The Hurricane

The persistent pitter patter of the water droplets on my windshield make it hard for me to concentrate on driving. The fallen trees and wreckage surrounding force me to push harder on the accelerator in a hope to get home to my husband and children. I try to focus on the slippery road ahead of me, but almost everything is a blur. However, I notice a figure in the middle of the road a little ways down.  I gently push down on the brakes to avoid drifting as well as hitting the mysterious figure. I look around to try and find what my eyes had seen just seconds previously, but the person is nowhere in sight. Without warning, there is a sharp knock on my right side door. I let out a small scream. as I roll down the window to see what they want from me. It’s a women. She has long and wavy blonde hair. Her eyes glow in the dim moonlight, giving off a color improbable to any human. She introduces herself as Lily, and explains to me that her car broke down and she has no way to get home. Feeling pity, I let her in. I turn up the radio to see the extent of the hurricane. 

“WARNING!” the radio alerts, “In the midst of the hurricane, a serial killer has escaped from our local mental hospital! She was last seen at Mary Memorial Mental Asylum. She has Blonde hair and unmistakable deep violet eyes. She weighs-”

Lily shuts off the radio before I could here the rest. She seems distressed. I ask here where she wants me to drop her off. She gives me an address and I program it into my GPS. We sit in silence except for the occasional female voice giving me directions to the predetermined location. I occasionally glance over at her in the rearview mirror. She bites her nails, just like I do when I’m nervous. She eerily resembles the description- or what I could hear- of the description of the escaped patient. I do find it weird that she shut the radio off so abruptly. What if Lily is the serial killer they were talking about?

I ask her questions about where she lives, where she works, anything to calm my suspicions.  She seems to have an answer for everything. She lives near downtown. I point out that the address she gave me is nowhere near downtown. She tells me that she wanted to visit somewhere first. I try to act calm as I ask her more questions. I ask about her parents. She tells me that they were shot and killed when she was younger. Now, she is married with two children, a boy and a girl. She works at a hospital.

The clock on my dashboard blinks 2:47 AM. I press harder on the accelerator, wanting nothing more than to get home to my own children. “The destination is on your right,” the GPS chimes in. I pull over. What a strange night. I look up to see where she wanted to stop. A hospital, I am guessing it is the one she works at. Lily does not seem to be getting out of the car. But I don’t mind resting, so I am in no hurry to get her out of the car.

There is a persistent knock on my side of the door. I open it to find a plethora of nurses, security guards, and doctors. I get out of my car to see what they want. The nurses step back as though I am a threat to them. The guards, one on either side of me, drag me towards the hospital. The blood red sign on the Hospital states Mary Memorial Mental Asylum. They drag me as I scream and shout and demand they put me down.

“Come on Lily,” one of the nurses says, “calm down. You need to come with us.”

I repeatedly tell them that I am not Lily, and try to motion to the passenger seat of my car. I look back, trying to find her, but she seems to have disappeared.

I glance at myself in the rearview mirror as they drag me away. I have long and wavy blonde hair. My eyes glow in the dim moonlight, giving off a color improbable to any human.