# 048 - Most Disturbing 5 True Pizza Hut Horror Stories For Sleep _ A Delivery That Went Terribly Wrong!

An episode of [AfterDark Reddits](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1896809423), 22 Oct 2026, 30 min.

Audio: https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/api.spreaker.com/download/episode/74987398/048_most_disturbing_5_true_pizza_hut_horror_stories_for_sleep_a_delivery_that_went_terribly_wrong.mp3



## Transcript

[0:04] Speaker 1: It was a cold Friday night, and I was stuck
[0:06] Speaker 1: closing the pizza shop alone. Normally my co-worker Josh would
[0:10] Speaker 1: stay until the last delivery was done, but it had
[0:13] Speaker 1: been a slow night, so he left early. That meant
[0:17] Speaker 1: I was on my own, counting the register, locking the
[0:20] Speaker 1: doors and taking out the trash. The shop was in
[0:24] Speaker 1: a small strip mall outside Denver, mostly empty this late
[0:27] Speaker 1: at night. The only places still open were a 24-hour
[0:30] Speaker 1: laundromat and a bar at the far end. As I
[0:34] Speaker 1: stepped outside with the last bag of trash, I noticed
[0:36] Speaker 1: a car parked a few spaces away, a dark sedan
[0:39] Speaker 1: with tinted windows. It hadn't been there earlier. I tossed
[0:44] Speaker 1: the trash in the dumpster and turned back toward the shop.
[0:47] Speaker 1: That's when I saw him. A man stood near the
[0:51] Speaker 1: sedan just outside the glow of the streetlight. He was tall,
[0:55] Speaker 1: wearing a heavy jacket, a cap pulled low. He wasn't moving,
[0:59] Speaker 1: just watching. I hesitated but forced myself to walk normally
[1:03] Speaker 1: back inside. As I locked the door behind me, I
[1:06] Speaker 1: risked another glance. He was still there, and now he
[1:10] Speaker 1: was closer. I tried to brush it off. Maybe he
[1:13] Speaker 1: was waiting for someone. Maybe he was just drunk. But
[1:17] Speaker 1: as I cleaned up the shop, I couldn't shake the
[1:19] Speaker 1: feeling that something was wrong. 15 minutes passed. Then 20.
[1:25] Speaker 1: He still hadn't moved. I turned off the neon open sign,
[1:29] Speaker 1: hoping he'd take the hint. But when I looked again,
[1:32] Speaker 1: he had moved even closer, now standing directly in front
[1:35] Speaker 1: of my car. My stomach tightened. I wasn't about to
[1:39] Speaker 1: walk out there alone. I grabbed my phone and called
[1:43] Speaker 1: my manager, Tom. Hey, Tom, there's a guy outside. He's
[1:46] Speaker 1: been watching the shop for like 20 minutes. I don't
[1:48] Speaker 1: feel good about it. Tom groaned. You want me to
[1:52] Speaker 1: come by? Yeah, I said, just in case. I stayed
[1:57] Speaker 1: inside pretending to mop while watching him through the reflection
[2:00] Speaker 1: in the glass. He still wasn't moving. Just standing. Then
[2:05] Speaker 1: my phone buzzed. No caller ID. I froze. A sharp
[2:11] Speaker 1: knock at the glass made me jump. I turned. The
[2:14] Speaker 1: man was right there. Smiling. I took a step back.
[2:19] Speaker 1: We're closed, man, I said, forcing my voice to stay steady.
[2:24] Speaker 1: He didn't move. Didn't. Respond. Just reached into his pocket.
[2:29] Speaker 1: For a split second I thought he was pulling a weapon.
[2:32] Speaker 1: My breath caught. My mind raced, but instead he pressed
[2:35] Speaker 1: something against the glass. A pizza receipt. My stomach dropped.
[2:40] Speaker 1: It wasn't just any receipt, it was from our shop.
[2:43] Speaker 1: And the handwriting? Mine. You forgot this, he muttered. My
[2:48] Speaker 1: blood ran cold. That meant he had been in our dumpster.
[2:52] Speaker 1: I reached for my phone, my hands shaking. Then headlights
[2:55] Speaker 1: swept across the parking lot. Tom's truck screeched into a spot.
[3:00] Speaker 1: He jumped out, slamming the door. Hey, what the hell's
[3:03] Speaker 1: going on? The man lowered the receipt. Then without a word,
[3:07] Speaker 1: he turned, walked calmly to his car and drove off.
