Alonso pulled his beat up Chevy off to the side of the highway; he jumped out, slammed the door, lit his last Marlboro and cursed his luck.

Before he sat down in the car that morning, he was just another regular guy, trying to be a good employee, a good father and a good husband.

Cars rarely used that particular stretch of highway in western Maryland, so he had plenty of time to think about the choices he had made.

Daylight slipped away as Alonso paced by the car remembering how he'd decided to keep driving, leaving everything he'd ever known behind.

Even now, he was having second thoughts; this highway suddenly seemed like the loneliest place on earth, especially when you're out of gas.

Four children gathered around their Mom that night asking where Daddy was, he tried to push that thought out of his mind; this was freedom!

Getting cold as the last bit of light faded, he decided to get back in his car while he waited for someone to show up on this desolate road.

Headlights appeared off in the distance hurtling closer at an alarming rate close enough to make him jump out of the car at the last second.

Instead of plowing into the car, the truck swerved and screeched to a halt twenty feet beyond it, while Alonso’s heart beat in his throat.

Just when he had recovered enough to start cussing out the driver of the truck, he noticed an incredible pair of legs step out of the cab.

Katy as the driver identified herself was so gorgeous he hardly noticed how profusely she was apologizing.  The night wasn't so bad after all.

Little things that would normally set off warning bells, like her sharp features and extremely pale complexion, blended to intoxicate him.

Maybe it was the moonlight, the full orb lent a beautiful glow to the woods, but when she offered him a place for the night, he accepted.

Night shadows began to play tricks on Alonso’s mind.  He saw shapes moving in the woods as they drove on.  Several sets of eyes peered at him.

Of course, they were just deer or foxes he told himself but he could shake the unnerving feeling.  For the first time he wondered where he was

Past the dip in the road ahead, the shape of a gorgeous plantation house seemed incongruous against the wild forest and unkempt field before.

Quiet pervaded the night in the most unnatural way.  He didn't even hear insects, just the eerie howling of the wind as they went up the walk.

Reaching for the door, she turned to him, "last chance to change your mind.”  He shuddered but she laughed, "I'm kidding come on inside hon."

She led him into the most beautiful home he'd ever seen; candles lit the way from the main hall back to her room.  Wow, she doesn't waste time.

Too late, he realized what she had in mind she whipped around and bit into his neck hard.  "Whoa Katy, I'm not really into that rough stuff."

Unearthly eyes grinned from a monstrous face.  He didn't waste another second, he bolted for the door howls of mad laughter close behind him.

Very quickly, he found himself lost in the woods outside the manor, echoes of laughter in every direction.  If he could just get to the truck.

Wild thoughts filled his head.  Could she be in more than one place at once?  Something in the dark was closing in around him sealing him in.

Xerox copies of the lady vampire, if that's what she was, appeared every way he turned.  He panicked when a tree root caught his leg firmly.

Yanking free he pulled his thigh so hard he couldn't walk.  He heard the sound of his doom closing in, while the vampire just laughed madly.

Zombies closed in to...the alarm clock went off.  Alonso kissed his wife and children and went to work like a good father and husband should.