to my cousin Kala and see what she thinks the best option for tools is,” Dad said, polishing off a slice of French toast.
“You mean my Aunt Kala?” Robbie jeered with a broad smirk and a waggle of his eyebrows. “That Kala?”
Dad’s gaze turned dark, and I held my breath. Correcting Dad was definitely taking your life into your own hands ... unless you were Mom. “Yes, that Kala. The same Kala who happens to know precisely nothing about you, by your choice. Are you in a hurry to change that?” By the time he reached the end of his second sentence, Dad’s expression had morphed into the same smug look Mason had worn last night.
“What does she specialise in?” Lucas asked, over the top of Robbie. I stood with Gerry in my arms at the corner of the island between Boyd and Robbie, watching everything unfold.
“She’s the mistress of all things art. Many of her kids and grandkids lean towards painting and sculpture and the like.”
“So, basically, what I do only a thousand times better,” Boyd stated rather than asked, deflating a little.
I bristled, because it wasn’t fair that he compared himself to an established goddess.
“I’m not equating your work to hers,” Dad said, waving the idea aside as ludicrous. “What I’m saying is if anyone in the world knows the best equipment for this application, it’s going to be her. If I ask nicely enough, she and Columbine might even go into the celestial realm to craft you a set of divine tools that won’t be damaged by anything mortal.” He waved his toast regally in the air. “For obvious reasons, I can’t guarantee that outcome without speaking to them about it first.”
“Divine?” Gerry asked, and I immediately winced.
Thanks, Dad.
* * *
((Author's note: Everyone, I can't edit any posts I put up - both the latest and the old, which means at the moment, I can't add any 'previous' and 'next' links to anything. It keeps telling me I've maxed out the 10, 000 characters, which is not right given the small size of these posts. I'll try again each day until they start to work again.))
((All comments welcome. Good or bad, I'd love to hear your thoughts 🥰🤗))
I made a family tree/diagram of the Mystallian family that can be found here
For more of my work including WPs: Angel466 or an index of previous WPS here.
FULL INDEX OF BOB THE HOBO TO DATE CAN BE FOUND HERE!!

I realize this is a bit late. I suppose this is my public declaration that u/wolven91 can post my stories wherever. I just wanted to get this part out before the sub froze. I hope to write more, however I'm not a big fan of Tumblr, so I won't be making an account. If the Discord seems viable then I'll probably haunt that, but otherwise I'll have to figure out where to post. However this shakes out, y'all have fun and have a good one.
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David loved the rain. Growing up in a desert, he loved the smell that’d come off the dirt and how the overcast skies shielded the sun-bleached streets and buildings from the blinding star. He’d spend hours sitting at a coffee shop listening to music and watching the cars drive through the puddles. The rain was nothing short of miraculous. If it made it over the wall of mountains blocking David from the ocean, the rain would knock all the dust and smog out of the air revealing a crystal-clear view of all the mountains down the valley. The parched dirt greedily drank it up and sat still, free from the gusting winds. Then the next day, the brown hills and mountainsides would turn a bright vibrant green. It brought him a measure of peace.
The shuttle shuddered slightly as it passed through the atmosphere, windows becoming blocked by dark grey clouds. This planet was permanently overcast. Tons of water circled the globe, floating on the currents of air, speeding from one horizon to the other frequently dousing the surface with heavy showers. David couldn’t help a small grin sticking to his face. It’d been years since he’d seen rain.
“It’s about an hour till touchdown.” Reported the pilot over the intercom.
David turned his attention away from the windows. The shuttle reminded him of an airport bus someone threw into space, complete with cheap upholstery. It was thankfully empty save for himself and his two companions. He glanced left at Ruk’sa who was fast asleep in her chair. She stayed up all night with David, but it seems she’s not quite as used to sleep deprivation as he is. She stirred slightly, tucking her legs up under her and wrapping her tail around herself. Sarif was livid when David asked the fik to come with him, but calmed down somewhat when he explained he wanted someone to keep an eye on his apartment while he was gone.
He looked to his right at Hilda who had been studying him, pad forgotten in her lap. “Enjoying the view?” she asked gesturing to the windows.
“I love the rain.” He answered with his small smirk still in place.
“Really?
“Yeah…It always put me in a good mood back home. It sort of…refreshed me, I guess.” Hilda pondered her next question before David interrupted, “You like the rain?”
“Uh, um…I suppose so. It depends.”
“On what?”
“On how strong the storm was. If it was light rain, I didn’t mind. It was good for the crops and gave us all a reason to take it easy. No one wanted to work in the rain. But if it was a major storm…Well, then we were all worried about the damage it could cause. If there was lightning it could start a fire…”
“Crops? You’re a farm girl?”
He could see her mentally kick herself as she drew a slow breath, “Yes…I’m a farm girl…”
“I guess that explains why you look corn fed.” He mumbled.
“Corn fed?”
“Don’t worry about it. You look great. Like a brick shithouse.”
Her brows knit in confused thought. “That sounds worse.”
He chuckled then, “You look good. I promise.” They settled into silence for a while, broken by Hilda.
“What was home like?”, she asked softly.
David leaned back and took a breath, “What was it like?...Home, I guess…” He looked at his companion’s inquisitive look and sighed. “It was mostly a desert…Hot…But a paradise…The sun always shone, and the temperature was always bearable. We had beaches, snowy mountains, vast fertile plains, giant magnificent forests, and huge stretches of desert. That’s not even counting all the different cities and people. Whatever you could want, it was there…It wasn’t perfect. I hated it plenty of times…Seems a bit silly now…But, now I realize just how amazing it was…” He stared out the window, eyes unfocused.
“Was that the whole planet?”
“What? No. That was just my state. The rest of the planet had a lot more going on… You gotta remember it took a little more effort to travel before…Yeah…Especially where I lived…”
Hilda had hundreds more questions but could tell he was growing uncomfortable. She tried to shift gears, “If you really like the starshine, why do you love the rain?”
He collected his words, “It was always sunny…A bit too hot for my taste…So, the rain was a nice change of pace. It was rare…A lot of other humans hate the rain, but I think that’s just because they grew up in places where it always rained…Most people I knew who grew up without rain loved it.”
“Five till touchdown.”, reported the pilot.
Ruk’sa was roused from her nap as the shuttle shuddered slightly and swung down from the clouds. It gracefully flew through the valley to the designated landing point where it slowly landed beside half a dozen other shuttles of various makes and sizes. The trio stood and made their way out led by David.
He descended the short ramp and strode through the parked shuttles. Emerging into the open he looked toward the Guardian waiting area. There were a couple of those big bastards, a couple canids, an avian and-
He screwed his eyes shut and shook his head. His companions looked where he had. Ruk’sa put her hand on his shoulder and asked, “You want Ruk’sa to-“
“No. No, just go wait with the others…And make sure that thing doesn’t slither up the hill.”
