Chapter 1

It was very early Saturday morning, and I was on my way home from work.

The sun hadn't even come up yet when my phone rang. Without even looking at the screen, I answered.

"Hey, bro. Listen, I've got a problem. I'm near the club right now, and I need you to come pick me up."

"Michael, again? I'm coming home from work and I'm seriously exhausted."

"Oh, come on. You can't just leave me here. I'll give you money for gas."

"Yeah, right. You say that every time," I said, annoyed, but of course I changed direction and went to pick him up. He was my younger brother, after all, and even though he was the complete opposite of me, I wouldn't trade him for anything.

I stopped near the club and waited for him. Just like I did almost every Saturday morning on my way home from work.

"Hey, Eric. Thanks for picking me up. I owe you one."

"And what about the gas?"

"Yeah, sure. I'll pay you next time."

He just grinned at me.

We were driving toward his apartment when I saw a woman hitchhiking by the side of the road.

Michael told me not to stop.

"Why not? She's alone, and it's morning. It would be better if we picked her up than if she ran into some creep."

When I looked at Michael, it seemed like he had gone pale.

"No. Seriously, don't stop. You know what they say about people who hitchhike in the dark like this."

I laughed.

"Come on. You need to stop watching so many horror movies."

Despite his constant protests, I turned the car around and stopped for her.

She was wearing a short, dark purple dress and had no shoes on. She was holding them in her hand. Her hair fell all the way down to the middle of her back. Her bright blue eyes looked at me gratefully.

She got in, and I asked her where she was going.

She said she'd only be staying for a little while and would tell me when she wanted to get out.

I thought it was strange, but I shrugged it off and started driving.

It only took a few seconds before the woman spoke directly to me.

I could see in the rearview mirror that she was staring at me.

"You're not safe here with him."

I laughed.

"You're right. I'm not. He usually gets me into some kind of trouble."

I looked at her through the mirror, but she wasn't smiling at all. Instead, she said in a more urgent tone:

"He has to come with me. You have to give him to me."

Then she looked at Michael.

"You know you aren't supposed to be here, and you know you have to come with me."

I looked at Michael in confusion.

"You know her?"

He just said fearfully that I shouldn't have picked her up. That he had told me so. And that I needed to get her out of the car immediately.

"Listen, bro. She's obviously on something and she's out of her mind. We can't just leave her somewhere out here."

Her voice was getting louder.

"I'm telling you to give him to me. I'll take him with me. The longer he stays here with you, the more danger you're in."

"Look," I said, rubbing my face with my palm. "He's not going anywhere with you. I don't know if you two know each other or if there's something going on between you, but my brother obviously doesn't want to go anywhere with you, so he's not going anywhere with you. And this really isn't funny anymore. If you don't stop, you're going to have to get out."

Suddenly, the woman screamed.

"IDIOT! I told you he's coming with me, whether you like it or not!"

When I saw Michael shaking beside me with fear, I lost my patience.

I slammed on the brakes, got out, grabbed the woman by the arm, and pulled her out of the car.

She started freaking out and swinging at me. She scratched my face several times.

I pushed her away, quickly got back into the car, and drove off.

Once I saw that she was far enough behind us, I looked in the rearview mirror at my scratched-up face, blood running down it.

Angrily, I turned toward Michael.

"Are you kidding me? You could have told me you knew her and that she wasn't normal."

He smiled at me apologetically, and he clearly seemed relieved.

"I know. I'm sorry. Don't be mad at me. I promise nothing like this will happen again."

"Hm, I'd be…"

I didn't even get to finish the sentence.

I saw her standing several yards in front of us.

I heard Michael screaming.

"Run her over! Don't stop! Run her over!"

"Are you crazy?" I shouted and swerved the wheel.

Then all I remember is the impact.

After a while, I woke up. When I looked beside me, Michael was gone.

I tried to get out of the car, but I could barely stay on my feet.

When I finally stumbled outside, I saw the woman in the distance, dragging Michael away.

With the last of my strength, I screamed at her to let him go.

Then I blacked out.

I woke up in a hospital.

My mother was sitting beside me, holding my hand.

When I realized where I was and what had happened to me, I looked at my mother in horror.

"Mom, you need to call the police. That woman took Michael. She might hurt him. They have to find her."

She just squeezed my hand tighter.

"Eric, you were in a terrible accident and you have a severe concussion, so you're confused. Michael died two years ago."

Suddenly, I remembered.

And I couldn't understand how I could have forgotten that he was gone.

I thought the whole thing might have been a dream, but the scratches on my face clearly told me it wasn't.

I'm still in the hospital, and there are so many questions running through my head.

Who was that woman?

And if Michael is dead, then what the hell was sitting beside me, and how could it make me forget that Michael was already gone?

But the question that scares me the most is this:

What would have happened if that woman hadn't dragged him away from me?