...a true story that happened to my boyfriend once, before I met him. He went biking in the mountains with 6 guys (himself included). One of the guys busted a wheel and had to turn back. Eventually 2 more guys turned back at the start of a new (and rickety looking) trail. There were just the three guys now, and they were moving fairly slowly because one of them (my boyfriend's brother) had popped the front tire and couldn't ride it. They started to feel hopelessly lost, and as it started to get dark, my boyfriend + brother started to joke about all the terrible things that might happen to them if they got stuck out in the woods in the dark. The third guy didn't think this was very funny at all, and used the opportunity to panic, aka jump on his bike and ride down a service trail (by that point they had found service roadcs that are used by firemen to get to brush fires, etc). My boyfriend could have followed the guy, but he didn't leave his brother behind.

So he +brother came across a shack. It was decked out with end-of-the-world preparations like (rusted and rotten) canned foods, no water (they had already been forced to drink some stream-water to prevent dehydration) and a dirty, leaf covered little cot with a rough blanket. He had his wrist-watch light, but it was dying, and beyond that it was pretty much pitch black at the point. They laid there all night, hoping that the owner of the shack or other dangerous creature did not find them there.

They left before dawn, starving and thirsy, deciding to just continue following the service road. Before long they came across a make-shift trailer park, with two trailers and a pile of tires. As they neared the tires, one of them noticed two-perky ears, followed by lots and lots of perky ears. It turns out there were about a dozen ferocious pit-bulls living in these tires. All the dogs got up as a pack and started to charge them, growling and wild. Apparently, unlike guard dogs, these dogs don't bark. Vicious dogs intent to kill just run towards you to attack.

Instead of choosing to run, they both decided to make the for nearest trailer. They jumped up onto the step ladder and went into the trailer. The dogs chewed and chomped at the bikes, but didn't do much damage overall. After the panic had subsided, the two of them looked around the trailer to see who might live there. It was a very dirty place, but it was mostly a 'fresh mess,' meaning that someone had obviously just eaten off of some dishes strewn about, and the food wasn't rotten. On the wall opposite the door was a shrine with candles and incense. The centerpiece idol was a photograph of a model, (just some woman clipped out from a magazine) but where her head should have been, someone had pasted a picture of the head of a ferocious dog. They then noticed that their were pictures on every wall, some with the same dog-headed theme, otheres with people's heads intact but with dots on their forehead. (similar placement to where an indian person might put a dot, except much creepier, like targets or bullet-holes.) On the far end of the trailer was another door, closed shut, from which came the sounds of a radio or tv. He and his brother wordlessly decided it would be a good idea to get out of there. They grabbed up a bunch of surrounding crap and bolted out the door, shouting loudly and hurling the stuff at the dogs. They grabbed the bikes and rode away (flat tire and all) and never even looked back to see if the non-barking dogs were chasing.

They rode for a solid five minutes or so, until the front tire was completely gone and he was just riding on the rim. They came across a house, but decided to keep going - the road had car tracks, which they found to be very promising. Two hours later, they came to a point where the service road met an rundown paved road, where the junction of the two roads was locked with a chain. A cop was fussing with the chain but turned around to notice them. He knew there names and how long they'd been gone, and had them wait as he called off a search and rescue helicopter that was about to set off looking for them. He took them home with the bikes in the trunk. My boyfrind had to use his belt to hold the trunk closed (cause the bikes wouldn't fit,) but then noticed later that there were two bungie cords in the cop car which would have worked wonderfully, if only the cop had thought to use them. That last part isn't as exciting, I know.

That's the story. Lots of people don't beleive him. I do. He was about 21 when it all happened.

Anyway, I wish this shirt said "shack" instead of "barn." I suppose I might buy it for him anyway.