~~
It all started because I forgot my umbrella.
My car broke down on the side of the road, about a half a mile from my house, situated quite literally in the middle of nowhere. No neighbours, no convenience stores, not even a gas station. Just my old house, sitting amidst the trees and fields one would normally find while driving down an old dirt road in the country. My phone was dead, my car reduced to nothing but a hunk of junk, and my house was still a good fifteen or twenty minute walk down the old dirt road.
Oh, and it was raining. Just to put the icing on the cake that was my day.
It was just drizzling at first. I don`t need my umbrella, I thought. My jacket will do just fine, I thought.
You’d think I’d know better.
Lightning flashed across the night sky, and the thunder followed shortly after, rumbling through the dark emptiness around me. I shuddered as I tugged the hood of my jacket down farther over my head. Despite the fact that it was supposed to be a rain jacket, it sure as hell wasn’t doing much to protect me from the sharp droplets pelting against my body. The rain soaked through much too easily, chilling me to the bone. I ducked my head against the raging wind and trudged through the endless, muddy puddles, my feet squishing in my drenched shoes.
Why, oh why didn’t I bring my umbrella?
Another flash of lightning illuminated the sky, and I flinched at the thunder that followed. Storms have never really been my thing. Had it been this bad when I left my car, I would’ve locked myself in and stuck it out until I could walk home under sunshine the next day.
I guess Mother Nature had other plans for me.
Without the help of streetlights to guide me down the road, I was forced to use a flashlight to guide myself. My flashlight did the job well; it was the batteries, however, I was more worried about. The light emitting from my pocket-sized flashlight was beginning to flicker and waver, sending waves of uneasiness through my heart. I quickened my pace, which proved difficult along the muddy path in front of me. I prayed silently that someone would come driving by, but I held little hope.
Another flash of lightning brightened the road in front of me, and almost instantly, the beam of my flashlight went out entirely, leaving me in the darkness of the night. I cursed aloud, my voice lost in another rumble of thunder. Against my better judgement, I inched my way forward, taking a shaky breath to calm my nerves.
I have made this trek countless times by car, but walking at night, alone, during a thunderstorm is an entirely different experience.
It happened in the blink of an eye. I stepped in a particularly muddy—and slippery—patch of road. My balance slipped slightly, and just when I thought I would steady myself and escape unscathed, a pair of hands pushed against my back. Next thing I knew, I was tumbling down the ditch at the side of the road and rolling into a patch of trees.
~~
Until later,
- Justyne
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