A little town called Redtail

“That place is where people go to die,†the man said to me.
I’d only asked him for directions.
My two friends and I were planning on taking a little road trip during summer in between semesters of school. We only had a couple weeks of freedom, so we were going to take advantage of it. We’d always enjoyed sharing spooky stories and urban legends with each other—we were super-fans of horror, especially if it had some truth behind it. So naturally, our ideal destination for this trip would be a haunted location within driving distance.
When we were trying to decide where to go, Alison had made the first suggestion.
“Ooh, what about Redtail? It’s only like a three hour drive away—and you guys already know the lore surrounding that place.â€
“I don’t,†Ethan interjected.
“What? How do you not!†Alison snapped at him. “About the Nazis? Carter, I know you have heard of it.â€
I shrugged, “I’m lost.â€
“Wow. Okay, well,†Alison went on, “you know how after World War II a bunch of Nazis fled to South America?â€
Ethan and I nodded.
“Well, apparently some of them came to The States as well. And they couldn’t just go to, like, some crowded town or city. So, they built their own town—Redtail. Redtail Floh is the full name, I think. Most of them were scientists or high-ranking military officials, and supposedly, some experiment they were conducting killed most of them, but there are still some people living there today.â€
She had piqued our curiosity, so she continued. “Some say the place is now haunted by their spirits, and people have witnessed the ghosts of Nazi’s past,†she said in an exaggerated voice while lifting her arms and twiddling her fingers for an added spooky-effect.
Long story short, we decided to go.
The town was located at a pretty high elevation along the northern border of New Mexico. We had to cross state lines to get there, but that wasn’t a big deal. There were no Airbnb’s or major hotel chains within 50 miles of the place. We called around town trying to get through to anyone—a lot of the lines were dead or disconnected. Finally, someone answered and agreed to let us stay in his guest house for $20 per night, which was sufficiently affordable. We transferred three nights-worth of money to him in exchange for directions and instructions on how to get inside his place. The entire town wasn’t listed on Google Maps or any other electronic GPS system, but Alison had an older paper map that would help us get there.
We took my truck and headed to Redtail. After about two hours in, the paved road became foreign to my tires, as dirt and gravel was now our new medium. We stopped for gas maybe 45 minutes from our destination—the smallest gas station I’d ever seen. Taped on the gas pump was a piece of paper with crude handwriting that read “PLEASE PAY INSIDE.â€
I walked into the shop, no bigger than my own bedroom, and was greeted by a wrinkled, leathery man.
“Howya’ doing kid? Gas, is it?â€
“Yes sir.â€
As he swiped my credit card, he asked, “So where ya headed to on this beautiful day?â€
“Me and my friends are going up to Redtail. Isn’t it right up this road, going north? A little over half an hour from here?â€
He stiffened and grimaced simultaneously. My card was still in his hand, which was now shaking.
“Now why the hell would you want to get yourself inta’ there. That place is no good.â€
“Yeah…†I responded a little uneasily, “my friends and I are in to that sort of—you know, creepy history stuff. And with all the myths about the Nazis—â€
“That place ain’t some museum, kid!†his eyes were wide, and face was reddening, “that place was never home to no Nazi’s! That’s all bull****. Something evil lives there. It consumes a person’s soul and spits it out all mangled-like.â€
I didn’t know how to respond. He handed me my card back and left me with a final warning.
He leaned toward me as if to emphasize his point, “That place is where people go to die.â€
I said nothing as I backed out of the doorway and advanced toward my car. I pumped my gas silently before getting back in the truck. After I drove off, I told Alison and Ethan what the man told me.
“Wow,†Ethan said, “An old man warning us about an old town we’re going to—that’s some cheesy, 80’s horror-movie **** right there.†We all laughed.
“Honestly, that makes me more excited to go,†Alison said as she grabbed my hand.
We’d been dating for almost two years, but luckily Ethan never felt like a third-wheel. We’d all been friends since elementary school, and Ethan never let me forget that Alison had a crush on him first in third grade. That son of bitch.
About 30 minutes later we drove past a large green sign with white lettering that read:
CITY LIMITS
REDTAIL FLOH
