It wasn’t like him to work the graveyard shift. He had specifically asked his manager for a mid-day shift, but he had started saving money to buy his own car, so he figured it would help to pick up a few extra hours. David Hodder was a bit of a loner, quiet and unassuming. He was a tall, lanky young man who spent most of his free time hiding away in his room working on model airplanes. 162Please respect copyright.PENANAL6pGRd1AI1
He took a job at the local service station the summer before his senior year to raise money for a car so he wouldn’t have to leave for college in his mom’s old Crown Vic. “….Town Hall meeting will be taking place at 6pm on Wednesday,” sounded the old radio speakers. “Sheriff Hewitt also wants to remind Woodsboro residents to have a safe Halloween weekend…” 162Please respect copyright.PENANAnaLuDYeezo
David sat in his mother’s car outside the Quik-n-Go. The parking lot around him was dark and empty, except for his coworker's red pickup truck that was parked behind the store. He kept his eye trained on the store entrance while he nervously turned the radio dial from one station to another, “…state police are on the look-out…,” the radio crackled, when he was startled by an unexpected knock at his window.162Please respect copyright.PENANAv0WJVQkcWJ
Alarmed, he shut off the radio, and his eyes met the stern countenance of Bart, his coworker. The older guy glared at him through the window, as if to say, “Anytime, David!” The annoyed co-worker shook his head at the young man before he dropped the key ring on the hood of the green sedan and stalked off to his own vehicle. 162Please respect copyright.PENANAMXRGW3A6oK
David groaned and rested his forehead on the steering wheel. With a couple deep breaths, he turned off the car, opened the door and swung his body out into the misty autumn air. He lumbered toward the frontend of the car and plucked the keys up from the hood. He turned his back to the car and looked up at the convenience store, then at the large Quik-n-Go sign that flickered ominously above him. 162Please respect copyright.PENANAIEIq3dNkZH
He straightened his uniform, a cheap-looking red mesh vest, and marched over to the double glass doors, with key ring in hand. As he looked for the main key, his mind wandered back to his childhood. He remembered when his mother would send him outside to throw out the trash. This was something he had done many times before and there was no reason to be afraid, but somehow, walking in the dark through the backyard and out to the alleyway always gave him a feeling of disquiet.162Please respect copyright.PENANA0RWBW10C6A
He would think to himself, “…there’s no one out here, I’m alone and there’s nothing to be afraid of.” He would walk slowly through the back gate, remove the lid, and dump the garbage bag into the can. But as soon as he would turn his back on the alleyway, a fear so great would rise up within him that he would take off running back to the house feeling almost certain that someone was chasing him close behind. Finding the key, he quickly tried to insert it into the lock, but it just wouldn’t go in. He dropped the keyring and fumbled with the keys as the same nervousness he remembered began to creep up inside him. 162Please respect copyright.PENANAWTyp8GuXWJ
His fear was only heightened by the stillness of the night, when suddenly, the key slipped effortlessly into the lock, turned, and opened the door. Once in the store, David turned back to look outside; it was completely pitch-black except for the few flickering canopy lights. His hand hovered over the deadbolt momentarily as he took one last, long look outside and then he shook his head and spun back around and steered himself towards the counter. He spent the majority of the night without many customers; some travelers paid outside for fuel, but never came in and the business phone was silent for most of his shift. 162Please respect copyright.PENANAXsXt6929Qs
In an effort to silence some of his unease, David grabbed a mop and started mopping at the back of the store. After finishing behind the farthest shelves, he circled around the end cap to start down the next aisle, but when he pulled the pail behind him, he knocked a couple cans off the bottom shelf. 162Please respect copyright.PENANAyQEVNDF4aE
As he stooped to grab the rolling cans, he heard the door’s electronic sensor go off. David froze. As he fell to his knees, he peered out from behind a shelf to see who it was. He pressed his hand hard over his mouth as he stared at a towering hulk of a man dressed in a dirty, old overcoat and a wide-brimmed hat that obscured his features. And in his right hand, he held a bladed weapon. David felt himself needing to take a breath, but he didn’t dare. David slipped back behind the shelf out of view and fumbled for his cellphone. Unexpectedly, the phone fell out of his grasp and onto the tile floor. Time stood still. David braced himself, with eyes closed and listened. 162Please respect copyright.PENANA2EitPdZ2zo
