Beyond The Veil (A Paranormal Romance)

Chapter 32

As the lights of the town were coming closer and closer, Emily wondered what would await her at home. She prayed she wasn't too late. Maybe she could talk to that Sadi, explain everything to him. He just had to hear her out, and something told her that he might. Of course, she couldn't be certain, since for all she knew, he might turn out to be just as coldhearted as Daniel, maybe even worse. Her gut instinct, however, convinced her that it was the right thing to do. It felt so right to be in that car, to be driving down this lonely road.

Why had Raphael even wanted to stop her? He, of all people, should know how important this was. Not in a million years would she have stayed in that house any longer, just waiting passively for things to unfold. Moreover, she hadn't been able to bear Daniel's presence for one more minute. He was the one responsible for all of this; he was responsible for her misery. And instead of being remorseful, he had still enjoyed playing his little games with her. When she thought about their deal, her stomach clenched uncomfortably, and her throat became so tight that she thought it might suffocate her.

How ironic, she mused bitterly. He doesn't even have to do anything. I just choke to death by thinking about him.

In an attempt to shake her disturbing thoughts, she exhaled audibly. With relief she noted that she was still able to breath. No suffocating tonight. The air left her lungs in delicate white clouds, settling down on the windshield and fogging the glass. Without diverting her attention from the dark asphalt ahead, her fingers blindly tapped around on the dashboard, looking for the button that controlled the heat. It took her a while to find it, and when she did she realized with an aggravated huff that it didn't work.

Emily began to shiver and gripped the steering wheel tighter. It felt frosty underneath her hands. It wouldn't have surprised her much, if icicles had formed around it. Why was the air suddenly so artic? And why did she have that strange prickling in her neck? It was almost as if someone was watching her. Her eyes immediately darted back and forth between the road and the rearview mirror.

Not a soul was around.

She shook her head at herself. Her exhausted senses were probably just playing tricks on her. Inevitably though, her foot pushed more forcefully down on the pedal, causing the red needle of the speedometer to glide even farther to the right.

Emily smiled when the first cars began to share the road with her. Now it wouldn't be much longer. She had finally left the middle of nowhere and was entering the outskirts of town. Bright white headlights zoomed past her, as she yet again, sped up. She couldn't afford to lose time, she was so close now.

The eery sensation in her neck grew more intense with every mile she put behind her. If she hadn't known any better, she would have sworn someone was sitting in the backseat staring at her. Of course, it was impossible. Only a few seconds ago, she had determined that there was no one with her in that car. However, just to be sure, she turned her head slightly, glancing carefully over her shoulder.

As expected, the seat was empty.

I must be losing it, she concluded. No wonder with all that insanity that has been going on.

Before she could turn her eyes back to the road, a disturbingly loud noise ripped through the silence of the night.

What was that?

Emily checked the control panel, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary. The engine was still running smoothly, her fingers were still wrapped around the steering wheel, and the other cars continued on their way. However, when she allowed herself a second look at the speedometer, she frowned. Why had it stopped working? Motionless, the needle was resting at zero.

She stomped on the gas as far as the pedal would go, but nothing happened. The engine maintained its calm, steady rhythm, and the needled kept frozen in place.

Did the car break down on her? Why now, at the worst time ever?

Fortunately, an SUV pulled up right behind her, flashing its emergency lights. Emily sighed in relief. At least someone was coming to her rescue.

A woman in her 40s approached her window and apparently attempted to make out the driver of the car. For some reason, her eyes widened, as if she was shocked by what she saw, and without a moment's hesitation, she violently tore the door open.

How rude, Emily thought. But I won't complain, since she is obviously trying to help.

"Thank God you stopped," she told the brunette. "I'm not sure what is wrong with the car, but it just quit on me."

"Miss!" The red-haired woman half yelled, frantically looking for something next to Emily's seat. "Miss, can you hear me?"

"Of course I can!" What an odd question. Especially given the fact that it obviously wasn't Emily who was a little hard of hearing, but rather that upset lady who was continuously fumbling with the driver's seat and completely ignoring Emily's statement. Well, it couldn't hurt to try again. "Please, Ma'am, could you give me ride into town?"

The woman had obviously found what she had been searching for, since she straightened herself again and stared straight into Emily's face. "If you can hear me, please don't move. Stay calm, help is on the way. Can you tell me your name?"

"Emily." That was getting a little creepy. Her rescuer did not show any sign of acknowledgement that she had heard her. Maybe she had to talk louder? "My name is Emily," she said again with more force in her voice.

"Oh God," the lady muttered, clearly on the verge of freaking out. "I don't know what to do. Please, say something!"

Pure, cold fear began to creep under Emily's skin. What was going on? Had she gone crazy? And ... Why were her hands numb? They were still folded around the steering wheel, but she couldn't feel the distinctive material. Was it really that chilly that her fingers just turned numb?

Helplessly, she looked up into the pale face of the stranger. Pale was actually a huge understatement. The lady resembled a hospital wall, color-wise. Her features would have probably been pretty, if they hadn't been so distorted by panic. With shaking hands she removed the loosened seat belt from Emily's shoulder, taking extra care not to touch her, as if she had an infectious disease.

Oh, Emily thought bewildered. That was what she had so frantically looked for. The woman had unbuckled her. But why would she do such a thing?

Suddenly, accompanied by a shrill, deafening noise, other people appeared; men in bright, reflective vests. One of them was carrying some sort of case. He unceremoniously pushed the woman aside and bent over Emily. She wasn't sure what he was doing to her, since her sense of touch had shut down, but she could see that he was putting his fingers on her neck, and judging from his expression he was rather determined in what he was doing.

Things just keep getting weirder and weirder, she pointed out to herself, not at all comprehending what was happening. It was like a bad dream she couldn't wake up from.

A dream! Of course! This must be a dream! She must have been so exhausted and drained that sleep had taken over her. But that was dangerous! Wasn't she driving? She needed to wake up!

Gathering all the strength she had, Emily willed her body to return to reality. Yet, it apparently had other plans, since after a few minutes of desperately forcing herself to shake off those bizarre images her brain was fabricating, the man with the case had not vanished. He was still there, removing his hands from her, and a hint of resignation washed over his stern face, before he turned to address his colleagues.

"That's a DOA," he stated flatly.

The others sighed, and one of them mumbled something that sounded like, "That's the second one within an hour. What a crappy night."

Before those words even had the chance to register with her, the paramedics laid her body on a stretcher and loaded it into the ambulance. Emily watched in horror as the flashing blue lights quickly disappeared into the night.