This was a bad idea from the outset…seriously, me on a road trip. Why had I moved away from the ivory towers of my university? I loved staying there studying in the libraries, having intellectual debates in cafes across the campuses and bars, roaming the lawns and thinking of the next big thing that will change people's lives.

I guess that was one of the reasons I left the university this and also Michael. I still remember the day I met him. I was rushing for a lecture when I passed him. He was there standing in the middle of the corridor with rucksack and khaki shorts and I thought to myself 'wow, they're allowing tourist to visit even before the vacations begin'. I did not think of anything about him until later in the day we were asked to come to main hall for a special assembly and guess who I see, the tourist who turned out to be a professor. He spoke of his time in Africa where according to him all our so called amazing 'solutions' had failed miserably. He said we had locked ourselves here in our plush warm classrooms and libraries and forgotten what the real life looked like.

There was that day and there was tonight. Standing in the middle of the night on a lonely stretch of a road with a rucksack on my back hoping and getting worried at the same time. I was hoping that a car would stop and give me a lift to the next town. I was getting worried that the next car that stopped would have a psychopath or a whole bunch of them. Yes, I know I'm a paranoid kind. I started playing songs on my phone and decided to concentrate on it. The strangest thing by George Michael, I like this song cause it had one of those techno club tunes which always made me loose myself usually but today all I could hear was the 'strangest thing'. This was not the thing the words you intended to hear on a lonely stretch of a road.

I switched to the next song was 'U.S History' by flypsyde, a hip-hop song talking about the oppression of the white man. This really got me thinking on got my mind off my current situation. Suddenly, I heard a roar of an engine in the distance I put off my headphones to listen more closely. Then I saw a car coming right towards me. As it came closer, I figured it was a black car or maybe, I did not know. But I was relieved to see it. So I stretched my thumb out and I was feeling a little woozy. So as the car came closer I saw that it was one of the old school cars like a Continental , wait no this was something else…what was it…oh I hated these moments…Impala. It was an Impala. Wow I had not seen a lot of those around at least not in the cities.

So the car stopped ahead of me, I went running to the car. The window rolls down, "hi there," I say with my best smile. "Hey" says the guy who is sitting next to the driver. He has these chiseled features, a jaw-line to die for, small eyes and the most electric smile ever. "You lost here?" "Kind of" I said, "Could you give me a lift till the next town? I will really appreciate it". I try to peek and see who the driver was but all I could figure it was a guy as well. In my mind, I'm thinking 'why are you doing this to yourself? What if they are a bunch of psychopaths, how many times are we going to endanger ourselves and for what purpose just so that we can keep on moving' I hated my inner voice and I was assuming the feelings were mutual between me and my inner voice. The guy said, "yeah sure, why not.." with another sweet smile.

So I tried to weigh the options in my head, if I go with this seemingly nice guy and his friend, I might end up dead if they were actually a bunch of psychopaths. On the other hand, I could just say no to them and hope for another car to show up and possibly die until then because of the cold. I had to keep in mind that this car had come here after walking for like 2 miles or more. So the choices with me was an imminent death by the side of the road due to hunger, fatigue and cold or possible death by the hands of 2 guys I just met.

I chose life and said "thanks" and got in. As the car started again, everything started moving around me and slowly darkness started creeping over my eyes. I could hear in the distance the guy asking me something faintly in the background.

I open my eyes; all I can see is darkness. My back feels cold as though I am lying on back on metal slab or something. As my eyes get adjusted to the darkness I realize that there next to me there are many surgical tools. And then all of sudden the light above me flicks on and there is nothing but brightness. I look around to see that I'm in an operation theater. At the end of the room I see a half glass paneled door. There is nothing but darkness outside that door but I soon realize that there is someone out there. Then I hear the heavy footsteps coming closer and then I can see a dark figure outside the door and then I hear an all too familiar hissing sound. I know who it is…I tell myself to wake up…no …no…no.