I don’t know what to think.
I’m currently pulled over on the side of the road right now typing this into my phone because I’m too scared to go home. The binder is lying on the ground in front of the passenger seat at the moment. It fell there while I was escaping. After I took a turn too fast. I can just barely make out the shiny plastic cover through the darkness.
I wonder if it knows. Does it still know? That would be impossible, but I saw it with my own eyes no more than 5 minutes ago.
I’m sorry. I just realized that none of what I’m saying makes sense to you. I need to go back about 20 minutes ago. Back to when this all started.
Earlier tonight, I was leaving my college campus after a particularly rough study session. It wasn’t that late, it was only around 9:00 p.m. I think, but with midterms coming up I was even more tired and stressed out than I normally am at that point in the night.
There was some light drizzle falling from the sky as I exited the building, but the distant sound of thunder promised that there was more rain to come. I commute to class, so I made my way to the student parking lot, completely lost in thought, which is probably why I didn’t notice her until I was almost at my car.There was what looked to be a young, female student standing there, and as I approached her she gave me a shy wave.
“Hi, I’m so sorry,” she said. “I really, really need a ride home and the person who was supposed to pick me up just bailed. Is there any chance that you could drop me off at my place?”
I didn’t answer right away. I was a little stunned by the whole situation.
The girl slapped her head in embarrassment.“Oh my god,” she said blushing. “That was way too forward of me. I’m so sorry if I came on a little strong there. It’s just that I was already supposed to be home by now and you're the first person I’ve seen in like ten minutes.” She gave me a sheepish smile. “My name’s Ryley by the way, I guess I should have started with that.”
I noticed that she was clutching a black binder against her chest in an attempt to keep it dry from the rain, which was starting to come down even harder.
Now, I’m not the type of person to be giving rides to complete strangers, understandably so, but she seemed so desperate standing there in the rain. And not that this is important, but she was also very cute. Which I think lowered my guard a little bit.
I looked around at the mostly empty parking lot before answering her.
“Well, I’m pretty sure that my mom would kill me if she found out that I left a young girl out in the rain all by herself. So, yes, I’d be happy to give you a ride.”
Her face lit up at my response, and she thanked me repeatedly as I pulled out my keys and unlocked the car. We both got in and the drive back home began.
I was a little nervous during the ride, so I didn’t talk much. But luckily I didn’t have to because Ryley filled in most of the silence herself. I won’t bore you with our entire conversation, but she’d talk about herself and what she liked to do. And every once in a while she would ask a question about me and I’d answer her as best as I could. I’m a pretty shy guy by nature so talking to a cute girl isn’t exactly one of my strong suits, but Ryely was easy enough to chat with.
She was bright and bubbly, and I found myself enjoying the conversation between the two of us. Despite the unusual circumstances of how we met.
“Oh, where do you live by the way?” I asked her, realizing that I had absentmindedly started taking my normal route home. “I’ll just plug it into my phone and drop you off.”
“Of course,” Ryley laughed. “You probably need to know where you’re going. Don’t worry though my stop isn’t too far away from here. Do you know where Bluff Park is?”
“Yeah! I’m familiar with Bluff Park. It’s actually in the same direction that I normally take home. It’s maybe a five minute detour. Is there a neighborhood near there that you live in or something like that?”
“My stop is actually in Bluff Park itself,” she explained. “Once you get there I can guide you the rest of the way because it can get a little confusing.”
“Works with me,” I assured her.
I was trying not to let it show, but what Ryley said didn’t really make a lot of sense to me. Bluff park is a big area made up of hiking trails and campgrounds. It’s mostly just woods. I’ve been there several times, so I knew that there was no housing developments inside or anything like that.
Maybe I was wrong and there was a house near the outskirts of the park that I didn’t know about, but truth be told it was the first time I felt uneasy about Ryley.
As we approached Bluff Park, the vibe between the two of us seemed to change. Ryley was no longer as talkative as she was when we first started driving, so I found myself caring most of the conversation during the later part of the drive. She also seemed to be getting more and more fidgety as time went on.