POPULATION: UNKNOWN
Where I assume there used to be a number, someone had graffitied the word “Unknown†on top of it.
“Redtail Floh,†Ethan repeated after reading the sign, “you know, it reads more like Native Americans named it—not a bunch of Germans.â€
We laughed a little and I responded. “True, so either we are going to an almost-abandoned Nazi-town, or an almost-abandoned town built on an ancient burial ground. Either way, I like our odds of finding something creepy.â€
“What does ‘Floh’ even mean?†Ethan asked.
“Probably the last name of someone who founded the town,†Alison answered.
“Ah, yes,†I joked, “Mr. Floh—the most German name I’ve ever heard.â€
As we approached the town, I felt as if we had stepped back in time to the Old West. Though we were basically on top of a mountain, it was not too cold, rather warm actually. Dirt and sand composed the roadways while tumbleweeds greeted us every half mile. On the way to the Town Square, we had only seen one or two houses which looked more like abandoned shacks—the rest of the land lay empty.
It was just how I imagined it would look like. “Town Square,†was engraved on a large piece of stone that sat on the side of the roadway. The “square†was more of a strip, no longer than a quarter-mile. On each side of the dirt road were a couple shops, a restaurant, a bar, and a drugstore. And, well, that was about it. Some of the buildings looked abandoned despite having an open-sign on the window. There were no people walking down the gravel sidewalks. There were no cars driving through or parked along the street. It looked sincerely abandoned.
“Alright, I’m already a little unsettled,†I admitted. “Ally, how do I get to the house from here.â€
“Uh, one sec,†she pulled out the handwritten directions from the glove box that the man had given us over the phone.
“Okay, once you enter town… yada, yada… town square… alright, go past the drug store and make the first left in half a mile on Hitchier Rd. Then the driveway will be on our right in another half-mile. The mailbox is red and says ‘F.S.’ in white lettering.â€
As we pulled away from Town Square, I noticed in my rear-view that a few people were exiting some of the buildings we’d just passed. They walked out slowly and seemed to all congregated in the middle of the street. They were just staring in the direction of my car as I drove away. I didn’t say anything to the Alison or Ethan because I didn’t think much of it at the time.
As we trekked on towards the house, we passed a couple of other driveways, though we couldn’t see where any of them led. The road became narrower as if it was meant for only one lane of traffic.
“Carter!†Ethan cried out while grabbing my shoulder from the backseat, his other hand outstretched pointing towards the side of the road. “That’s it. The red mailbox.â€
Sure enough, there it was, bright red with “F.S.†painted on the side rather neatly. I turned the car and began scaling the long driveway, making my way through a couple bends and turns. When the “house†came in to view, we realized it was really more of a cabin. It stood old and weathered—a small, wooden cottage with a couple of stairs leading up the front porch.
“Who wants to bet this place has no electricity or running water?†Ethan remarked.
“The guy on the phone said it did,†Alison said with a touch of defeat in her voice.
“We should check it out first before we bring our stuff in,†I said.
We crossed the mix of dirt and overgrown grass and ascended the stairs leading to the front door. Alison grabbed a key from under an empty flower pot that sat on the front porch, exactly where the man said it would be. She unlocked the door and we made our way in.
It smelled like an ancient library. It was relatively dark inside—the only light seeping in came from the cracks in the closed blinds. We figured out the electricity worked after I pulled a string in the center of the living room, turning on a single lightbulb. The living room was made up of a long, dining room-like table, with six chairs to accompany it. They were all wooden, matching the interior and exterior of the structure. There was no kitchen, but there was a minifridge. The other two rooms were bedrooms, each with one mattress adorned with (what seemed to be) clean sheets.
I opened all the blinds and let the late-sun’s light pour through the glass planes.
“Hey, there’s water too,†Ethan called to us from the only bathroom, sounding surprised. “We’re in the clear, gang.â€
We grabbed our small amounts of luggage and settled into our bedrooms. The sun was setting, so we decided to stay in tonight and figured we’d head into town tomorrow morning. We had brought a couple of board games and a 24-pack of beer to help pass the time.

