The Quiet In The Car

Violet sighed. She had no idea why Maya had even dragged her to this miserable location. It was bad enough that she was attending a funeral - but in this gloomy graveyard, and to say farewell to the person who had despised her for her entire life, Icarus - truly, what was she thinking?

Violet slammed her car door, wincing as she recalled its shabbiness. Resisting the urge to sigh yet again, she stuffed the keys into the ignition, and waited as patiently as she could for the engine to start up. Really, she should get a new car already.

Turning out of the parking lot, she glanced at the rear view mirror... but what was that strange flicker of color from the backseat?

She turned to check, but when she saw nothing, she shrugged it off. It was getting late, and she was obviously tired. Her eyes wandered towards the dashboard clock.

What? How is it already 1 A.M.?

Violet rubbed her eyes. Maybe she was more tired than she thought.

She thought of her busy schedule the following morning, and instinctively sped up the car.

She turned onto the highway, her hand resting lightly on the wheel. The road was surprisingly empty.

She frowned. There were usually plenty of cars on the highway, even at this time. She shrugged again, turning on the radio to drown out her thoughts.

Violet flipped through the stations, but all of them were static.

I'll have to get it fixed once I get the time. Maybe the manager of the repair store will give another discount since I come there so often.

Bringing her hand back to the wheel, she relaxed against the seat. Even though the road was straight and empty, it made her feel better to have her hands on the wheel.

Suddenly, the wheel jerked violently to the left, almost as if someone had yanked it on purpose. She screamed as the car rammed into the railing and the streetlight next to it, and the engine stopped rumbling.

It took her a moment to calm her nerves. With trembling hands, she reached for her phone on the passenger seat - thankfully still intact. When she grabbed it, her hand seemed to go cold, and the hairs on the back of her neck stood up.

She took a shaky breath, and dialed the familiar sequence of her roommate's phone number.

Ring... ring... ring...

"The number you have dialed has been - "

The annoying sound of the automated voice abruptly stopped, and seemed to switch tones, becoming more aggressive.

" - shut down."

Upon hearing the unfamiliar voice, she ended the call immediately. She was too scared to get out and check what had happened to her car, although it likely wasn't too bad.

She leaned her head back against the seat, today's strange events catching up to her.

As if on cue, the street light that she had vey nearly crashed into started flickering ominously.

Her head lifted again, and she froze in fear.

A creepy hissing noise floated into her ears, coming from inside the car. She knew the car was old, but not old enough to make those kind of sounds.

She tried to relax as she began dialing the police's hotline, when her phone screen turned black.

She furiously pressed the power button, but the phone won't budge. And at that moment, the streetlight entirely shut down, and she was enveloped in darkness. Well, just great.

Tears were filling her eyes as she fumbled around with her phone, when she realised that it's probably just a waste of time.

She gathered up her courage and slowly stepped out of the car to inspect the damage.

Luckily, the streetlight came back on. Thank goodness.

She was walking towards the hood, when she saw the dark shadow of someone standing behind her.

She swivelled around but saw no one. She returned back to her tinkering.

The streetlight went off again, and she looked towards it. It turned back on withing a second, and she sees the same person standing under it.

"Who are you?" her voice was surprisingly calm.

The streetlight started to glow brighter than it had before, until it cast it's light on the entire road.

He was there. It was him all along.

But how is it possible? I just attended his funeral. Unless...

He suddenly extended his hand, and a beam of light glowed from within it. She looked at it, and everything went black.

___________

The four people were laughing happily in the car, not aware of the dire situation fate would soon place upon them.

"Hey, slow down!" one of the lady yelled. The driver continued laughing. It was Violet's parents, along with another couple in the back seat.

A blaring horn, desperate screams and groan of metal.
___________

The next morning, the only thing people talked about was the near-fatal accident that had almost ended Violet's parents' life. No talk of the two people who had died. No consolation for their now-orphan son, Icarus, who had decided to take away his own life, 8 years later.
___________

Violet stumbled backwards into reality. All the puzzle pieces clicked into place in her head. So now she realised the reason he hated her.

She ragained back her senses and ran inside the car, fumbling with the keys.

"It's not my fault, I didn't even know, why do you hate me?!" she rambled in between her sobs.

Just when the car finally started, the hissing noise returned louder, as if it was right next to her. She slowly turned her head.

And there he was, sitting in the passenger seat, with a crazy smile on his face as he reached out his arms towards her.

- THE END -