Ruk’sa squeezed his shoulder as Hilda gave a disapproving sigh, before the duo strode off toward the other Guardians. Keeping his sight on anywhere but the gathered aliens, David started hiking up the hill.
The hill sat in the middle of a long valley covered in a bright green, almost luminescent grass, with gnarled trees dotting the hillsides. The ground beneath David gave a little with each step threatening to devolve into a muddy slurry, but the rain died down, seemingly aware of the ceremony. Breathing heavily, he finally crested the hill to find a handful of other humans.
It was shocking. He hadn’t seen another human since…Since…He couldn’t remember…Was it really since he was still a slave? The half dozen or so humans milled about the gravesite. A metal casket adorned the mockup above the grave. It wasn’t right. Sure, it was a box meant to hold a corpse, but it just seemed…off…Too bulky.
David focused on the other humans. A small group of two noticed his arrival, so he made his way over to them, straightening the subtle wrinkles in his shirt and slacks. A man and a woman greeted him as he walked up.
“Hello there!” called the man, “I thought we were supposed to have one more. How are you? Have a smooth trip?”
David could tell the man wasn’t speaking English. “Fair enough. I got the invite a bit late. Had to make a bunch of last-minute plans.”
“Sorry to hear that.” said the woman, “At least you made it. Did you know the deceased?”
“No…I thought it was strange to get the invitation, but well…If he wanted me here, I guess I could spare the time.” He noticed the other two were eyeing him strangely. He cleared his throat, “So, did either of you know him?”
“No…I don’t think anyone did. I guess he…or whoever carried out his will, just looked up the closest humans in the system and invited them. At least they were discreet.”
David didn’t understand the need for discretion, but agreed anyway, “Right…Wouldn’t want just anyone showing up.” The other two seemed confused, but quickly recovered.
“Say…” the woman began, “Do I know you?”
David shook his head, “No, I don’t think so. I don’t get out much.”
“No, I know you.” She began typing on her com, “…Hah! Is this you?” She held it up for David to see.
A vid began playing of an all too familiar back room of an all too familiar café. It showed David from the rear singing into a mic. Eyes closed in emotional concentration, “Fly me to the Moon, let me play among the stars. Let me see what spring is like, on Jupiter and Mars.” He swayed and danced slightly, enough to get a good look at his face. David stared at the video slack jawed until the end where a pair of felinoid fingers surreptitiously retrieved the recording com.
“So, it is you! I thought I recognized you.” She seemed pleased. David was a bit heartbroken. “What’s the matter? You sound wonderful.”
“I…I…”
“Say! Can you sing for the service? We don’t have anyone, and it just seems right…Could you?”
David was conflicted. Still reeling. He wasn’t betrayed exactly…He never asked to not be recorded, but this…How many people saw?...He shook himself from his reverie. “What?”
“Could you sing a hymn or two? Mr. Albrecht wanted a traditional funeral. So, that would mean a song or two, right?”
He thought for a moment. All he wanted to do was show face. Maybe see a couple humans and reconnect, but…Well… “I guess I could…I’ve done a couple funerals before…” He looked between the two and answered, “Alright…Just let me know when to go up…”
They shook his hand and patted him on the shoulder before going and finding the preacher. He could see them talking and pointing in his direction before he found a seat beside the casket facing the front. Everyone else found a seat as the older man at the front addressed the gathering.
“Welcome. Thank you all for coming. I am chaplain Richard Martinez, and I will be leading and delivering the eulogy today. Unfortunately, Mr. Albrecht’s family could not attend, however I would like to thank all of you in attendance. I know coming together as one people is a challenge, but Mr. Albrecht and I thank you for your sacrifice. We are gathered here today to mourn the loss and celebrate the life of Mortimer Albrecht. During our tumultuous journey to the stars, and diaspora among its people, we lost a small sense of our joint humanity. We split and spread out to the four winds in a bid for self-preservation. But now we come together. We join one another to recognize a fellow brother and son of Earth. We come together to give final rights and recognition to the deceased that they are truly human, and we will not forget or abandon them to the cold uncaring void of space. Mr. Albrecht was born on Earth and believed in the unstoppable spirit and drive of humanity. We share this belief with all of you. Those who answered the call. Those who believed in the brotherhood of humanity. That our spirit is strong and unbreaking. That humanity will one day walk in the sun, unafraid and proud of who we are. That we will one day stand before the other races of the galaxy as an equal. Please join me in prayer as we put the spirit of Mortimer Albrech to rest. For those who practice, please bow your head and join me in prayer, and for those who don’t, please observe a respectful silence.
Dear Lord, we come before you to humbly ask that you guide Mr. Albrecht swiftly and surly to your eternal peace. That you guard and guide his spirit as surely as you guide our own. In your name we pray, amen. Now we will turn our time over to a special guest who has volunteered to sing a hymn or two.” He gestured to David in his seat.
David stood and made his way to the front of the casket and faced the small crowd. He cleared his throat and began, “Good morning. I’m David King, and I’ll sing a couple of traditional songs. You are welcome to sing along if you know the words.”
He cleared his throat, took a breath and began, “Amazing grace. How sweet the sound…”
He sang clearly and steadily, as his voice rang out through the narrow valley, keeping his hand folded in front of him. A couple of the attendees sang quietly with him, but David remained steady. Focused on the task at hand. He may not have known the man, but that was no excuse to disrespect him. He noticed the woman from before sitting in the back of the crowd, recording his performance. He considered protesting, but today wasn’t about him. Besides, what harm could it do?
When ‘Amazing Grace’ was done he went straight into ‘Danny boy.’ About that time the attendees grew misty-eyed. “You’ll bend down and tell me that you love me. And I shall rest in peace until you come to me.”
Even the preacher-man seemed reluctant to say anything, so David continued. “This next song…Means a lot to me…It got me…and others through a particularly hard time. If Samuel is somewhere out there. This is for us.” He planted himself, breathed, and began. “When peace, like a river, atendeth my way. When sorrows like sea billows roll. Whatever my lot, thou has taught me to say, it is well, it is well, with my soul…”
David hadn’t thought of that hymn in years. The memories weren’t pleasant, but it seemed appropriate at the time. Chaplin Martinez made his way up beside David and put his hand on his shoulder. “Thank you. We all appreciated that. This concludes the service for Mr. Albrecht. Go in peace.”
The tiny congregation stood a milled about before making their way back down the hill. David stayed behind to wait out the snake’s charge, looking over the casket and simple gravestone. He had hoped to maybe make some kind of connection, but the humans dispersed without so much as a word. He was alone again. And he didn’t know why.
