Kim and Jenna were startled by the sudden appearance of the hirsute flannelled man. He had emerged from the woods and began frantically waving at them as they drove down the dark country road.
“Should we have stopped?” Kim asked.
“Pick up the scary-looking hitchhiking drifter? What could possibly go wrong?” Jenna’s questions sounded rhetorical.
“It’s getting cold out there tonight.”
“Everything is cold when you’re dead, Kim.” They passed a sign for a gas station. Jenna looked down at the dash. “We should get some gas. I don’t know how long it’ll be before we’ll see another one.”
“All right. Wait, did you just threaten to murder that hitchhiker?”
Later:
Kim exited the filthy bathroom and saw that Jenna was still pumping gas. Kim handed Jenna the bathroom key before heading into the station to forage for snacks. She was holding two cold plastic bottles in the crook of her arm and staring at the selection of jerkies when she heard the door sensor beep.
It was him.
Kim turned away, choosing to stare at an assortment of nightcrawlers in lieu of facing the hitchhiker.
Why am I nervous? she thought. It’s a dark road. There’s no way he saw me.
The man seemed to be searching the store.
I wasn’t the one driving.
He got closer; Kim looked away.
“Were you in that Honda out there?” he asked.
“Huh? What? No. We didn’t see you!” Kim responded, calm and collected.
“Padiddle,” he said.
“What?”
“Your headlight is out.”