I was eight years old when it happened. My father and I were heading back to Saskatchewan to see my grandmother. We'd made that drive dozens of times before then and never had more trouble than an avalanche in the rockies. I know it's a bit cliche to say, but that night was different.
My dad and I were still in the rockies when night fell. I was getting tired, and my dad assured me that Calgary was getting close.
I was nodding off when my dad slammed on the breaks. I remember seeing a bit of a black blur shoot off to the side of the road, but my dad looked spooked.
"What was it dad?" I assume I asked. Regardless of if I did or not, he gave a surprisingly honest answer.
"Sharp teeth in a mouth as wide as this car." is all I can remember him saying before it tore through the driver side door and caught my dad in its mouth.
It seemed little more than sharp teeth in a large mouth, but after my eyes adjusted I could see a slick black ball of a body with what looked like an insect like shell. Four purple, fleshy arms protruded from the shell, one of which was now resting beside my 8 year old head. I remember thinking how easy it would be for this thing to crush my head in it's hand.
It stared at me while it gnawed on my dad. It didn't have eyes, but if there's anything in this story that I remember clearly it's that stare. Somehow I found that I couldn't imagine anything that this creature would do to me if I tried to move. There was this sense of strong intent and threat in that state, yet every horror imaginable seemed possible in that moment. If I moved, something would happen, and given my situation at the time that something couldn't be good, but much worse than just bad.
So I just watched as it chewed my father like a stick of gum. I watched until the sleep I needed forced it's way into the situation, and in utter hopelessness I let my eyes shut.
I woke up in the hospital. The doctor assured me that I'd be fine, that there was an accident but no one was seriously hurt. I walked out of that hospital with something that looked like my father. He's never been the same since. It hurts to remember, but my father died on that highway that day.