---

“Come on I’ve landed on Board Walk like six ****ing times!†Ethan yelled at Alison.
“Sorry dude,†she said taking the beer bottle away from her lips. “Rules are rules. At least you’re not in jail again.â€
The Monopoly game was quickly growing heated. Along with it, we were quickly becoming intoxicated.
“If I go bankrupt because of you I swear—â€
THUMP. THUMP. THUMP.
Ethan’s empty threat was cut short by three heavy pounds on our front door. We all stared at it like we’d never heard someone knock on a door before.
THUMP. THUMP. THUMP.
We all flinched a little bit.
“I’ll—I’ll get it,†I said, rising from my chair.
I walked over to the front door almost tiptoeing for some reason. I unlocked the deadbolt and cracked the door to peek outside. It was dark, very dark. I couldn’t see anything, so I flipped a couple switches on the wall next to me until the outside light came on. Once illuminated, I could see there was nothing on the porch. I pulled the door open wider and poked my head out to look in all directions but saw nothing. I turned to Ethan and Alison, whose attention was already on me.
“Uh, I don’t see anyone,†I said.
Alison stood up and approached the door with a puzzled look on her face. Her eyes were locked on something outside. She pointed.
“There. Someone is standing there.â€
I squinted a little and looked out in to the darkness. My heart sank a little once I saw what she did. Somebody was standing maybe 100 feet away from the porch, and it seemed like they were looking in our direction.
“Hey!†I shouted at the figure. “What are you doing?â€
The outline of the person neither moved, swayed, nor responded.
Alison hastily shut the door. We stood in quiet panic for a moment.
“Should we call the police?†She said.
“I doubt this town even has a police station,†Ethan said.
I reached for the knob to open the door back up—just a crack at first. I didn’t see anyone, so I swung the door open yet again. Whatever was there was gone, and Alison saw that as well.
“I don’t know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing,†she said.
“Maybe they had the wrong house and got embarrassed? I don’t know, but the front door is gonna be locked, the side-door is boarded up completely, and all the windows can’t be opened. We’re safe. We’ll be fine. You still have the key right?†I asked Alison, who nodded in response.
“Good. Okay,†I said, “let’s just finish up this game tomorrow night. I think we’ve had enough to drink. We should probably hit the sack so we can get up early tomorrow.â€
The others agreed. I could tell we were all a little on edge. We cleaned up our bottles and settled into our rooms, all the while sneaking glances outside to make sure no one was there. We didn’t exactly have anything to protect ourselves with besides chairs and bottles we could throw at an intruder. Ethan said goodnight and headed into his room as Alison and I settled into our own. Once under the covers, we exchanged a few goodnights before we drifted off.
When I got up the next morning, I noticed three things were missing—my keys, my truck, and Ethan. I did the math.
Alison and I figured he might’ve just run into town to pick up breakfast for us. I thought it was strange though. I’ve never let him borrow my car before, let alone take it without asking me first.

---

We began to worry as hours passed. It was nearing 2 PM, and we had awoken at 8 AM. That means Ethan had my car out for over six hours. Something wasn’t right. I suggested to Alison we take a walk into town to see if he’s there. She agreed.
We walked down the dusty road admiring the beauty of the place. Though it was the middle of nowhere, and though it was allegedly haunted grounds, it was quite picturesque—a scene straight out of WestWorld. As we walked, we held hands, tossed sand at each other’s feet playfully, and found the occasional rock to be kicked until it fell off the road. As we neared closer to the center of town, Alison pointed out a woman walking in our direction on the other side of the road.
As the distance between us and the woman shrank, Alison spoke up to her.
“Hey there!†She said in a genuine, friendly tone.
The woman wore dusty overalls that tucked into her boots. She looked like she had been working on a farm. She responded neither to Alison’s greeting nor my wave that followed it. She did acknowledge us though, in a way. She stared at us. She stared like she was seeing a ghost. Her eyes were wide. It didn’t quite look like she was scared of us however. No, not scared—more of a surprised expression. After we passed her, we walked in silence for a moment.
“Carter,†Alison whispered, “she stopped walking. She’s staring at us.â€
I almost become immobile from shock but Alison’s tug at my hand helped me keep my stride. I glanced over my shoulder trying to be as nonchalant as possible. She was standing in the middle of the road just glaring at us. I turned back to Alison.
“Maybe they haven’t seen an outsider in a while.â€
“Yeah, maybe,†She replied, unconvinced. “They act like they’ve never seen someone from outside their town.â€
Once we made it to the Town Square, we stood in the middle of the road looking around at each of the buildings. We hadn’t seen my truck or any sign of Ethan. It’s impossible to leave town without passing through the Square, so we were determined to find someone who had seen Ethan leave. The largest building in town was the diner—the large letters rooted into the front of the structure read “Food 24/7.â€
“Odd name for a restaurant,†Alison said without taking her eyes off the sign.
“No kidding. Creativity does not seem to be running rampant here,†I said in a hushed-tone as if someone were listening.
We walked inside and were welcomed to an empty diner, similar to those you’d see in the 1950’s. We hopped up on two barstools and waited for someone to see us. A couple minutes passed, so I called back a “Hello?†to the open kitchen but got no response. And just then, a patron came through the door and sat down in a booth. He was looking at us. Alison and I shot each other a glance.
“Hey there,†she said to the man, “did you happen to see a red truck come through this morning?â€
He didn’t move or blink, he just looked at us.
Another came into the diner—in fact, it was the same woman who we saw walking down the road. She kept her eyes on us as she took a seat, sharing the booth with the man.
Then another person came in. Then another. And another. All of them had their eyes locked on us from the moment they entered the restaurant. They all quietly took their seats and continued to stare.
Alison’s delicate voice tried to ask the question again to the new patrons, though she was visibly scared, “have—have any of you seen a red truck?â€
No response. No movement.
“Alison, I think we should leave,†I said as I stood from my bar stool.
The diner was almost full of people at that point. It was as if the sole reason any of them came in was because they knew we were there. They didn’t have guns pointed at us. They didn’t look angry. They didn’t look like they wanted to hurt us. Even so, I felt a real sense of danger around them, like their stares would make me drop dead in an instant. They all just looked—stunned. Their eyes were wide and their mouth barely open. It created an unmatchable amount of dread within me—the truest sense of terror I’ve ever felt.
We slowly walked out of the restaurant, and in an unspoken agreement, we began a light sprint to get out of there and back to the cabin.
I don’t know if Alison turned back to look, but I did.
They were all in the street.
They were all staring.
And no one was moving.

