The Last Passenger (ONE SHOT STORY)

The Last Passenger

"Ugh, it's so lame. I'd rather consider radioactive spiders and supersuits than consider it. Hahaha." she said to me as she texted on her phone. I can hear her keypad rapidly ticking.

Giving her glances at the backseat from my rearview mirror, I asked amusingly. "Ahaha. Why, ma'am? You really don't believe in those kinds of stories?"

She looked back at me with a cynical look on her face. "No. Of course not. I couldn't bring myself to believe it even if I tried." Then her eyes returned to her phone.

I snickered. "Why not? What makes it so silly that you laugh about it?" I asked.

Her eyes went back to the mirror to look at me, nearly laughing as she replied. "Oh come on! Are you telling me you buy this story?"

"I don't see why not. I haven't heard the whole thing."

"You haven't?? Okay, I'll share it to you." she said, her eyes locking back to her phone. She pulled up an article and read it to me.

"Listen up. This is from one of those 'alleged' testimonies."

"Okay." eyes locked on the road but all ears to my passenger, I made a careful U turn.

"I've heard about this story from my friends, and I was cynical about it too. But I was wrong. I was on the way home after a long day at the university and project-making at my classmate's house when it happened. Things were so busy that I barely noticed how fast the time went. Nightfall came over quick. Next thing I knew, it was already 3 am. I booked a cab, and sat up front on the passenger seat. Everything was going well. Til I noticed there was something moving in the backseat.. It was too dark to see, so I paid it no mind. I thought, it must be another passenger. The driver must be carpooling. I leaned on the headrest and took a nap. By the time I woke up, we were already in the tunnel. I was almost home. The tunnel was slightly lighted, so I could see better. My eyes landed on the rearview mirror and I caught a glimpse of this man sitting in the backseat, arms folded to his chest, looking out the window. So that's what I saw moving earlier. He was handicapped. He didn't have a right hand. When he looked at me, I was beyond terrified. He had empty eye sockets. I gasped a little louder than I should have. So I shifted my eyes on the road, desperately trying not to pay any attention to the man in the backseat. Just a little more, I was home. I was itching to get the hell out of there. I tried to sneak a glimpse at the man one more time, he was still looking at the rearview mirror. I snapped my head back up front, my eyes on the road. The driver spoke up. 'Don't look.' I gulped hard at his words. I thought, what the hell did he mean don't look?? So I did what he said, I didn't look the entire remaining time I was in the cab. Then finally, I was home. I was shaking as I handed the driver the payment then I bolted out of there. That was terrifying. Up to this day, I never understood why the driver told me not to look. But one thing was for sure. I never took a cab again."

"Damn." I commented.

"Sure. If I didn't know better, this person just ripped this story out of some horror novel and posted this as his own." She snorted as she got back to texting.

Arriving at her drop off point, I stopped the car.

"We're here, ma'am." I told her.

"Oh! That was fast!" surprised, she took her bag and dug in for her wallet.

"Haha. That's what we do best, ma'am." I humbly stated.

"Absolutely. I just love your services. Here. For a job well done." she said as she handed me the payment along with a tip.

"Thank you! Please book with us again!" I gleefully thanked my passenger, she head out the door.

"I will! Bye!" smiling, she waved goodbye as she closed the backseat door.