Narrator (3:37)
If you haven't heard this story before, get ready to be freaked out. It was Originally posted on DeviantArt back in 2013 by a user called Castaway the long road home seemed to go on and on. The road continued to stretch in front of the vehicle endlessly. The light that shone through the branches of the tall green trees danced across the window in random patterns and every once in a while obnoxiously shining in your eyes. The surroundings were full of deep green trees forming a forest around the road. The only sound was the sound of the car's engine as it traveled down the path. It was peaceful and left a serene feeling. Although the ride seemed like a nice one, it lacked every form of nice from its two passengers. The middle aged woman behind the steering wheel had neat short brown hair that fit her complexion quite well. She wore a green V neck T shirt and a pair of blue jeans. Diamond stud earrings decorated each of her ears, which partially showed from behind her haircut. She had deep green eyes, which her shirt brought out and the lighting seemed to make them more noticeable. There wasn't anything significant about her appearance. She looked like any other average mother you would see in TV shows and the like. However, the one thing that made her different than the average mother's was the dark bags she had under her eyes. Her facial expression was gloomy and sad, although she genuinely looked like someone who smiled a lot. She would sniffle every once in a while and occasionally glance in the rearview mirror to look at her son in the backseat, who was hunched over partially with his arms held tight around his chest and his head pressed against the cold window. The boy lacked any normal appearance and anyone could plainly see there was something wrong with him. His messy brown hair went every which way and the luminescent lighting brought out his pale Almost gray skin. His eyes were dark unlike his mother's, and he wore a white T shirt and scrub pants that had been provided for him by the hospital. The clothes he had worn before were so shredded and blood stained that they weren't wearable anymore. The right side of his face bared, a few cuts along a small split eyebrow. His right arm was bandaged all the way to the shoulder, which had been shredded when his right side hit the shattered glass. His injuries appeared to be painful, when in reality he couldn't feel anything. This was just one of the glories of being him. One of the challenges he had to face while growing up was a rare disease that caused him to be completely numb towards pain. Never before had he felt himself get hurt. He could have lost an arm and felt nothing. The other major disorder he had faced, which got him many insulting nicknames in the short time he attended grade school before he switched to homeschooling, was his Tourette's syndrome, which caused him to tic and twitch in ways that he could not control. He would crack his neck uncontrollably and twitch every once in a while. The kids would tease him and call him Ticci Toby, and they mocked him with exaggerated twitching and laughing. It got so bad that he had to turn to homeschooling. It was too hard for him to be in a common learning environment with seemingly every kid poking or more like stabbing fun at him. Toby stared blankly out the window, his face empty of any emotion, and every few minutes his shoulder, arm or foot would twitch. Every bump that the car tires hit would make his stomach turn. Toby Rogers was the boy's name, and the last time Toby remembered riding in a car was when it crashed. That's all he thought about, unconsciously replaying everything he remembered before he blacked out over and over again. Toby had been the lucky one. His sister had not been so lucky. When the thought of his sister came, he couldn't help the tears that welled up in his eyes. The horrible memories replayed in his mind. Her screaming that had cut off when the front of the car was smashed in. It all went blank for a moment before Toby opened his eyes to see his sister's body. Her forehead pierced with glass shards, her hips and legs crushed under the force of the steering wheel and her torso pushed in from the too late inflated airbag. That was the last thing he had seen of his dear older sister. The road home continued on for what seemed like forever. It took so long to get home because his mom wanted to avoid the site of the crash. When the surroundings gave way to a familiar neighborhood, they were both more than ready to get out of the car and step into their own home. It was an older neighborhood with quaint little houses all next to each other. The car drove in front of a blue house with white windowpanes. They both quickly noticed an old vehicle that was parked in front of the house and the familiar figure that stood in the driveway. Toby felt automatic anger and frustration take over him at the sight of his father. His father who wasn't there. His mother pulled the car up in the driveway beside him before turning off the engine and preparing to step out and face her husband. Why is he here? Toby said quietly as he looked back at his mother who reached to open the car door. He's your father, Toby. He's here because he wants to see you. His mother