“Thanks for the ride, Alex.” Devon reached over, placed her hand on mine, and squeezed.

  Contrary to every expectation I had for the night, the woman was seated in my passenger seat. She’d managed to leave her interior lights on in her car, causing her battery to die. Of course, by that time we found all that out, the rain was blowing sideways, and thick bolts of lightning filled the sky everywhere.

  I'd wanted to get home far earlier, before the storm fully hit. To be fair and balanced, though, spending time with her was better than a bottle of whiskey and watching reruns.

  Lightning crashed overhead, making both of us jump.

  Once I managed to get my heart out of my throat, I choked out, “Anytime.”

  She pulled her phone out and tapped at the screen, opening the weather app. “I don’t get it. There wasn’t supposed to be rain all week. But this storm is huge!” She shoved the phone directly in front of my face and pointed at the massive red blob covering our area.

  Blinded by the backlight, I hit a massive puddle and nearly swerved off the road. "Damn it, Dev!" I shoved her arm away. "Not now!"

  "S-sorry!" She squeaked. Throwing her phone into her lap, she white-knuckled the crumbling ceiling handle.

  Shaking my head, I said, "Sorry, now's not a good time for that.”

  “Yeah." She let out a slow, shaky breath. "I’m precious goods.” Despite the stress, I could see her eying me out of the corner of my eye. That little grin she got when she wanted praise was smeared across her face.

  All I said back was, “Yup.”

  She smacked my arm. “You could at least pretend that you like me!”

  "Yeah. I like you."

  She smacked my hand again. Gently this time. "You're not convincing at all. You could at least lie to me. Butter me up."

  I shrugged. “You wouldn’t like me so much if I did.”

  “That's true.” Her hand settled on top of mine again.

  I squeezed her hand back.

  She leaned back in the cracked leather passenger seat and sighed. “I can't say I don't like your authenticity.”

  "That's me." I didn’t know what else to say, so I let the sounds of the thunder crashing and the rain splattering against the windshield wash over us. It was nice. Comfortable. Being quiet meant neither of us had to talk about the elephant sitting in the car with us. It was easier this way.

  “Alex?" Devon's voice was soft.

  "Hmm?" Damn elephant.

  "Can we talk sometime?” Her eyes trailed over to me.

  I shook my head. “What’s there to talk about?”

  She let go of my hand and placed her hands in her lap.

  Damn it. That wasn’t the right thing to say. “Sorry. I’m not good at this.”

  “I know.”

  I sighed. “What do you want me to say?"

  "You know what I want you to say."

  For a while, I didn't say anything. Then, "Dev..." I swallowed. "I don’t have much going for me. I’m just some asshole who got kicked out of college and works a dead-end job at a burger joint." I chuckled. "And you’re you. Star student. Law school applicant. Top of your class. I don’t have anything to offer you.”

  She smiled, but it looked sad. “You don’t have to offer anything. You can just be you.”

  Shaking my head, I whispered, “That’s not enough.”

  “Isn’t that for me to decide?”

  I laughed this time. Maybe she was right? I never thought of it that way. "I guess."

  "You can just say yes, you know?" She shuffled in her seat.

  Might as well give her what she wanted. "Yes."

  She sighed. "Ass."

  "You know it."

  For a few moments, the rain filled the space between us again. “You know, Alex, at some point, you’re going to have to let someone in." She kicked her feet up onto the dashboard. "It might not be with me, and that’s okay. But someone out there is going to see you for the good guy you are, and it’ll be up to you not to push them away like you're doing with me."

  Slowly, I nodded. "Yeah. I guess."

  "I'm right, and you know it." Her hand found mine again. "The thing is, before you let someone in, you're going to have to start liking yourself first. I think that’s when you’re going to find your way.” She squeezed my hand like she was willing some of her confidence into me. "Your life isn't defined by one screw up, you know?"

  My sister's face popped into my head, but I shook it out. "If only it were only one."

  "Still." She squeezed harder. "You'll get there."

  I soaked up the support. “Yeah, maybe you're right.”

  “I'm always right.”

  I laughed. She had a way with words. “I know.”

  “Glad you know it." That puffed her up. "Now, promise me you’re going to learn to like yourself. ”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “Good boy.” She patted my hand just as her phone buzzed. Reaching down, she started tapping away at her screen.

  As she did, I pulled into her neighborhood. It was one of those nice neighborhoods with the homes that had big garages and nice yards that meant money. Weaving my way through the tangled, looping streets that also meant money, I finally found her street. A minute later, we were pulling up into her driveway. Inside, a light was on in the living room. It was probably her folks.

