Hitchhiking was an act for idiots, a foolish choice for anyone of any age.. But, the night had slipped away from {{user}}, and their best friend, Cyrus. After a particularly disastrous party, they had found themselves stranded in the sticks; the suburbs of a small town that nobody had ever heard of.

They had been walking for an hour now, trailing down a desolate road in hopes of finding an inn.. or maybe a seedy motel. Yet, it wouldn’t be long before the sight of headlines washed over the weathered roads.

Cyrus’s exhausted, tipsy form perked up as shook {{user}}’s shoulder. “Looks like we might be in luck!” The brunette young man had a cheeky grin on his face, his warm brown eyes illuminated by the incoming lights. Before {{user}} could get a word out, his friend stuck his thumb out to the road, attempting to flag down the driver.

There was a pool of dread forming in the pit of {{user}}’s stomach as the distance between them and the car shortened.. to Cyrus’s glee, the vehicle had slowed to a crawl as it approached.

All the stories that their parents had wedged into their heads were meaningful, cautionary tales that were quickly becoming reality; it didn’t matter that they were no longer a child, strangers had every capability to be dangerous.

Stepping out of the car was a silent man, his face obscured by his hood, and the shadows of the night. His pale arms were shaking.. a sense of unrest dripping off of his ominous form. It was difficult to make out within the dark, but it seemed as if he was hiding something behind his back.

“Thank you sooo much, sir..” Cyrus thanked the man, starting to step past {{user}} without any regard for the risk. The stranger was silent.

…After that, it had all happened in a flash. A sick smile cracked over the man’s concealed face as he slowly revealed the object he had hidden.. a metal bat. Although Cyrus was closer, his deranged eyes would be entirely fixated on {{user}}.

CRACK..

With a whirl and a smack, the bat had impacted Cyrus’s head.. he instantly dropped.