The Woman In The Back Seat

It was dark and it was quiet, to the point where it was almost eerie. The taxi driver drove down the winding back roads bordered by metal railings, of which were not entirely sturdy. If he were to hit the rail, he would fall into the water below. Whether or not he would die would be debatable. For it would surely just be by the will of God alone, if he were to live or not.

The taxi driver shuttered at the thought, and as the night grew darker and the shadows grew bigger, moonlight illuminating the bare trees and manipulating them to become spindly hands reaching out into the darkness, as if they were ready to grab at whatever passed by their awaiting fingers, his discomfort only grew stronger. He never liked driving out this far in the dark, but it was a route of which he had to take, for he had been told that they needed a driver in some nearby town. Why they needed a ride so late at night, the man would never know.

The taxi driver got further out into the wilderness, and as he did so, the trees had only grown thicker, and hundreds of hands reached up above him, hovering over his car dangerously as they waited for the attack he was so greatly expecting. The taxi driver watched his surroundings carefully, with wide, alert eyes darting back and forth to watch the trees for any sign of movement, so far the only thing he was detecting had been the swaying of the branches in the gentle winds. His heart almost stopped, the man startled as he saw what looked like a person standing on the side of the road, alone. They had long, wavy black hair that fell over their shoulders and pale skin, they wore a long, buttoned up coat, a scarf, a pair of black leggings and boots. The taxi driver frowned as he stopped his car and cracked the window so the person standing there could hear him, but would be unable to break into the car if she attempted to.

“Are you alright?” The taxi driver asked, concern dripping in his words “Do you need a ride? It is awfully late, and far away from any town.”

The person raised their head, giving the taxi driver a smile, “Yes, a ride would be nice.” Their voice was light and femenine, certainly not that of a man, so the taxi driver figured they must be a woman.The taxi driver nodded, unlocking the door and allowing her to climb in the back.

“Where are you headed?” Asked the taxi driver.

“The train tracks.” Said the woman, “I need to get there.”

The taxi driver could not help but wonder what it was she was doing at the train tracks, but decided not to ask. What was best to do now was to strike up a conversation, in order to ease the taxi driver and to cover up the unsettling silence.

“So,” The taxi driver began, “What do you do for a living?”

The woman looked at him for a long moment, as if surprised by or pondering his question, before she too spoke, her voice soft and almost sweet, like that of honey. “I am in college, planning on going into business.”

The taxi driver grinned, “Sounds like a good living, I’d say. What kind of business?”

“Hopefully, I’ll be owning my own company.”

The taxi driver nodded, “You seem like a smart young lass. I am sure that you will achieve that, some day.”

This time, the woman smiled, “I hope so. I’ve been working really hard for it.”

“And that is all that matters, is that you worked hard for your goal.”

The woman nodded yet again, turning her head to look out the window for a long moment, a faraway look in her dark eyes. She turned back to the taxi driver, “What about you? How come you are all the way out here, I thought taxis were only in the city.”

The taxi driver looked at her through the rearview mirror, pursing his lips as he thought on how to explain, “Well, you see, someone gave me a call. Said I had to come to some nearby town. I’ve never been down this road before, so I’ve been a little on edge.”

The woman laughed, it was airy and light, a very cheerful one, “Yeah, I get that. This can be a hard road to navigate, especially at night. It gets a little creepy.”

“So, have you been down this way often, then?”

The woman nodded, “I have. I come down here fairly often, and I am taking the tracks to meet with some of my family.”

The taxi driver glanced back at the road, then back at the woman, crystal eyes brightening with mirth, his unease and fear long forgotten now that he had company.

“Family reunion, I am assuming?” At the woman’s confirmation, he added, “That must be nice. It’s good you’re still in touch with your relatives.”

The taxi fell silent yet again, now the only sound being the tires against the hard road beneath, and the occasional hooting of an unseen owl, no doubt perched within the trees, waiting patiently for their next meal to come scampering by unexpectedly. The woman continued to stare out the window, so the taxi driver decided he would let her be, for the time being. She did not appear as though she had anything left to say, and the taxi driver was sure that the woman was rather tired from her undoubtedly long night.

The woman sat up straighter in her seat, catching the taxi driver's attention as he glanced at her once again through his rearview mirror, and pointed out the window with a pale hand, “Turn down that side road right there.”

The taxi driver nodded, watching carefully from the bright yellow illumination from his headlights. A sign caught his attention as it reflected the light being cast on it. Turning on his blinker, the taxi driver turned down the side road, where it only seemed to get darker.

The trees had grown thicker, and as it got later out, so did the darkness surrounding them. The taxi driver swallowed his fear, continuing down the long, winding road. Ahead of him was a bridge, rickety and molded from age and years of neglect. It looked as if it had not been used in a long time, and the creaks and groans it made as the taxi drove over it made that very clear.

“Are you sure this is the way? It looks rather dangerous.”

The woman nodded, and so the taxi driver continued. As the trees around them started to thin out, becoming more spaced apart, it became apparent that there was indeed something else in the area.

The road bended, leading right to a gravel path. The taxi driver stopped, looking out his window to find a train track resting not too far away. The taxi driver grinned, turning back to where the woman was sitting to inform her of their arrival.

As he turned, he could feel his heart leap into his throat. The woman had disappeared, and there was no sign she had even been there, for the taxi driver had never heard the door open. There was a roar of an oncoming train, and the taxi driver looked to the train tracks.

The taxi driver’s blood ran cold in his veins, his heart stopping abruptly as he stared in sheer horror at the sight before him. There was the woman, standing right on the train tracks, looking right at him. He could feel the woman's dark eyes burning into him like ice. Beside her, there was a yellow light, growing larger and larger as the train gew closer, its horn growing louder and louder as time went on. The taxi driver opened his mouth to scream, to tell her to move out of the way before she was killed. But it was too late.

The train sped by like a rocket, the woman becoming completely enveloped in its lights before it rammed right into her and passed by, the woman now completely gone. Startled, the man rips off his seatbelt and throws open the car door, running to the tracks on shaking, wobbling legs that seemed to not be able to hold his weight. The man stopped right at the track, eyes adjusting to the little lighting the moon left, and his heart stopped.

There was absolutely nothing, no remains of the woman, or any sign that she had even been there. The spot was clean of any blood, as if she had disappeared into thin air.

..

A woman drove down an old, narrowed road, surrounded by dark, bare trees that resembled that of haunting hands reaching up towards the sky. It was dark, and her only source of light was the headlights of her car.

The woman’s car slowly came to a stop, tires squeaking just slightly from the action, and the car just sat there, waiting for something. There, on the side of the road, illuminated by the glowing yellow light, was a young, black haired woman. The driver smiled, rolling down her window, “Where to?” She asked, as the other woman climbed inside.

The young woman smiled, “The train tracks.”

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