The fog inevitably turned into rain, just as I had suspected, and just as I had feared. I had been traveling alongside the road for days, doing fine on my own, satisfied with the meager food in my carry-on and following the path I had memorized just a week before. The sleep was uncomfortable and few and far between, but it was only a day or two's walk until I reached my destination, so uncomfortable had to do. Except thunder was not far off from the rain, and the only cover I had was a few pathetic trees lining the fields. If there was any time to compromise my principles, it would be now.

I wander closer to the center of the road after around thirty minutes, some headlights causing the rain to shine like diamonds from a chandelier. I’m worried for a second that they won’t see me, my hand going numb from leaving the only thing dry about me, my pockets, when it slows to a stop. The car is fancy- a vintage porsche. I can’t quite see the person sitting in the front seat, but I take it as my que to get in, however hesitant I may be. I’m immediately struck by the warmth I feel when I close the door, compared to outside it feels like a toaster. There’s a young woman with dark hair driving, eyes on the road like I don’t even exist. She must be waiting for me to start the conversation. It rubs me the wrong way.

I tell her my stop, a couple miles east of where I’m actually going, but she just turns around and smiles at me. Something about her face is captivating, dazzling even. Why did she pick me up? The alarms are going off in my head.

“You know, there are only three types of people who pick up randoms off the side of the road,” I prompt. She chuckles and says she could say the same about hitchhikers. I ignore her and continue. “There are the naive ones, who don’t believe in the possibility of any negative outcomes. There are the people with savior complexes, who somehow acknowledge the danger but think they’re above it, and there are the third kind. The kind that have nothing to fear, because they’re already the most dangerous thing out there, and they’re just looking for their next meal.”

She smiles again, baring her teeth this time, and I can’t help but notice the sharpness of her canines. I noticed them a little too late.