Only What the Moon Sees - 4. Chapter 4

No one was standing in the store, not even an employee. Gabe thought that was odd considering the sign in the window still shone in bright neon: open. He sat in his truck, parked at one of the few pumps the gas station had. He had been there for a few minutes already, and still there was no sign of any employee.

Perhaps they were closed and just forgot to turn the sign off. That probably happens more often than not.

Just as he was about to pull away, a soft knock came at his window, scaring him and causing him to flinch.

Gabe sharply turned to see who it was.

He froze. It was the man from that one night. The man’s skin was pale and his face perfectly sculpted. His eyes bore into Gabe’s—blue matching blue. Gabe couldn’t believe he was mere inches away from the man; the man that was in his thoughts most of each day.

“Hi there,” the man said cheerfully, flashing a bright white smile.

Gabe swallowed hard, replying, “Hi.”

“Wanna roll your window down for a second? I’d like to ask you something.” The man took a step back to ease the tension Gabe was obviously feeling.

But the tension was still there. Gabe wasn’t sure what to do. Here was the man who had been in his thoughts for days—right next to him. Wanting to talk to him.

Against the gnawing sensation in his stomach, Gabe rolled his window halfway down.

“There we go,” the man said softly, leaning in just enough to talk softly to not frighten the boy any more than he already was. “I know you’re curious, but do me a favor.” He met Gabe’s eyes—dark, unreadable, yet not unkind. “Don’t come back here.”

Gabe opened his mouth, questions spinning, heart racing.

The man straightened before he could speak.

“It’s nothing for you to see.”

Then he walked away into the tree line across the street., vanishing into the night. The window was still halfway down. The air felt colder now. And Gabe, breath uneven, started his truck but didn't drive off immediately. He just sat there, haunted by the softness in the man’s voice.

Relenting, Gabe drove out of the gas station and continued on his way home. The rural, winding road in this area was one of the only ways to get to his house. A large dried up wash laid in between this road and the freeway several miles away.

Gabe wasn’t sure what to think from his encounter with the strange man. He clearly didn't want him to return: don’t come back here. Was that a warning or a threat? The man wasn’t angry when he spoke. But who was he to give Gabe orders? It was a public gas station and Gabe could do whatever he wanted whenever he wanted. He drove a vehicle, one that requires gas. The station sells gas.

No harm, no foul.

A few minutes longer on the backroad, a lone car sat on the side with its hazard lights flashing. Even though the moon was out, the area was incredibly dark, so the flashing was easy to spot. Someone was waving Gabe down.

It was odd, though.

Who doesn’t have a cell phone to call for assistance?

Regardless, Gabe slowed down and pulled in behind the car. It was the clerk from the gas station. He waved at Gabe who was rolling down his window.

“Hey, talk about luck!” the clerk said, all smiles.

“Did you blow a tire or something?” Gabe asked, craning his neck looking at the car in front of him.

“Or something is right,” the clerk scoffed. “Not sure what’s wrong with it. Just suddenly stopped running. Anyway, my phone doesn’t have service out here. Does yours?”

There was something weird about how the clerk was behaving. Nothing too obvious, but he almost seemed energized somehow, like he was just waiting for something exciting. A nervous energy, almost. Gabe was no psychology expert, but being out in the rural area they were in, during the night, all alone—unnerving would be an understatement.

Gabe leaned over to the passenger seat where his phone was resting on top of his backpack. The screen lit up showing three bars of service.

“Yeah, you wanna call—” Gabe stopped talking.

The clerk was gone.

Gabe looked ahead at the car. There was no one. He looked off to the side. Still, no one.

“Hello?” Gabe called out. He’d seen this in so many scary movies before. The unsuspecting victim would get out of the car and then be chased to their untimely demise.

Except this was no movie.

“What the hell?”

Instinctively, Gabe locked the doors to his truck. He wasn’t sure what was going on, but he knew one of the most basic ways of protecting himself was to secure the doors. His heart was thumping wildly, adrenaline coursing his veins. There was still no sign of the clerk.

Gabe stared forward, squinting in the darkness to see if he could sense any movement. But there was nothing. Then he glanced at his rearview mirror.

The clerk was behind his truck.

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