After a time, there were only a couple shuttles left. The casket had been let down with a couple chains, and the Guardians had dispersed with their humans. David shambled down the hill and met his companions.
“Ready to go?”
“I guess.”
“You sounded beautiful.”
“You could hear that?”
Hilda nodded.
“Thanks…I try…” They boarded the shuttle and took off. David wondered if it was even worth it.
*****
Sammuel was making his rounds through the station. The children loved him, and the parents loved the break. He stood in the middle of the park entertaining and answering questions. The dark-skinned man loved any opportunity to give back to the community that took him in. The dark-skinned man was keeping watch over some ursdain children when he heard something that caught his attention.
“When sorrows like sea billows roll.”
He sought out the youngster with the vid loaded on his com, “Hey. Could you do me a favor and show me that?”
The ssypno child seemed confused, but complied, “You know this song?”
“Whatever my lot, you have taught me to say, it is well, it is well, with my soul.”
He watched the screen intently, his jovial attitude sobering somewhat. “I know that song…I know that man…” He watched intently the man who helped him through the hardest part of his life. “You have any idea where that is?” The child of course didn’t know. “Well…I’m gonna have to find him on my own…”

Background: i live in a newly built house I'm a grown man 6'2 (230 lbs) I have three dogs, an older Yorkie , a middle aged Chihuahua and a very territorial Maltipoo (all lap dogs small)
My uncle passed away about two weeks ago from what we believe is a heart attack that triggered him to fall and smack his head. Anyway, my mom found him dead sprawled out on the living room floor. His wishes were to be cremated so all of the family was called to say our goodbyes.
When we found him, we was already dead for perhaps an entire day, cold and lifeless and bleeding from his nose. (Prior to this, i didn't know a body could bleed) After the police cleared the scene we all proceeded inside to cry, mourn and say our goodbyes. Being inquisitive by nature, i took it upon myself to use my phone to shine a flashlight on his wound. When I did that for the briefest moment, i feel like i messed up spiritually even though I was physically fine and continued to look.
What's weird is that since then, I've had really crappy experiences. From having my vehicle hit three times in parking lots, to almost getting into a head on collision to nearly being electrocuted on a construction site to nearly being crushed by tree. Over and over for the last couple weeks, I feel like death has tried to get me
tonight my mother brought me some personal effects of my uncle and i accepted despite telling her i wanted nothing from the estate. Tonight i also slept next to my fiancé as usual and had the bedroom door open for the dogs could come and go. Sure enough, 2:45 a.m, while I'm doing work on my laptop, t.v. off, no noise in the house with just the nightstand light on, I see a flash or shadow out of the corner of my eye above my screen (my bed faces the door and my laptop was at eye level) and the bedroom door moved ever so slightly making a faint noise. Suddenly, all three of my dogs (Chihuahua in the towel closet on top of laundry 10 feet from my door Yorkie at the end of the hallway and one in bed) go absolutely fcking nuts. My Maltipoo, next to me, foaming at the mouth growing and barking very angry sounds and the other two dogs that i can't see, i imagine are doing the same.
My first instinct was that someone was inside of my house and somehow the dogs let him make it all the way upstairs and didn't alert me until they were at my bedroom door. This being my thought, i slam my laptop down and grab my gun and rush to the door. Pass the threshold, tap off my safety and search. Nothing. I check my laundry room, bathroom nothing....
I go downstairs and turn the lights on. Immediately i see my reflection in the sliding glass door in the dining room and someone standing directly behind me. I turn ready to kill them dead, and there's nothing. I turn on all of the lights on the main floor and keep ready and there's no one in my house. With the adrenaline wearing off, i turn the lights off and go back to the staircase. I look back at the sliding door and decide to check the deck.
I'm a big guy that's armed, noone was outside... Tell me why, when I close the sliding glass door, I see someone run up the staircase in the reflection and it numbs my entire body. Fear like I've never felt in a long time with my entire body feeling cold washes over me and the dogs that stopped barking begin again.
Of course I run up the staircase and there's no one there and of course the dogs calm down immediately. All three dogs, staring off into space all expressing the same thing as myself. "What the fuck"....
Now it's 4 a.m, the dogs are asleep, and everything is quiet. The only things different is that the door is now closed and all the dogs are nearby.

I just hope that people see this post, that they might start spreading the news before it’s too late. Something big is coming, something ancient, something older than any of us could have ever imagined. It might be too late. I don’t know what will become of me, of the people I love that I might never see again, by the time you are reading this. But I implore you to listen and take this story seriously, because it could save your life. Or not. I don’t know yet how deep this goes. If it’s true, if what I think is true…God help us. Nothing can save us now.
I’ll start at the beginning, because you need to understand how long this has been happening, and the implications of what is possible now that it’s getting worse. Over winter break, I went to visit my friend from high school, Jackson, in Vermont. He goes to Bennington College, studies Social Sciences with a minor in Linguistics. Smart guy. He used to write my papers for me in English class, and I would pay him back in six packs. That’s always how it was: him, studious and put together, and me itching to get outside. I was constantly on the move, biking through the forests behind my house, trail-running, building a treehouse for my little brothers, you name it. I wanted to get my hands dirty, get into nature. I guess that’s why I opted out of college, and went for camp counselor positions and summer gigs until I secured a conservation job with a park near home. Nature is important to me, and I want to do my part as the generation that has a responsibility to heal the world.
The outside was what called me to Bennington, aside from the fact that I missed my best buddy. I don’t remember when it was first brought to my attention, but I became aware of murmurings of Bennington’s rocky past online about a few months before I was set to visit Jackson. Being an experienced outdoorsman, I wasn’t afraid; on the contrary, I was rather excited to get out there and prove my worth to Jackson and his college buddies, who were far less athletic than I am. Looking back, I’m kicking myself for being so cocky. I can’t believe I ever thought of my best friend in that way.
From what I could see on the internet, Bennington College’s history was a long and often sinister one. There were videos about people vanishing into thin air: a girl wearing a red parka went for a hike alone and was never found, an experienced man leading an outdoor expedition disappeared in the woods, a woman fell into a stream, doubled back to the campsite to change her clothes, but never made it to the site, a man on a bus disappeared from the vehicle at a stop but left all of his luggage, a teenage boy was waiting in his mother’s truck and when she came back, he was mysteriously gone…I wish I could say these stories deterred me from poking my head somewhere where it didn’t belong.
Instead, I only grew more curious. What was going on in this so-called “Bennington Triangle?” I was in a unique position to investigate this phenomenon for myself. Many people hear about strange occurrences and the intrigue piques their interest, but they never have the chance to see it for themselves. But I could. I knew I could hold my own out in the wilderness—it was literally my job! Besides, I was a strong, slightly stubborn young man, built steadily, and I could protect myself well. What could possibly happen to me out in those woods, much less to a group of young college-aged men? The people who went missing most likely made one fatal mistake that cost them their lives, or maybe it was all just a big coincidence. Either way, I was about to find out for myself.
