I tugged with a great amount of force on the rusty door handle attached to the worn down door of Bob's Car Rentals. Once I got in, I was hit with the smell of sweat and pine cones. I stepped inside and looked around. It was a small place; two sofa chairs, a coffee table with a few magazines on it, and a front desk with a fat man asleep sitting at it. The door shutting behind me must have awoken the hefty man asleep behind the counter. He abruptly dropped his feet off the desk, opened his eyes, and looked at me surprised.
"I'm sorry to have woken you up, but I kinda really need to rent a car, because, you see, I was dropped off at the bus's last stop, and-"
"Don't worry, we got cars. We just haven't had a customer in the past three years. Not much business out here in the so-called Middle of Nowhere," The chubby man chuckled.
I grinned. I didn't even know how I ended up in this tiny 'town' in (West Virginia, was it?). I just remember getting on the bus because I needed to escape. I fell asleep as soon as I took a seat in the rear and was woken up by the driver because he had reached the last stop. I got off the bus, with nothing but a backpack, the contents being a water bottle and my wallet.
"I'm Bob, nice to meet you. Let's get you settled with a vehicle quickly here now." Bob reached out his hand to shake mine.
I grabbed his hand and hesitated for a little. What was my name? I said whatever came to mind. "Thomas, I'm Thomas."
Bob gave me a warm smile and led me out to choose a car. Once I had the key and payed my deposit, I got into the car. It was some model Ford, I didn't really understand cars, but I could tell this one was old. It took a few tries to start up, I wasn't going to bother asking Bob for a new one, I just needed a car.
I pulled out of the parking lot for Bob's Car Rentals and started driving down a narrow, one lane road. It was getting dark out but I had no idea what time it was. I never really knew what the time was. I had to find someplace to stay the night, maybe a motel. Okay, I knew what I was doing, I was driving down a road to find a motel, got it.
The road I was driving on was surrounded by empty grasslands on each side. There were occasional barns with roaming cows and gas stations here and there. No other cars or trucks or buses were on the road. Suddenly, a rank smell filled up my nose. I stopped the car and took in a big whiff. It smelled like roadkill and rotten eggs. I got out of the car and looked around. Nope, no run over animals. I shrugged and got back in the car but the smell was still there. I decided to ignore it for the time being, I just needed to find someplace to stay the night.
I drove on the seemingly endless road for what felt like hours. I could feel it getting later and later, my eyes were slowly sagging shut and my body was aching for sleep. I made the choice to pull over onto the grassy roadside and sleep in the car. As I was shifting into a comfortable position, I noticed that the terrible smell had grown stronger. I had no clue as to what to do about it so I pulled my shirt up over my nose and closed my eyes for a good night's sleep.
I awoke to the sound of mumbling voices. I must have only slept for one or two hours, because it was still pitch black outside. "Hello?" I called.
I looked out each window, but there were no people to be seen nearby. "Hello? Anyone there?" I tried again.
I pushed the keys into the ignition, but the car refused to start up. I continued to try, but nothing happened. The voices were growing louder, but they weren't saying anything in particular, just groaning and mumbling. Suddenly, the car raced forward, without me even starting it up. I tried to control it, but I couldn't. The speed was growing faster and faster.
CRASH! The car crashed into what seemed to be a tree. My head whiplashed and hit the steering wheel. No airbag had inflated. There were different colors spotting my vision as I rubbed my head. I opened the door beside me and slowly stepped out. I was wobbly on my feet, but I needed to get away from this car. I walked towards the back, and went for the trunk.
I tugged on the rusty handle and the trunk clicked open. What was inside was bound to stay etched into my memory. A rotting body. A dead woman. The well known smell hit me hard as I let out a scream. The corpse's arm drooped out of the trunk. I jumped back immediately. I began to run from the car as fast as I could. The car rattled and zoomed towards me. I jumped off the road, so I wouldn't get hit.
The car halted on the road right beside where I sat huddled like a turtle. The trunk was still open, but the dead woman was not inside of it anymore. I tried running a little bit, but the car would continue following me again. I ran through choices of what to do, until I decided on getting back into the car.
This time, the car wouldn't even drive itself. The murmurs were coming back and the horrible smell would not escape my nose. The car began shaking and I tugged on the door handle. I was trapped inside. I caught a glimpse of something in the rear view mirror. The corpse woman. I broke into a screaming fit and tried to escape the car. After a few blinks, the dead body wasn't there anymore. I must have been imagining it because I was obviously sleep deprived.
I kept on hearing the murmurs, but at this point I knew it was all in my head. I shut my eyes to try and sleep. Something tapped me. The last thing I saw before I blacked out was the dead woman's face, expect her eyes were wide open..... And she held a knife in her hand.