[3:10] Speaker 1: No panic, no rush. Like he had done exactly what
[3:14] Speaker 1: he came to do. After Tom made sure I got
[3:17] Speaker 1: to my car safely, I drove home, my mind racing.
[3:21] Speaker 1: Who was that man? Why had he been watching me?
[3:26] Speaker 1: The next morning, I got to the shop early and
[3:28] Speaker 1: checked the security cameras. My stomach tightened as I scrolled
[3:31] Speaker 1: through the footage. He had been there longer than I thought.
[3:35] Speaker 1: The recording showed him pulling into the lot nearly an
[3:37] Speaker 1: hour before I noticed him. He never went into the shop,
[3:41] Speaker 1: never bought anything. Just sat in his car, headlights off, watching.
[3:46] Speaker 1: At one point, he got out, walked around the building,
[3:49] Speaker 1: then disappeared behind the dumpster, where I later threw out
[3:52] Speaker 1: the trash. That's when he Must have grabbed the receipt.
[3:57] Speaker 1: He had been watching me. I showed Tom the footage.
[4:00] Speaker 1: He frowned. Maybe just some weirdo looking for scraps. But
[4:06] Speaker 1: we both knew it was more than that. This guy
[4:08] Speaker 1: had been waiting for something. I tried to move on,
[4:11] Speaker 1: but the feeling never left. For weeks after, I kept
[4:15] Speaker 1: looking over my shoulder. Every time. I walked to my
[4:19] Speaker 1: car at night, my pulse quickened. Then one night it
[4:22] Speaker 1: happened again. I was locking up, making sure to check
[4:26] Speaker 1: every window when my phone buzzed. No caller ID. I
[4:30] Speaker 1: didn't answer. Instead, I peeked outside. The parking lot was empty.
[4:36] Speaker 1: Except for a dark sedan parked far enough away that
[4:39] Speaker 1: I couldn't see inside. I swallowed hard and backed away
[4:42] Speaker 1: from the door. I called Tom, but by the time
[4:45] Speaker 1: he arrived, the car was gone. That was the last
[4:49] Speaker 1: time I ever worked a closing shift alone. I never
[4:53] Speaker 1: saw the man again. But I knew he saw me.
[5:03] Speaker 1: When I met Ryan, he was kind, thoughtful, the kind
[5:07] Speaker 1: of man who held doors open and texted good morning
[5:09] Speaker 1: before I even woke up. After my divorce, I wasn't
[5:13] Speaker 1: looking for love, but he made me feel safe again.
[5:17] Speaker 1: At first, his protectiveness was sweet. Text me when you
[5:20] Speaker 1: get home, he'd say. I just want to know you're safe.
[5:24] Speaker 1: But then it changed. If I didn't text back fast enough,
[5:27] Speaker 1: he'd accuse me of ignoring him. If I went out
[5:30] Speaker 1: with friends, he'd get jealous, telling me they were a
[5:34] Speaker 1: bad influence. He didn't like how I dressed, how I
[5:36] Speaker 1: talked to the cashier at the store, how I parented
[5:39] Speaker 1: my six-year-old daughter, Emily. Then came the rules. He needed
[5:44] Speaker 1: to know where I was at all times, who I
[5:47] Speaker 1: was with, what I was doing. The first time I
[5:51] Speaker 1: tried to push back, he sulked for hours. The second time,
[5:55] Speaker 1: he punched the wall right next to my head. By
[5:58] Speaker 1: the time I realized how dangerous he was, it was
[6:01] Speaker 1: too late. Ryan had moved in, and leaving wasn't an
[6:05] Speaker 1: option anymore. It happened after dinner. Emily was coloring at
[6:10] Speaker 1: the table, humming to herself. I was washing dishes when
[6:14] Speaker 1: Ryan grabbed my phone off the counter. Why didn't you
[6:17] Speaker 1: tell me your mom called? I looked at him, confused.
[6:21] Speaker 1: I was going to call her back later. His face darkened. Oh, later,
[6:27] Speaker 1: the tension in the air shifted. Emily had gone silent.
[6:31] Speaker 1: Ryan slammed the phone down hard enough to rattle the silverware.
