The Car That Wouldn't Stay Buried

The first time Daniel Mercer saw the car, it was sitting beneath a dead oak tree on the side of Route 17.

It was almost midnight.

Rain fell so heavily that the windshield wipers could barely keep up. Daniel was driving home from work, exhausted and half asleep, when something dark appeared beyond the curtain of rain.

At first, he thought it was a wreck.

Then his headlights swept across it.

A black 1978 Chevrolet Monte Carlo sat perfectly still on the shoulder.

Its paint was dull and covered in mud. One headlight was cracked. The driver's door hung slightly open.

Daniel slowed down.

Nobody was standing beside it.

Nobody was inside.

He kept driving.

Then, as he passed, the car's headlights suddenly came on.

Daniel's stomach tightened.

He looked in his rearview mirror.

The Monte Carlo was still there.

Its headlights stared directly at him.

Then the engine started.

Daniel accelerated.

The old car pulled onto the road behind him.

Chapter One: The Car in the Mirror

Daniel pushed his foot down.

The rain hammered against the roof.

The Monte Carlo followed.

It shouldn't have been able to.

Daniel's old Honda Civic was doing nearly eighty miles per hour, and the road was slick enough to send a car spinning into a ditch.

But the black car stayed behind him.

Ten car lengths.

Then eight.

Then five.

Daniel glanced at the mirror again.

The Monte Carlo's headlights were strangely bright.

Too bright.

They didn't look yellow like old headlights.

They looked white.

Almost blue.

And there was something else.

The driver's window was open.

Daniel could see a silhouette behind the wheel.

Someone was driving.

A man.

Daniel could barely make out his face.

But he could see one thing clearly.

The man's head was turned toward him.

Daniel looked forward.

A second later, he looked back.

The driver's seat was empty.

His heart nearly stopped.

The car continued following him.

There was no driver.

Daniel swerved onto an exit.

The Monte Carlo followed.

He turned onto a narrow country road.

It followed.

He turned again.

It followed.

Finally, Daniel saw the lights of a gas station ahead.

He pulled in and slammed the brakes.

The Monte Carlo stopped at the entrance.

For several seconds, neither vehicle moved.

Daniel jumped out of his car and ran inside the gas station.

The cashier, an elderly man named Frank, looked up.

"Trouble?"

Daniel pointed toward the road.

"There's a car following me."

Frank looked outside.

The Monte Carlo was gone.

Daniel stared through the glass.

Only rain.

"Are you sure?"

"I saw it."

Frank shrugged.

"Probably somebody messing with you."

Daniel shook his head.

"You didn't see the driver?"

Frank frowned.

"Driver?"

"There wasn't one."

The old cashier stopped smiling.

For the first time, Daniel noticed the man's expression had changed.

"Where did you see the car?"

"Route 17."

Frank stared at him.

"Near the oak tree?"

Daniel nodded.

Frank slowly leaned against the counter.

"Don't go back that way tonight."

"Why?"

Frank didn't answer.

Instead, he looked toward the dark road outside.

Then he said quietly:

"Because that car doesn't like being noticed."

Chapter Two: The Monte Carlo

Daniel didn't sleep that night.

He searched the internet until sunrise.

Black 1978 Monte Carlo.

Route 17.

Oak tree.

Accidents.

Deaths.

Missing persons.

He found nothing.

Then he searched newspaper archives.

At 3:17 in the morning, he found an article.

It was dated October 14, 1979.

The headline read:

LOCAL FAMILY KILLED IN HORRIFIC HIGHWAY CRASH

Daniel read the article.

A family of four had been traveling home during a storm when their Monte Carlo left Route 17 and struck an oak tree.

The father, Michael Voss, died instantly.

His wife died shortly afterward.

Their ten-year-old daughter survived for approximately six minutes.

Their fourteen-year-old son survived for almost an hour.

Daniel stared at the photograph.

There it was.

The same car.

The same cracked headlight.

