Mason

He said they started near the place I described and went along the road for a while.

Then they stopped.

Then they appeared again farther ahead.

He also said there was a drag mark on the pavement where something had been lying across the lane, but no animal, no blood, no fur except what was on my car.

My uncle asked him what kind of tracks.

The deputy didn't answer right away.

Then he said, coyote maybe.

My uncle said, maybe?

The deputy said, they were strange.

That was all he would say in front of me.

I stayed at my uncle's house that night.

I slept on the couch with the lights on and woke up every 20 minutes because I thought I heard tapping on the windows.

Once around 4 in the morning, both dogs started whining at the same time, not barking, just whining.

My uncle got up, looked outside, and then sat in the recliner with the rifle across his lap until sunrise.

In the morning, my car looked even worse than it had under the lights.

There were dents on the roof from where something had been putting weight on it.

The scratches were deep.

My front bumper had a piece missing.

My uncle found a clump of gray fur stuck near the passenger side wheel well.

He wouldn't touch it with his bare hands.