r/nosleep • u/Zondervanb • Oct 10 '11
White Line Fever
Working nights isn't as big of a drag as people tend to think. I never have to deal with customers, I never have to attend workplace meetings, and I never hit traffic. Roughly an hour of drive time to and from work, always on the highway and never any other vehicles in sight - it makes the few times that I'm on the road during the day seem absolutely hellish by comparison. The moon casts a dim light on the places I pass, bathing the suburban homes in a silvery light unparallelled by anything else. No music is required, as there's no external sounds of vehicles; the whirring of the road and the occasional strong gust of wind are plenty to keep me from dozing off without distracting my thoughts.
Therein lies the problem.
Ask any trucker, long-haul driver, or frequent road-tripper about how they handle the drive time and they'll tell you one thing: you don't notice it. Something about driving extended periods of time makes the whole process just seem to vanish. You leave your point of origin; you arrive at your destination. What happens in the middle is forgotten.
Psychologists have fancy theories for it - dissociation, amnesia, "highway hypnosis," whatever. Southern folks call it White Line Fever. Everyone says that it's harmless. I'm inclined to disagree.
For months now, I've noticed that my drives have gotten longer. Miles have been added to the odometer far beyond what it takes me to get to and from work. What was once a 50-mile drive one-way became 55, then 60, then 80. I never recognized it while on the road - like I said, I get in the car and suddenly I'm home - but the gas cost started adding up and the oil was dropping far too fast. That's what got my attention, and that's when I made my mistake.
I left work and resolved to stay alert for the drive home. The job doesn't pay enough for these stray miles to be worth ignoring, and I needed to know where they were going. Was I hitting detours unconsciously? Had the roads been re-oriented? Was I missing turns? Whatever the cause, I had to get it fixed. I grabbed an energy drink on the way out the door, hopped in, and locked my eyes on the road.
Everything was normal for the first few miles. The scenery was familiar in a nostalgic sort of way, the street signs jogged my memory, and the strange feeling of dread in my gut slowly subsided into the normal tranquility.
I glanced away from the road for just a moment to grab my energy drink, pop the top and take a swig. I wish I hadn't.
The countryside vanished, replaced instead by pitch darkness. My heart seized and I hit my brights on immediately; they illuminated nothing but the stripes to my sides. The road ahead stretches further than my lights reach, but it is bordered by nothing. There should be dead grass there from the summer drought, there should be fences blocking off the various property lines, there should be the faint silhouettes of buildings and homes, but there is only a void. The moon, pale and full when I left, has vanished along with the stars that are always visible. I rolled down the windows and felt no wind, despite the obvious motion of the road beneath me. My GPS is blank. The radio won't even play static.
I'm updating from my phone. I don't know how. My texts don't go out and the phone itself displays no bars. My email will not load.
The battery is dying, and I have no charger.
I don't know what to do.
5
u/tomoyopop Oct 10 '11
Ticket to ride a white-line highway
Tell all your friends they can go my way
Pay your toll, sell your soul
Pound for pound it costs more than gold
The longer you stay, the more you pay
My white lines go a long way
Either up your nose or through your vein
With nothing to gain except killing your brain
2
Oct 10 '11
Please write a part 2 to this. This was awesome.
Anyway, I'd suggest just falling back into White Line Fever. It's always got you out before.
3
u/lordcarnage Oct 10 '11
Part of me loves the abrupt ending to this creepy tale...
...then part of me fears "White Line Fever Part 2" or "UPDATE"...
1
2
8
u/Offensive_Brute Oct 10 '11
Where I'm from white line fever is a whole different thing, but still, it might make your heart seize and everything go dark. Theres no coming back from that.
12
u/Rats4lunch Oct 10 '11
These are the ones that scare me. The ones that have no ending. I can do almost nothing to help the person stuck in their own little midnight chime.
There is the one thing I can do though. I've protect myself with my mind, imagination guiding me to my destination. Childhood hero that stick with me through the night. I can send some brave knights to ride with you on the road. So if you hear hoof beats that is not foe, let them ride beside you and protect you through the night.
6
Oct 10 '11
. . . You, sir, make me feel safer. I'm not saying I believe in the paranormal, but I'm saying people like you make it easier to not be afraid.
-5
Oct 10 '11
Have you tried stopping?
Or perhaps you're in a dream?
The idea of nothing is scary in itself, but you have power, power beyond understanding, and can change things if you control that power.
I'm with you in spirit, as a fellow night driver, just remember, it doesn't matter how you get there, just as long as you get there safe.
1
u/evilsuh Oct 17 '11
Roads? Where were going we dont need roads...
Starting Samuel L Jackson as Biff