Part 1
“Excuse me! I liked that song!”
Becky reached down to change the station back to her song. A frustrated Mattie ran her fingers
through her dirty blond hair. The mother daughter duo had been on the road for several hours, and the
broken air conditioner wasn’t helping the long trip. It really wasn’t the distance; it was more the extra
stops that were getting to Mattie. Things like bathroom breaks… translation… refreshing of the makeup.
“Cell phone minutes are up mom I need more!”
But the best was yet to come…nail polish spilled onto the seat. 3 deodorizers later, and the smell was
still there!
There path was leading them from central Idaho near Boise, East into Montana straight through the
foothills Rocky Mountains. Mattie had initially been very excited about the trip from Idaho Falls. The
breathtaking scenic views were a welcome relief from their small cramped apartment. Rolling hills and
mountains and fresh air made Mattie feel like a brand new person. The family had moved to Idaho from
South Texas a couple of years ago, when her husband had gotten a promotion in the Idaho Falls branch.
There, he was a bigger fish in a smaller pond. A bit too big, for he had decided that his secretary needed
him more than his family did.
Mattie had set her dreams of writing for a couple of years, but found with the new situation, came new
responsibilities. So after 16 years of marriage, she was lucky enough to find work at a small newspaper,
writing articles in the home and garden section. But the position required that she pack up and make the
5 hour move to Billings, Montana. With a small Uhaul attached to the back of her minivan, they set out
on their new life, and new adventures.
“Look Becky! It’s like nothing I’ve ever seen!!”
As they traveled through the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, alternate rolling green hills and
mountainous terrain dotted with pine trees fancied the eye. The teenager was unimpressed as she just
kept on filing her nails. Raising a 15 year old had its challenges. Becky was unhappy about everything
from the divorce, to the fact that she had to leave her friends behind.
The extra stops had gotten them off to a late start. The sun setting over the mountains made it all the
more beautiful. Mattie felt more and more, as if she had made the right choice. As she started the long
hall down I-90, the sun set lower behind the horizon.
About a half hour later, stars were starting to peak out and silhouettes were becoming more
prominent. Mattie hit the headlights, and Becky was just finishing up a love-sick phone call.
“Darlin’, you act as if it’s the end of the world.”
She couldn’t believe she had said that. Knowing what being a teenager was like.
“Mom, you were a teenager once.”
Mattie put a hand on her daughter’s shoulder, “Baby, everything will right itself in time. Don’t worry.”
For the next 15 minutes, they drove in silence, both in their own worlds of thought. The road was all
but deserted, an occasional 18 wheeler or traveling family. Mattie was in need of some caffeine, and gas,
and vowed to take the next side road she saw to grab a strong cappuccino. Soon after, she saw a turn off to
the left, and headed for her much needed caffeine. The road was very dark, lacking in street lights. When
she thought about it, Mattie realized that there was no road sign at the beginning of the turn off, unless it
had been hidden by the trees. She didn’t see any mile markers; she didn’t see any street signs, or hints of
anyone living in the rural area.
Part 2
There was a strange feeling in the air, a sense of loneliness and doom. Mattie shivered in spite of
herself, and tried to shake the feeling. She looked over at her daughter. Becky had an odd look on her
face.
“What’s wrong sweetie?”
“I don’t know Mom. I can’t quite pinpoint it.”
Becky had been stealing glances at her mom. She had seen the sudden change, the sudden looks of
worry.
“How long before we are there?” Asked Becky.
“Well, after we grab some snacks, and get back on track, I would say we’ll hit Billings within an hour
and a half."
They both talked about how deserted the road was, and how long it was taking to find a gas station.
Mountains lined the road on the right. On the left of them, the land was more at their level, and the trees
were abundant. There were no homes visible, not even a porch light. The full moon had been covered by
the clouds, making the night solid black. Thump! The car hit a rather large chuckhole.
“Good lord!”
