This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.

The original was posted on /r/nosleep by /u/throwawayaracehorse on 2024-07-22 23:16:54+00:00.

I’ve been collecting accounts of numerous travelers across the continental United States, individuals who have encountered a mysterious radio program known as The Rules of the Road. Many times, hearing this program results in devastating consequences.

Stephanie and Jennifer were two sisters in their early twenties. They had both been together when they heard the broadcast.

I spoke with both of them to get a separate account of their experience with the cursed rule.

The following is a continuation of Jennifer and Stephanie’s experience with The Rules of the Road. You can read the first part here.

Stephanie

When Jen came to me in hysterics with what she had seen, well I didn’t want to give it up to chance. I’d seen a horror movie or two. I knew how these things went. Nobody believed you until it was too late.

I had a plan. If this whole thing was just one big hoax, well we might look a little silly, but we really had nothing to lose. 

Jennifer

I couldn’t turn to Zach. Is it any surprise that he had once again withdrawn from me? After the picnic failure, he acted like his feelings were hurt, that I hadn’t given him credit for trying, that I was ungrateful, that I was a bitch for yelling at him. 

But later, when I was sure that I had seen the thing, when it was getting closer, when I was at the end of my rope, I sought help from anybody I could.

Steph

I didn’t really know what we were dealing with until later, when it started getting closer to Jen. 

Jen

After several nights, it escaped my dreams.

From the window, it called to me. 

Somehow.

I stirred from my sleep, alone in our bed we hadn’t shared in the past week. I had this urge to part the curtains and look out across the parking lot to the far edge of where the weeds grew tall. Under the glow of moonlight I could see it.

How can I describe this creature? Imagine a platypus. Imagine it’s the size of a sedan That alone would be enough to really fuck with your head. But that wasn’t the only thing, because somehow it was more…reptilian? Like something prehistoric, like its scaly skin was pushing through the underside of a thin coating of fur. And its eyes were glowing in a purple I had never seen, a light that seemed like it was floating on this mist, a mist that I could see heading my way, carrying the light.

My mind was filled with static. I was rooted to the spot, paralyzed. My eyes locked into its eyes.

It put thoughts in my head, thoughts that formed words from an alien language that no human tongue could hope to pronounce. But somehow, I understood what those words meant.

Hungry.

Feed.

You.

Me.

Every time I looked out the window, I caught glimpses. And every time it was closer. 

Steph

My first thought was that I was going to have to get Jen professional help. But I put that aside for the time being. We could look into doing that later. 

Jen

Hungry.

Feed.

You.

Me.

The alien words and their secret meaning played through my head in a loop. It was a directive

It was hungry. It wanted me to feed it. To give myself over. 

Later, I somehow got the sense that it would take anybody and it would be sated. I could offer myself, sure. 

But I didn’t have to. 

Somebody else would satisfy its hunger.

I don’t know if I could do what it would take. I saw visions of myself walking peacefully across the parking lot toward the thing, my palms held up like I was holding an invisible platter, head held high. I accepted my fate. I was swallowed whole and my body was never found. 

But despite the visions, I wasn’t strong enough to do that. I could only curl into a ball in my bedroom, awaiting my fate. 

Even the other option, the only thing I could come up with. I wasn’t strong enough to do that, either.

Steph

As far as I was concerned, there was one person responsible for this whole thing. He should be the one to pay the price. If he went in Jen’s place, she’d be free. Sure, she should’ve never relied on him, but you don’t fuck with blood. I told her I’d be over to make it right.

Jen

I hadn’t shown up to work in a couple days. I hadn’t seen Zach in just about as long. Suddenly, he burst into the room. 

“What are you doing? What’s the matter?”

I lay motionless on the bed.I hadn’t showered, had barely moved. “It’s coming,” was all I could whimper.

Steph

I was envisioning ways to make this happen. Spiked drinks or poisoned dinners. Guiding Zach’s half-drunk ass to some wetlands ditch crowded with cattails where he would be presented as a meal to the thing stalking my sister. I know it sounds crazy. It was crazy. But I’d do anything for her.

Jen

“What is babe? What’s coming?” Zach asked.

