 For those that think that life on the open road is glorious, let me tell you it's not. Unless you do it for a living, driving around these great United States is more of a chore than anything else. To this day, I have no idea how truckers can go on runs from one side of this country to the other and make it on time. Sure, each part of the state has roadside attractions and destinations that seem to lure in visitors like a moth to a bug zapper. However, this is my tale of how I never want to go on another long car ride in my life. This all started a few months back when I was living in the Bay Area in the Golden State and hating every minute of it. For those that don't know, living in California is not all glam and glitter as you would see on television. This is mostly confined to southern California where you might run into your favorite actor, musician, or sports star. Here in the Bay, the only things you'll find here are the unemployed and people struggling to live. There are even reports of people living out of their cars as they are technically homeless. However, they pay bills through the gig economy. Now granted, I had a decent job and my apartment wasn't a nicer part in one of the outlying neighborhoods bordering Silicon Valley. However, with crippling student loan debt and the cost of living seeming to go up every few months, it was becoming harder to live here. At first, I'd entertain the idea of uprooting and moving to another state to get another job and start over. My mind always was focused on my roommates and what they would do without me and how they'd survive. My father used to say there was a sucker born every minute and two to take them. Don't be a sucker. For years, I just coasted through life going to work paying off bills and trying to enjoy some of what NorCal had to offer. My roommates and I had a good relationship as we only saw each other on weekends or when there was something pressing. They had my back and I had theirs as we worked through years of problems and partying. In the back of my mind, I had no doubts that this would last forever and my friends would always be there for me. That was until four months ago. One of my roommates, for the sake of anonymity, let's call him Dave. Dave had a good paying job. However, he never knew when to keep his mouth shut. One frustrating day, he said something to his coworker about coming in and shooting up the place. The next day he was dragged into a meeting with HR as he was forced to explain himself. He said that he didn't mean it and through tears said that he loved his coworkers as well as his job. This meant nothing as he was fired a few days later. So, he told us in a defeated voice that he was going to live here for around four months as that was the extent of his savings. If he couldn't find a steady position, he would be forced to move back in with his parents. My other roommate consoled him as she said that he would be back on his feet in a few weeks. I, on the other hand, knew better and began to craft an escape plan. While continuing to work in my current job, I also started to look for something in my field in another state. The reasoning behind this was to find a place with a lower cost of living while maintaining my current salary. This meant that my dollar would go further and I would be able to buy a house instead of rent and apartment. While I considered a few states and even overseas for a day or two, my attention always came back to one state in particular, Texas. Not only does Texas have a great cost of living, they also had an emerging tech market at the time that coupled with housing that people could actually afford in a great area that was close to a few major cities and I was hooked. The first round of interviews was a typical don't call us we'll call you as I broaden my search. One Friday night, I was a bit inebriated and saw an ad for one of the major computer companies out there. However, my mother's voice came through my head loud and clear as she always used to say, you don't ask, you don't get. Finding a similar position, I applied for it and forgot about it until the following day when a call came in from an unknown number. Long story short, the manager had come in on a Saturday, saw my resume, and was so impressed he gave me a call. He wanted to fly me out for an interview on Monday, and I called my job stating some emergency. The interview went extremely well and before boarding my flight back, a call came in stating that the position was mine. Without a second thought, I accepted the position right then and there. My new boss said we'd be in touch with papers to sign and all the formalities as he asked how long it would take me to move cross country. We talked about giving my two weeks notice and then driving my car cross country to Texas and finding a place to live. He said that last part would be taken care of is that was part of the perks of working for this company. A month should be more than enough time. He agreed as we settled on a start work date, making my way back home to tell the roommates the good news. They both were understanding as Dave hadn't found work and opted to move back home while my other roommate, Sarah, said she wanted to go back to school. Going back to work and giving my two week notice was a somber affair. My relationship with my boss and coworkers had always been great, and while they were sorry to see me go, they understood my reasons for leaving. My last day on the job was split between training my replacement and an extended lunch at a local steakhouse. That night was spent packing my