[6:36] Speaker 1: Do you think I'm stupid? He hissed. I shook my
[6:39] Speaker 1: head quickly. No, Ryan, I... His hand shot out, grabbing
[6:44] Speaker 1: my wrist. Not hard, not quite, but firm. My chest tightened. Ryan, please,
[6:52] Speaker 1: you're scaring Emily. He turned to my daughter. his grip tightening,
[6:56] Speaker 1: just enough to make me wince. Go to your room.
[6:59] Speaker 1: Emily bolted, her little feet pounding up the stairs. Ryan's
[7:03] Speaker 1: face softened. He let go, brushing his fingers over the
[7:06] Speaker 1: red marks on my wrist. I love you, you know that?
[7:10] Speaker 1: He murmured. I swallowed, forced a nod. That night I
[7:16] Speaker 1: locked the bedroom door for the first time. Ryan controlled
[7:19] Speaker 1: everything now. He kept all the cash and credit cards.
[7:23] Speaker 1: He took my phone at night. He started driving me
[7:26] Speaker 1: to and from work, saying it was easier that way.
[7:28] Speaker 1: And when he lost his job, he stopped letting me
[7:30] Speaker 1: go to work at all. Every morning, he locked the
[7:34] Speaker 1: doors from the outside, keeping me and Emily trapped inside.
[7:39] Speaker 1: I'll know if you try to leave, he warned. Don't
[7:42] Speaker 1: make me regret trusting you. Emily barely spoke around him.
[7:47] Speaker 1: Every little noise made her flinch. One night, I found
[7:51] Speaker 1: her hiding in the closet, clutching her stuffed bunny. mommy
[7:56] Speaker 1: she whispered i want to go home tears burned my
[8:00] Speaker 1: eyes i hugged her close we are home baby she
[8:03] Speaker 1: shook her head no home with grandma i knew then
[8:07] Speaker 1: i had to get us out but how ryan was
[8:10] Speaker 1: always watching that night ryan came home drunk he didn't
[8:14] Speaker 1: like the way i looked at him i didn't like
[8:17] Speaker 1: that emily was too quiet i didn't like anything he
[8:21] Speaker 1: grabbed my hair yanking me close Maybe I should teach
[8:24] Speaker 1: you a lesson. I braced for it. But then, his
[8:29] Speaker 1: stomach growled. He laughed, shoving me away. I'm starving. Order
[8:33] Speaker 1: a pizza. My heart raced. He never let me use
[8:36] Speaker 1: the phone, but now he was handing it to me.
[8:40] Speaker 1: I opened the pizza app, forcing my fingers to stay steady.
[8:43] Speaker 1: I typed, in our order. Then, in the delivery instructions,
[8:48] Speaker 1: I wrote, please call 911 hostage situation. I hit submit
[8:53] Speaker 1: and set the phone down. Ryan didn't notice. He was
[8:56] Speaker 1: already back on the couch, flipping through the channels. Now,
[9:00] Speaker 1: all I could do was, wait, the doorbell rang. Ryan
[9:03] Speaker 1: glanced up. Finally, he stood stretching, then motioned toward me.
[9:08] Speaker 1: Go get it. My stomach nodded. I walked to the door,
[9:12] Speaker 1: trying to keep my breathing steady. My fingers trembled as
[9:16] Speaker 1: I unlocked it. Standing outside was a young delivery guy
[9:20] Speaker 1: holding the pizza box. But behind him, two police officers.
[9:27] Speaker 1: Ryan must have seen them at the same time I did.
[9:30] Speaker 1: His grip tightened on my shoulder. He lunged for the door.
[9:35] Speaker 1: The first officer's foot shot out, blocking it from closing. Ma'am,
[9:41] Speaker 1: the officer said, his voice calm but firm. Are you okay?
[9:46] Speaker 1: Ryan yanked me backward, his hand clamping over my mouth.
[9:49] Speaker 1: Get the hell out of here, the second officer pushed inside.
[9:52] Speaker 1: Everything happened in seconds. Ryan let go of me, lunged
[9:56] Speaker 1: at the officer, fists swinging. The officer barely flinched, He
[10:00] Speaker 1: just grabbed him, flipped him, and pinned him to the ground.
[10:04] Speaker 1: Emily screamed. More officers flooded the house. One of them
[10:09] Speaker 1: knelt in front of me, his eyes kind. You're safe now.
[10:14] Speaker 1: I collapsed to my knees, sobbing as Emily ran into
[10:16] Speaker 1: my arms. Ryan was screaming as they hauled him away.
