Chapter Two
Chapter Two
T he storm outside has gotten worse as the last few minutes of my shift drag on. A relentless downpour whose only goal is to soak everything. Don’t get me wrong, the land needed the rain, or so the farmers say. But I know, as soon as I try to leave, the world will smell like wet concrete and old leaves, and the night will press down on me, sinking into my bones.
The thought of getting home, sinking into my cozy clothes, and losing myself in my game is the only thing keeping me going. A little bit of rain isn’t going to stop me.
I eagerly clock out, pulling the cotton hoodie over my head as I rush for the doors. The rain against the glass ceiling is louder now, a war drum beckoning me forward through the dimly lit mall. Everyone has long since gone home, giving me an eerie feeling as I hurry forward. I can’t help but envision eyes on me, trying my hardest not to freak out. Just a few more feet. A few more steps.
The parking lot sits empty, holding only my beat-up old car. It sits beneath the only working streetlamp, the light flickering dimly. Around me, the darkness of the storm rages on, making it difficult to see anything except my car. It’s as if it’s a beacon, leading me forward.
I jump a little bit, warming up for the mad sprint I’m going to need to run to make it to the safety of my car. Surely, the rain can’t be that bad, I gaslight myself. As mentally prepared as I’ll ever be, I step outside. My sneakers are soaked instantly, as I take off in a sprint.
My legs burn with the effort, not used to moving this quickly, but I remember reading an article about the faster you move in rain, the less wet you get, and I can’t slow down now. The rain stings against my skin, but I don’t care. Just one more stretch of concrete and I’m homeward bound.
In a last-ditch effort to not get completely soaked, though I’m already feeling it in my bones, I run as fast as I can. A slick spot on the concrete takes me by surprise and I begin to fall, cartwheeling my arms, trying and find traction, but it’s too late. The hard ground rushes up to meet me, the pavement biting into my knees as I land with a thud.
For a moment, I don’t move, my cheek pressed against the dirty ground. This is where my life ends. It’s all over. My clothes are completely soaked through, the puddle around me mixing with the blood from my knees. I groan, pushing myself up off the ground.
I’m panting as I make it the last few feet to my car, limping in pain. My heart is pounding out of my chest, but I can’t help but think it could have been worse. Someone could have seen me.
The inside of my car isn’t any warmer than the outside, but at least I’m not being rained on anymore. I fumble with my keys, dropping them onto my floorboard. My pants stick to the upholstery, but I manage to wiggle half off of my seat to grab them. My fingers are frozen as they shakily jam the key into the ignition.
I twist it…
Nothing.
”No… no… no…” I mutter, trying again and again.
The car groans and sputters to life before dying again. A wave of dread washes over me, as I bang my head against the steering wheel. This can’t be happening. Not in the middle of the night, in the rain. My body aches and I just want to go home… I was so close.
I slam my hands against the steering wheel, over and over again as I let out a frustrated scream, the sound lost to the cacophony of the rain around me.
I let out a breath, slumping back against my seat. The cold settles over me like a blanket, chilling me to the core. I could call for help, sure, but who would even come? It’s not like I have friends to lean on. Tim? He is probably an hour into his nightly nap already. There’s no one I could trust in this desolate place.
My phone’s black screen mocks me as I try to call the city’s tow service. Dead. Of course, it is.
Through the rain, I can just make out the sound of footsteps. I twist around in my seat, squinting through the rain to find the source of the noise. Soft, deliberate, coming from behind my car.
A tall figure emerges from the shadows, moving toward me with purpose. The silhouette cuts through the darkness with a quiet confidence that has my stomach tightening in fear. I’m totally alone out here, no one to hear me scream, and of course, there’s a man. His graying hair is slightly longer on top, slicked back to the side to showcase sharp cheekbones. A long jacket flaps around his legs like it had seen better days, hiding what is no doubt a chiseled body beneath.
He isn’t exactly out of place, but I certainly don’t recognize him from around here. He raps his knuckle against my closed window, and I roll it down just the slightest bit. I never thought I’d be happy to have a window handle as opposed to automatic, but it does have its moments.
“Car trouble?” he asks, his voice a deep timber that’s warm, despite the freezing downpour.
I sit in silence, blinking up at him as my mind tries to process what is happening. I’m stuck in the middle of nowhere, in the empty parking lot of an even emptier mall, and here this man is, ready to rescue me. The darkness around us is all-encompassing and I can’t see any way that he could have gotten here. There are no other cars in the parking lot, and the buses don’t run this late…
I swallow past the lump in my throat. “Yeah, looks like it.”My voice shakes with unrestrained frustration. “I’ve tried starting it but it’s not working.”
He rests his hand on the hood of the car, and I climb out, wanting to keep him in my sights. “You know, it’s probably just the battery. These things can get so finicky when it’s cold and wet.”
A part of me doesn’t trust him. I want to tell him to go away and leave me in my little world where nothing unexpected happens. I can manage this, I always do. But another, smaller, part of me, the part that doesn’t want to be here any longer than necessary, feels the beginning sparks of hope.
“I don’t have any jumper cables,” I murmur, making sure to keep my distance from the strange man.
”I do.” He says it like it’s the most obvious thing in the world, and it’s only then that I notice the cords hanging from his hands. Surely, those weren’t there a minute ago…
He nods his head toward the hood of my car expectantly.
My mind flickers with doubt. I don’t know much about cars, but the noise it made didn’t sound minor. But, I’m too tired to argue. I just want to go home. And strangely, despite everything, there’s something about the stranger that doesn’t immediately set off alarm bells in my head. He isn’t threatening. Just… strange.
”Okay.” I say after a long pause, my voice shaking from the cold. I give a nod toward the front of my car. “I’m desperate, so go ahead.”
I want to smack myself in the forehead. Way to go, Katie, tell the stranger you’re desperate. He totally won’t kill you now. The man gives me a strange look before popping the hood of my car. He moves with purpose, connecting the jumper cables in a way I won’t remember if I needed to do it alone. I keep waiting for some kind of trick, like, “Psych, I don’t know cars, I’m just here to kidnap the lone woman.” But the man works silently, never even sparing me a glance.
Then, after a moment, he pushes a button on the box connected to the cables, and a whirring fills the air. After roughly five minutes of silence, he disconnects everything and closes the hood.
“Try it now,” he says.
I slide back into the driver’s seat, trying not to get my hopes up. Surely, it isn’t just the battery? And how did his little machine charge it that quickly? Isn’t the whole purpose of a jump the fact that electricity enters the car fast, jumping it to life?
I give the key one more hopeful twist, sagging in relief as the engine rumbles to life. My breath catches in my throat, but I refuse to cry in front of this stranger.
“Thank you,” I whisper, blinking back moisture.
He doesn’t respond immediately. Instead, he watches me for a moment as if needing to say something. With a small nod, he turns and walks back into the darkness, his figure dissolving into the night like a shadow.
I watch him go, my mind spinning. Who was he? Where did he come from? And why was he just hanging out in an empty mall parking lot with jumper cables?
I don’t know. But, as the rain continues its onslaught, I can’t help but feel like the world just tilted slightly off its axis. Something has definitely changed, though. I’m just not sure what.
With a deep breath, I drive away. My tires skim over the wet pavement, but I can’t tear my mind away from that brief, odd encounter. Whatever had just happened out there in the dark, I have a feeling it’s not something I’ll soon forget.