Creeps, true stories from Reddit (Second book)

Timothy Booker has escaped, again.

My name is Emma, and I live right outside of a small town in Ohio. It's one of those charming little towns, that anyone who didn't already live in, would only stumble on it by accident.

My fiance and I run a pretty successful farm. This means our house sits in front of about 60 acres of fields and barns, all surrounded by a dense woods.

There is a house across the street that belongs to the Thompson's, who run a small horse stable. They're in their early 60s, and have this little country accent that I've never heard in Ohio. They're not very friendly, or warm, but we do them favors, and visa versa. Other than them, our closest neighbor is about a mile and a half away.

I know that probably sounds horrible to you, because if you asked me ten years ago, I would probably say that life sucks too. I grew up in a wealthy Suburb outside of a more prominent city in Ohio, never working a harder job than a hostess at a fine-dining restaurant. But, for some reason, this is the life I chose, and I love it.

Everyone knows each other here, and if we don't, we've at least seen each other around. That's why I noticed the stranger in the grocery store. It's not unheard of for someone new moving to town, so I politely smiled and kept on shopping when we crossed paths.

"So when does your fiance come back in town?" Kaitlyn, the daughter of the stores owner asked me as I checked out. I complained to her last week that I hate when my fiance, Chris, gets called out of town for long periods of time by his job, and especially on such short notice.

"Only three more days, thank god!" I smiled, taking my card out of my wallet to pay.

As I was putting my card in the reader, I noticed someone behind me making quick movements. I saw the stranger I had noticed before had left his cart of groceries in line behind me, and was speedily walking out the door.

"That was weird." Kaitlyn said, giving a concerned look. I nodded, said thank you, and headed to my car, having the sudden urge to get out of there as soon as possible.

On my drive home, I was thinking about the weird man at the store when I got a call from my fiance. As we chatted, I was immersed in my surroundings. It was late October, and the trees lining the road were covered in vibrant red, orange, and yellow leaves. Autumn was my favorite season, and I told Chris all about how he was missing the best week in it.

After I pulled into my driveway, I let my dog out before unloading the groceries. Mia is a beautiful Border Collie, in her prime years of life. She immediately ran to me and I squatted down to give her an expected petting session.

Mia and I ate dinner as usual, and after dinner I took her on our evening walk. It was our routine, every night. Only three more days till Chris, Mia, and I would be walking down the tree line, watching the sunset, I thought, as we headed out the door.

For some reason, I couldn't stop thinking about the guy at the store on that walk. It wasn't that weird that he left so abruptly, I mean, he probably left his wallet at home or something. Or maybe he got an emergency text, or—

My thoughts were interrupted by Mia, who was whining and walking circles around me. For anyone who isn't familiar with the breed, Border Collies were bread for herding livestock. Keeping them safe by making sure they don't wonder off to far, or leading them away from predators.

That's what she was doing to me. I've seen her do it before to my 3 year old nephew, who wandered a little too close to the lake behind my house. Even though I was right there, I could tell she was uncomfortable, and felt he was in danger. She basically nudged him till he was far enough from the shore to her liking.