---

Alison and I were walking up the driveway to the cabin. My heavy breathing and rapid heartbeat were all I could focus on. Before Alison and I could even talk about what had happened, we noticed my truck sitting in the driveway, right where I had parked it before.
“That son of a bitch. Where the hell did he go?†I said as I advanced towards the front porch.
“He had to have gone the other way,†Alison pointed out, “otherwise he would’ve passed us on his way back.â€
We climbed the stairs and barged through the door.
“Where the **** did you go?†I said, getting straight to the point.
“Excuse me?†he said. “Where the **** did you go? I have been sitting here forever waiting for you two ass-hats to come back!â€
“What have you been smoking?†Alison intervened. “We left for town on foot because you never came back with the truck.â€
Ethan looked truly surprised, and then, amused. “Uh okay, Mr. and Mrs. Crazy-pants. I get it now, you’re pulling my leg. You almost got me—I didn’t even hear the truck pull in, you two did a good job,†he started to clap his hands together.
I grabbed them mid-clap. “We aren’t pulling your ****ing leg, idiot. When we woke up, you were gone. The truck was gone. We waited for six hours and you never came back. We went to town, just now got back, and we find you and the truck are here again. What are we supposed to think of that?â€
Now his amused expression grew to one of alarm.
“I—I didn’t take your car dude. When I got up this morning you two were still gone,†he said, “Carter—when I woke up last night and talked to you, you said you were taking it out with Alison for a surprise. You never came back.â€
“Wait, what?†Alison said.
“No,†I started, “no. I didn’t wake up last night. I most certainly didn’t have that conversation with you.â€
“Yes, you did. It was dark, but I know it was you. It was some time in the middle of the night—I heard a thud or something, so I came out of my room and you were standing in the doorway with the keys.â€
My eyebrow slowly rose in confusion, but he continued.
“You said you had a surprise for Alison—that you saw a nice place on the way in to town to park the truck and look at stars. I asked if you were good to drive and you said you sobered up enough. Ring any bells?â€
Alison looked at me, then back at Ethan, “We didn’t go look at stars, and I would’ve woken up if he left the bed.â€
“And I would’ve woken up if you left,†I directed the comment at Alison.br /> We all looked at each other in suspicion, in bewilderment—in panic.
Momentarily, I felt as if I was in the room with two strangers.
And I’m sure they felt the same way.
After our three-way standoff had subsided somewhat, we took our seats around the Monopoly board we had no intention of playing.
We sat without speaking for a little while, passing and catching glimpses at one another. Our minds were reeling.
The silence was broken when I told them what had been on my mind all day.
“I—I don’t think I locked the door back last night.â€


Source.