Lov Picks up a Hitchhiker
by Kara Barry, Class of 2026

Lov was driving home from work one night when he noticed a dark figure on the side of the road. He slowed down to get a better look. It was a woman drenched in water from the downpour that had just taken place. Her thumb was out. 

Lov pulled over and rolled his window down. 

“Are you okay?” he asked. 

The woman didn't speak. She just stared at him with cold, dead eyes. Lov felt a chill run down his spine. Regardless, he decided he was going to offer her a ride anyway. He unlocked the door and she climbed in. 

“I just need to go down the road to the yellow house in the back,” said the woman, finally alive. But the woman didn't say anything during the entire rest of the ride. 

They finally arrived at the yellow house and Lov pulled over and turned to her. “Here we are,” he said. 

The women still didn't say anything. She just stared at him with those cold, dead eyes. Lov felt uneasy. He reached to his door to unlock the passenger door; he unlocked the door. When his gaze returned to his passenger, she was gone, disappeared. 

He let it go. Could he let it go? He restarted the engine only for the car to die.

He tried again and again but it was no use; he was stuck. He heard a tapping on the window and turned to see the woman's face, pressed up against the glass. She was now smiling but it wasn't friendly. It was a creepy smile that returned the spine shivers. He heard her voice in his head.

"You're never leaving. I swear," she said.