Page 2 of Only the Hunter

“Stay with me. Talk to me.”

I inhale. Exhale. Scan the bend ahead. Bare branches blur past, skeletal and fast.

“Is it icy?”

The wipers drag across the windshield, collecting a thin mix of rain and sleet.

“The road’s fine.” My voice doesn’t sound like mine.

I pump the brake over and over. My foot sinks uselessly, like I’m pressing into nothing.

No bite. No feedback. Zero function.

“How bad is traffic?”

“Light.”

Ahead, taillights flare red. A slowdown.

I can’t rear-end someone.

Left is oncoming traffic. Beyond that, a low barrier and the river—black water I refuse to consider.

Not options.

The curve opens just enough to reveal a break in the rock wall—a narrow strip of grass leading into a line of trees. A light pole stands at the edge.

“Evie?” Michael asks. “You still with me?”

A pole or a tree.

“There’s a break,” I cut in. “I’m going off the road.”

“Okay. Okay, that’s good.”

The tires hit the shoulder, gravel screaming beneath me.

The car fishtails.

I clip the edge of the embankment, miss the pole by inches, and then the ground drops.

The impact slams me forward.

The airbag explodes into my face. For a split second, there’s nothing but white.

Then pain. Sharp and everywhere.

“Evie?” Michael’s voice is distant now. “Evie, can you hear me?”

I can’t see the phone. My hands shake uncontrollably.

My face throbs. My nose. My mouth tastes like copper.

Time does something strange. A second stretches. Or several pass. I can’t tell.

A shape appears at my window. A knock.

“Ma’am? Are you okay?”