Julie's hands gripped the steering wheel as it began to tremble violently. A surge of adrenaline coursed through her as she pressed down the brake. The car slowed and she identified an odd rumbling coming from the rear of the car. She veered onto the shoulder and rolled to a stop as the flat tire thudded one last time. She sighed in frustration.
Getting out of the car, she surveyed her surroundings. The highway stretched for miles in either direction without a sign of light or life. The bright, full moon provided enough illumination to see a fair distance, but little of interest could be seen. On one side of the highway was a large empty field and on the other, a dark, foreboding forest. The sight of it filled her with unease, as if she shouldn't look at too closely. Or, perhaps, that something looked back.
Fumbling through her purse, she pulled out her phone as well as an insurance card. Proceeding to dial the number for emergency service, she got back in her car and closed the door. Her phone let out three meager beeps, and the call dropped. She tried again, and it failed. And again, and again, but none of the calls succeeded.
Her mind turned to the spare tire in her trunk and decided that it couldn't hurt to try. She turned on her hazard lights and pulled her hair back in a pony tail. Stepping out of the car, her heels clacked on the pavement. Realizing her evening wear would likely not be adequate for manual labor, she unfastened her heels and tossed them in the back seat. Despite her current isolation and general misfortune, Julie indulged her vanity by envisioning her lithe form delicately preparing for an unseemly task while still wearing short black cocktail dress and heels.
She left her boyfriend at the bar at the last minute for the long drive to her sister's house. Once again, her sister was embroiled in some senseless drama with her deadbeat husband and needed Julie to show up to provide a shoulder to cry on. Julie did not particularly mind, but she imagined her boyfriend did. Oddly, her thoughts fixated on the last time she'd had sex, mulling over the feeling of his hands on her ass or the quick, rigid thrusts as he came inside of her. Her panties grew damp as she thought about it.
Julie snapped back to the moment. Someone was coming. She didn't notice it before, but down the road from where she stopped, a small paved road led into the forest. Car lights flashed through the trees as the car approached. Two very strong emotions pulled at Julie. First, to run or hide or escape. She imagined running as fast as she could through the empty field behind her, anything to get away from the ominous presence exuding from the forest and whatever laid behind it. The second emotion was much more devious. A small voice in her mind told her to wait, just to see what would happen next.
The car appeared, a red sedan of a model she didn't recognize. It pulled out into the road and stopped a few yards ahead of Julie's car. The red brake lights illuminated the span between the two vehicles. The car's rear passenger door opened and a tall figure emerged.
"Having car trouble?" asked a sultry voice. Julie couldn't see the person speaking, only the silhouette of a tall woman.
Julie replied, "Oh, yeah. I've called for some roadside help though, shouldn't be that much longer."
