The pungent smell of gasoline hung in the air as Evelyn leaned against her silver Volkswagen. Her eyes focused on an ad for a soft drink on the gas pump's payment screen still not fully adjusted to the bright lights overhead compared to her headlights after hours of driving in darkness. A loud metallic click broke her trance as she moved to return the gas nozzle to its rightful place on the pump. Climbing into the driver seat she checked the time. 01:34.

She turned the key and lights came to life. Looking at the center console she waited until the Bluetooth signal showed her phone connected to the radio. With a press of a button on the steering wheel a high-pitched ring came from the speakers.

"Call Ally" Evelyn said out loud.

A friendly female voice repeated, "calling Ally." Three rings played over the car's speakers as Evelyn massaged her temples with one hand.

"E-V" a drowsy voice answered. After a comically obvious yawn the speaker continued, "what are you doing up so late? You woke me up." Evelyn felt her face form a small smile and moved her hand from her face to rest on the steering wheel.

"Give me a break Ally, we both know you stay up until 3 watching Netflix all the time."

"Alright, you caught me," Ally chuckled. "Are you ready for our camping trip tomorrow?"

"Yeah, I have almost everything packed but wanted to grab some snacks while I'm at the gas station. I'm not going to be able to make it to your place before 5 so I thought I'd tell you not to worry if I'm not there when you wake up tomorrow."

"What do you mean not here," Ally asked concern evident in her voice. "I gave you a spare key to get in in case I was asleep."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, but I'm exhausted, I don't even think coffee will be enough to keep me up. I'm just going to crash in the nearest Walmart parking lot. It's safer that way. Before I go, are there any snacks you want for the trip?"

"Well it's not like I can stop you but I don't want you getting killed. Park under a light, ok?"

"I'll be fine," Eveyln assured. "Now, food. What do you want? I wanna get to la la land already."

"I already got what I wanted, but you can grab stuff for smores if you want though."

"Ok, I'll see you tomorrow then, don't stay up too late dork."

"Who you calling a dork? Nerd." Ally's smile could be heard in her tone. "Sleep tight, you want to look your best tomorrow for Dave." Before Evelyn could snap back a reply the beeping of a dropped call echoed in the car.

"Bitch" Evelyn laughed out. She felt her face warm from the blush spreading across her cheeks. "Ah, pull yourself together." She turned the engine on and moved her car to a parking spot in front of the store. Might as well grab some breakfast for tomorrow.

With a bag full of trail mix, granola bars, bear claws, and some orange juice, Evelyn returned to her car. Turning on the car once again, she searched for the nearest Walmart and made her way to it. Arriving in the parking lot, she saw a corner slightly hidden behind foliage and decided to park there. With her spot carefully chosen and a quick glance for anything suspicious in the dark she turned her car off, unbuckled her seatbelt, adjusted her seat back and draped the black leather coat on the passenger seat over her chest as a makeshift blanket. Although not the comfiest "bed" she ever laid in, her exhaustion gave way to sleep quickly enough.

******

Knocking. Heavy repeated thuds of something hitting the window caused Evelyn to stir in her sleep. Opening one eye to the bright sunlight she groaned.

"Knock it off buddy, it's not illegal to sleep in-" with her eyes adjusted to the light Evelyn looked to her left. She jumped at the sight before her. No longer in a parking lot, she was in the middle of an open field with trees sparsely decorated along the countryside. To make matters worse an unfamiliar man with large razor-like swords in each hand stood outside her window knocking the glass with the butt of the sword which seemed to be attached to something with a wire. He wore a dark green cape with some form of uniform visible underneath where his arm was raised. Looking around she saw two others dressed in the same fashion on horseback on either side of the car with their blades drawn; a yellow trail of smoke above one's head.

"Hey!" the man to her left called out "Are you alright in there? What is this thing, is it hurting you?" The man pulled his arm back in preparation for another swing.

"Stop!" Evelyn cried out causing him to freeze.

"Don't trust her, she could be working with the titans!" One of the men on horseback called and began to charge the car. Evelyn spun forward and turned the engine. The car roared into life. Shattered glass flew against the left side of her face but she slammed the car into gear and kicked in the gas pedal. The charging horse veered to the side, spooked. Evelyn sped past the second man on horseback who sat there stunned.

"Shit! Shit! Shit!" Evelyn's wide eyes searched the rear view mirror for movement. The first man on horseback had turned around and was chasing the car while the others began to follow suit. They quickly faded into small spots on the horizon behind her. The speedometer read 70 mph. Evelyn slowed down to take in her surroundings but couldn't think of a better plan than simply driving straight ahead. Her paranoia caused her to keep checking the rear-view mirror and her blind spot.

Suddenly the car tried to stop and lurched violently forward. The airbag went off and Evelyn's upper body collided into it. After a short recovery she leaned back and rubbed her face. Moving her cupped hands in front of her she saw small smears of blood on her left hand.

The car had gotten stuck on a small hill with the right back tire hanging in the air. The back tire on the left was barely on the hill but didn't have enough traction to move the car onwards. Seeing the tracks left behind by the car Evelyn panicked.

A forest 50 feet to her right stood out to her. Knowing she'd have to abandon the car, she reached into the glove box and retrieved the semi-automatic pistol she kept there for protection as well as the magazine she kept separate to prevent accidents.

Jumping out the driver side door, her leather jacket tripped her. She quickly caught herself and ran towards the cover of the trees.