Strange Things

Evelyn considered herself to be a fairly typical 19-year-old girl. She was attending college, making good grades, and holding down a job as a cashier.
She was not happy.
It would be extreme to say that Eve, the nickname she had always gone by, was depressed. She was not the type to be so. But she was not happy. She was simply doing what was expected of her. Living up to the expectations of those around her kept her very busy. Nearly everyone had expected her to go to college. The idea of her not continuing with school would have been ridiculous. To Eve, it was ridiculous that she should go on without knowing where she was going. She did not know yet what she wanted to do with the rest of her life, but she felt as if she were being shoved along on some sort of assembly line. She wanted a break. Or maybe she did not belong here at all. When Eve thought about it, though, the idea seemed silly. How would she get anywhere in life without college? If she could only slow down and take a few moments to consider her options…
Eve was also not happy with her job. She realized that she needed to help out; her mother could not pay for everything. It was not long before she knew why her friend had despised her job as a cashier so fervently. Customers did not see another individual on the other side of the scanner. Eve had never been so rudely treated in her entire life. She did not understand how people could be so disrespectful, completely forgetting that they are addressing another human being, even if it is their job to check out the customer’s items.
“That’s not $2.89; it’s supposed to be $1.89. It’s in the ad.” Eve remembered a disgruntled elderly woman say once, in the manner that many others had.
”That’s this other brand right here,” Eve explained to her, pointing to the cheaper brand of paper towels. “And you need the coupon, I’m afraid.”
“Oh forget it!” The woman said as she angrily pulled out her purse, “This is ridiculous.”
“I’m sorry…” Eve apologized, “I really can’t help with that. I could run back and get the other brand if you would like.” When the woman only shook her head and grumbled some more, Eve totaled out her order: ”It’s going to be $56.32, please.”
The woman glared at Eve and gave her a look that obviously meant: You idiot. “It shouldn’t be that much. You’ve rung up something twice.”
Eve couldn’t contain it anymore and actually let out an annoyed sigh before catching herself. “Ma’am, I’m sure that I’ve rung it up correctly, but you can check the screen right here and make sure for yourself.” She said and turned the computer screen so that the woman could see.
“That’s too much for the bread. You rang that up wrong.” After spending nearly 5 minutes double-checking the price of the bread, the woman finally demanded that it be taken off her bill when she realized the actual price was indeed what Eve’s computer displayed.
She quit after 3 months.
Her mother was not pleased when she discovered that Eve had quit her job at the grocery store. She seemed to understand, though, having worked in similar jobs long ago. It may have been decades since her mother had worked as a cashier, but it’s something one does not forget quickly. Eve would wait and get a summer job in a couple months. She told her ever-observant mother that she was already looking to try to lessen the amount of nagging she was sure to receive every day until she was hired somewhere else.
All this weighed heavily on Eve’s mind each and every day. She tried to find something that she wanted to major in at school, but just couldn’t decide. Nothing seemed to fit. Her family constantly reminded her that she was running out of time to make her decision.
For the time being, Eve had taken to babysitting her nieces on the weekends. She did not have a job now, and she had to pay for gas to get to and from school somehow.
Eve had long brown hair that fell just past her shoulders. She had very dull, gray eyes. This sometimes bothered her, and she envied those who had bright blue or green eyes. When she was in high school, and sitting in driver’s education with many of her classmates, filling out a form to get her permit, she got to the eye color box and was uncertain of what to write. When you clearly do not possess blue, brown, OR green eyes, what does one write? After consulting several students in the vicinity, she decided to put green. Close enough, right? Regardless, her driver’s license still read ‘GRN eyes’ to this day.
Currently, it was a remarkably warm April day, and Eve was on her way to her sister’s house. She was asked to baby-sit until late that night, which usually meant early morning to them. Eve put her window down and enjoyed the warm breeze, whipping her hair all around her. Other than not having any classes to attend, this had to be the best aspect of summer. Driving around, windows down, music cranked up. She lived for this. Eve would be inexplicably happy just driving home from town if it was nice out and a good song was on the radio. All her stress and troubles would melt away for half an hour. It was all she needed.
Unfortunately, it takes less than five minutes to get to her sister’s house. She regrettably put her windows up and turned the radio down. As she was stepping out of her car, a huge black and white dog bounded up to her, tail wagging.
