Ebrugh Report 4: The Man

This Ebrugh Report is about a truck driver that stops to help a man with a broken down car, causing horror to seep into his life.
==Short Summary==
Bert is a truck driver making his way through the Rocky Mountains. One day, he comes across Stanley on the side of the road, a man whose car has apparently broken down. When Bert stops to help, Stanley threatens him with a gun and forces Bert to take him along. During the trip, Stanley tells Bert about a mysterious man who seems to be stalking and following him. When the fuel runs out and Bert goes to a petrol station, Stanley steals the truck and drives away. To his horror, Bert sees a strange man in a car following the truck. In the end, the truck is found empty, and Stanley is gone.
== Report 4 ==
===Rumoured Origin===
This is the story of an American who wrote these lines shortly before his death. He gave them to his daughter, and she posted them on some occult websites. That is where I found them. The happenings of this report probably took place in the year 1976.
===Report===
I drove my truck for more than forty years through the Rocky Mountains, delivering goods, making my money. Never had there been any troubles on my journeys – other than one or two breakdowns. But the story that I want to get off my chest at this moment, at the eve of my life, happened exactly as I am about to write it down, about thirty years ago – I swear. When my mind will soon find its final peace, I will at least not be able to hear the laughter of the people who read this.
It is probably best to start from the very beginning. My life as a trucker might have been a lonely one from time to time, but I could always count on my colleagues. In silent moments their voices gave me company in my isolated driver cab over the radio.
Never would I have even remotely been able to dream up the unsettling situation I would experience. It was the summer of 1976, the month, however, I am not sure about anymore. Maybe June?
The journey had lead me and my loyal truck over Olive Ridge, at the rims of the National Park, and I gazed upon a crystal clear lake that sparkled down below the road, at the foot of a grassy hill.
I still remember the cloudless sapphire sky, filling me with a feeling of comfort and carefreeness. The rhythmic sound of my truck's engine that had been my sole constant companion for the past years felt soothing, almost hypnotic. The leather seat that had over time adapted itself to the shape of my back gave me comfort and peace.
Perhaps it gave too much peace, for I noticed the man jumping onto the road in front of me almost too late. My reflexes allowed me to hit the brakes just in time, stopping the truck so that the old vehicle came to a screeching halt only a few steps away from the madman.
I must have gotten out of the driver cab and started marching towards him, because nowadays I only remember standing right in front of the man, ready to rip him a new one.
When I stood there, I suddenly noticed something metallic.
That lunatic had a gun!
Angrily I stopped all movements and took a closer look at the man.
The guy had to be in his late thirties, had blond, disheveled hair, a crazy look in his eyes and torn clothes.
"You, over there! Stay still, exactly where you are!" he demanded with a croaky voice.
I made my piece with God, assuming the lunatic would shoot me, just to get a hold of my truck. Silently, I cursed myself for my stupidity. Why hadn't I stayed inside the cab, where it would have been a little safer? After all, everybody knew that people at the roadside never meant good news.
"Calm down, dude!" I must have tried to talk to the madman.
"You... you are not... him... I thought..." the guy stuttered, perplexed.
„What is your name? What do you want from me? If you wanna kill me, just do it already!" I tried to distract him.
"My name? I... My name is Stanley. Or Stan. I had a breakdown, must have gone too fast. Too hectic..." he introduced himself, pointing behind his back with his free hand.
Only now, I noticed the old jeep, having been run against one of the many trees at the hillside, apparently by a confused Stan. That calmed me down a bit. Perhaps he was content with hitching a ride.
"Where to?" I therefore asked.
"Just onward. Just... onward..." Stanley whispered and looked up and down the road, apparently searching for someone.
Suddenly, he took down his weapon and started crying, shaking.
"I am sorry, I am so sorry! I am just not myself anymore! Please, take me with you, please, I beg of you! I will give you all my money, everything I have, everything you want! Please! I beg of you! If I were to stay..."
Confused, I took a closer look at the poor sod and started thinking about knocking him out cold. However, the strange, deep fear in Stanley's eyes made me hesitate. Additionally, some extra money was always a nice thing, especially in my line of work.
"Are you on the run from the cops?" I wanted to know skeptically. Helping a wanted man was not my cup of tea, after all.
Stanley only let out a sad snort.
"The police? No, I would have been happy to meet a sheriff or a deputy around here! Perhaps they could have helped me! No, don't worry… But I need to leave, now!" he shouted agitatedly whilst flailing around the gun.
"Alright, alright! Get in, get in!" I hastily said.
It would be easier to knock him out as an emergency measure when he was sitting right next to me.
That is why I let him climb onto the passenger seat. With a grumpy mumble, I took my place behind the wheel again.
"P-p-please, I am sorry, b-but my life is at stake here..." Stanley stuttered apologetically after some minutes of unpleasant silence.
"Hm," I said.
"What is your name?", he wanted to know, probably to calm the situation down a bit.
"Bert," I said.
"Well, Bert, I am so sorry for my behavior. But I am just terrified. He might... get me", Stanley explained and looked down at the ground, terrified.
