Vanishing Hitchhiker Novels & Stories

Help me arrange the move abroad. There was no one left here worth staying for. I left in a rush. I packed through the second half of the night and moved out before dawn. I did not even return to the company. … When Selena realized she could not reach me, she panicked. She borrowed other people's phones and called again and again. None of them worked. I disappeared from her life cleanly, like a gust of wind. All I left her were a few dreamlike years of memories and the engagement ring, placed neatly on the table.

Not ending, but beginning. Then he's gone, disappeared into the night like the phantom he's always been. With trembling fingers, I unfold the paper. Four words written in strong, masculine handwriting: D******d VanishMe app user ID @Sergei I stare at the words until they blur, my heart racing. He's giving me a way to reach him. A door into whatever world he inhabits when he's not wearing masks in shadowy rooms. I don't know what VanishMe is or how it works. I don't know who @Sergei is or what he'll expect from me. But as I sit here in the aftermath of the most incredible sexual experience of my life, I know one thing with absolute certainty:

fragments that were trying to tear the structure down. "Kaima, come with us!" the boy shouted from high above. "I have to stay until the last one is across!" I yelled back. The white wall was inches away now. I could feel the heat of the "Deletion." My legs were already vanishing, turning into white static. One by one, the children crossed the "Event Horizon" of the bridge, disappearing into the blue light of the System Restore point. Finally, only I was left. I turned to look at the Shredder.

"They didn't track him through corporate surveillance. They were physically tailing him. ​I cross-referenced the van's plate against the regional traffic logs. It hadn't traveled far. It was currently parked in a disused subterranean level beneath an abandoned construction site on the outskirts of the city. ​It was almost too easy. A chill went down my spine. Why would the Vances leave such a sloppy trail? Unless... they weren't the Vances. ​JUSTICE ​The air in the bunker was stagnant, smelling of mold and recycled ozone. My left arm, the one the broken bottle had carved into, throbbed with a dull, rhythmic pulse. The blood had dried into a thick, crusty layer against my skin. ​I was tied to

The hoodie figure exits the terminal through a side door marked for staff only, moving quickly but not running, blending seamlessly into the flow of passengers and crew. They approach the curb outside where the pickup lanes are busy with taxis and rideshares, and slide into the back of an unknown gray van with no visible plates or markings; no company logo, no rental sticker, just a plain vehicle that could belong to anyone. The van pulls away smoothly, merging into the airport traffic within seconds and vanishing from the camera’s view. I feel a chill run down my spine despite the warm air in the room. “They are gone,” I say, my voice steady but urgent.

My car drove further and further away until his figure was swallowed by the night. "Damn it! Camilla!" Adrian threw his car door open and, ignoring Zoe's startled cry, charged after the car I had been in. But it had already vanished into the stream of traffic, leaving no trace behind. He couldn't even catch the faintest hint of my unique lily-of-the-valley scent. "Adrian, what's wrong?" Zoe grabbed his sleeve. "Did something happen?" "It's nothing. Let's go." He forced himself to calm down and got back into the car.

"I used every connection I had just to get a trace of you. I've been looking for you for a year. Do you have any idea what that year was like for me?" He broke down, sobbing like his whole world was falling apart. "Wanda, I'm begging you. I can't live without you. I'm falling apart without you." "Let go of me!" I struggled, but his grip was too strong. I couldn't shake him off. Suddenly, Edgar was yanked back and collapsed hard against the pavement. Gavin stood over him, looking down with cool, unbothered disdain. "Grabbing a woman without her consent? That's not exactly gentlemanly."

Short-Short-Short. It was the universal code for help: SOS. But Adrian didn't stop there. He needed someone who was actually watching: "The Disconnect." They were a group of hackers and students who lived in the cracks of the system and spent their lives looking for "ghosts" in the machines. Adrian sent a specific string of numbers into the weather data; it was a coordinate and a link to a hidden "dead man's switch" he had uploaded weeks ago. "What are you doing, Mr. Vance?"

“It appeared to be an abandoned vehicle blocking their path. Standard procedure was followed, they assessed the situation, cleared the vehicle from the road. But when they returned to the transport van...” Fitz paused, his eyes finally meeting mine. They were filled with something I hadn’t seen before: fear. “She was gone,” he said. “The van was empty. There was no sign of her.” I gripped the armrests of the chair, my knuckles turning white. “Gone?” I said, letting my voice crack just enough to sound authentic, “What the hell does that mean, gone?” I asked. “Viviane, I need you to stay calm—”

“Him? Him who?” “Vua linh hon. King of lost souls. Only ever heard talk of him in ‘Nam. He’s some chief spirit, the one who entices folks to start wandering in the first place. But I saw him here, boy. Twenty-five years ago. Why I dried out so fast. I was driving on Bassler Road after a bender, cruised right on past the trailer park and didn’t notice until I was way past Bassler House. I turned myself around, got headed back the right way and saw someone hitching for a ride. Must’ve been stone-cold drunk, because I stopped to give him a lift, and everyone around here knows you never give anyone a lift on Bassler Road. Never. Place is lousy with linh hon.” I shivered a little at this.