[10:20] Speaker 1: but we didn't hear him. All I heard was Emily's
[10:24] Speaker 1: heartbeat against mine. We were safe. Ryan was charged with kidnapping,
[10:29] Speaker 1: domestic violence, and child endangerment. The pizza hut worker had
[10:33] Speaker 1: seen my message and called 911. That tiny act of
[10:37] Speaker 1: kindness saved our lives. Emily and I moved in with
[10:41] Speaker 1: my mom, miles away from Ryan. She still has nightmares,
[10:46] Speaker 1: and I still flinch when I hear footsteps behind me,
[10:48] Speaker 1: but we're free and that's all that matters. I haven't
[10:56] Speaker 1: been home in over a year. Work, life, and everything
[10:59] Speaker 1: in between kept me away. But with a rare three-day break,
[11:03] Speaker 1: I finally had time. My parents lived across the state,
[11:08] Speaker 1: a six-hour drive I wanted to get over with as
[11:10] Speaker 1: quickly as possible. Bye. Early afternoon, my stomach made the
[11:15] Speaker 1: decision for me. A Pizza Hut sign appeared ahead, standing
[11:18] Speaker 1: alone near an old gas station. One of those dine-in
[11:22] Speaker 1: locations that had seen better days. The red roof was faded,
[11:26] Speaker 1: the parking lot nearly empty. I debated, getting my food
[11:29] Speaker 1: to go, but decided to sit for a bit. The
[11:32] Speaker 1: inside was just as quiet. A teenage cashier scrolled through
[11:36] Speaker 1: his phone. A tired-looking waitress wiped a table near the window.
[11:40] Speaker 1: An older man sipped coffee in the corner. I ordered
[11:43] Speaker 1: a personal pepperoni pizza and a Coke. Give us about
[11:47] Speaker 1: 10 minutes, the cashier mumbled. I took a seat by
[11:51] Speaker 1: the window. Outside, the highway stretched endlessly, dark clouds rolling in.
[11:56] Speaker 1: Then a limousine pulled into the lot. At first, I
[11:59] Speaker 1: didn't think much of it, but when the driver's door opened,
[12:02] Speaker 1: a woman in a wedding dress stepped out, and she
[12:05] Speaker 1: was walking straight toward the door. The woman walked in,
[12:08] Speaker 1: her heels clicking against the tiled floor. Her wedding dress,
[12:12] Speaker 1: once elegant, was dirty, the hem stained with mud. Her
[12:15] Speaker 1: hair was tangled, her veil askew. But what struck me
[12:18] Speaker 1: most was her expression. She looked lost. She scanned the room,
[12:25] Speaker 1: then locked eyes with me. Mind if I sit? She asked.
[12:31] Speaker 1: I hesitated but nodded. She slid into the booth across
[12:35] Speaker 1: from me, smoothing down her dress as if she were
[12:37] Speaker 1: at a formal dinner. Up close, I noticed smudge mascara
[12:42] Speaker 1: streaking her cheeks. dried tears carving paths through her makeup.
[12:47] Speaker 1: For a moment, neither of us spoke. I considered asking
[12:50] Speaker 1: if she was okay, if she needed help, but something
[12:53] Speaker 1: about her stopped me. She broke the silence. Am I hideous?
[12:58] Speaker 1: The question caught me off guard. No, I said, shaking
[13:02] Speaker 1: my head. Not at all. She smiled faintly, playing with
[13:07] Speaker 1: a sugar packet. Are you attracted to me? I nearly
[13:10] Speaker 1: choked on my drink. James said he was, she murmured.
[13:13] Speaker 1: But James was a liar. James, her fiance. She reached
[13:17] Speaker 1: across the table and grabbed my hand. Her lace gloves
[13:20] Speaker 1: weren't white anymore. They were stained with blood. I tried
[13:23] Speaker 1: to pull my hand away, but she tightened her grip.
[13:27] Speaker 1: Let's run away together, Tom. My stomach dropped. I hadn't
[13:32] Speaker 1: told her my name. Before I could react, the waitress appeared,
[13:35] Speaker 1: setting down my pizza. She gave the woman a long,
[13:39] Speaker 1: measured look. Well, don't you look lovely? She said carefully.
[13:45] Speaker 1: The bride smiled. Her fingers still locked around mine. Thank you.