responded in a monotone voice, trying to sound less shaky, yet couldn't drive up to the hospital to see Lira before she died. Toby narrowed his eyes out the window. He was drunk that night, honey. He couldn't drive. Yeah, when is he not? Toby pushed the door open before his mother and stumbled out onto the driveway where he met his father's gaze before looking down at his feet with a stern expression. His mother stepped out behind him and met her husband's eyes before walking around the car. His father opened up his arms, expecting a hug from his wife, but she walked past him and put her arm around Toby's shoulder and started leading him inside. Connie. Her husband began in a raspy voice. What? No welcome home hug, huh? She ignored her husband's obnoxious words and walked past him with her son under her arm. Hey, he's 16 and can walk by himself. His father began to follow them in. He's seventeen. Connie glared back at him before opening the door to the house and stepping inside. Toby, why don't we get you in your room to rest, okay? I'll come get you when dinner is ready. No, I'm 16. I can walk by myself. Toby said sarcastically and glared back at his father before stumbling up the small staircase and turning into his room where he slammed the door violently. His little room didn't have much in it, just a small bed, a dresser, a window, and his walls had a few picture frames of his family back when they were a family, before his father became an alcoholic and acted violently towards the rest of his family. Toby remembered when he was arguing with his mom and he grabbed her by the hair and shoved her onto the floor and when Lira had tried to Break it up. He pushed her and she hit her back on the kitchen counter. Toby could never forgive him for what he did to his mother and sister. Never. Toby didn't care how much his father beat him down. He couldn't feel it anyway. What he did care about was how intentionally he hurt the two people he cared about. And when he was waiting in the hospital where his sister took her last breaths, the only one who didn't rush there was his dad. Toby stood by the window and looked out at the street. He could have sworn he saw something out of the corner of his eye, but quickly blamed it on the meds that he was on. When dinner time had come and his mother called up to him, Toby came down the stairs and hesitantly sat down at the dinner table from his father and in between his mother and an empty chair. It was quiet as his parents picked at their food, but Toby refused to eat. Instead, he just watched his dad with a blank stare. His mother caught onto his staring and elbowed him slightly. Toby looked over at her and then down at his uneaten food, which he still didn't touch. That night Toby laid in his bed. He pulled his covers over his head and stared out the window. He was tired, but there was no way that he could fall asleep. There was too much he was thinking about. He had been debating on whether or not to follow his mother's directions and forgive his father or continue holding a grudge with his boiling hatred. He heard his door creak open and his mother padded into the room and sat on the bed next to him. She reached over and rubbed his back, which had been turned to her. I know it's been hard, Toby. Trust me, I understand. But I promise it'll get better, she said softly. When is he going to leave? Toby said with an innocent tone. With his shaky voice, Connie let her gaze fall down to her feet. I don't know, honey. He's staying as far as I know, she replied. Toby didn't respond. He just continued to look forward at the wall, holding his damaged arm near his chest. After a few minutes of silence, his mother sighed before she leaned in to kiss his cheek and stood up to walk out of the room. Good night, she said as she closed the door. The hours passed slowly and Toby couldn't quit tossing and turning every time he let his imagination take over. He heard the screeching of the tires, the screaming of his sister, and he would uncontrollably jerk. In bed. He threw off his cover and lying on his back, he pulled his pillow over his face and cried into it. He could hear his own pitiful weeping. He would have been screaming and crying if he didn't press his pillow over his face. However, after a few seconds he threw the pillow off his face and sat up, hunched over, holding his head and breathing roughly, tears streaming down his eyes, he couldn't help but cry. He tried to keep it in, but he couldn't stop. As he sat there shaking, he inhaled before he stood up and walked around his bed to the window and peered out. Taking deep breaths, trying to calm down, he rubbed his eyes and looked out at the group of tall pine trees across the street. He stopped suddenly and his gaze slowly centered on something standing under the streetlight he heard ringing in his ears and couldn't look away. The figure stood about 2ft shorter than the streetlight, long arms draped at its sides as it stared up at him with non existing eyes. The figure had no facial features to speak of. No eyes, no mouth, no nose. Yet it held Toby's hypnotized stare, seemingly peering into his very being. The ringing in his ears grew louder and louder each second he stared before suddenly it all went black.
