Alice arrived at Clare View Point. She had saved just enough money to get there but needed to save the rest for lodging and food.
It meant taking other forms of transportation was out. Alice had decided to see if someone would be willing to give her a ride.
After all, the last stop she was heading to was pretty close; it would still be a long walk on foot. Alice scanned the faces of the people standing outside the bus station.
There stood a handsome man walking to the parking lot.
“Excuse me!” she cheerily spoke, walking up to him, who stopped to listen.”By chance, could you give me a ride?” Alice asked.
The man looked at her. “Where do you need to go?” he replied.
Once her things were loaded into the trunk, she buckled up into the passenger side. “My name’s Alice. Thank you so much for the ride. “
“Eli and it’s no problem…”
It was quiet during the car ride, and not even the radio was on. The windows were slightly cracked. It was raining, pelting against the windshield, and the bottom of the glass was foggy. She began to feel nervous, so she spoke up, “Are you from here originally?”
“No, I’m from out of town like you,”
“So why did you come to Clare View Point? I’m just passing through.”
The person chuckled, “I came here for the people.”
Alice furrowed her eyebrows, confused, and tilted her head to the side. So Eli came here for the people? Shifting in the car seat, she looked into the side mirror only to notice something or someone being jostled in the back seat.
She rubbed her eyes before opening them again, now clearly seeing what she thought she saw. In the back seat, bound and gagged, was a person.
Hearing a tsk to her left made Alice freeze. “I hoped we wouldn’t have such a short car ride together…if only you never noticed.”
“B-but I didn’t see anything!” she protested, even though he already knew she saw. Now, hearing the sound of the blinker, Eli turned off onto an old dirt road stretching for a few miles and turned into a forest of trees.
Alice tried opening her door and made a run for it, but it wouldn’t open, no matter how much she tugged on the handle.
“Are you Trying to get out of the car already? I feel hurt…” he frowned, looking into her eyes. Alice saw how cold and dark they had become.
“Y-you’re insane!!!”
“I’m insane? My dear, you’re the one who got into a car with a stranger you just met. “
Alice stopped jiggling the car door handle. Eli was right.
She did ask someone she didn’t know for a car ride just because she was strapped for cash.
“Please… don’t kill me,” she began to plead as tears swelled in her eyes.
“Begging for your life? When your fate was already sealed the moment you got in this car, ” he spat, parking the car and turning off the motor.
Alice went silent and began to shake. She watched Eli exit the car, walk to her side, and open the door.
Mustering her courage, she pushed the man away from her, watching as he stumbled backward. This was her chance to run the safety of the forest, leaving her belongings behind.
Unfortunately, Alice didn’t get too far since Eli had gained on her quickly, wrapping a strong arm around the front of her torso. Her back against his chest. She tried squirming, but he just held onto her more tightly.
“Don’t worry… you won’t be alone. I’ll bury that decaying corpse along with you. “
Alice tried an elbow jab, slammed her head back into Eli’s face, and stomped onto his foot. Nothing she did worked. He was completely unphased by her attacks on him, and that’s when she felt the feeling of cold steel against her throat.
“I was going to be nice and make it fast so you wouldn’t suffer, but now…I’m just angry,” Eli growled, flipping the blade and swiftly ripping it through the front of Alice’s throat, letting her body drop unceremoniously to the ground.
Shaking the blood off the blade, he cleaned it, put it back into its casing, and then checked his hands for any signs of blood.
Going back to the car, he gathered up the deceased body from the back seat, laying it next to hers. Her now lifeless eyes stared into the bound person’s who had already lost their luster.
Humming an eerie tune, Eli began digging the final resting place for these two, who had trusted him to freely take them where they needed to go.
He hoped the next person he met wouldn’t want to ask for a ride from a stranger.
After all, Hitching can be dangerous.