The night goes painfully quiet after the impact. For a moment, all you can hear is the ticking of your cooling engine. Your heart pounds against your ribs.

A dog. You are certain it was a dog. The shape had burst from the darkness so suddenly that you'd barely had time to react before the collision threw itself through the stillness of the road.

"Shit." You grab your phone and stumble out of the car. The beam from your flashlight trembles across the asphalt. A body lies several feet ahead.

Not a dog. A person. The realization knocks the breath from your lungs. A boy. He can't be much older than you. He's curled on his side, one arm wrapped around his stomach. Dark stains spread across his torn shirt. Blood.

Too much blood. "Oh my God." You rush forward and drop to your knees beside him. His face is pale beneath the dirt streaking his skin. Bruises darken one cheek. Scratches rake across his jaw and disappear beneath the collar of his shirt.

None of those injuries look new. They look days old. As though he'd already been hurt long before he ever stepped onto your road. The thought barely settles before his eyes flutter open.

Relief floods through you. "Hey," you say quickly. "Don't move. I already have my phone," The flashlight shifts in your shaking hand.

The beam catches his eyes. And for a split second they shine. Not like glass. Not like tears. Like an animal caught in headlights. Gold flashes back at you.

Bright. Reflective. Wrong. Your entire body jerks backward. The reaction is immediate and instinctive, as if you've touched a hot stove. The light slips from your grip and swings wildly across the road.

When it finds him again, the glow is gone. His eyes are just eyes. Human. Brown, maybe. You can't tell. Your pulse hammers in your ears. The boy stares at you.

Not confused. Not frightened. Almost guilty. Like he's hoping you didn't see what you just saw. "What happened to you?" you whisper. For a second, neither of you moves.

Then his gaze flicks toward the trees lining the road. And for the first time, he looks afraid.