The attack
Today is, as most everyone is aware, Friday the 13th. This is the perfect time for me to continue my reflection on a terrifying incident that happened to me when I was a teenager. Said event took place in July, not on the 13th but on the 7th day of that month, in the year of 1987. 7/7/87….there is the number seven again! Little did I know it, but that day would live in infamy in my life for a very long time. It had a major effect on me then and still does, though to a lesser extent, today.
As I approached the front porch of that house I walked straight into an ambush. It was as though I had found myself in one of those slasher horror films, like the Texas Chainsaw Massacre. And before me stood a terrifying brute wielding a baseball bat. No hockey mask, no chainsaw, but extremely threatening nonetheless. All I had was that garden stake I thought to pick up when I passed my shed. But it was better than nothing, and I pointed it at the beast as he charged down off of the porch. I backed away instinctively, and the only thing I could think to do was to try bluff my way to safety. In the most assertive voice I could muster, I told the monster that he was on my property and he needed to leave. But all that did was further enrage him. I thought about trying to make for my house, which wasn’t too far away. But that was the last place I wanted to lure this psycho. My dad was working a night shift, and only my mom was home. Frieda wasn’t outside, so I couldn’t even depend on her to repel the monster. And I surely didn’t want to turn my back on him. Doing so could be the end of me. Then I remembered that there was a house on the main road, right across from where the driveway of the new house was. Someone at this house operated a snowball stand on summer evenings. That meant that there would be people there, and hopefully that would offer me protection against the bogeyman. Jason and other horror movie ghouls didn’t care if they had an audience, but hopefully this attacker would not want any witnesses. If I could get to that safe house, the bogeyman would be forced to abandon his attack and I could go across the road and then back up to my house.
So all the while holding my makeshift weapon pointed at the monster, I began walking backwards, down thru the brush and brambles towards the field. Thorns tore at my skin, but adrenaline dulled the pain. I was terrified of tripping and falling, as then the bogeyman could easily pounce on me. Neither I nor the beast said a word. But finally I managed to get to the field, and then to the gravel driveway. I could see the snowball stand behind me as I turned, and luckily there were several customers there enjoying the frozen treats. One person had a dog, a golden retriever. Once I reached the road I dropped my stake and dashed across, into the small group of people. The bogey man tossed his bat, so apparently he wasn’t going to try to kill me right there in front of everyone. Someone in the small crowd said to call the cops, as they had seen the monster menace me as we came down the driveway. But I had no idea how long it would take until one showed up, and the bogeyman was still lurking way too close to me and he stared at me with menace. The witnesses I thought would protect me seemed to be oblivious (well, save for whomever said to call the cops), and I knew I had to get out of there. This apparent refuge was anything but. The bogeyman leered at me as though he might grab me…. So I started up the main road towards the street that led to my house (which ran parallel to the driveway of the new house). I was tired out from my long bike ride earlier, so I didn’t have much energy left to try and run for it. I walked as quickly as I could. Gym class wasn’t my thing in school, and, while I could do a lot of biking, running wasn’t my thing either.
I had gotten about halfway to my street when suddenly I felt a hand tightly gripping my upper arm. Wheeling around, I was again face to face with the bogeyman! He had me in his clutches and was dragging me back down towards the snowball stand. I tried to stand my ground but he was too strong. Then I pulled with all my might to try and dislodge my attacker. But suddenly the beast spun me around and he had me by the waist before I even knew what had happened. I struggled to keep my footing, which was hard to do as the bogeyman was taller than I was by good amount. Getting my feet flat on the ground was quite difficult, which meant I could not get any leverage. My battle was just beginning…..
And yes, the above painting was done by me to mark this most dreadful day of my life. The house was actually obscured by trees but I illustrated it in this way so it could be seen.