Every once in a while, out of the corner of my eye, I would notice her nervously fiddling with the AC, or adjusting her hair, or doing these weird twitchy motions before catching herself and stopping.
A few times throughout the ride, I also noticed that Ryley would occasionally look down at the black binder that she still held in her lap, surprised. As if she had forgotten that it was there. She would open it to a seemingly random spot, and read something to herself before quickly slamming it shut. After several minutes of this unusual behavior, I broke the awkward silence that had built up between us.
“So, what year of college are you in by the way?” I asked her, “I haven’t seen you around campus before, so you must have just gotten here.”
“Oh, I’m not in college at the moment.” She answered, matter-of-factly.
“No? I guess I just figured that you were since you were hanging out on campus and all. Were you just visiting a friend then? Scoping the place out maybe?”
“Sure, I guess so,” she said absentmindedly.
She took another peek inside the binder. Her originally cheerful personality had taken a very sharp turn toward quiet indifference.
The sudden change in her demeanor caught me off guard, but luckily for the both of us I saw the sign for Bluff Park. So, at least the drive was almost over. In the meantime, I tried my best to keep the conversation going.
“So, what’s with the binder then?” I asked. “You keep looking at it like it owes you money or something.” I laughed trying to lighten the mood.
“It’s…it’s nothing important. Just some writings is all.”
“Oh? Are you a writer then?”
“No, no. Nothing like that. It’s not actually mine. I guess you could say that I’m just…holding it for someone.”
“Hmm. Are the writings about anything in particular? It just seems as if—“
“Turn right here!” Ryley yelled, suddenly.
It was so abrupt that it made me jump. She was pointing to a narrow road, if you could call it that, near the entrance of the park.
“Just follow this road for a little bit, my stop isn’t too far away now.”
“Do you live in the middle of the woods?” I joked, nervously.
Ryley didn’t respond. She was leant forward in her seat looking out of the front window, as if she was trying to find something.
But there was nothing to see. It was just trees. Miles and miles of trees on either side of the road. I had to drive slowly because even with my high beams on, the path was difficult to traverse. The trail kept twisting and turning, and it also seemed to be getting narrower and narrower as we continued forward. Maybe the road itself lead somewhere?
I know that it may seem stupid, but it wasn’t until this moment that I realized just how much danger I was potentially putting myself into. Was this all just some elaborate ruse by Ryley to lead me out into the middle of nowhere? But, for what reason? What would her end game possibly—
“Right there!” She yelled again. “That’s my stop.”
She was pointing toward a spot about fifty yards ahead of us. But the thing is, there was nothing there.
There was no house, no break in the trees, no other path. There was nothing. There wasn’t even a place to pull off at, so I kind of just started slowing the car down.
But before I had even come to a complete stop, Ryley had opened the passenger side door and jumped out of the car.
Before I knew what was happening, she took off into the woods. Sprinting as if she was being chased. It was pitch black out, so I lost sight of her as soon as she broke the tree line.
I was too stunned to move. To stunned to speak even.
All I could do was stare into the black void of trees that Ryley had just ran off into. I didn’t know what to do. I mean, what would you do in this situation? Do I call out for her? Try to find her? Why the hell did she run away in the first place? Should I be worried? Am I in danger somehow?
She had left the door open, so the sound of crickets, gentle rain, and my idling engine were the only things making noise in the silence of my thoughts.
I looked down which is when I noticed that the black binder was still lying there on the passenger seat.
I don’t know why, but a feeling deep in the pit of my stomach told me that Ryley had left the binder there on purpose. As if she wanted me to look at it. Begging me to look at it actually. But why? And why was I so scared to open it? It’s just a binder right?
I leaned over and picked it up. I half expected it to blow up, or start eating my hand, or something like that. Do anything that would validate why I was so damn afraid of the thing.
But it just appeared to be a normal bundle of papers inside of a black, plastic, three ringed binder. It was heavier than I thought it’d be I guess.
I opened it to the first page. My breath hitched.
I turned to the second page, then the third. I started to shake.
I flipped through, page after page after page. It didn’t make any sense.
