Chapter 1: The Call
Chapter 1: The Call
The gas station sat alone beside a deserted highway.
It was nearly midnight.
Rain drizzled softly beneath the fluorescent lights.
Inside a small silver sedan, Emily Parker gripped the steering wheel so tightly her knuckles turned white.
She had been driving home from visiting her father in the hospital.
Her phone battery was almost dead.
The station appeared to be empty.
At least, that's what she thought.
Then three men appeared.
At first, they stood near the pumps.
Watching.
Smiling.
Whispering to each other.
Emily's stomach tightened.
One of them approached her driver's-side window.
Another moved toward the passenger side.
The third positioned himself behind the car.
Blocking her path.
"Hey sweetheart," one called out.
"Why are you sitting in there all alone?"
The others laughed.
Emily locked the doors.
The clicking sound only made them grin wider.
One tapped on the glass.
Another peered inside.
Her heart pounded.
There were no attendants.
No customers.
No police.
Just darkness.
And them.
Then she noticed someone else.
An older biker fueling his motorcycle at the far end of the station.
Gray beard.
Leather vest.
Calm eyes.
He glanced toward Emily.
Then toward the men.
He didn't say a word.
He simply pulled out his phone.
Made a call.
And hung up.
The men never noticed.
Emily barely did.
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But three minutes later...
The night changed.
