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Just click the link in the show description to support now. Welcome to Tales to Tare, Part of the

Part of the District of Wonders Network.

Featuring Starship, Sofer and Far-Fetched Fables,

everyone has a story in the District of Wonders.

Come and find yours.

Good evening, Children of the night, and welcome. Make sure you're properly belted in and settled in for this stretch of our late-night journey. Driving through the back roads of New Mexico after midnight might seem picturesque, serene even. The arid landscape painted in hues of blue, moonlight playing off of the mesas and casting shadows from scattered Joshua trees.

But as beautiful as it is to see, there's danger on the road that late at night, especially

when traveling alone.

At first, it seems like it's maybe a puff of smoke hanging off in the distance, a small,

inky blot on the otherwise empty horizon.

But there's something odd about it.

It's hard to put your finger on it.

It seems to play tricks with your sight.

To writhe and pulse, shrink and grow.

You rub your tired eyes and blink rapidly to clear your vision.

It must be just the strain of driving at night,

right? Your eyes are dry and it's blurring your vision. But your sight is clear, and you feel more alert than you have in hours. Your fingers tense on the steering wheel as a feeling of unease begins to needle at your guts.

You check the mirrors, hoping for the comfort of another set of headlights on the road behind you.

But there's nothing in the rear view but empty asphalt.

...