car with boxes that were packed weeks prior, as I didn't want to forget anything. After the car was packed, a tarp was put over it as we lived in a good neighborhood. However, why take a chance? Early the next morning on Saturday, goodbyes were said the last of the car was packed, and my journey towards the east had begun. Now this story took place in 2006, so we didn't have smartphones back then. My parents, as a parting gift, gave me one of those new GPS systems so I could navigate to my destination without fail. Thankfully, I made sure my car was tuned before my cross country trek, as any problems were fixed, fluids topped off, and tires replaced. The fates also smiled upon me, as the weather was beautiful for a region that was in the throes of winter. A golden dawn greeted me as I took 99 south towards Bakerfield. The drive between the two points took a little over two hours as fog hindered parts of my journey. Around 9am, exits of the city started appearing, and I took one of these exits to not only get fuel but get breakfast as well. Pulling into a local Burger King and ordering my meal, I took a seat by one of the windows to plan out the rest of my journey. Pouring over the directions printed out from MapQuest, my route was already planned. This trip would take me across the great state of California into Arizona and New Mexico, and finally across Texas. Being conservative with a miles traveled per day put me into the suburbs of Houston on either late Tuesday or early Wednesday. This gave me plenty of time to settle in, get a feel for my surroundings, and get set up in the apartment that work had generously provided. The rest of Saturday was spent traveling across the deserts of California and into the state of Arizona. At around 5pm, my body decided it was done for the day so I had found a place called Best Motel in a lovely small town called Needles not far from the border. The rest of the day was spent either searching for a place to eat dinner or just relaxing in my room until I slept. The next morning greeted me with steel gray skies and a cold wind that tore right through me. Omen wafted on those cold winds as the snowflake stuck to the black top of the parking lot in a dusting of snow. This was not a place for the season as some places in the desert would get snow, but how bad could it be? Two hours later, my curse answered me. Traveling on the highway slowed to a crawl as snow now blanketed the interstate. Creeping along at 10 miles an hour was the best that anyone could do as the storm battered our vehicles. For the first 20 miles, a brave soul in an SUV was blazing the way for the rest of us, and I was directly behind him. However, after that, this tortured soul pulled off to the side and decided to wait out the storm, leaving me and my beat up Jetta to forge a trail for the rest of us. To say that leading a pack of vehicles through this blizzard was harrowing is an understatement. I had never driven in snow before and trying to correct every shift in shimmy that my car made was exhausting. A leg of the trip that was supposed to take around three hours took triple that as my body felt like it went through 12 rounds with Mike Tyson. Rolling into Flagstaff around 7pm, I was tired and beaten and rolled my car into the parking lot of a days in. After checking in, my hunger was next on the agenda calling up a local Chinese place called Hot Walk. The food didn't take long to get to me and at the time it was the best food in the world. I passed out a few moments after eating. Streams of sunlight woke me up as they peeked through the opening of heavy curtains. Through blurred vision, the numbers on the cheap clock located on my nightstand came into view. They said 10.45am, glowing back angrily at me. Bolting upright, I leapt out of bed and grabbed a shower, brushed my teeth, packed and checked the room twice over to see if anything was left behind. Trying not to convey my frustrations to the clerk finishing the checkout process, it was time to hit the road. Thankfully, due to the cloudless sunny day and the plows working overtime, the roads were clear of snow. Nearing the Arizona-New Mexico border, the GPS started to beep out an instruction as I approached Albuquerque. In 15 miles turn onto I-25 South, proclaimed a computerized voice. This update would be repeated until the signs for I-25 came into view, easing my jetta into the junction. Making my way south, seemed logical at the time as the map quest directions were tucked into the passenger seat. After driving for around close to two hours, another update pinged, saying to turn left onto US-380. This was the point I resolved to follow this machine's instructions as it knew where it was going. Skies faded from blue to red and gold as twilight set in and was then swallowed up by the night's embrace. Driving on this road, my GPS pinged another update to go onto Country Road 001. Without a second thought, I turned onto the one-lane dirt road that led off the highway and deeper into the hills. Two minutes into making this decision, every fiber of my being regretted making that turn off. Around the seven-minute mark, there was a barricade that impeded my progress. This would be something that would be common for a construction site. However, out here in the middle of nowhere, it was unusual. Beneath the blinking lights were six words that definitely seemed out of place. Property of the United States Government Glancing at the GPS, the route showed it going through this valley for another few miles. Scratching my head, I made the decision to shut off the engine and