THE LAST PASSENGER

The rain battered the deserted road as Gabriel drove along the winding path cutting through the forest.

The clock on the dashboard read nearly midnight, and his only company was the headlights piercing through the dense fog that spread over the asphalt.

The silence inside the car was absolute, interrupted only by the rhythmic sound of raindrops against the windshield.

He was returning from a long trip, exhaustion weighing on his shoulders. But no matter how much he tried to shake off the feeling, something about that night felt wrong. There was an invisible tension in the air, a kind of unease he couldn’t explain.

Then he saw him.

At the side of the road, a lone figure stood under the rain, raising an arm in a silent request for a ride. The man wore a dark suit, his face partially obscured by the shadow of his hood. Gabriel hesitated. Who in their right mind would be standing there, in the middle of nowhere, at this hour?

But guilt followed quickly. Leaving him there, in that storm, would be inhumane.

He slowed down and stopped beside the man, who approached slowly. The passenger door opened before Gabriel could say a word, and the stranger got in, settling into the seat beside him in complete silence.

— Thank you — the man said, his voice low and hoarse.

Gabriel nodded, keeping his eyes on the road.

— Where are you headed?

— Just keep driving.

The answer sent a shiver down his spine. He stole a quick glance at the passenger. His face was pale, almost lifeless, and his eyes seemed empty, as if staring beyond reality.

An uncomfortable silence settled between them. Gabriel tried to ignore the knot in his stomach and focused on the road, but something felt off.

The temperature inside the car seemed to have dropped a few degrees, and a strange scent lingered in the air. A faint metallic odor.

Then he noticed it.

The rearview mirror did not reflect the man sitting beside him.

Gabriel’s heart pounded. He tried to stay calm, to breathe deeply, but fear surged like a suffocating wave. His chest tightened, his throat went dry. Something was terribly wrong.

— Is everything alright? — the passenger asked, his tone almost gentle.

Gabriel forced a smile and nodded.

— Yeah… I’m just tired.

The road seemed endless. The GPS still showed he was in the same spot, as if he hadn’t moved at all. The car was moving forward, yet the world around him remained unchanged, like a scene repeating itself in a nightmare.

— You’ve been here before — the man said, as if reading his thoughts.

Gabriel shivered.

— What do you mean?

— You’re stuck. Like we all are, until we understand.

His breath quickened. He gripped the steering wheel tightly, cold sweat running down his neck.

— Who… who are you?

The man slowly turned to face him, and a smile stretched across his pale face.

— You know who I am.

And then Gabriel remembered.

The crash. The sound of tires screeching on the wet asphalt. The brutal impact. The shattering glass. The pain. The cold.

He wasn’t going home. He had never left that road.

With an icy shock coursing through his body, Gabriel looked at his own hands. They trembled—not from fear, but from realization.

The car veered onto the shoulder, and the engine died. Silence took over.

The passenger smiled.

— Now you understand.

Gabriel closed his eyes. And when he opened them again, the road was empty. No car. No rain. No sound. Only the darkness of the night and the wind whispering through the trees.

He had never been alone.

And now, it was his turn to wait for the next passenger.