Epilogue

A lone car cruised down a deserted freeway. Its headlights blasted out before it to counter the enclosing darkness. The sky’s natural lights were rendered useless by the tall leafy trees overlooking the road on both sides. Inside the vehicle, Stan sat behind the wheel with a confident look on his face. If the darkness was bothering him, he was doing a good job of hiding it. In the passenger’s seat his wife Judy, a thin blonde woman sporting shoulder length hair, wasn’t as indifferent.

She ran a hand through her hair, glancing nervously through the window beside her. Couldn’t see a thing out there. The edge of the road was barely visible. It was almost as if everything outside of the headlight’s domain had ceased to exist.

“Why haven’t they fixed these streetlights yet?” Judy muttered, complaining more than asking. “Do they expect us to not travel at night?”

She looked to her husband. When he failed to respond soon enough, which in her mind was within three seconds, she pressed him further, “There are deer out here, you know? You remember that accident in the news not long ago?”

“Like that’s what you’re afraid of,” Stan peeked at her from the corner of his eyes.

She waited a few more seconds for him to finish. He didn’t go on. “What am I afraid of then, Stan? It’s just dark out here and I don’t want to get in an accident. Don’t we pay an arm and a leg in taxes so the city keeps thing like this from happening? Jeez, Stan.”

He was smiling, “You sure it’s just the bad service that’s got you so uppity? Or are you worried about what old man Johnson was blabbing about? Think there’s something out here with us?”

“Don’t be absurd,” Her widened eyes betrayed the truth. “He’s a certified quack. I wouldn’t take anything he says seriously. It would make me every bit as foolish as he is.”

“Well, it’s not quite so absurd when you think about it,” Stan raised a hand to his chin and tapped it with his index finger, pretending to be deep in thought. “There have been a lot of disappearances in this county the past week or so. Remember what happened to Otto? Went out to fix his car one night and his wife said she went to talk to him. Turned her back for a second and he was gone…”

“Stan—”

“The wrench he had in his hand was still lying there in the dust. He’d just disappeared. She didn’t have any motives to kill him, and in fact she suffered after he left. But if you recall, the investigators had their footprints. He didn’t move from that spot. Only way he could have gone was up.” He pointed to the ceiling and whistled. “Gone like that. Hasn’t been seen or heard from since, five days later. Johnson said it snatches people right off their feet.”

“Just stop it, will you?” She crossed her arms over her chest. “Not right now, and not out here of all places!”

“I thought he was a quack,” Stan laughed.

His laughter was abruptly cut off when the metallic face of a van appeared, twenty yards ahead and approaching. It was only visible due to the left headlight which extended slightly into the opposite lane. Its own headlights were off. That had allowed it to remain invisible until now. Wow. Stan cringed a little. An overactive imagination would have made it seem as if the vehicle materialized out of thin air. He didn’t have much of an imagination, but he was unnerved. Taking a deep breath to slow his pounding heart, he flashed the headlights. The opposite driver was briefly visible as the light illuminated the inside of his van. He was a big guy wearing dark clothing—a coat and a wide brimmed hat. His head was tilted forward, hiding his face from view. What a weirdo.

The vehicles passed each other and Stan immediately glanced into the rearview mirror to see that the other driver had switched on his high beams. He also seemed to be slowing down.

“Why did you do that?” Judy whispered.

“Do what?”

“Flash your headlights!” Her tone was harsh. “Haven’t you heard about the gangs around here that play that game? Wait until some do-gooder gives a courtesy flash and then they chase and kill everyone in the car? What else do you think that person was doing without his lights on as dark as it is?”

“You’re being way too superstitious,” Stan rolled his eyes, then stole a glance in the mirror again. The van had come to a complete halt in the middle of its lane. Easy, boy. Don’t let her get you riled up. “It’s nothing to worry about.”

Behind them, the van slowly performed a u-turn, dimming its headlights once again. The driver watched the taillights of the smaller vehicle speeding away into the night. He paused and inhaled through his nostrils, smelling the aroma lingering in the air. Then he lowered his chin, knowingly. One of them had something he wanted.

Completing the turnaround, he applied his weight to the gas and sped after them. Very soon he’d find out who it was, and what they had. And nothing would prohibit him from taking it.