Mattie cringed as the minivan’s front left tire, hit the large hole, and unknown to them, the air slowly
started to leak out. The Uhaul trailer, with the larger tires, rocked, but made it through fine.
“You think they would maintain their roads a little better” Said Becky.
“Well, we haven’t had any problems until now” replied Mattie.
In her mind, she was thinking about the research she had done on Montana. One of the things that
she had learned was about all the disappearances of people who ventured off by themselves, gone, never to
be found. She had studied up on the wildlife as well. They included grizzly bears, grey wolves, and
mountain lions, among other things. At the time, looking at the beautiful pictures of Montana, seeing the
wild grizzly bears in different photos, sounded “off the hook” as her daughter would say. Now, out here in
the dark of night, she was kind of putting 2 and 2 together, and within moments, had herself believing
that every single person that had disappeared was eaten whole by a grizzly bear! She started to silently
worry about what would happen, if they actually broke down out here. Sure, she could grab the cell phone,
and call for a tow truck, but how would she tell them where they were? All she recalled is that they were
off some old side road along the very long stretch of I-90. And even if she managed that, what would they
do, if some bad guy came along while they were waiting for help? Or a mountain lion!!
" MOM!!"
Mattie snapped out of her nightmarish thoughts, just in time to swerve and miss the deer that had been
frozen in the headlights. A smug smile came across her face, as she recovered from the swerve nicely.
Her husband had always ridiculed her driving.
“Gosh Mom! You seemed a million miles away!”
"Sorry honey, I just got lost in my thoughts.” “My goodness, how long do we have to drive to find a
quick stop?!”
They had gone at least ten miles. To turn the van and Uhaul around would definitely be a task. Mattie
looked up ahead, and in the beams of her bright headlights, it looked like a man walking toward them, on
the left of the road. She slowed a bit. As they got closer and were about to pass him, Mattie looked in his
direction, and did a double-take.
She had to be seeing things! As she had slowly driven by, the man looked at her, as she looked at him.
His face distorted, and took on the features of a… wolf! A wolf?! Why would she think that?
“Mattie, forget the cappuccino. You need a good long nap!”
Becky had been looking at the map, and hadn’t seen what her mother had. About 2 miles further,
Mattie decided that the best thing to do was to turn around. After 12 miles on this old beat up road, they
had seen no convenient stop.
“Becky, help me keep an eye out for a place to turn around.”
“K Mom.”
As they looked as best they could in the pitch black, the chuckhole infested road faded to gravel terrain.
“Great! This is just great!”
Mattie was looking at the road ahead through the dusty windshield. She all but growled as she stared
at the metal road guard blocked them from going any further [in the van]. Graffiti decorated the road
guard and a rusted sign read “road closed”. Several empty beer cans were scattered about. Beyond the
road guard, from what they could see in the dark, was the same rough terrain they had already traveled.
She knew that the only way that she was going to get the van and Uhaul turned around, was to chance
turning it into the overgrown fields on their left.
Becky rolled her eyes, and said “Mom, I gotta go”
Mattie rolled her eyes right back at her daughter, and reached into the glove box. “Here, take this with
you.”
She handed her daughter a flashlight and told her not to go too far. Mattie then got out to stretch her
legs, and check out her surroundings so she could better turn around. After she hopped out, she headed
toward the front of the minivan. What she saw gave her instant goose bumps. The front tire on the
driver’s side had a slow leak. It wasn’t completely flat, but it soon would be.
“Becky!! Let’s move it!”
Mattie started to worry again, as Becky came walking back toward the van, complaining all the way.
“Dang Mom! Give a girl a minute!”
Mattie was watching her daughter, and thinking about the man they had passed up the road. She would
lose her mind if anything happened to her baby girl. Becky was all she had in the world.
“Come on sweetie. That chuckhole we hit seems to have caused a leak in the tire.”
Becky sped up her walk. Mattie eyed the fields and knew she had no choice but to try to turn around.