He waited. And waited. And waited. He held his breath, opened his eyes, and crawled on his hands and knees across the floor to search for the man. But he was gone; the store was empty. There were no signs of him - no muddy footprints, no proof at all that the man had been there. David stood up and pulled the mop handle to his chest as he stumbled out into the open. Holding the mop out in front of him as if wielding a spear, he surveyed the entirety of the store’s interior.162Please respect copyright.PENANA3rNycdk0fR
After his encounter with the Tall Man, David remained vigilant. He stayed behind the counter peering beyond the few customers he’d had that evening. With no more chores to keep himself occupied, David picked up a magazine. The time passed slowly, and he’d forgotten how tensely the evening had begun. As he thumbed through the pages of the magazine, movement from a dark figure catches his periphery. He looked up and to his horror, the Tall Man was standing outside with his face pressed against the plate glass window. His hulking figure blotted out what little light remained outside, and he began shouting and slamming his fists into the large window. Backing up, David tripped on himself and fell, hitting his head on the counter. Soon though, he gathered his senses and came to, immediately locking the deadbolt. 162Please respect copyright.PENANAlpph4lKYVv
The teenager grabbed his cellphone out of his pocket and called 911. Shortly after, two policemen showed up and knocked on the window to get his attention. David stood up and walked over to the door, and unlocked it, letting the two men in. During the initial questioning, David, looked over their shoulders and bathed by the flickering light of the canopy, was the Tall Man.162Please respect copyright.PENANAx7KaxSwmvU
David shouted and pointed toward the canopy, “There he is!” The two officers spun around, unholstered their guns, and ran outside. They surveyed the entire perimeter of the store as David waited anxiously for them by the entrance. The two officers came back inside with looks of incredulity on their faces.162Please respect copyright.PENANAdCYH5pp64f
“You trying to be funny kid? You have nothing better to do?” The stouter of the two men approached David, with thumbs extended, “You on something, young man,” he asked as he pulled down both lower eyelids. “No…no, I…I’m not joking,” David urged. “And I’m not on drugs. There’s really a guy out there. I wasn’t imagining it!”162Please respect copyright.PENANAiPvjgWTo2h
After deeming there to be no threat and then left the store as one of the officers reported into the radio, “This is Kreuger, Badge number 319. We have a 10-40 here. All’s clear.”162Please respect copyright.PENANAK02gVWBYlg
The two officers got in their cruiser and drove off, leaving the teenager confused and worried. After little activity, David locked up the store and turned off the canopy lights. He sat on the floor behind the counter and looked up at the analog clock above the cigarette display. It read 5:54 AM. David leaned his head back against the counter and closed his eyes momentarily when he was startled by a loud bang against the window. The teenager scrambled to a new spot under the large window and curled up on the floor. He closed his eyes tightly as the mysterious visitor knocked impatiently on the doors and windows repeatedly, until he heard the sound of his own name.162Please respect copyright.PENANAGOk8YRtV1k
He sat up and looked out into the inky darkness and saw the faint silhouette of his coworker. A wave of relief washed over David as he stood up and turned on the service station’s lights. He walked over to the doors and unlocked them, nearly collapsing into the arms of his replacement. After an awkward exchange, the teenager got into his car and waved goodbye before peeling out of the parking lot. Later that morning David sat in the family room with a half-eaten bowl of cereal when a breaking news report interrupted his program. He continued to eat mindlessly as he glanced up at the newscast.162Please respect copyright.PENANAq8SYz2YRSu
It wasn’t until he heard the familiar name of his coworker who’d relieved him that morning that he diverted all attention to the TV. He stared on in utter shock as he watched the news report of a grisly murder that had taken place during the early hours of the morning.162Please respect copyright.PENANAJ1bbKNUTjB