Bone and Blood Volume I

18 - Route 24, 1927

A lone Ford model T rumbled along route 24 in darkness. The driver had intended to return home that afternoon, but she had unexpectedly met an old friend. He had begged her to stay for dinner. How could she say no? Her friend did not yet own a phone. She wanted to speak with him live while she could. Afterwards, they would have to rely on correspondence by letter.

Dinner ran long.

Unfortunately, she also had work in the morning. There were plenty of folks willing to take her secretary job if she missed a day. That said, she did not expect this Monday to be particularly difficult. As long as she got few hours of rest when she arrived home, she could take it easy tomorrow. She would double her performance the next day. None would be the wiser.

Nodding at her clever plan, she spared a glance the corner of her windshield. She had glued a postcard there, so she could tell her car apart from the other, identical model Ts. These days it was less and less necessary. More brands and models were on the streets than ever before. She dreamed of owning a car in any color except morbid black.

Still, she would probably hang postcard up in her next car. It featured a frog in gentleman's clothing speaking to a rabbit in a puffy dress. Its punned-saying was not what mattered to her. Her father had sent it.

As a man who rarely expressed words of approval, his congratulations to her for getting this job last year had been earthshattering. He had also reminded her to settle down with a good man soon, but she could ignore that part. The point was that she had made him and her mother proud.

Her attention drifted back to the road. Her headlights illuminated something ahead. A man stumbling onto the pavement. Out here? In the middle of nowhere? What was he—? He fell. Tried to pick himself up. Failed. Lay still.

The driver gently tapped her breaks and slowed to a stop. She leaned out of the cab. "Are you all right!?"

The man said nothing. Perhaps he was only drunk, but how had he gotten all the way out here? Surely, there was no speak easy hiding in the grass. Maybe he had suffered car trouble?

"Sir!?"

Or maybe his car crashed. He might be hurt. The driver scanned the horizon. No signs of other cars or people. Odd. A good person would help him though. She stepped out of the car. Crept up to the man on the ground. "Sir?" She kneeled, reaching out to touch his shoulder.

His hand shot out. Grabbing her wrist. Slamming her to the ground. Stunned, she lay there in silence. The man spryly hopped to his feet and heaved her over his shoulders. The driver knew she had made a grave error, but her body was unwilling to fight.

A rush of air. The man dashed into a nearby copse of trees. The feeling of falling. A thud as she hit the earth. She struggled to push herself up. To look around with bleary eyes. The road was out of sight. Cloth stuffed into her mouth. More fabric around her face.

Her vision cleared as the man tied her to a tree. She shook her head, not understanding. Why was this happening? What had she done to deserve this? A muffed cry for explanation. The man ignored her as he finished his work.

Another man wandered onto the scene. No. A boy. Please let him be her savior. She cried more insistently, praying for him to intervene. To run for help.

The man looked to the boy. "If I'm not back before dawn, you know what to do." The boy nodded.

The woman's hopes shattered. Futility, she kicked at the man's shins. He whirled around to face her. Hissing. His pink eyes gleaming. His full maw of shark teeth on display. Now, fully understanding what she was dealing with, she fainted.