What I saw written down in the binder was a transcript. A transcript of my entire conversation with Ryley. Word for word. Everything was written out verbatim, exactly how it was said.
The first line started back when I first saw Ryley standing next to my car. Every emotion that I was feeling. Every thought that I had said to myself was typed out on the pages. Like some sort of demented play. Every pause in the conversation. Every look that she gave me was typed out line for line.
Our entire 15 minute conversation. Written out in front of me.
But how could that be? It just doesn’t make any fucking sense!
At no point did I see Ryley adding pages to the binder, so it’s not like she was taking notes of our conversation as it was happening. And even if she was, the damn pages were typed. Not handwritten. There’s just no way she could have done it herself.
But then why did she have the binder? She said she was holding it for someone, right? Yes, I can see it written out here on page 5.
Ryley: It’s (pause) it’s nothing important. Just some writings is all. (She twitches nervously)
Driver: Oh? Are you a writer then?
Ryley: No, no. Nothing like that. It’s not actually mine. I guess you could say that I’m just (pause) holding it for someone. (She smiles to herself, knowingly)
I continued reading the transcript. Scanning over the pages frantically, trying to make sense of this cluster fuck of a story in front of me.
I get to the part of the story where Ryley jumps out of the car. I continue reading.
I get to the part where I noticed the binder in the seat next to me. I continue reading.
I get to the part where I open it up and start to read. I continue reading.
I’m all caught up now, I’m at the part in the story where I realize what I have found. Every word, every thought, every feeling–even what I am typing out right now–is written down in the binder.
But the pages don’t stop there. They continue on. Hundreds of them. Are they all already filled out? Are they writing themselves as I speak?
I flip to the next page.
Driver: (Thinking to himself) But the pages don’t stop there. They continue on. Hundreds of them. Are they all already filled out? Are they writing themselves as I speak?
(He flips to the next page)
(Just then he hears a scream)
As if on cue there is a blood curdling scream to my right. It echoes in the still air, and sends shivers down my spine.
Was that Ryley? Is she in danger? Should I help her? I look back down at the page.
(The scream echoes in the still air, sending shivers down his spine)
Driver: (Thinking to himself) Was that Ryley? (Yes) Is she in danger? (Yes) Should I help her?
(No)
I drop the binder, it lands face up on the passenger seat. I lean over and close the door that Ryely had left open. I put the car in reverse and try to turn it around. It’s difficult to do on the narrow road, but I managed to get myself facing the right direction.
My eyes inadvertently fall back onto the binder. It was lying there, still open. Right where I had left off. Waiting for me to keep reading. I scanned over the next few lines. I couldn’t help myself.
(The Driver drops the binder and carefully turns the car around on the narrow road)
(He looks back down at the binder)
(He contemplates if he should keep reading)
(But unbeknownst to him, the Narrator watches him from the tree line)
Narrator: (Smiling) This is my favorite part.
I hear the words being spoken, as I am reading them. A large clap of lightning lights up the sky and for a split second I see something in my rearview mirror. Standing just inside the tree line.
I step on the accelerator and race down the winding path, almost hitting a tree as I do so. The rain was making it difficult to see even with the wipers on full blast, and the mostly dirt road was starting to turn into a mudslide.
The narrow path was difficult to drive on, even at normal speed, but I wasn’t going to spend another second in those woods.
After what felt like an eternity I broke through the opening of the trail and was back onto the main road. I took a sharp turn out of Bluff Park causing the binder to topple to the floor. I continued driving for a couple minutes before I pulled over. Scared that I was going to pass out from the adrenaline rush that I was feeling.
And that’s where I am now.
Pulled over on the side of the road, typing this out on my phone with no idea what to do next.
I’m looking back at the binder, wondering if it still knows what I am doing. What I’m thinking. What I’m Feeling.
Should I just pick it up and keep reading?
If I flipped ten pages ahead would I know my own future?
Who the fuck is the Narrator?
I don’t know what to think.
(He doesn’t know what to think)
(He looks down at the binder again, and picks it up off the ground)
(He can’t help himself)
(He opens it back up to where he had left off, and continues reading)
Driver: (Terrified) Oh no.
----
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