Evans

of the tires on asphalt. Gregory drove, his hands clenched tight on the steering

don't have to do this. You can just... l

tretch of highway. "It's fine, Greg. I just need t

tration. He knew I was hurting, but he also knew the stubborn streak that ran

ed, more to himself than to

e again, a deep, searching

f fear in my stomach, a cold, hard stone of dread. Mendocino was a wasteland, notorious for its isolation and th

d, more to myself than to hi

n, casting long, eerie shadows across the desolate landscape. The data center was an

motel the company had booked. "Call me if

I wouldn't. This was my battle to fi

, the hostile glares from the few local staff, the oppressive silence broken only by the hum of ancient serv

wind whipped around me. The road soon turned into a narrow, unpaved path, lined with dense

kness. A man. Tall, broad, smelling faintly of

here?" His voice was slurred,

I stumbled backward, my mind racing. No one

A fallen tree branch, thick and heavy. Adrenaline

yelled, my voice crac

with his shoulder. He roared, more surprised than hurt, but it bought me a preci

led for my phone in my pocket, my injured hand clumsy, unable to unlock the screen. I despe

n my chest. Of course. He was probabl

ng into the dark undergrowth. I heard his footsteps growing closer, his heavy breathing. I scrambled to my feet,

gasping for breath, my vision blurring. A taxi, miraculously, was driving by. I waved fr

, collapsing into the back sea

ness where I had dropped it. Hudson's name flashed a

okay? You called. I was with Kaitlyn at her celebratio

udson, beaming, his arm around Kaitlyn. They were on stage, singing a duet, a cheesy l

llousness of his message, or the public display of affection with Kaitlyn. It was the realization that I was truly alone. My designated emer

im – dissolved into nothing. Compared to the raw, visceral terror of fighting for

ation, bandaged my hand, brewed me hot tea, and sat with me through the long, sile