She put the van in reverse, and backed up a few yards.
“Cross your fingers” said Mattie.
The van and Uhaul rocked from side to side as she attempted to turn to the around in the weeds. When
she had it turned about half way around, she felt the tire rub the ground.
“Damnit! There goes the tire!”
A quick glance at the dash revealed that it was 11:30. “Great! Now the clock is screwing up.” said
Mattie.
She knew the sun had just set when they started on this road, and that it couldn’t possibly be 11:30.
She turned on the interior light for a moment to check her watch... 11:31.
“That is just weird!”
“What is just weird?” asked Becky.
“That we have been on this road for no more than 30 or 40 minutes, and the time reads 11:30!”
Mattie tried to park on the dirt road but the tire hit an indent, and all the weight on the back of the
van, would not allow it to go any further. Unseen eyes watched, as she and her daughter got out of the van.
Part 3
“Now what Mom?”
“Well, obviously, I’ll call for help.”
Static was present, as she attempted to call her insurance agent. After a few rings, an assistant
answered.
“Mobility Plus, how may I direct your”
… Static took the place of the friendly voice. “Hello? Oh please. This can’t be happening!”
Mattie was exasperated at their luck. A try at her daughter’s phone proved useless as well. Becky again
sensed her mom’s aggravation, and tried to ease her mind…
”We could roast marshmallows and talk about guys” she joked.
She managed to get a chuckle for her mom,
“We need to grab our hiking boots out of the back of the van. Looks like we have some walking to do.”
Becky grabbed the flashlight, and they changed into their hiking boots.
“You know Mom; this might sound nuts to you, because you’re basically old. But to me, this is kind of
fun.”
“Hey! I can have fun…planned fun.”
“That’s my spontaneous mom!”
Mattie grabbed her keys and mace, and they headed on their way. They breathed in the fresh, early
spring night air as they made their way. The crickets and frogs sang a nighttime tune. They had walked
almost 3 miles.
“I wonder where that guy came from.” Becky wondered out loud.
“What guy?” asked Mattie, knowing what guy Becky was speaking of.
“You know, the guy who was walking awhile back. I mean, there was no broken down car, no camp. Not
any camp we could see anyways. Where did he come from?”
Mattie could see the direction this conversation was taking, “Look Becky. I don’t want you getting
worried over nothing. Remember, he was headed in the opposite direction.”
“I know Mom, but I…”
Becky stopped short of finishing her sentence. They froze in unison with the quiet, low, growl that
came from the overgrown field next to them. Becky went pale, and moved closer to her mom. Mattie’s
grip tightened around the mace in her jacket. The field, now on their right, became their worst enemy. A
pitch black pasture, against a 2 dollar flashlight and a can of mace. They continued to slowly walk on the
left of the road, as far as they could get from the field where they had heard the growl.
“Just keep walking Baby. Try not to show fear. An animal can smell fear.”
Becky thought to herself, that her mom had lost it. ‘Try not to show fear?’ She had just heard a growl
that made her bones go cold. How was she gonna maintain cool?! She didn’t say a word, as they slowly
walked along. Suddenly, they heard a rustling of the weeds across the narrow dirt road. Mattie tried to
reason, that it was Spring, and that wildlife should have a buffet out here. If it was winter, and food was
harder to come by, she and Becky could be more of a target. However, the reasoning didn’t work too long
when they heard another, closer growl. The hell with calm, “let’s step it up!!” They walked quickly
straight ahead.
This only agitated the creature in the field. A sniff of the air, revealed the fear of the humans. Its
head low to the ground, shoulder blades prominent and its back claws digging into the dirt, it prepared to
attack.
They both screamed as the beautiful, deadly mountain lion came out from hiding in mid field, and ran
in large bounds across the dirt road straight toward them. Even though what happened next, happened in
seconds, it seemed like slow motion.
“Run Becky!!” Mattie screamed.
