The Strange Road to Redding Pt II

I studied my map quietly listening to the breeze and rubbing myself for warmth. Taking note of the route I was going to take, I heard an unusual noise. I instinctively looked up, the noise stopped, and I didn't see anything. Getting back to what I was doing, I heard it again, but focused on the sound as I stared at the map. The noise sounded similar to the "Vertibird" or flying machine, except the wind wasn't blowing any harder, and it didn't sound like it was chopping through the air. I stared at my map listening to the noise as it seemed to get closer and closer. It sounded like it was crawling over the old road and had that continuous rugged generator or engine sound. I stared harder at the map and tried even harder to ignore it, but then the noise sounded no more than 10ft away. I lowered the map to see a "Truck?"

It wasn't one of the rusty old beat up trucks broken from the blast and time. It was driving right towards me! I panicked and aimed my rifle at it while it inched closer. The headlights were almost blinding, and just as I raised my hands to minimize the beams, they shut off. The truck moved closer and closer. I sat inside the busted car confused as could be when I noticed something was off (Even more off than a working truck in the wasteland)… I could see the road barrier just beyond it...

The truck stopped right next to me and I was paralyzed with shock. As I wondered why there was a working and transparent truck parked beside me, I focused on the "Thing." In the bed of the truck were dozens of gas cans, duffle bags with weapon barrels poking out, and a 55gallon gas drum standing up right and fastened to the right corner of the bed closest to the cabin. I just stood there with a look of confusion plastered on my face unable to do much else as I looked over the thing. I turned my head to the cabin to see three ghouls sitting in there? The ghouls stared straight ahead, all of them in prewar army uniforms, and all their faces… Sad. All of them looked very sad for some reason, adding even more to the confusion. A thought popped into my head, maybe I took some of those drugs from the first aid kit when I woke up? I didn't remember doing that. The ghostly vehicle ended its brief pause and resumed trudging on down the road.

Not knowing if I was going crazy or not, I shut my eyes tight as can be, and smacked my head a few times. I slowly opened my eyes to reveal… Nothing.

I looked everywhere spinning in circles like a madman and trying to figure out if what I saw was real. There was no sign of the truck anywhere even though I heard the engine noise echo into the distance. I was alone, alone on a crumpling old highway. I thought I was losing it, so I busted out my last can of food and when I stuck my fork in it I noticed something else. I saw it just briefly, but I saw a woman with long brown hair done up, with a slender frame.

Again astounded, I squinted to see her better. 100 yards in the direction I was going, she stood motionless. I collapsed into the side of the car, keeping my head focused on the woman. She held something in her hands that looked like flowers. Not mutated flowers for gecko seasoning, but flowers I'd only seen in books that were a bright red in that sea of dead trees, grey sky, and rubble strewn road. Staring at the seemingly spectral figure, I then noticed she had a belly under her long white dress. I couldn't see any facial features from the distance she stood, but it was clear she had a belly. A pregnant ghost?

Despite the pregnant nature of the... ghost, I wasn't sure if it was about to murder me for some other-worldly reason. Not aware of how to react in the presence of the supernatural, I decided to not go out on an empty stomach. I slammed my last can of beans like a shot, took one good swig of water, and racked a round into my rifle.

I stood up with my auto rifle at the ready and turned to the thing saying aloud, "This Ghost Bitch is Gonna Get It!..."

Just like that, she/it was gone.

I walked down the highway, weapon drawn and super paranoid. I recalled last night's conversation with the tribals and thought cannibals were the least of my worries in the presence of all this strange shit happening around me. The Arroyo Hunters said that this area was haunted, driving the tribals to cannibalism or whatever in the daytime. I'm pretty sure I'd eaten people growing up, but never thought ghosts or whatever made people cannibals. Haunted or not, there was too much weird shit happening that day, and I had to get the hell out of there.

So, I booked it down the road. Through the wind, I heard indistinct whispering that got louder and louder as I approached the former sight of the ghost. As soon as I stepped where the ghost woman stood, I felt a KISS on my right cheek. Within a millisecond of that, I flailed my arms and body around like a crazy person battling a swarm of bees.

Then one more millisecond later; I heard a sweet-sounding feminine voice say into my left ear clear as day, "Good Job Hun."

I flailed around again like a lunatic and screamed into the dead wastes, "I Need TO Get Out Of HERE!"

So, I ran clumsily down the road and the whispers soon died out. When I eventually got my bearing, it turned out I ran several miles. When I stopped, I had no idea that the clouds had gone all of the sudden... I sat next to another car and poured one of my last water bottles straight down my throat. I truly gathered myself next to that car being blinded by the clear sky and now setting sun.