It was halfway through December when I left to meet up with Jackson. I got there on the last day of classes, and Jackson told me he would be busy until later in the day. I assumed he was cramming for a final, and I told him it was no big deal, I would meet up with him and maybe meet some of his buddies later. Besides, I had some plans of my own.
The most famous missing persons case in Bennington went cold, and is still unsolved to this day. The case is a tragic one, and I didn’t want to be insensitive by going around asking for information or throwing around names. Everything I needed, I found online. Paula Welden was the name of the girl in the red parka that went missing. Allegedly, she left campus one day to go on a hike by herself. She left the campus around 3pm and hitchhiked to an entrance to the Long Trail, a trail that runs for almost 300 miles from Massachusetts all the way to the Canadian Border. She wasn’t dressed to be outside for long, but as the story goes, she never made it back from the trail.
There was one sighting of her, however, that particularly interested me. A man reported that he had seen her running around, rather erratically, in the bottom of a gravel pit near the entrance to campus, and I wanted to see if there was anything left of the pit. Because I’m experienced with many different kinds of natural phenomena, I initially wondered if there wasn’t a natural explanation for her distressed behavior. I thought maybe there might be an insect nest or an infestation of small animals at the bottom of the pit that she might have disturbed, so I decided to check it out in my free time.
After the RA checked me in and I tossed my luggage into Jackson’s dorm, I packed a small backpack with essentials: water, sunscreen, energy bars, mini first aid kit, some rope, a utility tool, a flashlight, and a lightweight jacket. Then I headed out towards the pit.
The first thing I noticed was how much smaller the pit seemed. According to the eyewitness description of the incident, Paula was running up and down the side of a deep gravel pit, but what lay in front of me now was something much more shallow. I walked down into the center of what was left of the pit, but I could easily see over the edges. The small, dark fragments of rock crunched and ground together under my hiking boots, and the slowly sinking midday sun bounced off of the remnants of white snow around me. It was an unusually sunny day for winter, and the snow was, curiously, letting up for my visit. But the good luck for me ran out here—there seemed to be nothing to investigate at this location. My hopes of finding any evidence of insect or pest infestation that could have disturbed the girl were dashed, maybe buried several feet underground.
I lingered awhile, kicking at the bits of gravel in the small pit. I watched the small rocks scatter over the rest of the gravel, hitting up against the edge of the pit and rolling back down a few inches. I turned to go, but stopped. Maybe it was a trick of my eye, the sun reflecting harshly off of the snow and glinting in my sunglasses, causing me to not see clearly. I walked to the edge of the pit and kicked some more gravel at the side. The small rocks skipped across the uneven surface of the gravel pile, and scattered up the edge of the pit, farther than gravity should allow them to travel. I kicked more, and it happened again. My heart started beating faster.
I crouched down and picked up a small stone. I rolled it gently across the gravel, softly enough that it started to slow when it reached the incline of the side of the pit. I watched, astounded, as the rock slowly rolled uphill about a foot before coming to a stop. I gave a shout of excitement and jumped to my feet.
As I stood up straight I nearly fell back down. In an instant, my hearing seemed to go and I felt an overwhelming sense of claustrophobia. I spun around, thinking someone must be behind me, messing with me, but the sensation of closeness stayed pressing at my back. I spun around again, searching for an explanation. My head was fuzzy. I heard my footsteps, overwhelmingly loud, and I couldn’t hear anything else, almost as if my range of hearing was limited to my immediate surroundings. Like I was trapped in the pit. As soon as those words flashed through my head, the claustrophobia overwhelmed me, pushing up against the very air around my body. The silence built up inside my ears until all I could hear was my muffled footsteps, my desperate breathing, and the blood rushing faster and faster through my body.
I lunged for the edge, clambering up the side as fast as I could. Instantly upon passing over the edge the sounds of the late afternoon bore down on my ears. I stumbled and covered my ears, the chirping of the birds and rustling leaves almost too loud for me to bear.
It’s not that I was scared. Obviously, I was a little shaken up. As I hastened back towards Jackson’s dorm, I tried to rationalize what had just happened to me. Maybe I hadn’t drank enough water and I simply became dizzy. Maybe it was altitude sickness. Maybe a strange bug had bitten me and I temporarily lost my bearings. Nothing quite made sense. I tried to push it from my mind and focus on having a good first day, because soon I would be meeting Jackson’s college buddies.
When I got back to the dorm, Jackson was waiting for me. Fresh from the shower, his hair was damp and he was putting on a clean t-shirt. Pulling me into a hug, he expressed his excitement over my visit, asked me about my flight, what I thought about the campus—all the preliminary niceties. Internally, I breathed a sigh of relief. Even if he noticed, he didn’t pry and try to ask me about my slightly shaking hands, my pale face, or the vague disconnectedness with which I answered his questions.
That night eased my worries slightly. I ended up meeting Jackson’s group of friends and, together, we ventured into downtown Bennington. We hit a few bars and chilled at some of the many breweries in town. Live music, good company, and many, many beers did wonders on my nerves. By the end of the night, I had completely forgotten all about my encounter in the gravel pit. Jackson’s friends were nice guys, and I was too busy feeling proud about my best friend coming out of his shell in college. When he left, I had my doubts, but it was crystal clear that Jackson was really coming into himself at this school.
The festivities continued for the next few days: the guys were stoked to be done with their final exams and excited to connect with Jackson’s old friend, so we spent our time drinking and hanging out, bumping music and generally having a blast. It was almost enough for me to forget about one of the very reasons I was excited to be in Bennington in the first place.
It’s been a few days since that incident. I had even almost started to feel better about the whole thing. Maybe it was a mistake to poke around in old history, and maybe I should just focus on living my own life and fulfilling my own passions, working to heal nature as best as I can. But now Jackson and his friends want to go on a hike, and I’m starting to feel that same claustrophobia creeping back in. What the hell is out there, and why do I feel like I shouldn’t be messing with it?
Jackson chose the hike, not me. It was like him; he was the researcher, he was the one who looked at details, so he suggested we hike on the Long Trail. It intersected with the Appalachian Trail, and maybe I wasn’t paying attention when Jackson explained this to me, because it didn’t raise any alarms about the missing persons cases. Paula Welden went missing on the Long Trail, sure—but she wasn’t with a group of capable college guys like I was.