[13:51] Speaker 1: Tom and I were just talking. The waitress didn't react,
[13:54] Speaker 1: just studied her. Then she turned to me. Enjoy your meal,
[13:59] Speaker 1: she said, her voice neutral. She walked away, but something
[14:03] Speaker 1: in her body language told me she was watching. I
[14:06] Speaker 1: inched toward the door. The bride stood abruptly. You're leaving
[14:11] Speaker 1: me too? No. I lied. Just grabbing something from my car.
[14:17] Speaker 1: She smiled again, but it didn't reach her eyes. I'll
[14:20] Speaker 1: walk with you. We stepped outside together. The air was
[14:25] Speaker 1: thick with the smell of rain. As we passed the limo,
[14:28] Speaker 1: I noticed something. The back door was slightly open. Inside,
[14:32] Speaker 1: I saw a hand. Pale. Motionless. My breath caught. She
[14:38] Speaker 1: saw me looking. That was our best man. She said cheerfully.
[14:43] Speaker 1: or what was left of him. My mind raced. I
[14:47] Speaker 1: needed to leave. Now. I... I'm sure he deserved it,
[14:52] Speaker 1: I muttered. The bride beamed. He did. We reached my car.
[14:58] Speaker 1: I'll just grab my... Before I could finish, I yanked
[15:00] Speaker 1: the door open and jumped inside. I tried to slam
[15:02] Speaker 1: it shut, but she grabbed it. You're leaving me too,
[15:05] Speaker 1: she whispered. My hands shook as I shoved the... key
[15:09] Speaker 1: toward the ignition. She punched me. My head snapped back
[15:14] Speaker 1: against the seat. My keys flew from my grip, landing
[15:17] Speaker 1: somewhere on the floor. You're just like James, she seethed,
[15:21] Speaker 1: climbing inside. Her hands wrapped around my throat, nails digging.
[15:26] Speaker 1: I gasped, struggling, my vision darkening. Then a gunshot rang out.
[15:32] Speaker 1: She froze, then crumpled. I gasped for air, coughing and
[15:36] Speaker 1: vision swimming. The waitress stood behind her, shotgun still raised.
[15:40] Speaker 1: Get inside, she said. her voice steady. I stumbled out
[15:45] Speaker 1: of the car, legs shaking. Inside the restaurant, the cashier
[15:49] Speaker 1: stood frozen, his face pale. Lock the doors, the waitress ordered.
[15:54] Speaker 1: Then she picked up the phone. We need the cops,
[15:57] Speaker 1: she said. Now, the police arrived within minutes. The storm
[16:02] Speaker 1: had finally broken, rain pounding against the pavement. They found
[16:06] Speaker 1: James in the limo's trunk, dead. The best man too.
[16:12] Speaker 1: The bride Her name was Rachel Monroe, had been reported
[16:15] Speaker 1: missing the night before. Her wedding was supposed to take
[16:20] Speaker 1: place at a countryside venue two towns over. But at
[16:23] Speaker 1: some point between the ceremony and the reception, something snapped.
[16:28] Speaker 1: She disappeared with James and the best man. Hours later,
[16:32] Speaker 1: she showed up here wearing a bloodstained wedding dress. I
[16:35] Speaker 1: sat in the booth, hands shaking, untouched pizza growing cold.
[16:39] Speaker 1: The waitress sat across from me, arms crossed. You okay?
[16:43] Speaker 1: She asked. I let out a shaky breath. Yeah, she nodded,
[16:47] Speaker 1: but I could tell she didn't believe me. You should
[16:50] Speaker 1: finish your food, she said after a beat. It'll help.
[16:54] Speaker 1: I looked down at the pizza, and suddenly, I wasn't
[16:57] Speaker 1: hungry anymore. I hadn't planned to stop. The drive home
[17:05] Speaker 1: was supposed to be easy. Three hours on the highway,
[17:08] Speaker 1: no detours. But by midnight, hunger gnawed at my stomach.
[17:13] Speaker 1: The only place open was a run-down pizza hut just
[17:15] Speaker 1: off the exit. Inside, it was nearly empty. A tired-looking
[17:20] Speaker 1: cashier took my order without enthusiasm. The fluorescent lights flickered.