“Hey, Nicky” she said cheerfully, scratching behind the excited dog’s ears, before proceeding into the house.
Her sister and brother-in-law left no instructions. The never did. Usually they were pretty happy as long as the house did not burn down in their absence. Eve tried to do a little cleaning, regardless. Later in the night she settled down and read her book peacefully. The kids were all asleep in their separate rooms, and the house was dark but for the small lamp in the living room.
After about half an hour of reading, it began to storm. First it started to rain, and then thunder and lightning quickly followed. Eve prayed that neither of her nieces woke up. The oldest was petrified of storms. She put her book down and slowly walked over to the window that looked out on the vast backyard. Every now and then a flash of lightning would show the whole yard lit up like daylight and then plunge it back into utter darkness. It was always very dark out in the country, which was where she lived, too.
Eve sighed and leaned against the doorframe, looking out at the lawn, cluttered with various toys and junk that was usually found on the lawn of a busy family of five.
Another flash of lighting.
As chaotic as thunderstorms could be, it was surprisingly calming for Eve, provided she did not lose power. She followed a line of rainwater trickle down the glass.
As she watched the rain, the lightning flashed yet again. This revealed something she did not expect. Eve saw a shadow next to one of the trees in the backyard. She shifted her focus just in time to realize that it was the figure of a man. She stared horrorstruck at the spot in the yard, which was once again enveloped in darkness. Had she really just seen that? Impossible.
Another flash of lighting showed nothing to be there. She kept staring, nonetheless. Was she going insane? There had been someone standing next to the tree…right?
The wind whistled as Eve continued to watch the tree, unblinking. She didn’t know what to do. She must have been seeing things…but what if she wasn’t? She blinked a few times and rubbed her eyes. She would just ignore it for now. If she saw or heard anything else she would call for help; that seemed rational enough.
As it turned out, nothing else out of the ordinary happened and she soon put the occurrence out of her mind. She had curled up on the couch again with a blanket and the remote, and fell asleep watching one of the many late night shows.
Eve was sitting in a small, dark room with stone walls. A strange light emitted from a glowing orb on the desk on the far wall. She looked around and saw a beautiful young woman standing next to her. She had long, dark brown hair that fell just short of her waist. She brushed it aside and knelt in front of Eve, who was sitting on a chair. Eve suddenly realized that the woman was crying. Tears streamed down her face as she struggled to smile at Eve. Her eyes were an unbelievably vibrant violet color.
“Eve, I love you very, very much. Do you understand?” she whispered. Her voice seemed very far away, drifting to Eve from some distant place. The woman slipped a ring off her finger and put it on a small silver chain, which she then placed around Eve’s neck. “I love you…” she said again, embracing Eve. Then she stood up and started to say something else, but her voice was too far away for Eve to hear now. There was a bright flash of blue light that blinded Eve. She screamed and shielded her eyes from the brilliant light.
She woke up some three hours after falling asleep, when her sister and brother-in-law came home (the latter in too good a mood to be completely sober). Eve felt around her neck for her necklace and examined it. It was a beautiful sapphire ring on a silver chain. She’d dreamed about it before, but only once. Eve dismissed both dreams as her imagination running wild again. She didn’t know where she’d gotten the ring; just that she’d always had it. Tom cheerfully took out his wallet to pay Eve and asked her if she’d had any wild parties while they were gone. His wife gave him a stern look and advised him to keep his voice down, or the kids would wake up and both were much too tired to deal with that. A sharp crack of thunder made all three wince and stand silently for a few moments, listening for the kids. When they were sure the peace was not disturbed, Tom flicked on the porch light and thanked Eve for coming over, like he always did.
As Eve quickly dashed out to her car the wind picked up and she nearly slipped and fell on the wet sidewalk. She hoped Tom and Jane weren’t watching her…Regardless, she entered her car, a bit more damp than she would have liked, and headed for home. She was five minutes away from her nice, warm bed.
* * *
Eve’s heart skipped a beat when her brain registered what appeared before her just around the next curve in the road. She jumped, and nearly slammed on the brakes, looking around afterward, as if making sure no one had seen her spacing out while driving.
