Still a couple hundred miles from home, Johnny could feel his eyes starting to burn from exhaustion. He rolled down the front windows in a fruitless attempt to keep himself awake.

This particular road was long and dark, barbed-wire fences stretching as far as the eye could see, but no animals in sight. He’d driven through here only a handful of times before, but it had always made him feel uneasy. A slight twinge in his gut. It was too dark, too silent, and far too deserted for his tastes.

Still so far from home.

He began to drift off.

Such a long road.

So tired.

When he snapped to, he was shocked to see someone running toward his car. A woman was screaming for help and waving her arms. Johnny slammed on his brakes, swearing under his breath.

“Please help me!” The woman cried, running over to the passenger window. “There’s something out there!”

She pointed up the road and Johnny squinted into the darkness until he realized he saw movement. It was the barbed-wire fence, but only a small section, bouncing up and down in the limited view of his headlights. There was a twang as the bouncing section shifted, moving closer. Then closer again.

“What the hell?” Johnny stared wide-eyed.

“Please! You have to get me out of here,” the woman begged.

There was no one there to move it, but the motions were too deliberate to be the wind. As each new section began to move, the one behind it froze and the movement was speeding up now. Four seconds of bouncing, then on to the next section. Three seconds now.

“What is it?!” Johnny asked.

“We have to go!” the woman begged.

One second bounces, and Johnny could taste the terror burning in his gut.

“Get in!” he shouted as the fence bounced not twenty feet from his car.

The woman dove into the passenger seat, and Johnny began to take off before the door was even closed. To his horror there was a shrill piercing screech coming from that invisible section of fence, then suddenly the fences on both sides of the road began to bounce all at once. The screeches came again and again, and Johnny swore he could feel something powerful buffeting against the car. He hit the gas full on, and shot down the road at top speed.

After an eternity, they reached the end of the road, and turned back onto streets with lights and other cars.

“Thank you,” his passenger said quietly.

“What the hell was that?” Johnny asked.

“That was my family, wishing me luck,” she stated.

Johnny slowly turned toward her. She was smiling at him. Or rather, her mouth was smiling, but the rest of her face was missing.

“We can’t leave on our own, but if a traveler takes us along, well…”

Johnny felt the agony of sharp teeth in his soft flesh. He was dead before he could hit the brakes.