Rendezvous

Ted Bundy

Mona

"A girls' trip," they said. "It'll be fun," they said. Yeah, right. Nothing screams 'relaxation' like getting stuck on a winding road in the middle of nowhere with no cell service.

"Remind me again whose brilliant idea this was?" I huffed, glancing at Lana, my best friend since junior year of college and co-conspirator in this impromptu vacation. The Cascades were her idea—an escape from the city, a chance to reconnect with nature, blah, blah, blah. I'd already killed three mosquitoes, my hair smelled like bonfire, and it had only been two hours. Great start.

"It's a scenic route, Mona. The cabin's not far," she said sheepishly.  She folds the useless paper map we'd been trying to navigate with. A map. Like it's 1992. Who even does that?

"Right, because taking the main road with actual signs and, oh, I don't know, people was too easy," I muttered. We'd already had to backtrack twice, and now this—stalled in the middle of nowhere with nothing but trees and the potential of an axe-wielding maniac for company.

As if the car could sense my growing frustration, it sputtered one last time and died. The dashboard lights flickered out, leaving us in silence that was only broken by the occasional chirp of a bird.

"Well, that's it then. We're officially screwed," I said, leaning back in my seat and closing my eyes.

"Don't be so dramatic," Lana replied, but I could hear the edge in her voice. She wasn't exactly thrilled about the situation either.

I opened my eyes and shot her a look. "I'm not being dramatic. I'm being realistic. We're stranded in the middle of nowhere, and our car just gave up. This is how horror movies start."

"Okay, okay," Lana said, clearly trying to keep it together. "Let's just... pop the hood and see if there's something obvious. Maybe it's just overheated."

I sighed, throwing open the door and stepping out into the cold air. Lana joined me at the front of the car, and we stared at the engine like it was an alien artifact. I didn't know a damn thing about cars, and Lana was just as clueless. Great.

"Do you think we should try calling someone?" Lana asked, holding up her phone even though we both knew there was no signal out here. It was as dead as the car.

"Unless you've got a carrier pigeon in your bag, I don't think that's going to work," I said. Being stranded was bad enough, but being stranded here, where the only company was a bunch of trees and maybe a deranged woodsman, was worse.

"So... what now?" she asked after a few seconds of silence.

"I guess we—" I was cut off by the distant rumble of a motorcycle. The sound grew louder, and I turned to see a big, black bike roaring up the road, dust and gravel spitting up in its wake.

"Oh, hell no," I muttered under my breath. "This is definitely how horror movies start."

The bike slowed as it neared us, and I tensed, already running through a mental list of escape routes. The rider pulled up beside us, cutting the engine with a smooth motion that spoke of experience. His face was shaded under a well-worn helmet, and his muscled body was wrapped in flannel and leather.

Great, I thought. If he's a serial killer, at least he's a ripped one.

He didn't get off the bike right away, just sat there, staring at us through a pair of mirrored sunglasses. I could practically feel Lana vibrating with anxiety beside me.

"You ladies alright?" His voice was gravelly. Smoker, maybe? Or just someone who chews gravel for breakfast?

"Oh, we're fantastic," I said, leaning against the car and crossing my arms. "Just decided to take a break in the middle of nowhere. You know, to really connect with nature."