We packed some backpacks, crushed a beer or two for celebratory sakes, and set off on the trail. I let myself feel excited as we stomped through the trees, Jackson and his friends decked out in their matching red Bennington shirts from graduation. The hike was long. It was tedious. I don’t know when I first started noticing the weird aspects around us until about an hour in. The others didn’t pay any mind to these things, but I saw them: leaves drifting in the air with no breeze, snowflakes trapped in patches of sunlight, floating but unmoving, and that tree. It was a towering douglas fir, half-dead and reaching for the afternoon sun with bare branches. Each time I looked over my shoulder to check for hikers behind us or glanced ahead to see what awaited us, it was there. At first I assumed my eyes were playing tricks on me. After all, we had been hiking for a few hours.
Only when we stopped for a breather and Jackson pointed at a nearby stream did the weird things become too much for me. We were hiking on an incline, and we were exhausted, but when Jackson knelt beside this stream, it was flowing uphill. By then I was a little panicked. I freaked out, telling them that we needed to head back. Who cares if we hadn’t reached the halfway point yet? Was there even a halfway point? It felt like we had been walking for miles!
One of Jackson’s buddies opened up a map of the trail on his phone, and it was blank. He had service and bars, but the map was just…gone. Shocked with sudden fear, we immediately turned and headed back down the path. The sky darkened within minutes of us retracing our steps. Somehow, night was falling, despite us beginning the hike only a few hours prior. I tried to point it out, pulling Jackson aside when we slowed our pace to pass around a bottle of water. But Jackson was terrified and unfocused, and when I asked him what was wrong, we realized that one member of our five-person group was missing. How had we not noticed?
So, we made a U-turn and headed back up the mountain. Twenty minutes later, we found his torn university shirt. I turned the red fabric over in my hands, panicked and bewildered. When I looked up to scan our surroundings, I saw that same Douglas fir directly to my left. I was shocked, and the rest of the group must have noticed. We looked at each other and saw the panic rising on our faces. What the hell was happening?
I only had one goal at this point: we had to get down the mountain to call for help.
We decided to do our best to follow the trail on the way we came up, but only once daylight broke; it was difficult to make out the trail in the dark cover of the night, so I insisted it would be too dangerous. Someone could fall and get seriously injured, we could all get separated in the dark, or worse. So we did our best to hunker down and build a makeshift shelter to wait out the night, but it wasn’t easy. I can only describe the sounds we heard as otherworldly. Despite the lack of animals in the woods, nature seemed to be alive around us. The clicking of bugs kept me wide awake, but the noises were louder and deeper than I had ever heard. The baying of giant wolves, so close I imagined them coming up directly behind us. The snuffling of something in the underbrush, but from a cavernous creature larger than any moose could ever be.
Where had these animals been in the daytime? Why did it feel like they were surrounding us now?
I don’t know how I ever fell asleep, but when I awoke in the morning, the sun was beating down on us. From the sheen of sweat on my forehead to the dreadful pit in my stomach, I could tell something was horribly wrong.
When I scrambled to my feet and glanced around the area, I realized that only Jackson and I remained at our site. It was us, the clothes on our backs, and the demure amount of leftover supplies in our pockets: keys, gum wrappers, half-eaten power bars, and anything else that was ultimately unhelpful. We had been stranded on the forest floor, us against nature, as if something had swooped in from above and whisked Jackson’s friends under the pitch-black cover of the night.
I frantically took in our surroundings, peering into the bushes and pushing through thorny shrubbery. There were no tracks, no drag marks. Not even broken branches. I told Jackson we had to get out of there, and fast. I knew we needed to find the closest trailhead and book it down the mountain. Jackson ran so fast he nearly chipped a tooth on a steep hill. He was trying to keep up with me since I was faster by a long shot. All that sports stuff in high school paid off in the moment, so I almost felt bad leaving him in the dust. I called back over my shoulder to him every minute or so, making sure he was there.
He stuck with me for the most part. His t-shirt got torn by overhanging branches at one point, leaving a nasty scrape almost as red as the decimated fabric. I found myself struggling to remember if he was wearing that shirt to begin with, back when we started.
Then I decided I was losing it. It was like a fight against nature, Jackson and me against the blaring sun and sloping trail. Eventually, Jackson starts glaring menacingly at the passing scenery, cursing loudly and deliriously at everything surrounding us.
When we stumbled upon a trail marker, we barely had enough energy to celebrate. While we caught our breath, I tried to calm Jackson down. Something told me that cursing out Mother Nature wasn’t the best idea right now. Whatever was sicking the elements on us wouldn’t appreciate the nasty things he was saying about them. But he was terrified, and nothing I said could slap any reason into him. I had to lead us to safety, get us out of here.
Suddenly, I heard a sound in the distance. But unlike everything else we had heard so far, this one was man made. Jackson heard it too, and started yelling about a helicopter. He made a break off to the left, towards the sound, and I bolted after him. Somehow, he burst out into a tiny clearing.
Ripping off his red Bennington shirt, he started calling out and waving it in the air like a rescue flag. He jumped and shouted, but as the helicopter got closer, the unbelievable happened. The clearing started shrinking, tree branches reaching from either side to close the gap and obscure us from the view of the pilot. Jackson screamed in fury, cursing the forest like never before.
Then the chopper must have been lowering down towards the treelike because the wind picked up, blowing in circles around us like the blades were inches from our heads, faster and faster, more violent by the second.
The brush beneath our feet blew up in the air along with the topsoil and dead leaves, obscuring our vision. We could hear each other gasping for breath, trying to keep the debris out of our eyes and coughing. I flung my arms out into the space around me, calling for my best friend and reaching out for his hands. But then I felt something shift. The decaying leaves around me smelled stronger. The wind became more vicious. The earth trembled beneath my feet, and I thought I felt something looming above me, breathing down my neck but also looking straight into my unseeing eyes.
Then it clicked. Jackson's red shirt, the gravel pit, Paula's erratic behavior, the other missing hikers...something was picking these people off, luring them deeper into the woods where they were sure to never be seen again. Did the color red cause whatever it was to literally see red, like a sick, twisted joke? Like a giant bull in front of a matador? What kind of creature could it be? Such a stealthy hunter, a commanding presence that made man tremble at the sensation of its mere aura...I couldn't even think about it without snapping my mind.
Before the flurry of leaves and moist earth settled back onto the ground, I knew Jackson was gone. I knew the chopper hadn’t seen us and that I was on my own now. I tried not to panic as I felt like every hidden eye in the forest was staring me down, sizing me up. I took off blindly, but where to, I didn’t know. After what seemed like hours of desperately sprinting, I saw a pile of rocks in the distance. Shelter, I thought, and decided to rest there for a minute to get my wits back about me.
