After spending 3 days alone on the road, I finally saw signs directing me to Tophet. The town was located deep in the wilderness east of Maine. It was pretty isolated from the neighbouring towns. I did my research of the town before I left. From what I could gather the town was founded by an exiled priest and his fanatical followers soon after America was discovered. They had a peaceful relationship with the Native tribes and thus was able to live without much difficulty. However, there had always been rumours about the town. Particularly about the priest.
The priest was exiled after he was suspected of necromancy and witchcraft by the Vatican but they were never able to prove it. Over the years after the town was founded, there have been several disappearances around the area. Some say it was the priest abducting more victims for his barbaric practices while others say he summoned a demon from hell which got loose and is now attacking those unfortunate enough to cross its path.
At the time, I dismissed these rumours believing them to be rantings of ignorant people from primitive age. Yet I couldn't help but feel a sense of foreboding as I got closer and closer to the town. Looking back, that was my last chance to turn around and leave. Yet I pressed on.
Suddenly, my car stopped working and it stopped right at the sign saying 5 miles to Tophet. Exasperated, I came out of the car opened the hood to check the Engine. In preparation for the trip, I had checked the car multiple times before I left. Thus I shocked due to this malfunction. When I touched the engine, I found that it was unbelievably hot and I quickly retracted my hand which is now scalded. I yelled a few obscenities as I paced back and forth before taking my water bottle and pouring it on my hand. By the time the pain subsided, my hand had already started blistering so I wrapped an old bandana around it hoping that Tophet had a pharmacy.
I took out my phone and tried calling someone only to find that there was no signal which was wierd since I recalled that my phone had full bars not too long ago. I wandered around trying to get a signal when suddenly I got full bars. Curious, I took a step back and the bars disappeared. Yet when I took a step forward again, the bars returned. I scanned my surroundings. and found out that the signal only disappears when I go beyond the aforementioned sign. The same spot where my car broke down. The bars became available if I walked away from the sign towards the way I came. Almost as if the town was still stuck in the 1960s before the invention of the internet. Seeing no point in asking someone to come tow my car while I was so close to my destination, I started to take out my gear intent on walking the rest of the way. I planned on finding a mechanic in Tophet to tow my car.
I don't know why I continued towards Tophet even after all this. Was it my curiosity? Nope. Was it bacause I felt that it was my Destiny? Haha. Don't Kid yourself. Was it the promise of a big wad of cash? Most likely. Anyways I threw my common sense out the metaphorical window much like how I took my hiking gear and a few essentials out the car. I contemplated whether or not to bring my grandfather's hunting rifle with me as I didn't know what prowled around in the wilderness. In the end however, I opted to only take my hunting knife storing my rifle inside the hidden compartment of the trunk. I would come regret that decision later.
With my preparations now complete (more or less), I walked down the road leading to Tophet at a brisk pace. It was almost 2 o'clock in the afternoon by then so I wanted to find shelter before nightfall. My eyes wandered around the scenery until something caught my eye. It was a very old sign which was suspended from the branches of two trees on opposite sides of the road that said " Welcome to Tophet" . Reading the sign caused me to feel uneasy for some reason. I tried to dismiss these feeling as I took its picture and resumed walking.