She pulled her hand out of her pocket, holding the mace. As she raised it and took aim, she realized
how pitiful the small black can was against this awesome creature. CRACK!!! The mountain lion had
been in mid air, when it would have landed, it would have been on Mattie. But instead, it did a 180 degree
turn (mid air) and landed on its side facing the opposite direction.
Mattie’s mouth hung slack. She looked oddly at the can of mace, then at the mountain lion. Then at
her daughter, who had fallen to the ground next to her in anticipation of an attack. Becky seemed fine,
and started to get up. As they looked toward the stunned lion, it stirred, and raised its head. Mattie got
the can ready. As it got up, it let out a wild scream and ran back into the field from where it had appeared.
“I hate cats.”
The girls nearly jumped out of their skins as they looked in the direction of the road. Mattie grabbed
the flashlight off the ground, and pointed it at the road. There he stood. Very tall, about 6’4 long black
hair tied back, and faded jeans. The Indian held a smoking rifle in his hands.
“Uh?” Mattie instantly became instantly flustered, and Becky instantly started the flipping of the hair.
The man chuckled and started to speak.
“Do you ladies want to tell me what brings you out to these parts?”
“Cappuccino” replied Mattie, all but entranced by this handsome stranger.
“Mooooom” An embarrassed Becky rolled her eyes.
“Sir, we are from Idaho. We are not real familiar with this area, and thought we would try to
find a Quick Stop to grab some snacks for our trip.”
As the man came closer out of the shadows, Mattie realized it was the man they had seen walking
earlier. She had a flashback of the way his face had momentarily distorted into a wolf.
“Um, it looks like we came upon a dead end, and got ourselves stuck” said Mattie.
“Well, you picked a bad road to look for cappuccino.” The man smiled patiently. “You see, this road
has been closed for several years. It was in bad need of repair, so instead of repairing it, the county
decided it best, if they built a new road, and close this one off. Had you lovely ladies stayed on I-90 for a
couple more miles, you would have found your much needed cappuccino.”
“But what about people who live on this road?” Asked Becky. “How did they feel about that?”
“I am the only one who lives on this road. In fact, I own a lot of the land around here. That’s why
there is still access.” He held out his right hand as he moved toward Mattie. “Nice to meet ya. You can
call me Joe.”
Mattie shook his hand, and introduced herself and her daughter.
“When I saw you 2 pass me in your van, I knew there may be trouble. The plates told me you were
out-of-towners. And I figured you may get stuck.”
“Well, we did get stuck, and a flat tire as well.” Mattie’s face was beet red.
“Thank goodness you came along. You saved out lives!”
Joe waved it off. “I have lived here all my life. My ancestry is with the Blackfoot tribe. We are
familiar with the land, and the nature. A rifle doesn’t hurt either.”
“You say you live down here, where is that?”
“You really can’t see it from here. It is a cabin in the woods beyond this field.”
“Do you have a phone? Or maybe you help us get out of here?” asked Becky.
“I am sorry. I don’t have a phone. The county won’t run phone lines out here with only one household.
I really don’t want a phone though.”
“So, you try to stay close to nature, and your heritage, with no use of phones?” asked Becky.
Joe laughed heartily. “No little one. Too many telemarketers.”
Mattie couldn’t help but to giggle, and an embarrassed Becky wanted to turn invisible.
“I can walk with you two. About 3 miles more, is where I keep my truck parked.” If you choose, I can
get you to a phone.”
Joe eyed Mattie up and down. “I’m guessing you have a cell phone, and realized it doesn’t work out
here?”
“You guessed right” replied Mattie.
“You are in rural Montana. Cell phones won’t work out here.” As they started to walk, Mattie began
to speak…
“Thank you so much Joe. I don’t know what would have happened. Well, I do know, but I just don’t
want to think about it.”