venture forth into the night. If this was government land, there should be some type of shack or guard post with a board soldier. A bright full moon hung in the sky, bathing the entire valley in dull white, as well as negating the need for a flashlight. Deciding to follow a path parallel to the trail, just in case was a smart move as this was considered trespassing. Not even three minutes later, I was regretting my choice for even leaving the car. Hoping to see a guard post or a base or something out here was starting to diminish with every step forward. Part of me just wanted to turn around and walk back and find my way to Texas without that accursed machine. That would have happened if I didn't see a light in the distance. Now, this wasn't a light in the sky or something like floodlights, as it was flickering light that was right over the next hill. Keeping to the trees, as not to be spotted in making as little noise as possible, I made my way to the crest of the hill. In my mind at first, couldn't comprehend what was happening below. There were four people standing around a roaring bonfire as they were chanting in some language that was similar to Latin or Arabic but not the same. What made no sense is that each of the four people were clad in a mix of robes and camouflage. There were also a squad of soldiers that stood at the ready, each of them armed, wearing a gas mask, BDUs, and helmets. Even Stranger was a group of three soldiers a bit farther away, dressed in white clean suits as they were monitoring the action from a laptop. Far off in the distance, there was some sort of installation perched on a hill that looked upon this scene with concern. In this part of the story, anyone else would have ran off screaming. Curiosity had gotten the better of me there, as I wanted to see what would happen next. The strange language coming from the four individuals rose in pitch and sped up as a point of energy seemed to form above the bonfire. This energy was pitch black as it stood out against the night sky and with every word it seemed to grow bigger. The squad checked their weapons as they readied them for whatever happened next. They were never ready. Three dark humanoid shapes leapt out of the portal. They looked like they were made of tar. They were misshapen, with two arms ending in three fingers, two legs that ended in the same, and a torso with no head. These things looked at each other before pouncing on the nearest robed person, tearing him to pieces with its inky hands. More things flooded out of the portal in various shapes and sizes, as they swarmed like a dark tide against the soldiers. Feeling that I'd seen enough, I turned tail and bolted back to my car in a straight line. Gunfire, screaming, and the wailing of klaxons accompanied on my run slamming into the driver's side door. Fumbling with the keys was something out of a horror movie, as my gaze looked up the road and saw two of those creatures in the distance scrambling into my car and putting the keys in the ignition. I said a silent prayer to any god that was listening that my car would start. It did. Throwing the car into reverse the engine roared as my life was something out of an action movie. Quickly turning the car around in the fastest three point turn I'd done in my life, I was driving down the road at top speed. I glanced back in the mirror to see these things actually chasing my car. Thankfully, the road was straight, and it wasn't that far from the interstate as I reached it and instinctively turned left. The GPS seemed to be stuck, as it chirped recalculating every few seconds, so with a free hand I chucked it in my glove box. Time in distance seemed to blur for the next couple of hours, as the adrenaline of what had just happened fueled me until the early hours of the morning. One out of the many signs that went by read Roswell. At around three in the morning on a Tuesday, my fear and adrenaline wore out as I managed to make it to a small town. Pulling into a gravel lot right next to a gas station, I remember putting the car in park, locking the doors and turning off the engine before passing out. There was a tap on the glass. My first thought was it was one of those things tapping on my window with a claw. Turns out, it was a state trooper who wondered why I was sleeping in my car. I explained to him how I was driving cross country from California to Houston. He ran my license and vehicle registration, and he thanked me for my cooperation and even gave me a new route that would get me closer to Dallas. The remainder of the trip was a bit of a blur. As the only things I could remember from then on was driving a crappy breakfast sandwich that I kept down and finally getting to the outskirts of Houston mid day. My boss gave me instructions to call him upon my arrival, and he was more than happy to see me. We made our way to the apartment complex where I would be staying and he showed me around and told me to get some rest. For the next few days sleep eluded me as my nightmares were plagued by those creatures as each scenario ended the same. The creatures would swarm me as they ripped apart my body with their limbs. Years passed and my career has blossomed into middle management. With my finances in order, I managed to buy a nice house not too far from work. After unpacking, I saw the little GPS that aided me on my journey to Texas and wondered if it still worked. The unit on the screen lit up, and chirped recalculating as the route loaded. To my horror, this thing directed me back towards that lone country road that I turned off on years before.