[17:24] Speaker 1: It smelled like old grease and cleaning chemicals. I leaned
[17:28] Speaker 1: against the counter, scrolling through my phone. That's when I
[17:32] Speaker 1: noticed her. A woman sat alone in the corner booth, barefoot,
[17:39] Speaker 1: wearing a pale dress that looked outdated. Her long, dark
[17:43] Speaker 1: hair hung over her face. No food. No drink. Just
[17:47] Speaker 1: sitting there. Something about her unsettled me. I glanced at
[17:52] Speaker 1: her reflection in the window, hoping for a different angle,
[17:55] Speaker 1: but it was like she wasn't even breathing. When my
[17:59] Speaker 1: order was ready, I grabbed the box and hurried outside,
[18:03] Speaker 1: telling myself I was just tired. I locked my doors.
[18:07] Speaker 1: Started the engine. Shook off the weird feeling. Just as
[18:12] Speaker 1: I pulled onto the highway, I checked my rearview mirror.
[18:15] Speaker 1: She was still sitting there. But now, her head was up,
[18:19] Speaker 1: and she was watching me leave. The road stretched out
[18:23] Speaker 1: in front of me, dark and empty. I turned. Up
[18:27] Speaker 1: the music, took a deep breath, and reached for a
[18:29] Speaker 1: slice of pizza. It's just your imagination, I told myself.
[18:33] Speaker 1: Then I saw her, walking along the shoulder of the highway, barefoot,
[18:38] Speaker 1: wearing the same pale dress. My stomach twisted. I gripped
[18:42] Speaker 1: the wheel, my mind racing. How? There were no houses around,
[18:48] Speaker 1: no stalled cars. No way she could have left the
[18:50] Speaker 1: restaurant before me, I sped up. As I passed her,
[18:54] Speaker 1: she lifted her head and smiled. It wasn't a normal smile.
[18:58] Speaker 1: It was too wide, too knowing. My breath hitched. I
[19:03] Speaker 1: refused to look again, staring straight ahead, heart hammering. It's nothing.
[19:09] Speaker 1: It has to be nothing. A few miles later, I
[19:13] Speaker 1: glanced at the mirror again and nearly swerved off the road.
[19:17] Speaker 1: She was in my backseat sitting perfectly still, hands in
[19:20] Speaker 1: her lap, still smiling. I didn't turn around. I couldn't.
[19:26] Speaker 1: I just gripped the wheel trying to breathe. The doors
[19:29] Speaker 1: had been locked. The windows had been up. I fumbled
[19:32] Speaker 1: for my phone, my fingers shaking as I hit speed dial. One.
[19:37] Speaker 1: What's your emergency? There's someone in my car. The operator's
[19:40] Speaker 1: person to call about this. I felt the air shift
[19:42] Speaker 1: voice was calm, too calm. Sir, are you in danger?
[19:48] Speaker 1: I swallowed, gripping the wheels. What? You're not the first
[20:11] Speaker 1: behind me, like someone leaning forward. My throat tightened. Who
[20:16] Speaker 1: is she? Another pause. We don't know. I wanted to scream.
[20:23] Speaker 1: How do you not know? But I didn't dare move.
[20:27] Speaker 1: I could feel her watching me, her presence thick in
[20:30] Speaker 1: the air. Then softly, so softly I almost didn't hear it,
[20:35] Speaker 1: she started humming. A slow, eerie tune. I clenched my teeth.
[20:43] Speaker 1: She's humming, I whispered. The operator's voice stayed steady. You're
[20:49] Speaker 1: almost to a gas station. Pull in, but don't look
[20:52] Speaker 1: at her. The humming stopped. Something brushed the back of
[20:56] Speaker 1: my seat. I pressed the gas harder. The gas station
[21:01] Speaker 1: appeared ahead, its bright lights flickering. I pulled in fast,
[21:04] Speaker 1: tires screeching. The parking lot was empty except for a
[21:07] Speaker 1: lone truck. My breathing was shallow, my hands trembling. I
[21:11] Speaker 1: forced myself to stare straight ahead. Now what? I whispered.
[21:16] Speaker 1: Turn off the car, but do not look back, the
[21:19] Speaker 1: operator said. I did as they said. The car went silent.
[21:26] Speaker 1: The air inside felt thick, heavy. For a few long seconds,
[21:30] Speaker 1: nothing happened. Then, the weight lifted. Like whatever had been
[21:36] Speaker 1: in the back seat was suddenly gone. I sucked in
[21:39] Speaker 1: a breath and finally turned around. She was gone. The
[21:44] Speaker 1: backseat was empty. I let out a shaky exhale, gripping
[21:47] Speaker 1: the wheel. My pulse was still racing, my body cold
[21:50] Speaker 1: with sweat. Sir? The operator asked. She's gone. I whispered.