  Her parents were strict and more than a little protective, but Devon had a fantastic relationship with them. Enough so that she still lived at home in order to save money for law school. From what she’d told me, she’d already saved half of the tuition, despite being a few years younger than me. A part of me was envious, both for the money and the good family. Despite working since I was fourteen, I never had much of either.

  Unclicking her seatbelt, she leaned over, grabbed my chin, and pulled me in for a kiss. Her lips were soft, and they tasted good, like coconuts. We lingered there for a moment before she pulled away.

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  “Let’s talk tomorrow, okay?” Her hazel eyes searched mine.

  “Okay."

  "When I get off.”

  “Deal.”

  "Really. A real talk."

  "You got it."

  A crash of thunder interrupted her before she could ask me again. When the sound faded, she scrunched her lips. “The storm’s getting bad..." A look of pure nervousness crossed her face. She looked at the livingroom light, then back at me, swallowed, and said, "You could... uh... you know... You could stay over. If you want."

  I shook my head. "What about your folks?"

  "I'll just..." She actually started looking hopeful. "I'll tell them that I want you to stay. I'm a big girl now, you know?”

  I pretended to think it over, but I already knew the answer. With her working in the morning and me having a real day off—finally—I just wanted to be home. It wasn't like I hadn't driven in bad rain a thousand times in my life. Plus, the awkwardness of talking to her parents tonight sounded as fun as getting my teeth pulled out. “Next time."

  Her face dropped. “Fine. Just promise to get home safe. And text me as soon as you get home. Okay?”

  “I will.”

  ***

  "Shit." I gripped the steering wheel, my knuckles white as I peered through the foggy windshield of my shitty old Pathfinder.

  The rain had doubled in intensity and pounded on the glass. Everything outside of the car's windows had turned into a black-and-gray blur. Thick bolts of lightning flashed overhead and were followed by the deep rumble of thunder.

  I could feel the thunder in my bones. My wipers were whirring as fast as they could, but they were losing against the overwhelming volume of water pouring from the sky.

  I really should have stayed with Devon tonight.

  "Severe weather tonight across the state. Officials have advised people to find shelter as soon as possible," the radio crackled between bursts of heavy static. I'd gotten tired of the quiet, but the car was old enough that it didn’t have Bluetooth. Thus, I was stuck with the radio, which wasn't working great in the storm. "We are currently seeing heavy winds and severe lightning across the northern half of Ohio. Also, unusual reports are coming in from across the region. People have been reported missing—"

  I smacked the button to shut that shit off. I knew what the weather was doing. I had my own eyes. And I didn't need to hear about people disappearing right now. Leaning forward, I wiped the inside of my windshield with a microfiber I always kept handy and focused on getting home safely.

  Unfortunately, the dim headlights of my Pathfinder barely cut through the darkness of the highway. All they did was illuminate the sheets of rain covering the highway and the occasional sign. I'd driven this route countless times, but tonight, everything seemed a bit off and eerie. Squinting, I tried my best to find the familiar landmarks that always guided me home.

  “You just to go home, didn't you, Alex?” I grumbled, my deep baritone drowned out by another peal of thunder. Then, a gust of wind buffeted my car, throwing it to the right and causing everything to shake from the loud caused by the divots carved into the road's shoulder.

  Tightening my grip on the wheel and taking a deep breath, I steered my car back into the center of the lane. My headlights struck a familiar street sign just then. It was street sign.

  I was almost there.

  A minute later, I turned onto the exit ramp. The welcome sign of my little rural town appeared out of the gloom.

  "Stupid sign..." I'd actually attended the town hall meeting when they'd chosen that slogan and argued against it since it was dumb as hell. "If only they'd listened to me when—"

  A massive flash of lightning filled the sky directly over my car, followed instantly by thunder.

  That was

  Turning onto the empty country road that led to town, I felt my wheels lose traction for a second before they found the road again. Despite that, I decided to hustle a little faster. I didn't want to be out here anymore. I wanted to be home.

  Oh, home.

  I lived in a small place tucked in the woods out on the far side of my little country town. It was away from both the bustle of the city and the claustrophobia of the town. Ever since my dog passed, it was just me and my cabin, and I absolutely loved it.

  A few minutes later, I found the streetlights of Riverton's little downtown poking through the trees. Then, I passed the large deer crossing sign, which marked the edge of town, and quickly crossed over the old rusty bridge.

  Three miles left.

  Entering the town itself, I made sure to slow down to a crawl, not wanting to get another ticket. As I crawled down the flooded streets, I noticed that downtown was a ghost town. There wasn't a single person or car out, and all the shops were closed. I always hated the town at night. The lack of people made the old brick buildings feel old and desolate.

