The Encounter

Forward

The following experience took place approximately two years after the events that I described in Story. Please, read this in order to understand the possible context. Ever since I published it I’d been wondering how to write about the following encounter. I’m not a writer. I’ve asked several people to critique my writing since then and the most overwhelming response was just to relax and not obsess about it.

Backstory

I was a sophomore in college and had befriended Chris A. Actually, he may have initiated our relationship. I recall walking from the dining hall back to my dormitory when I saw Chris walking to the dining hall with his cohorts. I, distinctly, remember him pointing at me and saying: “I want to hang out with that guy”. My memory is fuzzy about the ‘why’ and I don’t think it matters too much. So, we ended up hanging out since we shared a sociology class together where we struck it off after (and during) class.

Chris was a barrel-chested tall man a little over six feet. Before enrolling at the university that we both attended, he had received one of the highest honors for graduating a lieutenant from Valley Forge Military Academy. If you’ve ever seen the movie entitled TAPS (Tom Cruise’s first role), then that would be the location it was shot.

An unusual relationship between my self (a wiry physique and averted to violence) and someone who’s been highly trained as an objective observer trained to kill. Chris had a deep love for The Doors rock band. I had a general respect/appreciation for them as well. That may have been one of the things that we shared in common. I, also, was a DJ with another college buddy at our university. The radio show, named The Beethoven and Socrates Hootenanny, featured anything between classical and alternative music and was extremely popular. This may have cemented our relationship further.

Person?

It was a private invitation-only Halloween party which featured a college band. I, personally, was acquainted with the band members that gave me and Chris the invitation. Immediately upon our arrival, Chris went inside the house. I remained outside and in front of the opened bottom floor garage where the band was ready to start. As soon as I got my first cup of beer from the party keg the band started playing. They played lots of familiar classic rock songs and I remained there until Chris showed up to let me know it was time to go. I had to get back to the university to start the aforementioned radio show.

We made our way down the winding snake-like paved driveway toward Chris’ car that was parked on the shoulder of the main road. The almost full moon, clear meteorological conditions (e.g. clear skies with no cloud cover) illuminated our way with ease.

Approximately half way down the driveway we suddenly heard three or four screaming/shouting voices, in unison and behind us, proclaim: “LOOK WHAT YOU’VE DONE TO US”!

We both turned around to see what appeared to be a person dressed up like what could, possibly,  be considered a vampire costume from our modern media. They were very pale-skinned, blonde hair slicked back, cloaked in gold-brown clothing with dark leather-like boots. This is the best physical description that Chris and I could gather from this incredibly brief encounter.

In the duration of less than one second we turned to look back at each others’ jaw-dropped faces and then back at this person. Then, right before our eyes, this person vanished or ‘winked out’. Immediately, Chris and I fanned out in opposite directions trying to locate this person. We spent, maybe, the next five minutes running around the immediate area looking for this person. Nothing.

Later, as Chris transported me back to the university, he told me that he had seen this person inside the house while I was outside listening to the band. He continued to inform me that he was standing in the kitchen, talking to a couple of girls, when this person interjected with what Chris described as “gibberish-like crazy talk”.

We both experienced this almost twenty-five years ago and still have no idea, precisely, what this was. We’ve talked about this with various friends, family and others with no concrete answers.