[21:59] Speaker 1: A pause, then quietly. You did the right thing. I
[22:04] Speaker 1: sat there for a long time, heart still pounding. The
[22:08] Speaker 1: parking lot was quiet. The night air felt too still,
[22:11] Speaker 1: I finally forced myself to move, stepping out of the car.
[22:14] Speaker 1: I walked toward the gas station entrance, needing to be
[22:17] Speaker 1: around people to feel normal again. But just before I
[22:20] Speaker 1: reached the door, something made me stop. A feeling. I turned,
[22:26] Speaker 1: looking back at my car, and froze. There, in the
[22:31] Speaker 1: reflection of the back window, was her standing outside the car, smiling.
[22:38] Speaker 1: I bolted inside the gas station, locking the door behind me.
[22:42] Speaker 1: The cashier gave me a weird look, but I didn't care.
[22:45] Speaker 1: I wasn't going back out there. I waited until sunrise.
[22:49] Speaker 1: When I finally walked back to my car, she was gone.
[22:53] Speaker 1: But as I got in and gripped the wheel, one
[22:56] Speaker 1: thought echoed in my mind. What if she comes back?
[23:05] Speaker 1: I never really minded delivering pizzas at night. Sure, it
[23:08] Speaker 1: wasn't my dream job, but it paid the bills, and
[23:10] Speaker 1: I liked the quiet of the late shifts. Most of
[23:13] Speaker 1: the time, it was just driving around, listening to music,
[23:16] Speaker 1: and handing people their food. Easy money. That night, I
[23:20] Speaker 1: was about to clock out when an order came in.
[23:23] Speaker 1: Large pepperoni. Cash payment. The address was 302 Oakridge Lane.
[23:28] Speaker 1: I sighed. It was a little out of the way,
[23:30] Speaker 1: but not far enough to refuse it. Sal, my manager,
[23:34] Speaker 1: handed me the slip. Last one of the night, Jason,
[23:37] Speaker 1: make it quick. I punched the address into my GPS
[23:40] Speaker 1: and headed out. Oak Ridge Lane was a quiet neighborhood.
[23:44] Speaker 1: Mostly older houses, no businesses or apartments. When I pulled
[23:48] Speaker 1: up to 302, I immediately noticed something was off. The
[23:53] Speaker 1: house looked abandoned. The lawn was overgrown. The porch light
[23:56] Speaker 1: flickered weakly and there were no lights on inside. No
[23:59] Speaker 1: car in the driveway. No sign that anyone lived there.
[24:03] Speaker 1: I double-checked the address. 302 Oak Ridge Lane. I hesitated.
[24:09] Speaker 1: Then knocked. Once. Twice. Three. Times. Silence. Then my phone buzzed. Unknown. Number.
[24:19] Speaker 1: Leave it on the chair. I glanced around. There was
[24:23] Speaker 1: an old wooden chair on the porch. Weird. But fine.
[24:28] Speaker 1: I set the pizza down. Just as I turned to leave,
[24:31] Speaker 1: my phone buzzed again. Unknown. Unknown. Number. Knock again. A
[24:38] Speaker 1: chill ran through me. Still. I knocked. A sound came
[24:43] Speaker 1: from inside. Slow, dragging noise like something heavy being pulled
[24:47] Speaker 1: across the floor. Then, the porch light went out. I turned,
[24:52] Speaker 1: rushed back to my car and jumped in, locking the doors.
[24:56] Speaker 1: My phone buzzed one more time. Unknown. Number. Why are
[25:01] Speaker 1: you leaving? I didn't look back. I just drove. By
[25:06] Speaker 1: the time I pulled into the parking lot of the pizzeria,
[25:08] Speaker 1: my hands were still shaking. I walked inside, tossing my
[25:12] Speaker 1: keys onto the counter. Sal gave me a look. You good?
[25:17] Speaker 1: I hesitated, then said, something weird just happened. I explained
[25:22] Speaker 1: the abandoned house, the texts, the sound inside. Sal frowned
[25:26] Speaker 1: and pulled up our order system. 302 Oak Ridge? He muttered, scrolling.
[25:32] Speaker 1: Then he shook his head. There's no order from that address.
[25:36] Speaker 1: I leaned over the counter. What? I just went there.