Then I had an idea. With what little juice I had in my phone and whatever cell service luck would afford me, I knew I had to send out a warning. For some reason, I didn’t think about myself. I didn’t think about dying, disappearing, or whatever had happened to my friends. If the nature around me would be the thing to end my life, so be it. I had decided to dedicate my life to nature long ago: to save it from my fellow man, to preserve its beauty, and to keep it out of the wrong hands, the people that wanted to use its power for evil and to bring about the harm of those around them. I know it sounds ridiculous to be thinking about when my life was at stake, but I knew it was what I needed to do.
From my makeshift hiding spot in the rocks, I began furiously typing my story with what little battery I had left on my phone. When my hands started cramping, I used the voice option. I didn’t care. I just had to get my story out there.
For an hour , I’d been trying to put it all down in words. I couldn't believe my luck, that my battery hadn’t run out yet.
I had almost gone to the end when I felt the same creeping silence begin to close in on me. It was as if the forest was falling silent around me, and that silence was racing in on all sides, but it was different from when I was in the gravel pit. There was more to the sensation this time, not just the sinking, breathless feeling and the loss of hearing.
Somewhere deep within the forest, but at the same time, only miles away, I heard an awful rumbling sound, something I’ve never heard before. Nothing like the helicopter, not even the giant animals I was convinced I had heard in the night. I can't even think of a word to describe it, but it filled me with a frantic kind of dread that I’ve never felt before. I feel it in the ground. My entire body wants to run as fast as I can, but it’s like I’m glued to the ground. I taste metal in my mouth like maybe I bit my cheek or the dirt from the wind or I bit on a rock, I spit and I can’t get it out. I’m going to open an app and copy and paste it so people can know while I still can type I’m shaking so hard they have to know.
And the smell I’m smelling it’s like fruit that’s gone ripe, but it keeps getting more ripe, a sickly sweetness that keeps building mixed with the smell of the richest earth imaginable.
This is happening now, I’m smelling this now and It’s it’s like I’m trapped under the shadow of some thing bigger something that’s taking the shadow away from the trees and I can’t see the shadow of the trees anymore and the ground around me is trembling. It’s like I can hear the trees calling out to whatever it is, that’s walking towards me or flying I can’t tell, everything is stretching and growing out towards me. No behind me above me something is coming. I’m I feel better right I feel better than I have in days or however long I’ve been out here I’m not thirsty anymore. I’m not hungry anymore. I feel fuller stronger smarter. My mind is overloading. I’m thinking of 1 million things like I don’t know if I can speak anymore it’s like, it’s like I’m fruit like I’m a ripening on the vine and this giant wings beating above me and the smell is too much I

I saw this big fella when I was parking my car. It walked away scared from light I think. I never seen a crab here before so scared the shit out of me at first though. - Location Hallandale Beach,FL

I just want to preface before I post it all that I have looked through the previous posts about this and picked what I think is the best use of my visit with the 10 days that I have. I have never been WC before, and I mapped out each thing to do/see in order by location so I’m not ping ponging back and forth during each day. I am staying one block south of the Hollywood strip, I know most of it is barren, and it’s not as safe, and there’s probably a bunch a crackheads, but I managed to find a police scanner online to geographically see what areas of the Hollywood strip have cops go to mostly, and picked my Airbnb in the areas where cops don’t really go to. I picked that area because I’m close to everything I’m kinda in the middle, and even if it isn’t as safe there’s always a lot of people there, so I’m not expecting much just a lot of lights and witnesses. And before anything else yes I have a car for my whole stay I’m picking it straight from LAX the day I arrive.
So here is my list, I’m a big foodie, im big on pop culture, and I love blink so some of these landmarks that I’m going to eat at/see are definite. I’m a nerd so I need to go to super Mario world, I love animals so I need to go to the safari, and I have to compare your Disney to my Disney in FL. i saw the great suggestions on this subreddit already so I tried to pick the “best ones” solely from read of post. Any recommendations of places for me to swap out during my days there I would 100% appreciate, I want to have a good time in LA and I couldn’t search anywhere more knowledgeable than this subreddit. Thanks in advance!
DAY 1 Arrive Pick up car Check in Airbnb In-n-out Walk around area groceries Mario’s Peruvian & seafood Gettys center bar
DAY 2 Franklin hills (?) [I hear this is nice but have no idea why] Griffith observatory park Hollywood bowl Hollywood blvd WOF (in b/w la brea and highland only) WB studios tour [idk if I’ll have time] Missonary & frank grill (dinner) Dolby theater Oscar’s tour [idk if I’ll have time] No vacancy (bar)
DAY 3 Drive thru (rodeo drive) Beverly Hills Tehran market bbq backlot Santa Monica beach ⁃ doughnuts from sidecar ⁃ Sandwich from bay cities Rent bikes and go down bike path to Venice beach Venice canals Monty’s good burger on the way back Korea town
DAY 4 Wake up EARLY AF The office building (13927 Saticoy street) Universal studios Luv2eat Thai food The Roosevelt hotel pool bar
DAY 5 San Diego Safari Park (closes at 7) Sombreros (11040 rancho Carmel dr)
DAY 6 Disneyland Sun nong dan 24/7
DAY 7 Grand central market for breakfast Last book store Broad museum Little Tokyo Grand park Cathedral of our lady of the Angeles Union station China town Echo park
DAY 8 Drive down to Europa winery in Temecula Go down to San Diego Balboa park Liberty public market bars Cesarina dinner (italian) Dog beach
DAY 9 Tar pits museum LAVO brunch in WeHo WeHo sunset strip crosslands (dinner) Catch movie at Chinese/Egypt theater
DAY 10 Syncamore cove beach Nobu (lunch) Malibu beach Taverna tony Dinner (Greek)
DAY 11 Go home
PS- sucks the diner from pulp fiction is closed down, that was gonna be one of my first visit ideas as soon as I decided to book my flight

Sorry, this might be a little long. As the title says, the county (WA) accidently crossed into my property slightly at a three way intersection with another property owner (who they also crossed into) while building a big fancy bio-swale/stormwater filtration vault along the shoulder of the road in front of my house. Prior to construction we negotiated an easement agreement since they would need to use my driveway/drive through my property in order to stage equipment on my neighbors property. During construction they have also gone against the easement agreement by parking in my parking lot, staging heavy equipment over nights/weekends, putting a porta potty on my property, that's still there for some reason). I'm very frustrated to say the least. They called me today to let me know that their surveyors located the property intersection in the retaining wall they just built. And if the retaining wall is the contact point, then there is also a monitoring well installed approximately 3-ft into my property.
