One Mile From Home
Based on a true experience
Part 1: The Pull Over
You’re driving home late, past midnight, not far from the Pine Barrens.
You’re exhausted — but it’s more than tired. It hits you like a wave.
Heavy. Unnatural.
You’re only a mile from your house… but you know you can’t make it.
Your eyes blur.
Your body pulls the wheel toward the edge of the road.
You park in an empty lot near a quiet 7-Eleven.
One flickering streetlight buzzes overhead.
And then —
Everything fades to black.
Your seat reclines.
Your fingers go cold.
Something’s off.
***
Part 2: The Fight to Stay Awake
(You chose to fight it.)
You slap yourself to stay awake.
It's not working.
Your grip tightens on the steering wheel.
You blink fast, trying to shake it.
Your heart pounds, but your limbs suddenly feel like sinking weights.
No longer able to move...
You look up.
And that's when you see it.
A white light.
Not a beam. More like a glow.
It hovers.
A sound pierces your ears, high-pitched and steady.
Your head uncontrollably snaps back into the seat.
The roof of your car seems to fade.
Something emerges. You can feel them.
And now... you can see them.
Figures. Tall. Narrow.
Hovering over you.
Gliding past your window like they've always been there.
***
Part 3: The Thought That Answered Back
(You chose to focus your thoughts.)
You asked what they want.
You try to steady your breath.
Your voice doesn't work, but your mind does.
You think, not with words... more like intention.
"WHAT DO YOU WANT!?"
Time slows.
The air thickens, heavy with something you can't explain.
Then... stillness.
They stop moving.
One of them turns toward you. Slowly.
It tilts its head, like it heard your thoughts.
A vibration hums through your skull.
You feel... understood.
Not threatened. But observed.
Like they're working on you.
Like you're being tuned.
Your chest feels warm.
Almost peaceful.
***
Part 4: The Tuning
You asked them: "What are you doing to me?"
There's no voice. No reply.
But something answers.
You feel it.
Your chest grows warm... almost like something is inside you, humming.
Images begin flashing behind your eyes:
Symbols. Static. A map? A spiral? A face you almost recognize.
Part of you isn't afraid, because it feels familiar.
You can't move, but your thoughts race.
They're not hurting you.
They're... aligning something.
Studying something.
You feel the weight of purpose almost like you've been marked. Tuned.
Selected.
Your mind begins to blur.
You try to hold onto your consciousness just a little longer, but your vision fractures like glass under pressure.
Then... darkness.
You wake up in your car.
The lot is empty. The sun is rising.
You feel different.
***
Part 5: The Mark You Can’t Explain
You blink in the rising sun.
The 7-Eleven is quiet.
No one's around.
Your car is off. Ice-cold.
And yet... you're sweating.
You reach for your phone.
Of course, the battery is dead.
You check your face and neck in the mirror. Nothing.
You step out of the car, look up to the sky and breath in the fresh air.
(It must have just been a really bizarre dream.)
But then... just under your collarbone, a subtle warmth.
You pull your shirt aside.
Three dots.
Faint. Precise.
A perfect triangle.
You touch the triangle.
Your vision flickers like static in your brain.
You remember something.
Not everything... but enough.
A place with no walls.
A light that wasn't light.
A feeling... like you'd been here before.
Your pulse quickens.
But you’re not afraid.
You’re aware.
They didn't take you.
They changed you.
And somewhere
Maybe not far
They're still watching.
End of Story 1.