  When I made it to the single street light in town, which was violently swinging in the wind and solid red, I reached for my phone, hoping to check the weather forecast. Tapping at the screen with my thumb, I opened the weather app and pulled up the local radar. The enormous red blob that was this storm was centered over Riverton now. No. Not just Riverton. Riverton and Rushing River, where Devon lived.

  "Huh?" Weird.

  Before I could think about it, two notifications popped up on my screen, one after the other:

  [Severe Weather Warning]

  [Find Shelter Immediately]

  "Yeah, no shit!" I yelled to absolutely no one.

  When I did, my phone's screen flickered a couple of times before going dark.

  "Fuck." I looked down at the pitiful charging cable sticking out of the console. It had frayed away to nothing a year ago, and I never bothered to replace it, a laziness I never once regretted until exactly this moment. Throwing the useless device onto the passenger seat, I let out a loud sigh and waited for the light to change.

  One minute.

  Two minutes.

  Three...

  I considered running it, but the camera would get me, and I couldn’t afford another ticket right now. I thought of turning right and settling into the library parking lot to wait out the storm, but a single glance told me the lot was filling up with water, fast.

  No shot.

  However, after waiting a few more minutes and watching the rain grow thicker, I made a decision. Driving through the light, I made sure to flick the camera off as it flashed. "Assholes." I drove the last few miles toward home, but the going wasn’t smooth. After hydroplaning twice, I slowed down and crawled my way home, splashing through massive puddles as I did.

  Just as I began to pull into my little neighborhood, a strange vibration rippled through the car. The ground beneath my tires shifted, and I lost traction. I turned the wheel, but the car didn’t turn. I pressed the accelerator, hoping to find something stable to grip onto, but the car didn't budge. Looking outside the car window, I didn't see anything out of the ordinary. It was just a street.

  The car lurched.

  "The hell?" I hit the accelerator again, but instead of moving, the car felt like it was teetering. I scanned the roadside. That's when I noticed that the right half of the road was gone.

  My heart nearly exploded.

  The car lurched again as the earth groaned and split open. Tearing off my seat belt, I threw open the door just as my car started sliding into the sinkhole. Launching out of my seat, I hit what was left of the street with a hard, wet thud, causing pain to shoot up my right knee, and rolled onto the sidewalk. Turning, I watched in horror as my vehicle teetered on the edge of the rapidly expanding hole in the road.

  "Don't do it!" I shouted at the old thing. I loved that car!

  With a loud metallic groan, my trusty old Pathfinder disappeared into the depths of the Earth. As it fell, the hole in the ground grew wider, consuming more of the road.

  I scrambled backward, my feet slipping on the wet concrete as I tried to put distance between myself and the expanding hole. My knee hurt like hell, and my leg didn't want to bend, but I didn't have time to worry about that right now.

  I had to move.

  Whether from luck, adrenaline, or the grace of the divine, I acted without thinking and ended up sitting in the grass, chest heaving, looking down at my dim, shitty headlights as they flickered in the rain. As I watched, the car's alarm went off, honked twice, and promptly died. At the same time, the headlights dimmed, then went out forever.

  For a long while, I sat there, rain pelting my face, lightning causing my hair to stand on end, staring at the spot where my car had vanished.

  What.

  The.

  Fuck.

  Once the shock left me, I tried to stand, but I fell right back down onto my ass. Reaching down, I felt around at my knee and immediately realized how messed up it was. It had swollen so big that it had stretched my jeans tight, and it throbbed with every single heartbeat.

  "Shit!" I knew I had to decide: Did I attempt to walk the final mile home with a broken knee? Or did I find something to sit under until the storm passed?

  I weighed my options. While it was cold in the rain, it wasn't cold, what with it being summer. I'd be alright. Looking around, I found a large oak tree standing tall around fifty feet away. Trying and failing to bend my knee again, I realized I had my answer.

  Each step was a battle against the wind, but I made it. When I reached the tree, I pressed my soaked body against the sturdy tree's trunk and thanked the nature gods for oak trees. Slipping down its trunk, I huddled up at its base and pulled my hoodie tight.

  This was my life now.

  Right when I got settled in, there was a blinding flash of lightning overhead. Then another, and another. I tried to stand.

  The world went completely white.

  Pain exploded through my left side.

  I could smell smoke. Burnt clothes. Burnt hair.

  I was flying backwards now.

  I hit the ground. Hard.

  Deaf, blind, and dumb, I lay there, slipping in and out of consciousness. Then, my body moved on its own. It tried to stand. Slipped. Fell.

  I looked up.

  All that was left of the oak tree was a smoldering stump and cinders.

  My clothes were burned. My left boot was smoking. My arm was numb.

  Using every ounce of willpower in me, I pushed myself up.

  I had to get home.

  There was another flash.

  Everything went white.

  Then, everything went black.