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Muscles tensing, she threw herself to the side, her arms windmilling for balance. The world tilted on its axis as the truck's horn pierced the night again—a strident, desperate scream that mirrored her own inner turmoil.
"God!" The shout came out as a gasp, her breath stolen by the force of her near escape.
The truck veered, a massive beast recoiling from prey too small to satisfy its hunger. Its tires shrieked against the road as it fought for purchase. The chassis leaned, teetering on the brink of catastrophe.
"Stay up, stay up," she chanted under her breath, witnessing the struggle between gravity and momentum.
With a groan of stressed metal, the truck righted itself, its dance with disaster ending mere inches from where she lay sprawled in the dirt.
"Close... too close..." Her thoughts tumbled over one another, a chaotic whirlpool that sucked in fear and spat out relief.
The engine's idle grumble reached her ears, now a comforting purr after the roar and rage of moments before. Her chest heaved, each breath a mix of gratitude and residual panic.
The door of the truck creaked open, protesting its sudden use. A woman's silhouette emerged, carved from the darkness by the scant halo of the headlights. Her features came into focus under the dim glow, etched with lines of concern.
"Hey!" Her voice cut through the night, laced with anxiety. "Are you okay?"
Mud caked and shivering, the woman on the road pushed herself up to sitting, her eyes wide orbs reflecting fear. "Please," she croaked, the word scraping her throat like gravel. "I need... I need a ride."
Footsteps approached, cautious yet determined. The woman from the truck drew nearer, her brow creased as she surveyed the disheveled figure before her.
"Where do you need to go?" Her tone softened, but the question hung heavy between them.
"Anywhere," the plea was raw. "Just... away. Now."
"Okay, okay." The words fell in quick succession, an assurance pattered out in real-time. "Come on, get in."
The woman on the road staggered to her feet, each movement juddering with urgency. Mud squelched beneath her, the earth relinquishing its hold with reluctance.
"Safe now," the trucker assured, her words sharp against the backdrop of silence.
The fleeing woman's breath hitched, eyes darting to phantom shadows dancing at the periphery. Her lips parted, but no sound emerged.
"Listen," the trucker insisted, stepping closer, her hands raised in a calming gesture. "You're safe with me, okay? What happened? Should I call the cops?"
The woman nodded, a jerky marionette motion, as if strings pulled taut by unseen hands directed her movements. She licked cracked lips, about to speak—
A distant, muffled noise. Like a snapping branch. Then, suddenly, the trucker crumpled. A silent gasp escaped her as she collapsed, limbs folding beneath her like a house of cards kissed by a gust. The ground welcomed her fall, an embrace both cold and unforgiving.
"Hey!" Shock lanced through the fleeing woman's voice. She dropped to her knees, hands hovering over the fallen figure, afraid to touch, to disturb the stillness that had swept over the trucker.
A hush settled, thick and heavy as fog.
The stillness was wrong. A whisper of crimson spread out from beneath Road Woman's head, a dark bloom on the asphalt canvas. The fleeing woman's breath stalled, her mind refusing to piece together the scene before her.
"Hey..." The word was a ghost in the air. No stirring. No rise and fall of chest. "Can you hear me?"
Her hand reached out, trembling, to brush against the pale neck, searching for the thrum of life. Nothing but skin growing colder with each second, a silent testament to the truth she didn't want to accept.
"Please, no," she murmured, the plea barely escaping her lips. Her gaze fixed on the blood, now seeping into the mud-caking ground.
The trucker had been standing one moment, alive and full of vitality... and then this...
The roadside woman clutched at her head, grimacing against bursts of pain. She suddenly looked up, searching the treeline near the truck.
Where was he?
Where was it?