The same dark paint.

The article contained one strange detail.

Police believed the vehicle had been traveling at excessive speed.

But there was no evidence suggesting another vehicle was involved.

Daniel continued reading.

Then he found something that made his skin crawl.

The car had disappeared from the wrecking yard three days after the accident.

Police suspected theft.

It was never recovered.

Daniel leaned back.

He told himself there was a logical explanation.

Maybe someone had rebuilt it.

Maybe the car he'd seen wasn't the same one.

Maybe he was simply tired.

Then he noticed the date of the accident.

October 14.

Exactly forty-seven years earlier.

And the next morning was October 14.

Chapter Three: The Photograph

Daniel called Frank the following afternoon.

The old man answered immediately.

"You saw it again, didn't you?"

Daniel froze.

"How did you know?"

Frank sighed.

"Because it happens every October."

"What happens?"

"The car comes back."

Daniel looked out his window.

"Why?"

"Nobody knows."

"Who was driving?"

Frank was silent.

Then he said:

"Michael Voss."

Daniel swallowed.

"The father?"

"Yes."

"But the article said he died."

"He did."

Daniel felt a cold sensation move through his chest.

Frank continued.

"Every year, people see the car. Usually on the anniversary. Sometimes a few days before."

"What's it doing?"

"Following people."

"Why?"

Frank didn't answer.

Daniel asked again.

"Why?"

Finally, Frank whispered:

"Because it's looking for someone to take the wheel."

Chapter Four: The First Knock

That night, Daniel stayed home.

He locked every door.

He closed every curtain.

He checked the windows twice.

At 11:30, he turned off the television.

The house became completely silent.

Then he heard it.

Knock.

Daniel froze.

Another knock.

Knock. Knock.

Someone was at the front door.

He approached slowly.

"Who's there?"

No answer.

He looked through the peephole.

Nobody.

Daniel stepped back.

Then something appeared beneath the door.

A photograph.

It slid across the floor.

Daniel stared at it.

It was the newspaper photograph of the Monte Carlo.

But something was different.

There was a person sitting behind the wheel.

Daniel picked up the photograph.

His hands began trembling.

The person in the driver's seat wasn't Michael Voss.

It was Daniel.

He dropped the photograph.

At that exact moment, headlights appeared through the curtains.

Daniel slowly turned toward the window.

The black Monte Carlo was parked across the street.

The engine was running.

The driver's door opened.

Nobody stepped out.

Daniel backed away.

The door slowly closed.

Then the car's horn sounded.

Once.

Twice.

Three times.

Daniel ran upstairs.

Chapter Five: The Road

Daniel didn't remember falling asleep.

He woke at 3:17 a.m.

His bedroom door was open.

He was certain he had closed it.

Then he heard a sound downstairs.

An engine.

He grabbed his phone and walked toward the stairs.

The front door was wide open.

Cold rain blew into the house.

And his car keys were missing.

Daniel searched the kitchen.

Nothing.

Then he heard the engine again.

Outside.

He looked through the doorway.

His Honda was gone.

The Monte Carlo sat in his driveway.

Its driver's door was open.

Daniel backed away.

The phone in his hand suddenly rang.

Unknown number.

He answered.

At first, there was only static.

Then he heard a child's voice.

"Please."

Daniel couldn't speak.

"Please help us."

"Who is this?"

The child began crying.

"We're still in the car."

Daniel closed his eyes.

"Who are you?"

A boy answered.

"Thomas."

The dead boy.

Daniel nearly dropped the phone.

Then another voice came through.

A little girl's voice.

"He's coming."

"Who's coming?"

Silence.

Then:

"Dad."

The line went dead.

The Monte Carlo's engine roared.

And the car began rolling backward out of the driveway.

Daniel watched it disappear into the rain.

Chapter Six: The Passenger

Daniel knew he should call the police.

Instead, he followed.

He didn't know why.

Something inside him demanded that he understand what was happening.