Just up ahead, resting against a tree, was an old man. It was difficult to see him properly through the sheets rain pouring down. She peered through the windshield; his hair was stark white, and he did not appear to be moving. Eve slowed her car and looked on as she approached the curve cautiously. This was very odd…something was very wrong.
Obviously…she mentally scolded herself. There’s a man sleeping next to a tree out in the middle of nowhere. Definitely not quite right.
Eve pulled over and turned the key in the ignition to turn off her car. She carefully reached over to the glove box and rummaged through the random papers and napkins to retrieve her flashlight. What a mess…She made a mental note to clean out her car the next time she had a chance. If she ever needed to show proof of insurance, there was no way she would be able to find it, though she knew it was in there. Somewhere. It occurred to her that the glove box smelled differently than the rest of the car, too, but she resolved not to investigate. “…Hate this car…” she mumbled, snapping the glove box shut.
Glancing up at the man, she opened the glove box again and dug out her pocketknife as well, as an afterthought. You’re being ridiculous, She thought; but something didn’t look right about the man. Something unnerved her, and she needed to feel like she had some kind of defense in the event that she needed to get away. Her mind kept returning to the man standing outside her sister’s house. What if this was that man? Eve didn’t move to get out of the car immediately. Instead, she watched the man for a few moments, contemplating her situation. What if that man really is in trouble though; what if he’s hurt badly, and I’m just sitting here like an idiot?
At last she worked up her courage and opened the door, still keeping an eye on the figure by the tree. She was absolutely terrified. It was almost two o’clock in the morning, and she was out on a country back road all alone, about to approach a slumped figure next to a tree. This was not a good situation to be in at all. She stood up and was almost knocked off balance by a sudden gust of wind, and was instantly soaked from head to toe. She bitterly regretted her choice of the halter-top and skirt earlier that morning as the wind whipped the big brown skirt, all around her. The skirt was now sopping wet and felt very heavy. Having no pocket to put the knife in, she grabbed her purse and dropped it in, then slung the purse over her shoulder like usual.
She turned back to face the man and flicked on the small flashlight, aiming it right at his face. She blinked the rain out of her eyes and tried to see him better. Taking a few steps closer, she realized with a start that the man was actually NOT old. He was very young, perhaps only about twenty years old or so. About her own age. Why then, was his hair so…Silver? Eve stopped and leaned forward a little. His hair is silver? She thought. To call his appearance strange would be quite an understatement. He was walking around in thick black pants (Or had been…she added to herself, looking at his sorry state), and although he was lying in a t-shirt, there was a leather trench coat tossed off to the side. Very odd for this time of the year. It was mid-May and he was walking around with a leather coat and black pants on. She kept going back to his hair, however. His hair was indeed very white, but there was an odd shiny, bright quality to it. She couldn’t quite put her finger on what it was about his hair that was so fascinating. Whatever it was, if this all turned out well in the end, she would have to ask this man what brand of conditioner he used.
Eve lowered the flashlight to his right arm and saw that there was a large, black tattoo covering most of it. It twisted and spiraled all up and down his entire right arm, down to his hand. The tattoo did not appear to have any form to it. It didn’t say anything, and was not an image of anything she recognized. She had the brief, disturbing impression that it appeared to crawl on his arm, snaking it’s way around and spreading out as it pleased. This thought confused her and scared her a bit, and she dismissed it from her mind. She moved the light over to his other arm and saw nothing there. On the right arm, the tattoo disappeared under the t-shirt, and she wondered just how far it extended. Upon closer inspection she saw that the tattoo was on the right side of his neck. It must spread at least from his hand to his neck, then…really creepy-looking. She thought to herself.
She left the gravel road and walked right up to the man, who had not moved an inch. She worried that he might be hurt badly, or…
“Hello? Are you all right? …Um.” She bit her bottom lip and knelt down beside the stranger, watching him carefully for any movement. She was aware that she was getting mud on her skirt, but tried not to think about it for the time being. “Why dye your hair silver, of all colors…” she said quietly to herself. Nothing about his appearance seemed normal in the least…his skin was somewhat pale, probably due to…Eve certainly hoped he was going to be ok. She knelt down right next to the man, and tried again to rouse him, “Hey…please wake up,” she pleaded. Eve began to reach out to shake him slightly, but stopped and withdrew her outstretched hand again.
Cell Phone.