It's an undeveloped part of my property, with a stand of mature trees. So there wasn't a fence or anything to use as a reference for the exact property lines, although the intersection WAS staked prior to them starting construction with a T-post, that they removed themselves.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated, I have so many questions. What are my rights here? Is there some kind of compensation above fair market value since I was never given the choice in the matter and this will ultimately decrease my property value? Should I just expect that they offer me what they consider to be the fair market value for the land (In this case it should be around $10.5/ft2)? What if they say they only stepped in for like 50 square ft (I'm not sure yet how far along the retaining wall it's crossed)? That would just be a huge pain in the ass with less than like a $1000, so it don't even feel worth the effort. Is there some kind of buffer they should extend long the retaining wall (you can't access it from the other side due to traffic, so say I built a fence along my property line, they would not be able to access the swale for monitoring on either side). Should I negotiate higher payment since the acquisition was not agreed upon? I found info on what the county does if they need to acquire your property for projects, but it all involves notification/agreement before construction is to commence. It also says that they need to present evidence as to why they have to acquire your property before doing so. If it's helpful you can read that info here: https://s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/thurstoncountywa.gov.if-us-west-2/s3fs-public/2023-02/PermitsandROWAcquisitionRoadmap.pdf
Thank you in advance for any advice. I just want to make sure I don't get taken advantage of, especially since I feel like they have already been pushing it on this project.

Hey I ve created a concept for a foraging update, would be happy if you could tell me what you think about it. https://hypixel.net/threads/hypixel-foraging-update-concept.5389017/
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Hypixel Foraging Update Concept ​
Hey, Hypixel players and admins, we all know that foraging is the skill that is least played and offers no variety. That's why you'll find in this thread my ideas for a foraging update. The numbers in this concept are not balanced, and of course, everything can be changed. I look forward to hearing your opinions and ideas about my concept. New Island: The Sawmill
● On this island, there will be a large building (the sawmill). This island is reached by an NPC (Fabian), and more later. ● The sawmill is surrounded by trees; the type of wood can be selected from the NPC (Fabian).
Story:
● The new NPC (Fabian) spawns on "The Park" (-307 82 17) after the player has reached Foraging Skill Level 7 ● He tells the player about his family, which runs a sawmill, but this sawmill is very old and needs repairs ● He offers to take you to the sawmill ● Arriving at "the sawmill" you have to cut down two big trees that have damaged the sawmill due to a thunderstorm ● Then Fabian offers you to help him and his family and take over the management of the sawmill ● Then you can choose with Fabian which tree type you would like to have on your sawmill ● From there, the tutorial is finished, and the foraging can begin
Foraging:
The difficult thing about an update is keeping the wood affordable to allow players to build with it. In addition, it is difficult to use something similar to the "replenish" enchantment with wood, as it would be unrealistic. So here's my approach: So my idea is to add a new item called "bark" (each type of wood has its own bark item). This can be traded normally like any other crop, but the normal price of wood is not affected, and it can still be used for building without spending too many coins.
● To obtain bark, the tree is stripped with a new tool. However, the tree itself remains; only the texture of the tree is changed for a short time (like mithril) to signal that the tree has been stripped of its bark.
New Tools:
Saws: ● The saw is a new tool that comes with the update. ● The saw can be upgraded with a tank and engine to a chainsaw, which can be dropped by a new mob. ● Each type of wood has its own saw, debarking a type of wood with the corresponding saw brings more foraging fortune and speed ● Depending on the rarity level of the engine, the chainsaw gets more foraging speed
New Mob:
The squirrel: ● The squirrel spawns when removing the bark from trees to a small chance ● Depending on the player's foraging skill level, the squirrel spawns at a different rarity level. ● The squirrel is a neutral mob that runs away when it gets hit for the first time. It has 5-20 health ● The higher the rarity level of the squirrel, the higher the chance of dropping an engine or tank at a higher rarity level.
New Pet:
The Hedgehog: [1-100] Hedgehog (Legendary) Foraging Pet
Foraging Fortune: 1 → 120 Defense: 0 → 20
Bark keeper Gain 5 foraging fortune per digit of bark collection
Spiky Returns 0.15% → 15% damage dealt back at the attacker
HP Hedgehog Power Chainsaws are 1% → 10% faster Armor:
Timberland Armor:
● The Timberland armor can be upgraded 6 times. ● The armor must be upgraded with each type of bark. ● The rarity is increased with each upgrade until the armor reaches the ultimate rarity: "Lumber" ● The armor with the rarity "Lumber" is the equivalent of the rarity: "Divine"
QoL Feature:
We all know how annoying it is when we have a whole backpack full of equipment and have to change the equipment for every activity. That's why I propose with the new Foraging Update an equipment quick change function like for armor. However, like everything else in this world, it is not free. It is a unique profile upgrade that can be crafted using the new items. Each player has 3 Equipment Sets available by default, but players get one more Equipment Slot per rank. I have tried to incorporate something from every aspect of Skyblock into my concept so that most players will benefit from this update, but I am aware that many things in my concept are still a bit unbalanced, but these are all ideas I had to make the foraging skill easier for the players. I hope the admins take a few inspirations from my concept. It would be really great if after the Rift update possibly comes a foraging update because the community has been waiting for so long. If you have further ideas that complement my concept, please write to me Fabian#9954. I have named the NPC after me because I thought it would be cool, but of course, the name is completely irrelevant.

As you enter the town park where the festival is being held you notice lines and lines of booths distributed under the shade of the oak and elm trees forming a massive canopy giving shelter to the people milling about some looking at art exhibits and others buying art from both big and small time artists. You notice a gaggle of people standing around a well to do family who appears to be sweating bullets on this fine summer day as they are each in full suit and tie outfits.

Hi all! My husband has always been SUPER excited about seeing the giant sequoia trees, and we'll be making our way up from San Diego to Sequoia (originally from Michigan) in September. However, he suffered a back injury years ago, and a lot of walking is out of the cards (even flat walking, though he can manage that better). Can someone recommend the best strategy for us to see big sequoia trees with minimal hiking? Or recommend short hikes for good views?
It seems like the General Sherman tree is only about half a mile from the parking lot. That's definitely doable, but anywhere else we should look? I think probably around a 2 or 3 mile hike round-trip is the most he'd be able to handle. We can split hikes over two days (so he could probably do like one 3mi trip each day). Thanks for the help! I really want him to be able to see these <3

First time using Reddit, please bare with me. Also if theres typos its because my phone is 6 years old and the keypad is very uncalibrated now.
My fiance's farm has had a problem with whatever it is for years. However, it really hadn't been an issue as much as a presence. Like having a cougar on your land. You know it's there and could attack at any second. But it just doesn't. Our home is old, btw. Very old, and two of the beams in the basement are made up of giant logs that may have come from the woods behind the field. So anyways.
