Then I heard the sound of the latch which controlled the open/close mechanism of my backseat shift.

I looked in the rear-view mirror and saw the top half of my entire back seat drop and reveal the dark cavern of my trunk populated by that naked elderly man who had been stalking me all through the night.

I wasted no more time, grabbed the door handle and fled out of the car, out into the storm.

The complete lack of light from the sky and the steady level of the storm which pounded me like I was in a shaking, small town snow globe didn’t help either. I was so frenzied and hopeless, I didn’t even think about where I was running, just ran and ran down on the thick snow where I assumed the road was in an aimless direction that I thought led me to town.

I ran until my body couldn’t take it anymore. I ran until I saw the lights of the small town main street. I ran until I slipped and fell on the ice and crashed to the ground and just laid there until the world around me became soft and warm again.

I was back in the car. The windows still iced, white and frozen all around me, my bones still cold and my lips still chapped.

My father’s voice returned from the speakers of the car before I even looked to the dead radio console.

“Miranda?”