He found his Honda abandoned on Route 17.

The driver's door was open.

The engine was still running.

On the seat was another photograph.

Daniel picked it up.

It showed the Monte Carlo after the crash.

The family was still inside.

But someone had scratched a message into the photograph.

ONE MORE.

Daniel heard an engine behind him.

He turned.

The Monte Carlo was there.

The driver's door opened.

Then the passenger door.

Waiting.

Daniel ran.

He heard tires moving behind him.

Slowly.

Not chasing.

Following.

The car crawled along the road behind him.

Daniel ran until his lungs burned.

Then he heard a voice from inside the car.

"Daniel."

He stopped.

The voice was his mother's.

His mother had been dead for twelve years.

"Daniel."

He turned.

The passenger window was down.

His mother's face appeared behind the glass.

She looked exactly as she had when he was a child.

She smiled.

"Get in."

Daniel stumbled backward.

"You're not my mother."

Her smile disappeared.

The skin on her face began stretching.

Her jaw dropped open impossibly wide.

Black liquid poured from her mouth.

And behind her, Daniel saw the faces of the Voss family.

All four.

Burned.

Broken.

Watching him.

The father was behind the wheel.

And he was smiling.

Chapter Seven: The Truth

Daniel ran until he reached the old oak tree.

The same tree where the accident had happened.

The Monte Carlo stopped.

The engine died.

For a moment, everything was silent.

Then the driver's door opened.

Michael Voss stepped out.

He was enormous.

His clothes were burned and soaked with rain.

Half his face was crushed.

One eye hung uselessly from its socket.

Daniel couldn't move.

Michael pointed toward the car.

"Your turn."

Daniel shook his head.

"No."

Michael smiled.

"You've already seen us."

"What does that mean?"

"You looked."

Daniel remembered Frank's words.

The car doesn't like being noticed.

Michael took another step.

"Once you see us, we see you."

Daniel ran.

Michael didn't follow.

Instead, the Monte Carlo's engine started.

Daniel sprinted into the woods.

The car followed.

Its headlights moved between the trees.

There was no road.

It didn't matter.

The Monte Carlo drove through the forest as though the trees weren't there.

Daniel tripped.

He fell hard.

The car stopped inches from his legs.

The driver's door opened.

Michael was gone.

The passenger door opened.

The back door opened.

Then the trunk.

Daniel crawled backward.

Inside the car, four people sat silently.

Michael.

His wife.

Thomas.

And the little girl.

The girl looked at Daniel.

"Please sit with us."

Daniel stared at her.

"Why?"

She looked toward her father.

"Because somebody has to drive."

Chapter Eight: The Crash

Daniel grabbed a broken branch from the ground.

He ran toward the car.

He smashed the driver's window.

The glass didn't break.

He hit it again.

Nothing.

Michael slowly turned his head.

Daniel swung again.

The branch passed through the glass.

The window rippled like water.

Then the car's interior changed.

Daniel saw the accident.

He saw the Monte Carlo speeding down Route 17.

He saw Michael arguing with his wife.

He saw Thomas crying.

He saw the little girl asleep in the back.

Then Michael looked into the rearview mirror.

There was someone sitting behind him.

A shadow.

A black figure.

It whispered:

"Faster."

Michael stepped on the gas.

The road blurred.

Rain covered the windshield.

The shadow leaned closer.

"Faster."

Michael screamed.

The car crashed into the oak tree.

Daniel watched the family die.

But the shadow survived.

It climbed out of the wreckage.

And walked away.

Daniel suddenly understood.

The car wasn't haunted by the family.

The family was trapped inside the car.

Something else controlled it.

Something that had been there before them.

Something that needed drivers.

Daniel looked at the Monte Carlo.

The shadow appeared behind the windshield.

Its face had no features.

No eyes.

No mouth.

Yet Daniel knew it was smiling.

Chapter Nine: The Choice

Daniel knew what he had to do.

