The car was clunking and grinding worse than ever and she was forced to slowly pull off to the shoulder. As she did so, the sound of tires rolling over gravel and sticks was an eerie reminder that, other than the sounds from her self-destructing car, the highway was almost completely silent at this time of night.
Caelyn put the car in park, killed the struggling engine and grabbed her purse. All she’d brought on her trip was one small overnight bag with some clothes and other necessities hastily thrown inside.
Sticking out of the top of her purse was the postcard that had given her the crazy idea for this trip. “Greetings from Florida” was still visible at the upper edge of the card.
She pulled the card out of her purse and tossed it on the passenger seat as she dug into the bag and grabbed her cell phone. She needed to call for help—not Triple A, since she didn’t have it.
Maybe a cab…but that would be beyond expensive on her incredibly limited budget.
The truth was, she didn’t have anyone she wanted to call.
Certainly not her parents. How could she explain the fact that she’d left the dorms in the middle of the night and was now en route to Florida?
Sorry, Mom, but can you send someone to pick me up? I broke down on my way out of state. Oh, and by the way, sorry about the fact that I’m planning on leaving and flunking my freshman year of college. I just needed to get away from it all.
Sure, that would work.
But now she had a different problem to deal with, and that was the fact that she wasn’t getting any reception on her phone. It literally said no service. It wasn’t a one bar situation—it was a no bar situation, which meant that she might as well not have a phone at all.
And it was very, very dark outside. On either side of the wide interstate were only woods and more woods, as far as the eye could see.
Her heart was beating fast. Especially after the night she’d had. The terror she’d experienced mere hours ago hadn’t even dimmed yet--she’d just managed to push the thoughts and memories out of her head. But now that she’d stopped moving, flashes from earlier in the night were coming back to her. Invading her mind.
Jayson, smiling.
The smell of pepperoni pizza sitting on the coffee table.
Her own voice, as if from a distance, screaming.
Caelyn suddenly threw the car door open and stumbled out, falling into the breakdown lane, her purse hitting the pavement as her hands and knees struck the ground, sending bolts of pain into her palms and up her legs.
Now she was crying, sobbing. There was the sound of an engine approaching in the distance, and then headlights clearing the rise. They were coming towards her.
Caelyn stood, picking up her purse and phone and backing out of the street as the oncoming vehicle sped towards her. In moments, it would be passing by.
Did she want to be seen?
It depended by whom. Out here, she was a sitting duck, and as bad as things had been earlier in the evening—her jangling nerves told her that things could get far worse.
If the wrong person stopped and saw a lone girl dressed scantily, with no means of transportation and no cell service in the middle of the night, on a deserted road…
The headlights belonged to a large truck. As it got closer, the truck seemed to slow almost imperceptibly. Caelyn shrunk backwards, her buttocks hitting the car door as the truck blew past, sending a ripple of wind and exhaust outwards.
And then it was gone, and she saw the break lights come on briefly in the distance before it disappeared over the next rise.
The night was dark and quiet again.
Caelyn glanced down at her cell. Still no service, and the battery was low as well.
She started to walk away from the car, just to see if she might get any bars a little further down the road. But nothing changed.
She was stuck, not knowing who to call even if she did get service on her phone.
What was next? Sleeping by the side of the road until dawn and then hitchhiking to the next stop? Using her meager funds to get a train back to Boston, tucking her tail between her legs and returning to school the next day as if nothing had happened?
An image of Jayson, grinning, appeared in her mind as if placed there by some dark magic. She willed it away.
No. She wouldn’t go back to school after what had happened tonight.
She was going to Florida, even if it meant walking the rest of the way.
Caelyn made her way back to the car and got inside. She grabbed the keys, determination written on her face as she grit her teeth. Sticking the key in the ignition and turning, she once more prayed for help. Just let me get a few miles to the next exit, she thought. I’ll get off and find a hotel—an all-night gas station. Something.
The engine turned over, but the moment she tried to drive again, the grinding and complaining from the engine was so loud Caelyn actually wondered if the car was about to explode. She knew nothing about cars, so pretty much anything seemed possible at this point.