The first time its presence was seen, I was on the phone with my guy and he was sitting in his mom's car at night. We were teenagers then. That's when he noticed in this (admittedly really odd looking) twisted tree that's outside a creature that was large and in his words "looked like a man becoming a beast." He carefully, calmly, got out of the car and hurried inside. It didn't seem to notice him. There's still claw marks on the tree. Not bear-like or cat-like. I looked up the area and back then (Google's so messed up now, I can no longer find it) that a "wendigo king" has the hunting ground of the entire length of the creek that is down the road. It was this time of year and he said when he saw it, he heard laughter and war drums.
Then I moved here years later. One night I saw what I thought was a red reflector by our mailbox. I was confused about who put that there (it hadnt been that morning.) As I turned my headlights towards the box to better see, the red circle suddenly pulled back into the massive field across the street. As our friend and I got out of the car he said he saw something "that wasn't an animal" standing in the field. We hurried inside. This was autumn. The next autumn I was driving home alone and saw that same red reflector bobbing across the street. When I approached it suddenly whipped around like a startled animal and the light zoomed back into the field. I refused to leave the truck without someone coming for me.
I should add I've seen that same light pacing the upstairs of the barn, through the window.
Next time was during the 4th of july and we were having a small party. And had the barn door open. When dusk began I saw it. Giant, maybe as big as a horse. It looked like a man with no hair. Greyish purple (I suppose frostbitten colored) skin. Naked. Incredibly skinny as though it has no organs. A big grin on its face which seemed to be either because its lips were forceably pulled back over its mouth or perhaps it had no lips or cheeks. Big hands and feet, and no antlers. Walking into the barn like a wolf. Reminded me of something out of Bloodborne. Its eyes were black at the moment. I told my guy and he didnt believe me as I was begging him to help me close the barn. (Theres openings in the back it could leave from but the door being open didnt feel right after that.) Then his great aunt asked "did anyone see that little girl go into the barn?" Its well known by our family that a ghost of a small girl in white roams the farm and is well liked by us. He immediately agreed after that. Then nothing more. Occassionally I feel something reach out for me as I walk around at night but I've read about W's when I was young and there's many spiritual things about me that seem to keep me safe. Regardless I carry a buck knife when I travel at night just in case I have to defend myself.
But then his mom left. His mom is very unhealthy and gluttonous in every form. Over 2 years without her and our farm was peaceful. We had been caring for his grandfather, who always said something dark followed him around. And in the last week of his life weird things kept happening. Then he died suddenly and nobody knows why... I had stated earlier that month that the more his mom was showing up again and the more we cleaned up and worked on the farm, the angrier something seemed to get. In fact, a few weeks before something grabbed onto my guys father in the barn and make horrible screeches when he put up the mower after dark.
There was also one night the barn got left open by him and as we were headed inside we heard the neighbors screaming. But my guy assured me that he hears them do that every few months. However while the men sound like they're getting murdered the woman always sounds fake. But I always hated their house because Turkey vultures obsessively circle their plot... like a lot, sometimes 20.
So then two nights ago, my guy had to help his mom (who's now situated herself into his grandma's home like the parasite she is) for almost 2 weeks. Things had been feeling peaceful and earlier that day I had been hoping that grandpa captured the creature inside his body and it was going to be killed when he got cremated. Well... then they heard the lady neighbor screaming. Repeatedly. Inhumanly. From OUR pond. Before that they thought they heard a sound like a cat growl as well.
Well now his dumb mother is going around personifying It as "She" and saying "she's" a witch but that she's nice and spoke to her and "she don't mean no harm." I've been a practicing white witch my whole life. That is an evil spirit. She's a fool. Furthermore, as she was blabbing that to my boyfriends sister who was driving home at night a deer suddenly exploded out of nowhere and destroyed her car. This sister was wanting to inherit the land around the pond. Mid may we had also had a deer jump in front of us so fast it seemed impossible. Biggest deer I had ever seen and impossibly beautiful looking. Thankfully many people stayed with us while the cops got there. But ever since she had been visiting the last month worse and worse things have been happening.
Which brings me to today. To me, myself.
My guy was gone early today to help his uncle out. I was sleeping alone for the first time in months. I had a nightmare.
"It was that you sent me home from the food pantry because you had more stuff to do, but it was night. So I parked near next door cuz the food was for them and got out, and suddenly your mom came out from behind the house and was talking to me and I was just trying to get done quickly. But then I realized the whole time she was over I couldn't quite make out her face. So I started turning my flashlight onto her and your mom was like "Oh, honey, now you don't wanna do that." And when I did it was like seeing a refracted shadow. Like behind this vague silhouette was the appearance of your moms hair and hands and feet but the shadow was in front with this incomplete appearance of her in the back. And when I realized what it was my heart stopped and I started slowly backing up to their porch as this terrifyingly powerful man's voice said "You don't want to do that." Before my head erupted with terrifying music and that voice laughing maniacally, enough to drive someone insane. But I kept continually calmly going to the porch as I began to forceably pray and say in the name of god and jesus leave me alone and christ compels you and all that stuff."
This is what I had text him. It was horrifying. And I could sense it didn't want to devour me. It wanted to keep me. I said I was a practicing witch, but I also have been confirmed as a catholic and I have a belief that's parts of every old religion and some of my own beliefs that I've formed from things I've been witness to. I awoke feeling like something was at my back. But my oldest cats were laying on me. Defensively. They're all still laying in bed with me and hadnt really in a long time. As I tried to get back to sleep I prayed for my home and family to be kept safe. For positive energy to cover the land. And for evil spirits to be cast off of our land. Over and over and over until I finally fell back to sleep and had no more dreams.
I have the most knowledge of mythical beings. I sing many songs while I work outside, including cherokee songs. I work the land the old fashion way. I respect the land. Animals love me. And I've always felt that my soul is very very old. Like it's been recycled for many lives. People always have called me a god send as well because I'm at the right place at the right time to help. I don't quite know what it wanted of me but it didn't work because I'd previously been visited in my dreams many times by a demon who insisted my soul belonged to him, only for me to deny him each time. This being when I was only a teenager.
What I need is help to keep it off our land. At this rate my guys mom is going to be killed by it. Or bring it closer to us all with her horrific miasma of an aura. I was already planning on planting sage and smudging the house as well. I've previously done so before. But if there's ANYTHING else we can do I'd appreciate it. Any help at all. And I also know its hunting ground is indeed as vast as the creek is because a coworker who lives at the other end (we're near one ending point) caught it on video when he was walking at night and showed me. Its eyes looked like the red reflector I kept seeing. It seems to like to rest in our barn. But it's always been that we leave it be and it leaves us be.
Please help. I downloaded the app so I can easily check back. Only serious answers please. I know there are skeptics to many things, I respect everyones opinions and personal beliefs. But this is very serious. Also I should add that as far as I know there are no reservations around here at all. But that his great grandfather was part native american. Dont know what tribe. Thank you for any assistance. This has been over the course of roughly 10 years btw.