Flashing Lights

by Chaz Bares

Around 4 to 5 years ago I was working overnights at my job. My shifts changed from 8pm to 4am, to eventually 4pm to 12am. The building I worked in was located right along Highway 270 and Interstate 64 in St. Louis, Missouri. It’s safe to say that my drive home was always in the dark and usually pretty uneventful. In order for me to get on the interstate, I had to drive along an overpass and take a side road that would eventually merge onto the highway. Right at the end of the overpass were some traffic lights.  Past these traffic lights the road led forward to another slightly smaller building. At 12am, these lights were always green. I can’t think of a single night were I even had to stop or slow down. However, one particular night was different. Nothing stood out on this night, at first. From what I recall the weather was fair and partly cloudy. The wind wasn’t too strong, and it just felt like a standard night going home. As per usual, I started on my way home. However, on this night, one thing changed. I found myself having to stop at a red light on the overpass. First thing I looked for were other vehicles. Often vehicles coming from another direction will trigger a sensor on some of the more high-tech traffic lights. However, I was the only visible car. I found it to be a bit odd, but then again it could have just been my luck had finally run out, and I caught that elusive red light that I seemed to have dodged for the past year. That’s when I noticed something very strange. After sitting at the stop light for what seemed like far longer than normal, I noticed the lights in the small building begin to flash. I’m not talking about a small flicker here and there that could be attributed to a bad light bulb. The lights throughout the entire building started flashing in no particular pattern. I can’t recall how long this lasted, but I can tell you the entire time it was happening the traffic light remained red. The moment the lights in the building stopped flashing the traffic light turned green. I was the only one there to witness it and to this day I have no idea what it could be.