"He, he, he! He? Don't be so vague!" I barked at him.
"You... would never believe me," Stanly said.
"I have heard my share of crazy stuff. One of my colleagues tells me of his bigfoot-sightings at least once a week. Your story can't be more unbearable," I informed him, nodding my head towards the radio.
"My tale is so crazy, even I wouldn't believe it. Had I not just lived through it..." Stanly admitted with a gulp.
"Then hurry up! Tell me!" I said, silently getting a bit excited.
I had always liked a good story and that way this poor guy wouldn't accidentally shoot me in the head.
"So be it...
It all started three days ago. Everything. Three days ago, when my life was still normal and boring. I never would have guessed saying this one day, but... I miss my bleak job as a desk worker, my little box...
Well, it was around midday and I took a walk during my break time as I did every day. You know, I have met many people that think of Salt Lake City's skyline as something that closes you in, but for me it has always been home, a place of safety. I have lived my whole live there, never having known anything else."
"Poor guy," I remarked.
How could one ignore the call of this huge world? The call to adventure?
"I know myself, that I am just a simple man from the city, one amongst a million others, but my life was great... until that moment. I walked unhurriedly through downtown, enjoying my break. It had been a hard day, many things to calculate, many things to organize. I strolled through the streets, seeing all the other people minding their own business, passing by each other. 
Then it happened. A car crash, right next to me on the main street. 
An old van hit a school bus… Did the driver perhaps have a stroke? Anyway, you might understand the shock I was in! The bang, the smoke. And I don't know why, but moments later the bus was ablaze. Horrible, all those people, all those children, just..."
Stanley stopped and looked into the void, trembling.
"Everyone would be shocked. That still does not explain your behavior," I remarked, but I couldn't wait for him to go on.
"No, no, of course not! If it had only been that! A shock would have been easier to cope with! Everything burning, ablaze! The children, the people around, confused, horrified. Madness and misery, horror and anguish…
And then... 
I spotted him.
He was standing on the other side of the street and observed the gruesome happenings, completely unmoved by the screams and the smell of burning flesh and melting metal. 
This... man...
He stood there, just stood there, expressionless, letting his gaze trail over the parts of the bus that were disappearing in flames.
His dark grey pinstripe suit did not have a single mote of ash on it and his shoes shimmered dark in the light of the midday sun, sinister and alien. His skin was pale and strangely coarse, his white hand gripping an old suitcase. That thing looked hideously out of place and out of time... a bit like him. 
Why was he just standing there? Was he admiring the chaos? Was he in shock as well? It felt more and more strange, him just standing there…
I firstly could not get a look at his face due to the smoke and… today I wished it had stayed that way.
I... I can't describe this grimace! I just can't, my throat won't let the words out…
And when I looked at that man, I suddenly felt his icy gaze resting on me, from those... eyes. I don't know why I fled, but I only came to my senses back at my office, back in my box."
"That's all? A face? A man? Perhaps he fought in a war and got disfigured, surely you can't just..." I tried to argue.
Stanley, however, was quick to silence me.
"His face was not damaged, no, it was something different... it was...
I just can't.
After I had calmed down a bit and had some tea, my thoughts kept wandering back to that accident. Why had the bus exploded? It had just gotten hit. Had anyone survived? Had...
Suddenly I felt a chill run down my spine. Images of the unspeakable grimace appeared before my inner eye. Images of that disturbing man who had stood there so coldly, who had icily gazed at the disaster, and then his gaze shifting to me.... 
His look... had found me.
I still felt his stare, despite having left the place of the accident behind. I could still feel him looking at me. Despite the peace that I had found there in my box, despite the peace that the tea had given, ...
The gaze was still there. It still rested on me, as if the man was still looking at me, watching me, dissecting me with his eyes....
Why did I still feel it, that look?"
"You were traumatized! An accident like that can really throw you off! But that's still...", I began again, but Stanley cut me off.
“No! The bad thing is... I stood up, wanting to look out the window, look at the mountains in the distance. My eyes fell on the street, almost accidentally... 
And there he stood! There on the sidewalk! And he looked up at me! What did he want there? What did he want from ME?"
Stanley ran his hands through his hair, completely distraught.
"How was I supposed to get out of the building? Surely, I couldn't go through the main entrance, not past… him! My mind was racing. It was late, so the side entrance was probably already locked! But I had to try. I had to escape from him, from that despicable man! So, I hurried down the stairs, down all those concrete steps. I couldn't take the elevator after all, what if he was waiting right in front of it! I would have been trapped!
I ran down the stairs, down and down. I was lucky, the side door was unlocked and so I squeezed through, into the alley behind the building. I must have been drenched in sweat, but I didn't care. After a quick breather, I made my way home. It was five blocks to my little apartment. Carefully, I approached the end of the alley, fearing that he might be lurking there. I was lucky, he wasn't, and I started to head home..."
"Man, this is insane. Why were you so scared? Maybe he was traumatized too and just wanted to...", I grumbled, but was cut off again.
"No! No! He was... not normal. He was... 
