I had to pass an old leaning rotting shack. It was halfway back to my girlfriends house. I barely could see it, but knew it had to be there, so I walked on the opposite side of the road. That is when it happened. Two dogs suddenly got into a snarling fight on the porch of that old house. Actually that is what I like to believe what happened. I didn’t stay to find out. I probably ran the rest of the way faster than I ever ran the two mile run in the army.

When I got to that trailer house I was huffing, puffing and sweating. Her father opened the door and gave me that stone face of his as he listened to me tell what happened. I didn’t tell about getting scared. Putting the car in the ditch was embarrassing enough. My girlfriend and her siblings were trying to see around him. Once I finished, he just starred at me before coming out and closing the doors on his kids. He had me get into his beat up truck and we headed down the road. He told me he believed he knew why my car cut out on me. When we got to the car he hooked up a chain and pulled it out of the ditch and then got under the hood. In less than two seconds the lights came on and he told me to start it up. It started just fine. Then he stuck that solemn face in my window and told me to follow him back to the house.

I was still shaking. I was sure that I was going to get super chewed out. At the house he got under the hood of that Chevy again and showed me a burnt spot on the frame next to where the battery was sitting. He told me that the battery had slid over and shorted everything out. This could only happen in a car this old. He then got out some wire and began to put it around the battery to hold it in place.

At any moment I knew he was going to ream me out. He just stood up with that straight face of his and said the car was safe to drive home now then turned and walked inside. I was surprised that I was getting away. Figured that I better hurry out of there. But as I got into the car he said one last thing, “This is a perfect night for monsters.”