[25:41] Speaker 1: Sal turned the screen toward me. No record of the order.
[25:44] Speaker 1: No 302 Oak Ridge Lane anywhere in the system. I
[25:48] Speaker 1: pulled out my phone to show him the messages, but
[25:50] Speaker 1: they were gone. Every single text. Deleted. Sal stared at
[25:55] Speaker 1: me for a second, then chuckled nervously. Maybe you went
[25:59] Speaker 1: to the wrong house, man. I knew what I saw.
[26:04] Speaker 1: I knew what I heard. That night, as I lay
[26:06] Speaker 1: in bed, I couldn't stop thinking about the dragging sound,
[26:09] Speaker 1: the way the porch light went out. Then at 2.12 a.m.,
[26:12] Speaker 1: my phone buzzed. Unknown number. Took you long enough to
[26:16] Speaker 1: come back. I hadn't gone back, but something or someone
[26:21] Speaker 1: thought I had. The next day, I told myself I
[26:24] Speaker 1: was being paranoid. Maybe it was a prank. Maybe I
[26:28] Speaker 1: had just imagined things, but I needed to know. So
[26:32] Speaker 1: after work, I drove back to Oak Ridge Lanes. The
[26:35] Speaker 1: street was as quiet as before, lined with normal houses.
[26:39] Speaker 1: But when I reached 302, I slammed on the brakes.
[26:43] Speaker 1: The house was gone. Not abandoned. Not empty. Just gone.
[26:52] Speaker 1: The lot was completely vacant. Overgrown grass, weeds, no foundation,
[26:57] Speaker 1: no driveway. Like there had never been a house there
[27:00] Speaker 1: at all. I got out, heart pounding. I walked to
[27:04] Speaker 1: where the porch should have been. The chair, the one.
[27:07] Speaker 1: I left the pizza on. Gone. Then, my phone buzzed. Unknown. Number.
[27:16] Speaker 1: I see you. I spun around, scanning the street. Nothing.
[27:21] Speaker 1: Another buzz. Unknown number. Come closer. I turned and ran
[27:27] Speaker 1: to my car, speeding away. In my rearview mirror, I
[27:30] Speaker 1: saw something standing in the empty lot. Watching. I couldn't
[27:34] Speaker 1: shake the feeling that something was wrong. Even back home,
[27:37] Speaker 1: I felt watched. I locked every door, every window, but
[27:42] Speaker 1: the paranoia wouldn't go away. For hours, my phone stayed silent.
[27:46] Speaker 1: I almost convinced myself it was over. Then, at 2.12 a.m.,
[27:51] Speaker 1: my phone buzzed again. Unknown number. You forgot something. I
[27:56] Speaker 1: didn't move. I didn't breathe. Another buzz. Unknown number. Check
[28:03] Speaker 1: your front door. My stomach dropped. Slowly, I got up
[28:07] Speaker 1: and walked to my apartment door. With shaking hands, I
[28:11] Speaker 1: unlocked it. I opened the door. And sitting neatly on
[28:15] Speaker 1: my doormat was a pizza box. Inside was a $ 20 bill.
[28:20] Speaker 1: My phone buzzed. Unknown number. I tipped. Well, say thank you.
[28:28] Speaker 1: I slammed the door shut. Somehow, the pizza I delivered
[28:31] Speaker 1: had followed me home. I didn't sleep that night. The
[28:35] Speaker 1: next morning, I went straight to work. I pulled Sal
[28:39] Speaker 1: aside and told him everything. The disappearing house, the text,
[28:42] Speaker 1: the pizza box on my doorstep. Sal's face went pale.
[28:46] Speaker 1: You said 302 Oak Ridge Lane? I nodded. He swallowed hard.
[28:52] Speaker 1: You're not the first driver to talk about that place.
[28:55] Speaker 1: My blood ran cold. Couple years back, a guy, Chris,
[28:59] Speaker 1: delivered there. Said the house wasn't there when he went
[29:02] Speaker 1: back the next day. said it followed him home i
[29:07] Speaker 1: felt my hands go numb what happened to him sal
[29:12] Speaker 1: hesitated he disappeared two weeks later my phone buzzed a
[29:17] Speaker 1: single text unknown number don't ignore me i stood up
[29:22] Speaker 1: my hands ice cold i had one choice leave town
[29:26] Speaker 1: or become the next one to disappear Thank you. I
[29:35] Speaker 1: just don't think so.

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