After searching her purse, she stood and returned to the car for her phone, and dialed 911. This man was obviously not sleeping. She described the situation and her location to the dispatcher and walked back to sit next to the man again. She wondered what his hair looked like when it was dry... “Yes…No…No…” she answered the questions calmly.
I wish my hair would shine like that. Sometimes.
“Oh, yes, he’s breathing. He really just appears to be asleep, but I can’t wake him.” It occurred to Eve that she hadn’t even shook him, and that maybe she could have gotten him to wake up, but the woman on the phone instructed her not to move him, and said that someone was already on their way over. “Right. Thank you.” She hung up. Eve heard a car approaching, still quite a ways off. Good…maybe someone will stop and help until the ambulance arrives, she thought, glancing down the road.
“Nnngh…”
“Ah!” Eve whirled around again (consequently slapping herself in the face with wet hair as she did so) to see the silver-haired man stir, wincing as he struggled to gently prop himself up in a more comfortable position. He didn’t open his eyes, but merely turned his head to the side and lay back down. Eve didn’t move an inch, eyeing the man as he readjusted. She wasn’t entirely sure that he knew she was sitting right next to him. She only watched him silently, until he grimaced and doubled over in pain, clutching his right side. Eve caught him by the shoulders and gently pushed him back up against the tree.
“You’ll be ok,” she said as confidently as she could manage, “I called for help. Just hang on for a little longer.”
The silver-haired man only sighed and rested his head on the tree trunk again, ignoring her. Had he heard a word she said?
“Um…are you ok?” She nervously brushed a few stray strands of long brown hair out of her face. She was becoming increasingly uncomfortable. Had he really not noticed her presence?
Quite suddenly (as she had not been paying attention anymore), the car Eve had heard a bit ago came skidding around the corner, tires spinning on the loose, wet gravel road. This caught the man’s attention immediately, and he abruptly sat up, wincing as he did. At last he flicked his eyes open and surveyed his surroundings, panicking. This caught Eve’s immediate attention. His eyes were red. She stared in confusion and horror at the man, momentarily oblivious to the approaching vehicle that was losing control.
The man saw that he had startled her, and the car was getting dangerously close…He reached out, intending to pull her out of harm’s way, but instead seemed to have caused the opposite effect. Eve jumped and fell backward with a yelp, dropping her purse.
“There’s a CAR coming,” the man said exasperatedly, “Eve, look behind you! Car, idiot! Coming this way!” It was getting much too close for comfort, and she was just SITTING there.
Eve wrenched her gaze away from the disturbingly bright red eyes that the silver-haired man had revealed and her own eyes widened in terror. The car had indeed lost control and was closing in, fast. Because of the poor visibility the rain was causing, the car was likely not even to notice her sitting on the side of the road.
“Eve!” the man yelled, distracting her.
“Y-you…”
“MOVE!” he growled, irritated by her apparent lack of understanding.
When Eve hesitated and gave him an astonished look, he grunted and picked himself up, lunging toward her in order to shove her out of the way.
Eve fell back further, terrified of the man. She wasn’t sure where she wanted to take her chances: facing him or the oncoming car. She saw him lunge and tried to stand and avoid the impact of the man (as well as the car, of course, as she did not wish to be pummeled by either), but unfortunately she was too slow in getting clear of the car’s path on her own. The man knocked into her right shoulder and grabbed her, sending them both tumbling. For a moment Eve thought the car would hit them. There was such a brilliant flash of white light as the man collided with her; she thought it could only have been the headlights. Or maybe the tree had been struck by lightning… She hit the ground violently and bashed her head on something that was quite solid. Eve dizzily watched her vision close in, and blacked out.

* * *

Five minutes later, an ambulance and a policeman showed up at the scene. What they found was most perplexing. No one was quite sure what to make of the situation. Only a man was there, and he was not the one that was reported as needing medical assistance. Aside from having driven his car into the ditch, there was nothing wrong with him. He claimed he had seen no one else anywhere near the area. He came around the corner too fast, he said, and swerved when he saw a car on the side of the road. He seemed very confused, and insisted he had seen a bright flash of light right in front of him, but there was no evidence that lighting had struck near them.
Most distressing were the tracks and ruts in the mud between the cars and a nearby tree. There were no tracks leading away from the scene, however.

* * *

The next day, Eve was reported missing.