It was Joe’s turn to blush. He shrugged his shoulders,
"Anyone would have done the same thing. It’s just not a place to tamper with. There are things out
here, well, never mind. Let’s just focus on getting you guys safely on your way.”
“What do you mean Joe?” “Like bears and stuff?” asked Mattie.
“Yes & no. I mean of course the wildlife is abundant, but there is more. I don’t want to frighten you
and your daughter.”
"Come on, we have already bumped into a mountain lion, what else could top that out here? You can
tell us Joe, I would love to hear.” Said Becky.
“It’s fine Joe. I would love to hear too.”
Joe looked over at his new found friends, and decided it was best that they know some of the truth.
“This place is cursed. You are lucky you only encountered a mountain lion. It is haunted, and there
are creatures out here that the world would rather not know about. The land itself is a bed of evil. It
waits for victims like you, and… just keep in mind, that it isn’t always a human, or a mountain lion.
People disappear all the time, and the mystery is often left unsolved. Especially around here.”
Mattie raised an eyebrow “So you’re saying it’s…haunted.” It was more of a statement than a
question.
“Yes indeed I am.”
Mattie decided it was best if she play along.
“Wow. That is very interesting.”
Becky didn’t know what to say. Before anyone could say anything else, they all saw a red glowing ball
of light in their path. It was floating stationary in mid air about 20 feet in front of them.
“What the hell is that?” Mattie exclaimed.
“Joe, maybe you need to get your gun ready” said Becky.
“Sometimes Becky, a rifle just doesn’t do any good.” Said Joe.
The light began to grow bigger in circumference. It then started to move slowly toward them. When it
came within 10 feet, itt stopped for a moment, and at an impossible speed, shot off to the left, where a low
hanging cliff hung slightly over the road. It hit the cliff hard, causing it to break off and land right in
front of the trio. Becky then heard her mom use some words that she had never heard her use before.
"Let’s go. Said Joe. Just keep moving."
The girls started to walk, and Joe turned for a moment,
“Leave them alone. They mean you no harm” he said quietly. He then quickly caught up with Mattie
and Becky.
Part 4
The next few minutes were uneventful and filled with tension. Even though Joe knew way more that
he was telling, he didn’t feel they needed to know. He had already said too much.
“So Joe, do you have any family?” asked Mattie.
“Not around here. I guess you could say I’m a ‘lone wolf'.”
As they walked along, the moon started to peek out from behind the clouds. “About another mile to
go” said Joe.
“Can I ask why you park your truck so far away?” inquired Mattie.
“I parked my truck further away, because I know how rough the terrain gets out where you two ended
up. My truck is old. A 1957 Chevy.”
This whole situation seemed so surreal to Mattie and Becky. Mattie silently blamed herself for
putting them both in a life-threatening situation. But all she could do now was to get them back on the
road safely with Joe’s help.
The air became ice cold, and they all felt a presence behind them. Joe turned just in time, to see an
apparition. It was pale, and human in form. It looked like a young male hiker, but he wasn’t solid. They
could see right through him! The bright red blood stood out sharply against the pale glowing apparition.
Blood all over his hiking clothes, but what was most prominent was when the spirit raised a bloody stump,
half an arm. The girls screamed and the sounds echoed through the mountains. Joe grabbed both of their
hands and began to run.
“You should have never come this way!” “It was a big mistake!”
“What are you saying Joe?”
“This land is cursed! Cursed by a family that lived here in 1965.”
Mattie could see the glow of Joe’s old Chevy, just a few sweet yards away. They came to a stop in front
of the rusted truck. Joe continued his story:
“A small new family came to town in 1965. A husband, wife, and their 3 young children, two girls and
a boy. One day, while the mother was out hanging laundry on the line, the youngest child Sarah, age 5,
saw a little kitty in the field beyond their home. She wanted to pet the kitty, and headed off to catch it.
