The sun has set on this eerie Friday night, and here I am, stuck on a date with my boyfriend. Unfortunately, his car broke down on a deserted forest road, leaving me stranded. I start off just sitting in the passenger seat, playing around on my phone, feeling beyond frustrated because he’s supposed to be under the hood, fixing the car—but instead, he wandered off. He mentioned heading to a gas station we passed nearly a mile back for help, but that was about 40 minutes ago. Growing impatient, I sit up, reach over, and grab the key, hoping maybe I can get it to start. I twist the ignition, but it just cranks. I reset and try again, but it still won’t show any signs of life.
Stretching my leg over the center console, I pump the gas, hoping that’ll help, and then twist the key again, but nothing. I finally just hop over into the driver’s seat fully to give it a try, but it does no good either. Frustrated, I leave it alone and lean back, glancing at the time on my phone. My stomach tightens with worry, knowing he should’ve made it back by now. I open the door and head around to the open hood, switching on my phone's flashlight to see if I can spot anything wrong. I’m baffled when I find that the coil wire is completely detached—something that doesn’t just come apart on its own. I plug it back in, dust off my hands, and suddenly, I hear rustling from the trees.
I freeze, startled, but then think it might be him finally coming back. “Hey!” I call out, but there’s no response. I try again, my voice cracking from nervousness, but still, no one answers. My heart skips as I notice a silhouette of a man in a mask standing among the shadows at the tree line. Fear floods through me as I instinctively slam the hood shut and run to the driver’s side, quickly getting in and locking the door. I reach over to lock the passenger door too, my heart pounding. I look around, but I can’t see him anymore.
My hand flies to the key as I desperately try to start the car, begging and pleading with it to get me out of here. Bouncing in my seat, I pump the gas pedal aggressively, trying to convince the engine to wake up, but it’s not working. The engine sputters, teasing me that it might start, but it just won’t turn over. Panic swells as my pleas become more desperate. Suddenly, I see him, the masked man, emerging from the shadows, holding an axe. I can’t believe I’m in this situation, but somehow I snap out of my frozen fear and try once more to start the car.
He walks slowly around to the driver’s side, and I’m a mess, begging the car to please start. He reaches the door and begins yanking on the handle, trying to get in. I scream at him to leave me alone, still cranking the key over and over. But after all the merciless attempts, the battery starts to weaken. The stranger taps lightly on the window, as if taunting me, letting me know my time is running out. He walks back to the front of the car, pulls out a phone, and dials a number. To my horror, my own phone rings—it’s my boyfriend’s number. My heart drops as I dread what could’ve happened to him. The masked man smashes the phone with his axe, and I return to cranking, desperate for the car to give me one more shot.
Then, finally, it starts! I rev it hard, hoping the sound will scare him off. He circles back to the driver’s side and yanks on the door. When he raises his axe to take a swing, I throw the car into drive and floor the gas pedal, speeding off. My only thought is to escape, driving erratically down the road. But at the end of the road, I slam on the brakes—it’s a blocked path. I could’ve sworn this was the way out. Realizing I have to go back, I shift into reverse and back up as fast as I can.
But suddenly, the car shudders to a halt, and once again, fear paralyzes me in the darkness. I quickly reset the key and try to start it again, frantically begging the car to cooperate, knowing he might still be after me. I hold the gas pedal to the floor while cranking, hoping against hope that it’ll start, but the battery weakens with every turn of the key. My worst fear comes true when I look into the rearview mirror and see him approaching from behind. Panic reaches its peak; the engine is trying to catch but just won’t go. Finally, the battery gives out completely, leaving me helpless.
With the car failing me, I make a split-second decision, swinging the door open and bolting out, running as fast as I can into the darkness with him chasing close behind.
