The lady continues to follow you as you back into your car, leaving you nowhere left to retreat. You stop and look down at the small lady. She looks ancient with several worn wrinkles lining her face and she is barely over half your height. You feel a bit silly for acting scared and decide to confront her.
"Okay, lady. You got me. What are you gonna do now?" you say bravely.
The old lady says nothing, just smiles as she creeps closer to you. She stops when she is directly in front of you, just inches away. She begins to mumble something, something too low for you to hear. You start to lean down to listen, thinking she is talking to you, when she suddenly reaches forward and places one bony hand on your ass. It burns with what feels like the fire of a thousand suns and it seems like her voice gets louder. You could swear you see light pouring from her eyes just before your vision fades to black but you all you can think about is the intense pain in your buttocks.
Then it is all over. You hold your head in your hands as you slowly regain your vision, the black gradually replaced by grey and then the dark colors of night. You half expect the old lady to be gone, like a witch disappearing after laying down a curse in a fairy tail. But she is still there - smiling a crooked grin at you. You start to berate her when you notice that the milk cartoon in your car has fallen over, pouring milk all over the floorboard. It seems like a silly thing to worry about, but for some reason this infuriates you even more.
"And now I've lost the Goddamn milk! Now what am I going to tell the guys at home? We need that milk before the game. Thanks for making this night a complete waste, lady!" you yell.
She begins to chortle. "Oh, I wouldn't worry, John. You will be bringing home lots of milk to your companions... more than they will ever need. I guarantee it! " she says with laugh that builds into a loud cackle.
It's a little unnerving, but it does little to soothe your anger.
"What are you talking about?" you say as you lurch towards her.
Your pants brush past your buttocks as you move forwards and you feel a sharp sting on your right butt cheek. With a hiss you stop, turn and look down into the back of your pants at your ass. To your astonishment you see a strange marking covering your right butt cheek. The symbol is unfamiliar and difficult to make out in the dark light but the way it is etched into your skin makes it look you were branded!
"What the fuck did you do to me? Burn me or something? I am going to sue the shit out of you!" you say.
But when you turn back around and look back towards the old lady she is gone. You could almost convince yourself the whole exchange was some kind of weird dream, but her car is still there, the only sign that she ever existed. You look around a bit, calling out to her, but it looks like you really are alone this time. You pull out your cell phone and it is dead, of course. You can't call home for help or even try to get a tow truck. You decide you have no choice but to hoof it home on foot, and start walking back to your apartment.
It is only when your car is almost out of sight behind you when something occurs to you - how did the old lady know your name?
Feeling a little creeped out you continue down the dark road to your home, absently scratching at the sore mark on your butt.