Her mother Andrea, looked up from her chores, in time to see her daughter chase the “kitty”. The kitty,
was a cub, and the cub’s mama was close by. Her Mom ran for her daughter, seeing the mountain lion.
But it was too late. The lion made off with Sarah, the cub following close behind. They never saw her
again…alive. After that, the mother went insane. The father tried everything to bring his loving wife
back, but nothing helped."
One night, as they slept, a couple of bandits, and a wolf that traveled with them, came through the
remote area, hiding out from the law. They were hungry and broke. When they saw the single homestead,
they made it their target. When the thieves broke in, the father awakened. He tried fruitlessly to fight
them, and as his son & daughter ran into the room, he was being tied to a chair. They told the children to
sit down, and not to move. The mother, mentally unaware, still lay in bed, yearning for her baby. The
thieves entered the bedroom, and shot her in cold blood.
The father yelled and tried to escape. The kids cried out when the bandits entered back into the living
room, holding their mother's wedding band. The father cursed them to Hell. He vowed that they would die
painfully, as well as anyone else who stepped foot on his land. They laughed. They then shot the
daughter. This enraged her big brother. He got up, and ran head first into one of the bad guys, knocking
him to the ground. Seeing this, their wolf companion attacked the boy, killing him They killed the father,
took the little money the family had, left in a hurry. They didn’t get far; they were found 2 days later by
hunters, less than a mile from the home. The two men, and the wolf, had been ripped to shreds. They had
some of the family’s belongings…”
Bam!!
Something hit the side of truck hard! Joe snapped out of the past and again heard the collective high-
pitch scream from the girls. He cringed slightly…his ears were very sensitive. Walking toward them was a
ghostly wolf. It had blood on its snout, as if it had just had its last meal.
Joe reached in his jean pocket and pulled out a key. The whole time, not taking his eyes from the
snarling wolf.
“Here Mattie, take the keys, get in the truck…slowly.
The wolf started to creep forward.
“I want you to take Becky, and fly!”
“We can’t leave you here Joe!”
“Don’t worry about me, just go! Park the truck at the gas station 2 miles down I-90, leave the keys
inside and call for a ride outta here! Hurry!!"
The wolf was done wasting time. As Mattie was slamming the driver door shut, the wolf’s head hit the
front fender full force. It didn’t hurt the wolf at all. You can’t hurt something that is already dead.
Mattie did a reverse u-turn, and vowed to send help for Joe. Becky buckled her seatbelt and Mattie hit the
gas. The truck created a cloud of dust as she sped off. She looked in the rear view mirror, worried about
Joe, and almost wrecked because of what she saw. Joe wasn’t there, instead it looked as if a…werewolf
had taken his place, and was now fighting the ghostly wolf. She didn’t tell Becky what she saw.
Nothing else happened as they pulled into the old mom & pop gas station. It was closed, but there was
a payphone out front. They got out of the truck, Becky was crying. Mattie put a shaky arm around her
daughter. They quickly went to the payphone and dialed 911. When she got off the phone and turned
around to head to the truck, it was gone.
The truck had vanished.
When the local sheriff arrived at the gas station a half hour later, Mattie tried to explain what went
on, while trying her best to make it sound believable.
“He is on that old closed down road. The one a couple of miles that way.”
“Miss, what road are you talking about?” “There is no closed down road around here.”
"Our friend is hurt. He needs help! He is on that road that turns to gravel!! Please, please, help him!”
“I tell, you, I have lived here for many years ladies, there is no road that is ‘Closed down’. The only
thing like that within a couple of miles was old route 8. But it was closed off in the 60’s, after a local
tragedy. They opened it about five years ago, Factories run all the way down to the end of the road."
3 hours later…
As Mattie rode in her sister’s car, Becky was resting in the back seat. They past where the road was
supposed to be. It was 3 am, but she could still see the factories lit up. About a mile further, they saw
Mattie’s van and Uhaul sitting unharmed on the side of I-90.
Tracey H.
PROOF Paranormal