#road ghost

She was drumming on the wheel of her big old pickup truck while she waited for the light to change to green. Just another block and she’d be home and all of this would be over. She tapped her pistol with one hand, reassuring herself that it was there. Then the light changed and she was off like a shot. Turn the corner here and park in front of the old house, just like always. The old truck…

She’d walked the same roads for so long, since before some of them had blacktop asphalt to replace the dirt tracks and wagon ruts that had formed them. Not many road ghosts could claim that kind of age. Most of them moved on when their roads were abandoned. Her? Her roads were never abandoned, never passed over, just paved and widened. She stood on the edge now, the border from state to state…

Every time he looked into the rearview mirror, the same girl was sitting in the back of the bus. It didn’t matter what day, what time, what route. As long as it was the same bus, he would see her sitting back there. He never saw her get off. At the end of the day, he would pull into the depot and park the bus. There she was in the mirror, but when he got off, he was alone. He never knew who she…

If I’d known I wasn’t going to survive prom, I sure as hell wouldn’t have spent so much time worrying about the color of my dress. But instead, I pretty much wasted the last week of my life getting ready for this. I mean, at least I’m leaving a pretty corpse, right? I hope. Oh…oh no. What if I’m not? That would just be the absolute worst. What was that sound? Did…did my phone just start ringing?…

Alan only barely saw the woman standing at the side of the road. The night was dark and she had almost become just another shadow. He pulled over and rolled his window down, smiling at her brightly. “Hey there. Everything alright?” She looked at him with tearstained eyes, expression uncertain. Then a tentative smile wavered onto her lips. “I just need a lift to the next rest stop. My… I got left…

We’ll Be Alright

“Freddy?” I turned slowly towards her voice. She looked so small, so scared and alone, almost like she was looking at a ghost. Slowly, I pulled myself up. It was probably the accident that had scared her. I couldn’t blame her in the slightest. “It’s alright, Kat. Promise. We’re both alright.” I didn’t look at the car, just at her. I could hear the sirens coming now, and smiled with relief. “Hear…