i think my friend and i were almost kidnapped

when i was in middle school, my best friend J and I were hanging out after school and we decided to get a snack at the gas station and then head back to her house. this was right before smart phones with gps were a thing but we were 13-14 and felt pretty brave or ourselves. the gas station was right on the edge of town and it turned off into a long stretch of dirt roads passed acres of farms.

we’re walking on the right side of the street when this white, windowless van slowly starts pulling up next to us. since we were passing a few homes my immediate thought was “oh this guy is trying to park in his driveway” so we sped up our walking to let him turn in. oddly enough he started to drive a little faster to keep up with own walking pace. we sped up a little, so did he to match us. this made me feel REALLY uneasy and my fight or flight started to kick in.

I grabbed my friend J by her arm and halted us both to a complete stop. the van passed us up and then awkwardly began to park just a few steps ahead of us. the passenger door opened and a sketchy looking man came out.

by this point i was already dragging my friend by the arm across the street to the other sidewalk, all the while keeping my eyes unblinking GLARING at this strange man who was also staring back at us, and he began walking towards the gas station still staring back.

i did not once turn my gaze away until we were way in the clear, and i was afraid the whole time he would follow us again and figure out where we lived. and the creepiest thing is they it would have been so easy for someone like, say a serial killer to nab us and dump our bodies way the hell out in the middle of nowhere because we WERE in the middle of nowhere. i actually just read a news article of some guy in my hometown killing someone and dumping him in a creek. yikes.

also like why would he park hella far from the gas station and WALK there, instead of, you know, actually pulling up next to the gas pump? to avoid the security cameras?