MidReal Story
Chapter One Journalist Sarah Thompson could think of a lot of places she’d rather be than the middle of nowhere in rural Pennsylvania. Like, say, literally anywhere else on the planet. With a shudder, she pulled her scarf up over her face to ward off the cold and looked around, hoping a tow truck would materialize out of thin air. In the distance, the moon was just starting to peek over the horizon, casting a soft glow over the snow-covered ground. It was beautiful, sure. But it was also three degrees below freezing, and Sarah’s car was stuck on the side of the road with a flat tire. She was lucky she hadn’t smashed into a tree or skidded off the road entirely. She hadn’t seen another car for miles, so she was pretty sure she was on her own. Trying to keep her mind off the fact that her phone had no signal—of course—she tugged her scarf up even higher, leaving only her eyes exposed to the frigid night air. Just as she began to think about what would happen if she had to spend the night in her car, she heard a low rumble in the distance. She turned toward it and squinted through the darkness. Sure enough, headlights were coming her way. Sarah let out a laugh of relief and waved her arms frantically in the air as the truck rumbled past. The driver didn’t even slow down to take a look at her. “What a jerk,” she muttered under her breath as she watched the truck disappear into the night. She glanced at her watch and sighed. It was almost midnight. Maybe the guy just didn’t see her. Maybe he was afraid she was some kind of crazy person lurking in the woods nearby, waiting to pounce on his unsuspecting self. That actually sounded like something Sarah would do. She rolled her eyes at herself and huffed out a breath. Just then, she heard another noise, this one coming from closer behind her. She turned quickly to see what it was and caught sight of a man barreling toward her from across the snow-covered field. He stumbled over something as he got closer and fell face first into a snowdrift. Sarah gasped and turned back toward her car. Her hands shook as she fumbled with the door handle, finally getting it open and sliding inside just as the man reached her. Chapter Two As he reached out to grab Sarah’s arm, she slammed the car door shut, trapping his hand inside. “Ow!” he yelled, his voice muffled by the closed window. Sarah leaned over and peered out at him through the windshield. He was tall and lanky with dark hair that stuck up haphazardly in all directions. His face was handsome enough, but his expression was twisted in pain as he struggled to free his hand from the door. “Who are you?” Sarah asked, narrowing her eyes at him. The man’s eyes met hers and he froze for a moment before recovering himself. “I’m Alex,” he said, unfreezing his expression and wincing as he pulled his hand free from the door and held it up to his chest. “Alex who?” He shook his head and took a step back from the car, holding his hands up in front of him. “Just Alex.” Sarah scowled at him through the windshield and reached for her phone on the passenger seat next to her. “Well, just Alex,” she said, “you’re going to be spending the night in jail if you don’t get out of here right now.”
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Chapter One
Journalist Sarah Thompson could think of a lot of places she’d rather be than the middle of nowhere in rural Pennsylvania. Like, say, literally anywhere else on the planet. With a shudder, she pulled her scarf up over her face to ward off the cold and looked around, hoping a tow truck would materialize out of thin air.
In the distance, the moon was just starting to peek over the horizon, casting a soft glow over the snow-covered ground. It was beautiful, sure. But it was also three degrees below freezing, and Sarah’s car was stuck on the side of the road with a flat tire. She was lucky she hadn’t smashed into a tree or skidded off the road entirely.
She hadn’t seen another car for miles, so she was pretty sure she was on her own. Trying to keep her mind off the fact that her phone had no signal—of course—she tugged her scarf up even higher, leaving only her eyes exposed to the frigid night air.
Just as she began to think about what would happen if she had to spend the night in her car, she heard a low rumble in the distance. She turned toward it and squinted through the darkness. Sure enough, headlights were coming her way.
Sarah let out a laugh of relief and waved her arms frantically in the air as the truck rumbled past. The driver didn’t even slow down to take a look at her. “What a jerk,” she muttered under her breath as she watched the truck disappear into the night.
She glanced at her watch and sighed. It was almost midnight. Maybe the guy just didn’t see her. Maybe he was afraid she was some kind of crazy person lurking in the woods nearby, waiting to pounce on his unsuspecting self. That actually sounded like something Sarah would do. She rolled her eyes at herself and huffed out a breath.
Just then, she heard another noise, this one coming from closer behind her. She turned quickly to see what it was and caught sight of a man barreling toward her from across the snow-covered field. He stumbled over something as he got closer and fell face first into a snowdrift.
Sarah gasped and turned back toward her car. Her hands shook as she fumbled with the door handle, finally getting it open and sliding inside just as the man reached her.
Chapter Two
As he reached out to grab Sarah’s arm, she slammed the car door shut, trapping his hand inside. “Ow!” he yelled, his voice muffled by the closed window.
Sarah leaned over and peered out at him through the windshield. He was tall and lanky with dark hair that stuck up haphazardly in all directions. His face was handsome enough, but his expression was twisted in pain as he struggled to free his hand from the door.
