Quick Fic: The Dark Road

“It’s an early thaw this year.” The man said as he gave me my change.


“Hmm?” I was dazed and weary from a long day on the road. It took me a moment to register what the man said.


“Oh, yeah I guess so.” I replied as I grabbed the snacks I just purchased and went back to my car.


The man was right, of course, it really was an unusually warm March. The snow was rapidly disappearing into slush puddles making it disgustingly frustrating to travel. Muddy water already caked the windshield, obstructing my view and worse, at night the puddles iced over into jagged, uneven ruts that threatened to spin my car off the road.


During this time of year, on more than one occasion, I found myself flat on my back after failing to notice an ice patch. Especially this year as I’m not used to being so on guard for such things until April. More than once, I’d think it was late spring but winter still trapped us in its icy grip. It’s a bizarre feeling, like being lost in time unsure of when you are.


I got into my car and checked the GPS. Having been almost on empty when I found this gas station, I considered myself lucky but unfortunately, my luck did not extend to a hotel to rest the night. I hated night driving but I didn’t have much choice, as the next town was still a few miles away.


I sighed in resignation before pulling out onto the highway. I cast a worried look at the rapidly setting sun and hoped like hell that I could get as far to the town as possible before darkness completely shrouded me.

Trees whipped by me and all the while, my eyes were peeled for any sign of a motel that my GPS might have missed but there was only the long, straight, lonely road ahead. Soon, my headlights were the only source of light to guide me and my hands gripped the steering wheel tighter. I tried to take a deep and calming breath to soothe my nerves and it might have worked, had I not hit black ice.


My car spun out of control and my mind went blank, seizing up in a panic. When my adrenaline finally pushed me to regain control, my car slid into a ditch, coming to a violent stop. My head hit the airbag and everything went black.


I think I regained consciousness quickly as the dust and debris from the airbags were still floating lazily around me. Everything around me was pitch black, my headlights no longer offering me their safe glow. I checked myself over and found I could at least move my arms and legs and I quickly checked my phone. The screen told me it was past midnight and that I had no service.


“Just great.” I muttered.


The engine refused to turn over and I gave up after a few failed attempts to turn it over. Maybe if I climbed back to the road, I could flag someone down or get better reception. How far back was it to that gas station? Maybe I could walk back and get some help.


A soft knock at my window jarred me from my thoughts and I was surprised to find a young woman peering in at me. Dark hair obscured most of her face but the skin that did show was ghostly pale. A pit formed in my stomach at first but then she smiled at me and I couldn’t help but return it.


My unease forgotten, I rolled down my window. “Hi, do you live around here?” I asked her, hopeful that she had a warm place close by and a phone.


She continued to stare at me, her smile unwavering. I wondered for a moment if she’d heard me at all but then she finally broke her silence.


“Yes.” She said. Her voice was raspy and small but not meek.


Something about the way she said it and how unmoving her expression appeared put me off again. I gripped the window crank nervously but I needed the help. Nighttime always turns me into a nervous wreck and I chastise myself for being childish for holding onto my fear of the dark.


“Is your place far from here?”


“No.” The girl replied quickly, almost eagerly. “Open your door. I’ll take you there.”


She leaned her face in closer to me and I recoiled. Her eyes were completely black. Just pools of emptiness that reflected nothing, it was like staring into an abyss. Terror engulfed me as her smile widened and I became aware that my hand was slowly reaching to unlock my door.


I tore myself away from her eerie gaze and changed my hand’s course to the window crank to seal myself inside my car, the only safety I could give myself from this horrifying visage. Her mouth twisted into a grimace of pure fury.


“Let me in!” She cried in anguish, her once quiet voice now amplified and layered over itself as if there were a chorus behind her.


I couldn’t find my voice; the large lump in my throat trapped it inside me. I couldn’t move and I couldn’t breathe. I could only watch in horror as the woman threw back her head and let out a shrill scream of frustration before she slammed her fists against my car. The look on her face was so inhuman that I couldn’t believe I’d ever mistaken her for one. I leaned away as she rained blows down against the window.


The sound of the glass cracking against her might drove me over the edge and I finally screamed and punched my hand against my horn. The loud blast drowned out the crazy woman’s screams. I squeezed my eyes closed, not wanting to look at her any longer.


The car horn was still going off when I heard another soft tap at the door. At first, I didn’t want to look, convinced it was some sort of trick the woman was playing with me and that if I even dared to, she would strike. The knock came again, a little louder this time and finally, my eyes opened and the sun was shining brightly through the windshield.


Confused I looked out my window and saw a police officer motioning for me to unlock my door. In a daze, I obliged and he opened the door for me.


“Ma’am, are you alright?” He asked. “Looks like you got a nasty bump on your head.”


Still in shock, I reached a hand to my forehead and felt the sticky wetness of partially dried blood. I never told the officer about the woman I saw that night. I’m not even sure if I saw her myself or if it was just some bad, trauma induced nightmare but I still think of her from time to time and wonder if she’s still out there, on that long and lonely road, just waiting for someone else to come along. Someone not as lucky as me.


In those moments, I don’t feel so childish for being afraid of the dark.

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