That night i was almost dead

That Night Still Haunts Me (2019)

By Kaizaaki

One of the scariest nights of my life happened back in 2019. I was on my way home after a martial arts tournament. As a black belt, I had just won 1st place, so I was feeling proud and hyped.

It was around midnight—12 AM sharp. We were driving home in a big van. There were nine of us in total: me, my three siblings (two brothers and one sister), a few of our teammates, and our mom.

We were far from the city, driving through the countryside. The vibe in the van was fun—we were laughing and sharing scary ghost stories. The lights inside the van flickered now and then, making it all feel like a horror movie… and then, it became one.

Out of nowhere, the van stopped.

The driver checked and told us the fuel tank had been leaking the whole time. We were now stuck in the middle of a forest, far from any gas station or mechanic.

At first, we tried to stay calm, but the fear hit hard. It was pitch-black outside. You couldn't even see past the windows. My sister’s face, usually pale, looked even more drained. My mom was seriously panicking. The driver had no clue what to do—dude didn’t even bring an extra fuel can.

Then it got worse.

One of my teammates fainted, and even our senpai (our senior student) looked completely freaked out. I looked outside and saw what looked like red stains on the rocks nearby. Blood? I don’t freaking know but that was too much scare the hell out of anyone.it scared all of us even more.

And someone was watching us. From the trees. From the bushes. Just… somewhere.

No one dared to turn around.

We waited for hours, trapped in that dark forest. It was 4 AM, and we still had no help. None of us could sleep. The fear was real. I take a pic of the forest

Then suddenly… a bus pulled up.

That was weird. Usually, people avoid stopped vehicles at night. I mean, it could be a trap or something. But this bus? The people inside actually stopped and asked:

“Are you okay? Why are you sitting here in the dark?”

Our driver explained everything, and they offered to help. They gave us a big chain and told us to attach it to the front of our van. Then they started towing us forward, driving slowly while we sat tight inside.

After about 2 hours, we finally saw a gas station ahead. It was like a miracle.

They asked us,

“Do you want to come with us into the city or stay here to fix the van?”

We were so grateful. We thanked them and decided to stay at the station. After about an hour, the van got fixed, and we were finally back on the road—still shaken up, but safe.

That night still lives in my head rent-free.
It felt like we were stuck in a nightmare... but we made it out.