The time bomb.

Sometimes we're told to take out the garbage. Sometimes we have to retrieve something from the car. And sometimes we just have to get home. It starts out innocently enough, right? It's just a few feet out and a quick walk down the driveway, accomplished in seconds. You're carrying nothing but a light plastic bag filled with trash. But there's just one problem. It's completely dark outside. The only visible ground is what the weak floodlights cast light on and the dim silhouette of the trees made visible by the fair light of the moon. There's nothing out there, right? ...Right? The short walk turns into a marathon... I know! I'll turn on some music and that will ease the loneliness and creepiness of the drive home. You tap your thumbs on the steering wheel and pretend to hit the kick drum on the accelerator. Good fun for a drive. But in the back of your mind you're a little uneasy. You know it's absurd to feel so afraid of leaving the back seat unchecked, but are made maddeningly anxious because you didn't check it. No one is there, right? You would know if someone was there. But what if he was a little smarter than you are? We all have that little image in the back of our mind. Whether or not it was a scary image or terrifying scene in a movie, or even a creepy sound, we all know there is a time bomb in our minds waiting to explode. It waits until we're vulnerable, when we're outside our comfort zone and the timing is just right. We drive through a dark forest or reach the edge of the light, trash in hand. After all, what bad could happen here? You hear of murderers preying on victims, like Richard Ramirez a.k.a. The Night Stalker. You've heard the urban legends of the man waiting in the girl's car. But of course those could never happen here. Those things are far away and I'm here! So when you're taking that infinitely long journey in the dark to take out the trash, or driving through a dark forest and you think you're safe from killers and madmen, just remember: so did their victims...