The moon was a sickly sliver of bone hanging over the outskirts of the city, providing just enough light for Arthur to see the frost on his own breath. He stood at the edge of a gravel road, checking his watch for the tenth time. It was nearly 2:00 AM. The city lights were a faint, amber smudge on the horizon, and his own house lay miles away in a remote area where the streetlamps were more suggestion than reality. He didn't want to walk; the distance was daunting, and the silence of the countryside felt heavy. He decided to wait, clinging to the hope that a final bus might still be running. He waited and waited, the cold seeping through the soles of his shoes. Just as he was about to give up and begin the long trek, two twin orbs of pale light cut through the darkness. A bus rattled toward him, its engine a low, rhythmic thrum. Relieved, Arthur stepped to the edge of the road and flagged it down. The doors hissed open with a sound like a dy
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