When I was on the street, a few feet away from the entrance of the alley, already feeling safe, that's when I saw him. He was leaning out of the alley, behind me, looking at me and giving me that abysmal grin! But how had he gotten there? I don't know... I ran home..."
"Wow, that sounds a little freaky! But why didn't you call the police?"
"I... I don't know, I was so confused! Maybe I should have. But maybe... he would have noticed the cops too. Would have chased them too if they had confronted him. I don't know. But I don't think they could have done anything against him. He seemed so different, so otherworldly."
"Hmm, I would have tried anyway."
"That might have been better. But somehow I was afraid of harming others..."
"Says the guy who pulled a gun on me," I laughed bitterly.
Stanley blushed.
"You have to believe me, I just had to make sure to keep going. I don't want him to catch up to me! I would never have hurt you!" he then stammered.
"Catch up? Do you think he's still stalking you?"
"I know he is! It was the next day, the day after the accident and the dead people... I already hadn't slept well that night, had had terrible dreams, kept seeing that man's eyes in my mind! Thus, I woke up drenched in sweat. Nonetheless, the feeling that he was looking at me loomed over me. I got dressed and headed for the bathroom. As I approached the door, I felt queasy. I was afraid that he was standing there, waiting there for me to..."
"Whew, you really got a smack on the head! Why would he...?"
"He was there."
"What?"
I looked at him in disbelief. His sunken eyes were full of panic and his dirty hair made him look very sick. But his voice seemed to speak the truth.
"I approached the door, felt his presence, his eyes, his gaze... Slowly, I advanced, towards it. Finally, I tore open the door. 
He was standing there, in front of the mirror, in the middle of the bathroom. Motionless. But I knew he would not remain frozen. I rushed out of the room, driven by terror and instinct. Ran into the underground garage, to my car. And guess what? There he was!"
He wiped his forehead, ready to burst into tears again. 
"And then?" I asked, not believing what I heard.
I did not feel well, Stanley apparently had lost his mind due to the accident, probably had gotten a concussion. Who knew what he was capable of doing at the moment?
"What do you think? I ran away! Out of the building, onto the street! And... He was standing there as well! How did he get there? How? 
I had to flee, flee from this... thing. Away and to safety. I stole a car and drove, drove away, just away! I have been going the whole night long... and again and again I saw him in the rearview mirror, driving a dark car, following me, chasing me. Every time I managed to shake him off. I must have momentary nodded off due to the exhaustion. Hit the tree. Then, you found me and I had to take that chance! I had to! I had to go on, what if he had caught up to me?"
I looked at the shaking Stanley in disbelief.
"Seriously?"
"Yes, of course! Do you think I am kidding around? Fortunately, I had the gun inside my car..." he whispered.
I said nothing and looked at the tank meter. We would not get far with the diesel we had left. On the next occasion, I steered my truck down a side road, towards one of the many service stations located in the mountains.
"What the hell are you doing?" Stanley stuttered, having turned even more pale.
"We cannot stop! He will catch up to us!"
"Yeah, well, if the tank has completely run dry in a few miles, we will be even more fucked. And stop with this 'man'. You are under shock and stress!" I shouted at him. We had reached the station and I got out of the truck to refill the tank.
Just as I was about to take the fueling hose, a horrid scream pierced the air, shaking me to the core. It was Stanley's voice.
The poor lad had finally gone crazy and with terror I heard the roaring of my old truck's engine. Seconds afterwards, the vehicle was speeding past me, leaving me behind in a cloud of dust.
That guy had fucked me over, telling tall tales! Or he had been madder than I had thought in the beginning! It didn't matter, for I had neither the promised money nor my truck! I cursed again. How could I have been so stupid? Why had I let him into my truck in the first place? With this laughable story? Why did I...
Moments later, I heard the sound of another car, zooming past me, and I my heart almost stopped.
Behind the wheel of the black hearse sat a being, so horrendous that I could not even have dreamt it up in my worst nightmares: A man, pale as a corpse, wearing a dark grey pinstripe suit and a big black top hat. His inhuman face burned itself into my brain, despite me having seen it only for a few moments.
The eyes seemed big, lidless, and slit-shaped; his wide grinning mouth opening ran from one ear to the other. That smile looked like a part of hell itself.
Staring, the creature sped past my in its car, not having noticed me. And I will forever thank the Lord that it didn't.
It sped past me, after my truck, and disappeared into the distance.
I am not sure, whether I hallucinated all of said encounter, whether the story of poor mad Stanley had shaken me more than I admit. However, I cannot believe that such a hellish smile has been produced by just my own imagination.
My old truck was found on the same day. Someone had run it against a rock wall. Yet, the driver was never found, only the bullet holes, deeply piercing the passenger seat...
== Audio Versions ==
# Read by viidith22
#Read by Slumber Reads
# Read by REDDIT INC.
==Characters==
*Bert
*Stanley
== Entities & Objects ==
* Strange Man
==Possible Connections to the Ebrugh==
*The being Stanley saw appears to be one of The Men.
==Trivia==
*Though the Man drives a hearse, he seems to not be directly related to Deaths.