Capitolo 1 :: Prologue

Pubblicato: 01-08-05 - Ultimo aggiornamento: 05-04-06

Commenti: I'm not good at drama, but I'll do my best... Thank you, Ayumi, for this splendid challenge. Confession: the story is almost finished. Now it comes the looooong editing process... and the ordeal of choosing the ending (I wrote two, actually ^^). Anyway, enjoy. Kiss, M. Ooh, almost forgot. I changed the 'accident' a bit and turned it into murder. I hope you don't mind, Ayumi.

Capitolo: 1 2

The night has fallen.  

The drizzle, which has managed to ruin a perfectly acceptable afternoon, turned to rain, pouring down in rivulets. Lightning pierced the dark, heavily clouded sky, thunders rumbling in rapid succession, turning the world black and white, making it look like a scene from an old B movie.  

A silver Tercel sped on the deserted coastal highway. She just wanted to get home. The sooner the better.  

What has gotten into her to go on this business trip, anyway? It’s not like she couldn’t have ordered those damn china cups from a catalog.  

She couldn’t shake the feeling someone was following her. What a ridiculous thought. It was pit black outside; she should have spotted the headlights. But, of course, there were no headlights behind her. Or in front of her, for that matter. She was alone in this stupid car, in this stupid weather, on this stupid highway, in the middle of this stupid nowhere.  

But, still, the nagging feeling at the back of her neck didn’t stop. The tingling got worse with every minute she came closer to her future husband.  

Her future husband… She liked the sound of that. She smiled, momentarily forgetting her wiggens. She was getting married the day after tomorrow. She, of all people, was getting married! The first among her friends.  

Every nerve ending in her body started buzzing. She hated the feeling. This feeling of being watched, of being stalked. She couldn’t ignore it anymore. She learned to trust her instincts a long time ago. And something in her head kept screaming ‘DANGER!’.  

Shaking her head in hope of clearing it a bit, she looked up into the laden sky. Lightning struck, thunder roared.  

»Get a grip, girl,« she murmured to herself, glancing in the rearview mirror. Nothing. »You’ll get home soon.«  

»That’s her car.«  

»Yes, boss.«  

»You know what to do?«  

»Yes, boss.«  

Gray eyes widened as blinding headlights blazed to life directly behind her.  

There has been someone tailing her all along.  

Her breath caught in her throat as the car behind her crashed against her bumper with a staggering force.  

Locking her jaw, eyes narrowing on the wet asphalted surface before her, she pressed on the gas.  

»Don’t let her get away.«  

»Yes, boss.«  

The SUV bumped into her car again.  

The Tercel swiveled on the wet road, but she managed to keep a firm grip on the wheel. Cursing the weather, the idiot behind her, and her own stupidity, she stomped on the gas.  

Her ‘escort’ persisted with crashing against her rear bumper, the metal groaning with each impact, the Tercel skidding across the lanes.  

»Damnit!« she spat, barely avoiding the guardrail. »Son of a bitch!«  

She curved an arm around her seat, picking the purse off the floor. Opening the latch, she reached for her gun, only to curse again, remembering she left it at home, thinking it was safe going shopping for china without it.  

»Get rid of her.«  

»Yes, boss.«  

They started surpassing her, driving parallel, speeding toward the curve.  

She has never been a praying kind, but this time she begged God or whoever was up there, to give her a hand. Get her out of this mess. Keep her alive.  

However, God must have been out on the town that night…  

The black SUV crashed into the side of the smaller car, sending the Toyota flying over the rail.  

Rolling and turning, the Tercel finally skidded to a halt at the foot of the cliff.  

Seeing their mission accomplished, the large car drove off, disappearing into the night.  

A slender hand hung limply through the open door, streaks of crimson marring the ivory skin.  

Miki never felt the flames licking at her skin, never felt the smoke filling her lungs…  

She was already dead when her car exploded… 

Capitolo: 1 2