On the fly…

Jolene cleared the pass just ahead of the sunset. It felt good to leave the mountains and the snow behind. Although the temperature in the valley was much warmer, the chill air was a reminder that fall would soon give way to winter. Under normal circumstances, she would have enjoyed the drive. It was her favorite time of day—dusk was slowly spreading across the valley coloring everything with an orange, unearthly hue and before long the day would be swallowed whole and hushed into the silence of a new night. But for her, the night was bringing anything but silence. Roxanne hadn't shut up since they'd left the Lodge this morning and the two assholes in the back seat had done nothing but complain since they'd been picked up.

She would have liked nothing more than to kick the three of them out and leave them on the side of the road to fend for themselves. They'd really have something to bitch about then. And she wouldn't have to hear a damn word of it because she'd be long gone. Luckily for Roxanne and their guests, before she could seriously consider it, something else caught her attention.

The main road looked deserted but as Jolene began to turn onto it, a flash of light to the left alerted her to oncoming traffic. She waited, letting the Jeep idle for several long seconds. Nothing emerged onto the road. It could have been anything—a scrap piece of metal or glass reflecting the waning sunlight—a freak trick of nature. When it happened again, she knew it was none of those things. Unless she was wrong—and she was never wrong about something like this—it had changed location. Someone was watching the road.