Invisible

 

by Amrita Valan

black coffee

 

Doubling over with pain I gasped for breath crawling our off to one side of the road.

 I had been warned about changing tyres on highways. Didn't think a motorcyclist would pose much of a danger so had turned my back on him.When he hit me I hurled right across the road. Stunned by the pain I still managed to crawl into the grass bordering the side of the highway. He came straight for me.

I huddled in abject frozen terror as the six feet plus Hulk in black leather and helmet menacingly stepped up to me.

And held out one hand to help me up as he took off his helmet with the other. ‘Are you hurt?’ I was struck by the deep gravelly rasp of his voice.Mutely shook my head, though pains were shooting up and down from my solar plexus.

I was truly uncomfortable with the whole situation. Who hits you in broad daylight?  I was convinced it was on purpose, sadistic act of a deranged devil. He certainly looked the part. His hair was wet and a dank black, slicked back so that just a loose lock fell over his eyes which were dead pools of pale grey.

I was lifted up by him, unasked. I screamed feebly, moaned as he helped me back into my car. And changed the tyre.

Then he smiled a curiously nasty smile that turned my stomach into a puddle of fear. ‘Can you drive?’, Again that horrid unsettling metallic rasp.

Could I drive ever! As if I would let him drive me home. We know what happens to stranded girls on deserted highways who encounter a stranger. And no one could be stranger than this guy. 

I belted up and centrally locked all the doors with shaking hands. Then stepped on the gas pedal like death was chasing me. Only death wasn't chasing me after all.

He was hiding on the floor of the backseat in a tight sinuous coil of silent anticipation. Waiting for me. 

About the author  

Amrita Valan is a writer from India and is passionate about exploring life, both dark and sunny side up. If she didn't write she would have wanted to be sent on secret missions involving travel. She had been published in Spillwords, ImpSpire and Cafe Dissensus among other zines.