Earthbound Bones

by ReGina Welling

  “Remain on the current road in 1.5 miles.”

  The GPS voice was meant to be soothing and instructive, instead it just flat got on Stacey’s nerves. The ding ding sound to signal a turn, in her opinion, should be reserved only for those times when a turn was necessary. Less confusion and fewer times when a lack of attention might lead to making a wrong turn. She, of course, would never be guilty of doing such a thing. Sure.

  Ding Ding.

  Stacey remained, as instructed, on the current road. The only possible turn the GPS wench could have been warning her away from looked like dirt track that no one in their right mind would have taken anyway.

  She was still imagining how satisfying it would be to rip the annoying piece of electronics from her dash and toss it out of the window, wires trailing behind like severed limbs when the car crested the last hill before coming into town. It was steeper than expected and within seconds, she’d hit a patch of ice and started to slide. Berating herself for being distracted, Stacey whipped the wheel and promptly overcompensated. In a panic, she spiked the brakes instead of pulsing them and the slide devolved into a spin. Before she had time to think straight, the car started to careen down the hill like a pinball bouncing off a set of rubber bumpers.

  Under her feet, the floor vibrated with the sound of snow whooshing past. Two hard bumps pushed her painfully against the seat belt before the car jolted to a stop on the other side of a two foot snowbank. Great. It was at least another mile and a half into town. So close, but there was no way she was going to be getting the car out without a tow truck.

  Reaching for her purse, Stacey found it had flown onto the floor during the debacle and dumped it’s contents all over the floor. She’d just retrieved her files and was fishing around for her cell phone when a tap on the window scared her half out of her wits.

  Condensation coated the inside of the window making it difficult to see the face looking in at her. Foreboding whispered over Stacey making her shiver. A dark country road isn’t the place to be meeting new people. She keyed the window down.

  “Are you hurt?” The man’s face was half covered by the hat pulled down low over his eyes and the collar he’d turned up against the wind.

  “I’m fine. I’ll just call a tow truck.”

  “I don’t think you will.” His voice was familiar even if she couldn’t see enough of his face to put a name to it. “There’s no service out here. Why don’t you let me give you a ride, Ms. Hawthorne?”

  “Who are you? I never gave you my name.”

  He leaned in closer and Stacey gasped when her dome light fell over his face. “You. How did you find me?”

  “I’ve been following you. We need to talk. I need that name, Stacey. And now, you’re going to give it to me.”

  “I can’t do that.” Fear turned Stacey’s bones to liquid ice.

  “Oh, but you will. Now get out of the car.” He pulled the door open and when she didn’t immediately exit, yanked her out into the snow—hands pulling cruelly at her hair. “Don’t fight me on this.” His order had the opposite effect. Stacey went into wildcat mode, kicking and clawing at him. She landed a solid elbow in his face. Blood welled out of his nose to drip into the snow. Shock slackened his hold on her enough that she got a clear shot at kicking him in the misters. At the last minute, he swiveled and the kick went wide.

  They grappled furiously until his hands settled on her throat.

  “Give me the name.”

  Eyes wide, she shook her head and he squeezed harder, gave her a frustrated shake.

  “Give it to me.”

  It was too late for her now and she knew it. The world grayed around the edges and then went black.