In a ridiculous bike situation I was almost kidnapped by a male gas station clerk

It’s not the weirdest thing that has ever happened to me, but I’d like to think it’s pretty close. <br><br>I ride a bike pretty much everywhere I go, and this instance was no exception. I woke up that morning and went outside to see how the weather was. It was a little chilly, but it was sunny and I figured that it would get warmer pretty quickly because it was spring. After getting dressed, I rolled my bike out of my apartment and started to adjust the seats of the pedals. I almost immediately realized I couldn’t turn the screw to secure it, so I went inside to find my Allen wrench. I came back out and started to work on it, but I ended up stripping the screw I was working on. After much frustration, I decided to take it to the nearest bike shop. <br><br>I looked it up, and the nearest one was about 6 miles away. I got on my bike and started to ride to the shop. I almost immediately realized it was much colder than I thought it was. The sun was out, but there was a pretty strong wind and it was still 47 degrees out, as I saw on a digital display on a bank I was riding past. I started to get a little annoyed with myself for not checking the weather, but it would only be a 15-minute ride. <br><br>As I was probably about 2 miles away from my apartment, I had to stop for a minute. I pulled over to the side of the road and stopped to put my phone in my front shirt pocket in case I got a call. I put my head down and started to kneel against my knee to hold myself up. As I was doing that, I felt my knee hit something metal. I picked my head up, and I felt a sinking feeling in my stomach; I had just gotten into an accident. <br><br>The accident happened because there was a sunken manhole that was slightly sticking out of the ground, and I didn’t see it because I had my head down. I got up slowly, checking my surroundings. I didn’t see any cars coming, I didn’t see any people in the nearby houses, and I didn’t see any blood. My first instinct was to focus on my bike, because I knew I couldn’t drive without it. I walked over to it, and my first instinct was to check the tire. There was a little damage, but overall it was alright. I looked at the seat and I couldn’t believe my ears. There was a huge dent in the metal above the seat, and the screw I had stripped was now completely bent. I almost started to cry. I thought that that was a long-lasting bike that I could use for at least a few years. I got up, dusted myself off, and grabbed my bike. <br><br>I decided to walk to the nearest gas station, and that is where this story starts. The gas station was pretty much right across the street from where I had my accident. I walked towards the building, and started to think of different scenarios. Should I call an Uber? No, I need to get my bike there if I wanted to get it fixed. Should I just take a Lyft? Same reason. I walked to the door, and I started to think about ridiculous possibilities, like walking there. I got inside, and the first thing I noticed was that the clerk was extremely overweight. I would guess he was around 350 lbs, no joke. I walked up to him and asked if I could use his phone. He said yes, but looked at me suspiciously. <br><br>As I was calling the local cab service, I heard him asking me a question. I couldn’t hear it, so I put my hand over the phone and said “What?” He repeated, “Why are you walking with a bike?” I really didn’t want to have a conversation with this man, so I just said, “Because it’s broken.” I got off the phone and I told him that they would be there in 15 minutes, and I went outside to sit and wait. <br><br>I sat down for a while, and I started to get a little agitated that the cab hadn’t showed up in 15 minutes. After about 20 minutes, I went back inside and called them again. The same thing happened; I was told that it was a 15-minute wait. I went back outside and I started to walk around the parking lot. I thought that maybe it was around the corner or something, but I didn’t see it. I got tired of walking and sat back down, and I started to text my friend some drama that was going on with me at the time. I got absorbed in the messages and didn’t notice the 15 minutes go by, and whenever I looked up it still wasn’t there. <br><br>I went back inside and called them for the third time in a row, I was pissed at this point. I was told, once again, that it was a 15-minute wait. I went back outside and sat down again. At this point I started to get really thirsty, so I decided to go back inside and get a drink. As I was walking I felt a tug on my shirt, and I almost shit myself. I turned around and it was the clerk. He was holding out my phone and saying, “Sir, is this yours? I saw it laying on the ground.” I didn’t even see him coming towards me. I started to walk away, and he started to walk with me. He asked me, “Sir, are you alright? You’ve been outside for about an hour.” I clicked, and my heart started to pump. Something told me he was the reason my cabs weren’t showing up. <br><br>I told him I was fine, and I went inside. I got a water, and I started to walk towards the door. He called out to me, “Sir, I think you should sit down in the back for a second until your ride gets here.” I laughed at him. I told him, “no, I’m fine now that I have something to drink.” I reached into my front pocket and found my keys, and I gripped them as tightly as I could. I started to walk towards the door, and as I reached for the door handle, I felt a tug on my shoulder. I swung my hand that had the keys in it at his face, and I yelled, “BACK THE FUCK UP!” He didn’t even flinch. He just stepped back and said, “Okay sir, no need to freak out! I was just trying to help you.” I walked outside, still shaking. I looked down at my phone and saw I had texted my friend “This dude is crazy, if I don’t text in the next 10 minutes call the police.” <br><br>I started to walk, still terrified. I was looking over my shoulder every 5 seconds. I started to walk faster, still looking over my shoulder. I started to almost run, and I heard a noise behind me. I turned around and the man was standing at the end of the building, laughing at me. I started to sprint, and I started to cry. As I was running, I saw a cab at the corner. I ran across the street and got into the cab, still crying. The driver asked me what was wrong, and I couldn’t answer. I handed him the address of the bike shop and that was it. I didn’t say a word the entire ride. When I got there, I started to cry more, and the owner asked me what was wrong and I just shook my head. <br><br>I couldn’t afford to get my bike fixed, and I didn’t think I could ride a bike the rest of that week. My parents agreed to give me money to get it fixed. I still have the bike to this day but I have to get a new bike soon because it is in poor condition. <br><br>That man, let’s not meet.