I ran over the situation in my head again. I couldn't believe all the shit that happened on that stretch of I-5 and why? What was up with that truck? What was up with that woman? I collected myself and noticed the sun was just about to disappear below the west. I first saw the "Ghost Truck" at around late morning? Maybe 10ish after leaving the campsite at 6 or 7. Immediately after the ghost truck, I heard the whispers, saw the woman, and there I currently sat, looking at my watch while the sun slowly disappeared. 6:32pm. I ran maniacally away from the ghosts and shit for almost 9 hours!?

I shouted out loud again, "WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED!?"

The sound echoed into the distance, my heart slowed, and I took in the surroundings. I read a giant faded highway sign that said, "Mt. Shasta." Grappling with the situation for a long time, I eventually looked at my map just before it got too dark and saw it. I had completely passed two of the desolate towns I was going to stop at. There, I saw another old sign that faintly read, "Redding 90 Miles" It was dark out then, and I pondered the effectiveness of "Insane Running" as I wondered if I stepped through a "Time Portal" or something. I could've swore that I stepped onto the highway only a few minutes ago, but my watch and the setting sun said otherwise. The only believable part of that entire day was the pain in my feet from apparently running for so long. So, I drifted off to sleep in that vacant car by the turn off to Mt. Shasta.

I awoke in the old car on the I-5 noticing that the temperature was a bit warmer than I was used to. The night was definitely cold, but as the sun broke the tree line I had to take off two of my jackets. I slung them over my back, drank my last water bottle, and stuffed the last of my prewar crumbs in my face. Redding was far, but yesterday I covered more ground in my flee from the ghosts than I would have in two days. So, stomach full enough, and completely hydrated, I kept going.

The breeze was still cold, but the sun was beating down like it wasn't the the middle of January. I thought a lot about everything that happened in Klamath, but by that point my mind was almost completely on the ghostly and cannibal incidents from the days before.

I kept thinking about that woman's voice, "Good Job Hun."

Good job what? What was she talking about? Why the Kiss?... or whatever that was? I haven't been kissed too many times in my life, except by mom a long time ago (Jenny the hooker didn't allow kissing). I knew what a peck on the cheek felt like, but that voice I heard yesterday sure as shit wasn't my mom! At that thought I laughed. The only action I've ever gotten in my life at that point was at the Bathhouse in Klamath… Now I can say I got kissed by a ghost! I laughed out loud again, but kept wondering what she/it meant by, "Good Job."

I went over the situation again and again as I walked. I saw the ghost truck, the thing disappeared, and then I saw the ghost woman. I shrunk to the ground, and thought the ghost would try to kill or possess me or whatever. I then decided to not go out on an empty stomach by drinking water, and downing a can of food. I stood up, ready to blast the ghost (I don't think guns would've even done anything to a ghost). Then she was gone.

Then, when I approached, she said, "Good Job Hun" after pecking me. Walking along I continuously thought, "Good Job What?"

I disregarded that for a second, thinking that I was pretty thirsty and hungry. Then it hit me! I think!? I kept wondering the whole day if I was dehydrated or malnourished when I saw the ghosts. I wondered if I was imagining them. Then it hit me again! I spent the previous evening running from cannibals and had no time to eat. After seeing the woman, I downed my food, drank my water, and got up to blast her.

I put numbers together, I ate and drank, I ate and drank, I ate and drank. "Good Job Hun…. On eating and drinking?"

Ghost wanted me to eat something? By the time I had that thought, it was already nighttime. I couldn't believe it myself and was getting pretty hungry again. So, I thought the ghost was looking out for me… Yep… Mystery Solved! That didn't explain the truck though, but by this evening, I was done thinking.

I couldn't even focus on why I saw the truck because I was so hungry. I reached a spot on the highway and saw the sign that said, "Redding 45 Miles." I immediately wondered how I traveled another 45 miles in one day of thinking.

Still hungry, and genuinely believing that I was going insane, I decided that I needed to eat again. I threw all thoughts of the strange incidents out of my mind and went towards the underbrush. Out of prewar food, and stumbling off the highway, I almost immediately found a little pool of water around some thinning trees that had a lot of bugs!

*The ghosts in this chapter are a reference to a story I've yet to upload about the Fallout Universe, and loosely based on a ghostly experience I personally had Lol!... Sorry if you were lost the whole time, but there will be reference to this incident later.*