Chapter 7: Return of the Woman in Blue

Just as I finally started to relax, someone waved me down on the roadside. My heart jumped, hands tightening on the wheel. The world went silent for a split second—just the whisper of tires, the buzz of the radio.

The hair on my neck stood up before I even saw her. Something was wrong—like the world was holding its breath. I slammed on the brakes, gravel crunching under the tires, and my breath caught in my throat.

It was her. The woman from last night. Her blue dress caught the first light of morning, her hair wild and dark around her shoulders.

Seeing her, I was so scared I nearly peed myself. I stammered, "Y-you... you came." My voice sounded small, far away. My fingers gripped the steering wheel so hard my knuckles ached.

She didn’t say a word at first, just reached for the passenger door. But when she saw the lightning wood, she froze, stepping back. Her face twisted, half anger, half something ancient and cold. For a second, I saw something hungry flicker behind her eyes—like headlights catching a wolf in the dark.

My legs turned to jelly, and I pressed myself back against the seat, clutching the wood like a lifeline. I held my breath, not daring to make a sound. I felt like a kid hiding under the covers from monsters, praying they’d just go away.

She frowned and pointed at the wood. "Who gave you that? You need to get rid of it. Now. It’s not what you think." Her voice was low and urgent, not the teasing whisper from the night before, and there was something in it that sent a chill right through me.

I looked at her and said weakly, "No. I'm not throwing it out." My voice trembled, but I tried to sound braver than I felt. There was no way I was giving in, not after everything the old man told me.

We stared each other down for a long, breathless moment. The world seemed to freeze. Finally, she sighed. "That's black locust wood. Black locust wood attracts ghosts. Putting that by your car door is like inviting ghosts in. Didn’t you feel something off while you were driving tonight?" Her eyes bored into mine, searching, desperate—or maybe starving.

My breathing quickened, heart pounding so hard it hurt. Come to think of it, the back of my head really had felt cold all night. The air in the car had been thick and heavy, even with the heater on, and every time I checked the mirror, I thought I saw shadows flickering in the back seat.

I thought it was just my imagination. But now, every hair on my arms stood up, and I realized—this was just the beginning. And I was already in way over my head.