He grabbed the gasoline can from his abandoned Honda.

He poured gasoline over the Monte Carlo.

The rain washed most of it away.

He poured more.

The family inside screamed.

Michael slammed his fists against the windows.

"STOP!"

Daniel stepped back.

The little girl pressed her hands against the glass.

"Don't leave us!"

Daniel began crying.

"I'm sorry."

He struck a match.

The flames spread across the hood.

For the first time, the car screamed.

Not the engine.

The car itself.

A terrible metallic shriek filled the forest.

The windows shattered.

The family screamed.

Then the shadow emerged.

It crawled out through the windshield.

It was taller than a man.

Its arms were impossibly long.

Its body looked like smoke wrapped around bones.

Daniel dropped the match.

The shadow turned toward him.

And then it spoke.

Not with one voice.

With hundreds.

"You saw us."

Daniel ran.

Behind him, the forest exploded with screams.

Chapter Ten: October 14

The police found Daniel three miles from Route 17.

He was unconscious.

His clothes were burned.

His hands were covered in blood.

But there was no blood belonging to him.

The Monte Carlo was gone.

No wreckage.

No tire tracks.

Nothing.

Daniel spent three days in the hospital.

When he was released, he moved away.

He never returned to Route 17.

For the next forty-seven years, nothing happened.

Daniel grew old.

He married.

He had children.

Then grandchildren.

He never told anyone about the car.

He convinced himself that the entire experience had been some kind of hallucination.

Until October 14, 2026.

Daniel was eighty-two years old.

At 11:47 p.m., he heard an engine outside.

He slowly walked to the window.

Rain covered the glass.

A black car sat across the street.

A 1978 Monte Carlo.

Daniel's heart stopped.

The headlights turned on.

The driver's door opened.

But nobody stepped out.

Daniel backed away from the window.

His phone rang.

He didn't answer.

It rang again.

And again.

Finally, the answering machine picked up.

A child's voice came through.

"Grandpa?"

Daniel froze.

It was Thomas.

The dead boy.

"Grandpa, we found another driver."

Daniel stared at the phone.

"Who?"

The voice whispered:

"Your grandson."

Daniel's blood went cold.

He ran toward the front door.

But before he could reach it, he heard tires screeching outside.

A crash.

Then silence.

Daniel opened the door.

His grandson's car had hit the telephone pole.

Daniel ran toward it.

The driver's door opened.

His grandson stumbled out.

Alive.

Daniel grabbed him.

"Are you okay?"

His grandson nodded.

Then he looked over Daniel's shoulder.

"Grandpa?"

"What?"

"Who's that?"

Daniel turned.

The Monte Carlo was parked behind them.

Its engine was running.

The driver's window rolled down.

Michael Voss sat behind the wheel.

But he wasn't looking at Daniel.

He was looking at the grandson.

Michael smiled.

Then he moved his hand.

He pointed toward the passenger seat.

The door opened.

Waiting.

Epilogue

The police never found the Monte Carlo.

They never found Daniel's grandson either.

Daniel disappeared that same night.

His house was empty.

His front door was open.

There were tire tracks leading from the driveway.

They continued for nearly a mile.

Then they simply stopped.

Years later, people still talk about the old road.

Some say that if you drive Route 17 after midnight on October 14, you'll see headlights behind you.

A black Monte Carlo.

Always ten car lengths away.

If you speed up, it speeds up.

If you slow down, it slows down.

If you turn onto another road, it follows.

And if you look carefully into the rearview mirror, you might see the driver.

A burned man.

Smiling.

But the people who claim to have seen it always mention the same strange detail.

There is never only one person inside.

There are always four.

A father.

A mother.

A boy.

A girl.

And sometimes...

There is a fifth passenger.

Someone sitting quietly in the back seat.

Someone who wasn't there the last time.

Someone who is staring directly at you.

Waiting.

Because the car is still looking for another driver.

And once you see it...

it sees you.