okay, bizarre incident story time.

Driving down the road yesterday morning going to the tractor place (which is less than three miles from my house) I drive past a neighbors house and glance over and see a girl with long, dark hair running across the yard. Didn't think much of it until I got past. Just happened to look in my mirror and see that she is waving wildly at me with both arms.

The matriarch of the family has been poorly lately, so, thinking something must be wrong, I turned at the road going to the tractor place (it was only about a hundred yards or so away) and went back. I saw a pickup sitting by the road near the entrance to the tractor place and thought "hmm TH must be working on fence this morning."

As I drove back up the road, I saw the girl jump the chainlink fence and come running out in the road. I rolled down my window to ask what was wrong and she didn't even slow down. She ran around my truck and got in it. That's when I first realized she was not one of the neighbor girls. She was wearing flannel pj bottoms and a t-shirt... and her mouth was bleeding (I thought it was a seriously bad zit at first). She said "can you please give me a ride." I'm trying to think of something smartass to say when she continues "I ran off from my boyfriend, he's threatening to kill me." I'm think "oh great, this is all I need right now." She looked scared, but it's hard to say. She wasn't in the truck that long.

I'm wondering who in the hell she is and trying to fish my cellphone out of the bibb of my overalls to call the police with when she says "Did you see a truck parked on _______ road? My boyfriend ran out of gas and I ran while he was gone to get gas." I'm still trying to process this in my feeble little mind when I realized that I had just seen a truck pull out from _______ road heading south (I was pointed north) My first thought is "Oh shit" So I drove. I'm trying to figure what do about now. I'm thinking of heading straight for the Sheriffs office.

She then tells me that she's called a friend to come pick her up and that we will probably meet them shortly. About the time I start to ask her why she didn't call the police we top the hill about half a mile from where she got in my truck and meet her friend coming over the next hill about 200 yards away. I'm got my phone in hand by now, but she's opening the door before I can slow down. I pulled a bit to the middle of the road and her friend stopped. She said thank you (or something along those lines) and jumped out of my truck and ran over and got in the back of her friends car (two more girls and a young guy). They did not have a window rolled down but I leaned out of mine and told them to turn around NOW and go back north. The driver nodded her head in understanding and they turned around in a driveway I'd just passed while I turned around in the next one.

Yes, I probably should have called the police, but she was in my truck for less than three minutes, tops. And I doubt it was that long, how long does it take to drive a mile on a state highway?

I went back to the tractor place, thinking I could ask TH what the heck was going on (since the boyfriend had apparently ran out of gas in his front yard, I thought he might know something). Pulled in, he wasn't there. Y'see, there is a long driveway (which is only wide enough for one vehicle) back to the office and sometimes it's hard to tell whether he'd open or not. As I started out, I saw a truck pulling in. And yes it was the truck I'd seen earlier.

I'm in full oh shit mode again (partly because I stupidly let my carrying permit expire several years ago and I rarely carry anymore). I think ok, I'll just play the yokel since I'm pretty good at that.

I rolled my window down as the guy approached and he pulled up right beside and I said "He ain't here, I reckon he's closed." I saw the guy was young and noticed he was wearing camos (not military style, more like deer hunting style) and he said "I'm looking for a girl. Have you seen a girl come running down through here?"

"Nope, I ain't seen no girl down here a'tall." See? I didn't even lie to the little shit, because I had NOT seen a girl down there. Not that it mattered anyway, it's not like I would have told him a damn thing to start with.

I pulled out and headed over to TC's. I was still toying with the idea of calling the Sheriff, but I didn't think it would do any good. For one thing, the girl was scared, but if she was really and truly in fear for her life, why didn't she call the police instead of her friend from my neighbors house? I asked TC what he thought and he agreed with my initial thought. I had nothing to tell the police, no names, no tag numbers and not much in the way of descriptions either.

Had we not met her friend when we did, I guess I wouldn't have taken her back to the barn, where my bride was and let her talk to the girl while I called the sheriff, but as it happened we met up with them before I got back to the farm. I guess that's a good thing, but this is something I will probably always wonder what the whole story was.