“Who are you?” Sarah asked, narrowing her eyes at him.
The man’s eyes met hers and he froze for a moment before recovering himself. “I’m Alex,” he said, unfreezing his expression and wincing as he pulled his hand free from the door and held it up to his chest.
“Alex who?”
He shook his head and took a step back from the car, holding his hands up in front of him. “Just Alex.”
Sarah scowled at him through the windshield and reached for her phone on the passenger seat next to her. “Well, just Alex,” she said, “you’re going to be spending the night in jail if you don’t get out of here right now.”
The man’s eyes flicked nervously to the phone in her hand, then back to her. “I was just trying to help,” he said, his voice tight with anger.
Sarah’s hand hovered over her phone. She’d been alone with this guy in the middle of the night, and he’d just tried to break into her car. She was pretty sure she was well within her rights to call the cops, if only she could get a signal out here in the middle of nowhere.
She stared at him for a moment longer, but his expression didn’t change. The anger had melted from his face, leaving behind only a tired, resigned look. And there was something else there, too—something that made Sarah pause and take another look at him. An intensity in his gaze that made her think she’d seen him somewhere before.
“I’m sorry,” he said, taking a step back. “I didn’t mean to scare you. It’s just—this is my home. I know these mountains like the back of my hand. I saw your car and I thought you might need some help.”
“I don’t need any help,” Sarah snapped. “Just get out of here before I call the cops.”
The man nodded and took another step back. “Right, sorry.” He turned and jogged back across the field toward the woods, disappearing into the darkness.
Sarah watched him go for a long moment before turning back to her car and sliding the key into the ignition. Her hands shook as she started the engine, and she realized that she was more than just a little freaked out by this guy. He seemed almost familiar to her, although she knew they’d never met before. But that didn’t make sense. She’d been alone in the woods plenty of times before without reacting like this to someone trying to help her.
And then it hit her—she’d seen that intensity in a man’s eyes before, as he lay in wait for his enemy, ready to pounce when the moment was right. She’d seen it in a hundred movies and television shows.
But that was ridiculous. There was no way some random guy in rural Pennsylvania could be a trained assassin.
Except… the scars on his face…
Sarah shook her head, disgusted with herself for imagining such a thing. Just because some guy had scars on his face and knew how to fight didn’t mean he was a trained killer. And even if he was, it wasn’t like he was coming after her.
She turned her attention back to the dashboard and tried again to get a signal on her phone. When once again she came up empty, she tossed it onto the passenger seat next to her in frustration. She needed to get moving if she was going to make it to Pittsburgh by morning, but there was no way she was going to drive with one of her tires completely flat.
Sarah opened the door and slid out of the car, then walked slowly around to the driver’s side rear tire. The rubber was shredded, which meant it was going to have to be replaced, but all Sarah needed right now was a spare so she could get somewhere with a working phone. She looked around until she found where the jack was stored, then got to work on changing the tire.
Fifteen minutes later, Sarah was sitting in the front seat of the car, shivering as she waited for the tow truck to arrive. She’d managed to get a signal on her phone, so at least they’d know where to find her. And even though it wasn’t nearly as warm as she would have liked, it was still better than nothing.
She turned the key in the ignition and leaned forward to blow heat onto her freezing hands. The heater in the car didn’t work very well, so it was going to be a long fifteen minutes.
“Whoa!”
Sarah jumped at a voice coming from outside the car, then cursed herself for being so jumpy. It was probably just the tow truck driver. She turned to open the door and come face-to-face with those intense blue eyes once again.
Her heart hammered in her chest as the man reached into the car and grabbed her by the shoulders. Before she could scream, he pulled her out of the car and threw her over his shoulder.
“Hey!”
Sarah yelled as he carried her across the field toward the woods. “What are you doing?”
The man didn’t answer. He just kept walking as if he hadnjson’t heard her at all. Not that he could hear anything, with Sarah kicking and screaming down by his feet. Her fists pounded uselessly against his back, and a sick feeling rose in her stomach as she realized how futile it was. She’d always considered herself to be a tough girl, but this man was using both of her weaknesses—her small size and her utter lack of physical strength—to overpower her.
She couldn’t let him win. She couldn’t let him take her into those woods, where no one would ever find out what had happened to her. Even if it meant she had to gouge out his eyes and bite off his ears.
She screamed again, and again, and again as he finally stopped moving. He was carrying her now, holding her in his arms like a bride being taken over the threshold. She struggled harder than ever at this new indignity, but he didn’t set her down.
Instead, he just looked at her.
His eyes were blazing with anger now, no longer sad or happy or anything at all. They were cold and hard as ice chips, and they made Sarah’s blood run cold even in the midst of her desperation.
“Listen to me,” he said at last. His voice was quiet but commanding, and his accent was completely gone. “I’m not going to hurt you. I’m not going to kill you. I’m just trying to help.”
Sarah’s heart pounded in her chest as she stared up at him. Help? What kind of a sick sense of humor did this man have?
