* * *
One week later:
Somewhere just north of Martinsville.
Vicky Meredith was nineteen-years-old, slim with long blond hair, and very attractive. She was on her way from Columbia South Carolina to Washington DC, where she had landed herself a job as an assistant to the PA of the editor of the Washington Post.
Sat next to her in the car and now doing her share of the driving is her closest friend Jill Gordon. Jill is also nineteen but two months older than Vicky, and like Vicky she too is very attractive. Her hair is jet black, and she always kept it above her shoulders, the make-up around her eyes is black and exaggerated and her lips were coloured dark purple, all this made her complexion look paler than it actually was.
Her favourite band, which is why Jill was in the car, were playing a gig in Richmond Virginia the following evening, they were “Arch Enemy”. Jill explains their music like this, ‘It’s the kind of music that if you like it, it’s melodious, and if you don’t like it, then you’re probably just too old.’ Vicky was okay with it though, Jill is her best friend and that’s what mattered most.
It was the middle of August when the nights weren’t much cooler than the days, the cars broken air conditioning unit didn’t help their situation, and the drivers’ window wouldn’t open. Luckily the car was a convertible, or they may have roasted.
They had been on the road for around five hours, three of which had been driven in the dark as their plans to leave early were ruined by Vicky’s Brother Nathan. He borrowed the car and got back later than he said he would, Vicky knew it would happen but she lent him the car anyway, because that’s what she’s like.
Vicky was in the front passenger seat sleeping after driving for the first four hours. It was now almost 1am, and the music was low for Vicky's sake. Jill stopped the car and then woke her.
‘Vicky, Vicky…’ said Jill shaking her by the arm. ‘I think we’re lost.’
‘What?’
‘I think I may have taken a wrong turn.’ Jill said pointing with her black polished thumb nail. ‘Way back there!’
‘How? I mean…’ Vicky allowed her words to trail off as she rubbed her eyes.
‘You were asleep; I didn’t want to wake you so—’
‘Well just turn around and go back then.’ interrupted Vicky.
‘Yeah… I already tried that, and now we’re even more lost.’
‘Okay, let’s see the map.’ Vicky switched on the internal light at the top of the windshield.
Jill took a road map of North Carolina from the side compartment of her door and passed it to Vicky. It was one of those maps that looked like a book when you bought it, but opened out as big as a bed sheet when you needed to use it.
‘Okay,’ said Vicky. ‘We left Columbia on I 20.’ she traced the route with her finger. ‘And then onto I 95, and if we stay on I 95, we go all the way to Washington.’ her eyes narrowed. ‘So why did you come off Jill?’
Jill raised her shoulders. ‘I was bored with the same old road, thought if I come off for a while I could get back on further along. Sorry Vicks.’ she said tilting her head.
‘S'okay, we’ll find our way back.’ Vicky held the map so Jill could see. ‘Right, which road did you take? There’s about… a dozen here.’
Jill leant in and looked at the map studiously, and then she leant back, her face cringed. ‘I’m not sure; it could have been any of those.’ she said shaking her head.
Looking to her right Vicky saw nothing but black. Looking through the windshield the headlights lit up about three-hundred yards of the road ahead. No street lights, no houses, nothing. Nothing but trees on both sides of the road, Vicky opened her door to get out.
‘What are you doing?’ asked Jill.
‘Just getting out to see if I can hear the cars on the highway, if I can then it means we’re on one of the roads close to it.’ Vicky got out and closed her door then walked away from the cars engine noise.
Jill got out also and followed, she was just about to speak when Vicky held up a hand to stop her. ‘Shh! Listen.’ she said.
Jill stood in silence, looking up the road, and then down the road. ‘I don’t hear anything but Crickets!’ she whispered.
Vicky listened some more, even tilting her head to one side in the hope it would improve her hearing. It didn’t. ‘Shit, we could be miles from anywhere.’ she wafted a hand in front of her face in order to cool herself, then pushed her hair back over her head with her right hand.
‘Like I said I’m—‘
‘Shush, listen.’ again Vicky held up a hand.
Both of them now tilted their heads this time. ‘I hear it!’ whispered Jill. ‘What is it?’
‘I don’t know, sounds like, “Whoop-whoop”. Vicky paused listening again. ‘There… “Whoop-whoop-whoop” did you hear it then too?’
Jill heard it a little louder because it was getting nearer. ‘You know what that sounds like to me? A pack of blood hounds chasing some escaped convict.’
‘Don’t be ridiculous,’ said Vicky. ‘this isn’t the 1920s Jill.’
‘Don’t give a fuck; I’m not waiting to find out.’ Jill went back to the car and opened her door. ‘Well, are you coming?’ she shouted back at Vicky.
The two of them jumped back into Vicky's car and Jill put her foot down and the car sped off along the road fish tailing as it went, the two of them were laughing about the blood hounds.
‘Whoop-whoop, whoop-whoop.’ shouted Jill. ‘Ha ha ha.’
Vicky was in between laughs catching her breath when she got the slightest glimpse of someone running across the road in front of the car. Then there was a thud, the windshield cracked and Jill slammed on the brakes.
Vicky reached for the dash in front of her as the car screeched; Jill’s head hit the steering wheel when the front left of the car hit a tree bringing it to a stop. The engine stalled but the music was still playing low. The car had finished up almost side on in the road with its front wheels in the loose dirt.
