Chapter Two

The plane finally landed.

Haelyn stepped out and immediately frowned.

The airport was small. Too small. It looked nothing like the big, clean airports she was used to. There were only a few people around. She dragged her suitcase behind her and pulled out her phone.

No signal bars at first. Then one weak bar appeared.

She ordered a taxi through an app, then stood outside with her arms crossed, still wearing her designer sunglasses.

A few minutes later, an old-looking taxi pulled up.

The driver rolled down the window. He was a middle-aged man with a tired face.

“You Haelyn?” he asked.

She raised an eyebrow. “It’s Miss Eastwood.”

The man just stared at her for a second, then sighed. “Just get in.”

She wrinkled her nose as she opened the back door. The inside of the car smelled like old leather. She sat down carefully, making sure her dress didn’t touch too much of the seat.

“Where to?” the driver asked.

She gave him the address her father had written on the paper.

The man nodded and started driving.

After a few minutes of silence, Haelyn pulled out her phone again and started recording.

“Okay guys,” she said. “I’ve officially arrived in the middle of nowhere. Look at this place.”

She pointed the camera out the window at the empty roads and old buildings.

The driver glanced at her through the rearview mirror. “Can you not record me?”

Haelyn didn’t look up. “I’m not recording you. I’m recording the view.”

“You’re pointing the camera this way.”

She rolled her eyes. “Then look away.”

The driver shook his head and kept driving.

A few minutes later, Haelyn spoke again. “Can you drive faster? This is taking forever.”

“I’m already going the speed limit.”

“Well the speed limit is clearly too slow.”

The man didn’t reply.

She continued talking to her phone. “I can’t believe my parents sent me here. There’s nothing. No malls. No club. Nothing.”

The driver finally spoke. “You know, some people live here just fine.”

Haelyn looked up. “Good for them. I don’t plan on staying long.”

“You always talk this much?”

“You always this rude?” she shot back.

The man let out a short, humorless laugh. “Rude? You’re the one sitting in my car complaining about everything.”

Haelyn’s eyes narrowed. “Excuse me? I’m paying you.”

“You haven’t paid me yet.”

“I will. Just drive.”

The tension in the car grew thicker.

A few minutes later, she made a face. “Does this car always smell like this?”

That was the last straw.

The driver suddenly pulled over to the side of the road and stopped the car hard.

Haelyn jerked forward. “What the hell is wrong with you?!”

He turned around and looked at her directly. “Get out.”

She stared at him. “What?”

“I said get out of my car.”

“You can’t be serious.”

“I am. I’ve been driving people for fifteen years. I’ve never had someone talk to me the way you just did. Get out.”

Haelyn’s mouth opened in shock. “Do you know who I am?”

“I don’t care who you are. Get out of my car.”

She sat there for a second, completely stunned.

“Fine!” she snapped. She grabbed her suitcase, pushed the door open, and stepped out. “Your car is disgusting anyway!”

The driver didn’t say another word. He just drove off, leaving her standing on the side of the quiet road with her suitcase and her phone.

Haelyn stood there, breathing hard, looking around.

There was nothing.

No people.

No shops.

Just trees, an empty road, and the sound of her own angry breathing.

“Unbelievable,” she muttered.

She pulled out the paper with the address again and started walking, dragging her suitcase behind her..

“This is ridiculous,” she muttered under her breath. “Utterly ridiculous.”

The road was quiet. There were trees on both sides and barely any cars passing by. Every time she heard an engine, she quickly stepped closer to the road and raised her hand.

The first car drove right past her.

She frowned. “Are you serious?”

Another one came a minute later. She waved harder.

It didn’t stop.

“Oh, come on!” she shouted after it.

She kept walking, her heels making it even more difficult. Her feet were already starting to hurt, and the suitcase wasn’t light. The sun was also beginning to feel stronger than before.

Another car appeared in the distance.

Haelyn stepped almost into the middle of the road and waved both hands this time.

The car slowed down for a second… then drove past her anyway.

“Rude!” she yelled.

She stood there for a moment, breathing heavily, before continuing down the road.

“I can’t believe this,” she said to herself. “First the flight, then the taxi driver, and now no one wants to stop. What is wrong with this place?”

Her phone had almost no signal. She tried calling her mother, but it wouldn’t go through. She tried again. Nothing.

After walking for what felt like forever, her legs were aching and her patience was completely gone. Her once-perfect hair was sticking to her neck, and her sunglasses kept sliding down her face because of the sweat.

Finally, she saw a house in the distance.

It wasn’t big, but it looked better than standing in the middle of nowhere. There was a car parked outside and the door wasn’t fully closed.

Haelyn let out a breath of relief.

“Thank God.”

She dragged her suitcase toward the house, already planning what she was going to say. Someone here had to help her. Or at least let her use their phone.

She walked up to the front door and knocked.

No answer.

She knocked again, harder this time.

Still nothing.

Annoyed, she pushed the door slightly. It opened with a soft creak.

“Hello?” she called out as she stepped inside. “Is anyone home? I need help. My taxi driver just dumped me on the road like some kind of—”

She stopped talking.

Then the door suddenly slammed shut behind her.