The rain bounced off the window of the car and the whooshing of the wipers indicated that it was losing the battle of the droplets. The night was cloudy, moonless and the only light Tai had came from the headlights of his car. This made it hard for him to see but with the pouring rain, visibility became problematic.
Tai squinted through the window of his car, between the blades of the wipers as they moved across the window effortlessly. No other car was out in this storm and he would not have been either if he did not agree to cover Becky's shift at the Pizza Pit that paid for his gas.
Since the major roads would be covered in run-off rain, Tai took a short cut through a wooded area. Of course, there still were spots where rain laid on the road but not so much as town road.
He was listening to the top ten songs, the DJ kept interrupting to talk about the weather. Tai rolled his eyes, he knew about the weather, it was wet. Then the DJ went on to talk about contests, the latest happenings and everything but playing another song. A static started to filter through the station. It was slight, something Tai could ignore but as he continue to drive, the static got worse.
"Stupid radio." Tai glared at his music device, playing with the turners on the radio. None of the stations was coming in and the static was getting worse and louder. Tai turn the radio down but it did not seem to help anything. Finally, he gave up when a high pitch whistle threaded the air from the box. Just then, Tai glimpsed a girl in white standing along the road. He slammed on his breaks and backed up slightly so his car was parked in front of her. She was about his age, maybe slightly older. Her hair was long and pale blonde-haired. She stared back at him with warm blue eyes. She was slender and a little over average height for a girl. Her skin was soft and pale. She was very lovely, too lovely to be on an empty road at this time of night, in this kind of weather. Tai rolled down his window to speak to her.
"Um…can I give you a lift or call a cab? Maybe call your folks?" Tai asked the girl.
She nodded her head but did not speak.
"Yeah, that was like three questions in one so I'm not sure which you were agreeing too." Tai grinned but the girl said nothing. Tai gave a sigh and reached over the passenger seat to open the door for the girl. "Hop in, I'll take you home."
The girl looked around, hesitating.
"I know what you think but honestly I'm not like that." Tai leaned back into the driver seat. "Look, it would kill me if I went straight home and in the morning found out that something horrible happen to you just because I didn't stop. Like I said before, I can call your folks or a cab. I will even give you some money to pay it. But don't make me drive away and do nothing."
The girl seemed to take a deep breath before sliding into the car.
"Good." Tai started the car and pulled away back onto the road. "So where do you live?"
The girl did not answer him. She seemed to focus her attention on the road.
"I'd turn the radio on but the weather is effecting it some how." Tai muttered continuing to drive. He was use to Matt, who could sit through a three-hour drive and not once say anything other then shut-up.
"I never have seen you before. Guess we don't attend the same school, huh." Tai glanced over at his passenger, giving her a slight grin. She said nothing.
"That's quite a dress you have on." Tai gave the dress a quick glance. "Its pretty fancy, were you at a special event? Maybe a fund raiser?"
More silence. With the sky throwing massive water pellets at earth, Tai decided that he was not going to press her but focus on his driving. They drove pass a few houses, thinking the girl lived within one of those places but she did not even glance at them even when he slowed down. He drove up a hill and back down, his wipers on high. It was when he reached the top of another hill the girl stopped him.
"Stop. Please stop here!" She pointed along side the road. Tai quickly pulled off the road, putting the car in parked but it still hummed as it idled. He looked out the driver's side window; pass the road, peaking through darkness and through the rain. "Miss, this is the old cemetery. Why would you want to stop here?" He turned to his passenger but the seat was empty. He never heard the door unlock. He never heard the door open. He never heard her leave the car. He never seen her go across the road but when he looked back through his window, she was there. Standing in front of the cemetery's iron bar gate. Then, with a blink of an eye, she was gone from sight. The bars were slightly bent where she stood.
"Oh holy hell." Tai groaned and quickly put his car back onto the wet road.
He didn't stop until he was home and he tore out of the car and into his house, locking the door behind him.
"Hey." Kari looked up from the sofa at her older brother. "Long night?"
"I don't want to talk about it." Tai rushed passed her. He rushed into his room, flicked on the light before closing the door behind him.
Tai dug his cell phone from his pocket and dropped backwards on to his bed as he dialed his insanely genius friend. "Izz."
"Hey Tai. What's up?" Izzy's voice asked sleepily from the other end.
"I think I seen a ghost." From there Tai explained how the evening went.
"I heard about this…" Excitement grew in Izzy's voice. "Resurrection Mary or the Hitchhiker ghost if you will. Some believe she died in the 1920's by a hit and run driver. She was on her way back from a party, her date stayed behind. Maybe they were fighting, no one knows for sure but they do know that she left on her own and by foot. People say the driver that hit her was drunk but the driver never stop so this is simple speculation. Whither he was or not, or maybe it was a she, the driver hit her and kept going. She was left there to die on that highway. Her body was found the next morning. She has been sited three years after her death and continues to been seen through out history. Because she seems to hitch rides, people believe that she was trying to get the driver's attention when he hit her. Trying to stop him, to bum a ride home. "
"How does she pick her rides?" Tai asked nervously.
"I don't think anyone is picked just whoever is there when she is and whoever stops." Izzy gave a yawn. "But bad things happen to people who don't stop for her so its lucky you did."
"Bad things?" Tai asked nervously.
"Very bad things." Izzy repeated. "Cause, you know the driver never stopped to help her, he kept driving on. So now, whoever doesn't stops…well she just pops into their car and they crash."
"Shit. No fucking shit!" Tai pulled his hair. "So am I like, safe? No haunting or anything like that?"
"Never heard anything happening to the people who offer her a ride in good intentions." Izzy replied. "I'm thinking you're safe, Tai."
"And it's that the only road she is ever seen on?" Tai asked looking up at his ceiling.
"Yep. The only lonely road." Izzy answered.
"I'm never going that way ever!" Tai told his friend. "And I'm sleeping with the freaking lights on tonight!"
"Do you need me to come over?" Izzy smiled into the cell.
"I'm not a baby." Tai huffed.
"Okay. Night Tai." Izzy hung the phone up.
Tai sighed and slowly sat up. With his pillow and a blanket, he headed for the living room. "Kari lets camp out in the living room tonight."
"Why?" Kari blinked up at him, tearing her eyes from the television set.
"Because." Tai shrugged. "Just because we never do this kind of stuff any more."
"Okay." Kari agreed slowly, making room for Tai on the sofa.