“The end.”

“The end? Is this about that broadcast? The Buck Hensley thing?”

“Unless,” I said.

“Unless what? You’re not making sense.”

He was closer now. I knew my breath was awful. I had barely left this spot on the bed, my teeth and mouth bone dry. I wanted to cry but tears would no longer come. “Unless somebody takes my place.”

“Takes your place?”

Do you want to go on a walk? I thought. I would only have to say it out loud and this would all be over.

“Babe, you’re not going anywhere. Let me call your sister.”

Steph

In my mind, we weren’t murderers. This was going to happen regardless. Like there’s a car wreck and the devil appears and he offers you a bargain. You get to choose a survivor. One survivor. 

The price for choosing? 

Guilt, I guess.  

If Jen and Zach are in this hypothetical car wreck, I choose her every time. 

Jen

Me or him. 

Me or him. 

Me or him. 

If I lay here on this floor, if I didn’t move, it would be like I wasn’t making a choice at all. 

Steph

But I guess it didn’t really work out the way I was thinking. The devil had other plans.

Jen

Zach left the room for a bit, returned shaking the pill bottle from my ER visit, the pain pills clattering around in the orange cylinder. Percocets. 

“Know what that sound is?” he asked. “That’s the dopehead mating call.” 

I raised my head, confused. 

Steph

I guess there’s several versions of what could’ve happened.

There’s the version where Zach would do anything for his girlfriend, even die for her. He accepts his fate.

Or there’s the version where Zach loves his girlfriend so much that he will do anything for her, even kill. It was the least he could do.

Because I think we know that Zach doesn’t really love Jen, not in any meaningful way. He did what he did because he knew she could’ve walked him across that parking lot to his demise and he would be none the wiser, that I was coming over to do the same thing.

Jen

Zach asked me where I last saw the thing. I told him the overgrown field by the parking lot. Was he really going to sacrifice himself for me? Maybe he didn’t believe it.

He would return a couple hours later, a satisfied expression on his face. The next day, after I had showered and put myself back together and went in to work to beg forgiveness for my no-call no-show, a lady stopped me in the apartment complex courtyard. She looked familiar. She was the one I’d seen talking with Scratchy, weeks back. 

“Hey miss, sorry to bother you, but have you seen Jerry?”

“Jerry?” I asked.

“Skinny guy. Always hanging out around here. We’re on again/off again. That whole deal. I know he’s out and about here all the time. He’s got a place here. I can’t get in. He won’t answer my calls”

“Oh,” I said. 

Scratchy. That’s who she was talking about. 

 “I haven’t seen him in a few days. I’ll let you know.” 

Steph

Another bonus for doing what he did: he now had this to hold over her head for the rest of their life together. You know what I mean?

I can just hear him now: 

‘I saved you, Jen. It was my idea to take your percocet down to the courtyard, to slide Scratchy a couple and ask if he’d be interested in a little more.'Why not follow me a little ways out here? I’m parked right over here at the back corner of the parking lot, right by the vacant lot that’s like a swamp, where the weeds and cattails grow tall and oops! I don’t know what got into me. Sorry for throwing that bottle. I guess I thought it would be funny if you had to walk all the way out in the middle of that muck to get those pills. Maybe I just wanted to see how bad you really needed them?

Go on out there and get them. The bottle’s practically full.’  

That’s what I think happened. Either that or the rule was a whole made up thing.  

Jen

So yeah, that’s my experience with The Rules of the Road and I think that about sums it up. I guess I was lucky, after all. Did you have any other questions?

I paused, trying to piece together everything. I wanted clarification on Jerry, but I was cut off by a voice in the background. a male voice that said, “Hey babe, can you run to the store and get me a sixer? I’m in the middle of something.”

“Uh, sure,” she called back to the voice.

“And yeah, I’m sorry to pull this on you, but you’ve got a few more months of this until you can partake and I know you’re good to drive.”

“Wait,” I said. “Is that . . .”

“Um, yeah,” Jen said.

“And what did he mean by a few more months?”

For a long time she didn’t say anything.

“Oh, you know. Drinking while pregnant. That whole thing.”