The Last Rest Stop

The rain had been falling for nearly 2 hours when Daniel Mercer saw the sign.

Rest area 1 mile

He leaned forward slightly, squinting through the windshield as his headlights pushed a narrow tunnel through the darkness.

Finally he muttered.

He had been driving since late afternoon,

and the highway seemed to stretch endlessly into the night.

There were no cars in sight. No headlights in the distance. No taillights disappearing around the next turn.

Just the steady hiss of rain against the windshield and the rhythmic deep of the wipers.

Daniel glanced at the clock on the dashboard.

11:47 Pm

He rubbed his tired eyes.

The last town he passed had been almost forty miles behind him.

He had considered stopping there, but he had been determined to reach his destination before midnight.

Now he wasn’t so sure.

His shoulders ached. His coffee had gone hours ago, and the low-fuel warning had been glowing on the dashboard for the last twenty minutes.

The rest stop would have to do.

A green sign appeared through the rain.

Reast Area - Next Right

Daniel slowed and turned into the exit.

The highway disappeared behind him.

Almost immediately, the rain seemed quieter.

Daniel noticed it but couldn’t explain why.

He turned down a narrow road surrounded by tall pine trees. The branches hung over the pavement, forming a dark tunnel.

There were no lights along the road.

’No security lights?’ Daniel said to himself.

He continued driving.

Then the trees suddenly opened.

The rest stop appeared.

Daniel frowned.

It looked old.

Not abandoned, exactly. Just old in a way that made him uncomfortable.

A single brick building sat beneath several enormous oak trees.

Two rows of parking spaces stretched out in front of it.

At the far end stood a covered picnic area.

There were no other vehicles.

Not one.

Daniel pulled into a space near the building and shut off the engine.

The sudden silence was enormous.

For several seconds, he simply sat there with both hands resting on the steering wheel.

Then he exhaled.

’Ten minutes,’ he whispered. ‘ Bathroom, stretch his legs, and I’m gone.

He opened the door.

Cold air rushed into the car.

Daniel stepped outside.

The rain had stopped.

He looked up.

The clouds were still thick and black, but not a drop was falling.

He frowned.

’That ‘s strange.”

He looked back toward the road.

There was no sign of the highway.

Only trees.

Daniel grabbed his jacket from the passenger seat and walked toward the building.

The front door opened before he touched it.

Daniel stopped.

A warm yellow light spilled onto the wet pavement.

He stared through the doorway.

”Hello?”

No answer.

He stepped inside.

The lobby smelled faintly of dust and something else.

Something sweet.

Like old flowers.

The fluorescent lights overhead buzzed Sofia.

On the wall opposite him hung a large wooden sign.

Welcome Travelers

Daniel walked past it.

The restroom doors were directly ahead.

He reached for the men’s room door.

Before he could open it, he heard a voice behind him.

Daniel?

He froze.

Every muscle in his body tightened.

Slowly he turned around.

An elderly man sat behind a small information desk near the entrance.

Daniel hadn’t seen him when he walked in.

The man wore a dark green uniform.

His skin was pale.

Far to pale.

And he was staring directly at Daniel.

”How do you know my name? “ Daniel asked.

The old man smiled.

” I’ve been waiting for you.”

Daniel took a step backward.

The man’s smile disappeared.

” You shouldn’t have stopped here.”

Daniel stared at him.

”What?”

The old man looked toward the windows.

Outside , the parking lot was empty.

” Most people don’t.”

Daniel felt a cold sensation move down his spine.

He turned toward the door.

The exit was only twenty feet away.

” I’m just using the bathroom,” Daniel said.” Then I’m leaving.”

The old man didn’t answer.

Daniel walked quickly toward the restroom.

He pushed the door shut behind him and locked it.

For several seconds he stood there listening.

Nothing.

He walked to the sink and turned on the faucet.

The water ran brown before he becoming clear.

Daniel splashed his face.

He looked up at the mirror.

And stopped breathing.

Someone was standing behind him.

A woman.

She was wearing a white dress.

Her dark hair hung over her face.

Daniel spun around.

Nobody was there.

He stared at the empty room.

Then he slowly looked back at the mirror.

The woman was still there.

Only now her head was raised.

And Daniel could see her face.

Her eyes were completely black.

Her mouth opened.

Daniel heard her whisper from somewhere far away.

“Don’t let him take you.”

The lights went out.

Daniel screamed.

A second later, they came back on.

The mirror was empty.

Daniel stumbled backward.

Then he heard the restroom door unlock it self.

Click.

The handle began to turn.

Daniel backed toward the wall.

The door opened.

The old man stood outside.

His expression had changed.

There was no smile now.

Only sadness.

”Daniel,” he whispered.

” You need to leave.”

Daniel didn’t move.

”What’s this place?”

The old man looked past him toward the mirror.

”It isn’t a rest stop anymore.”

Daniel felt his heart pounding.

”What does that mean?”

The old man stepped aside.

”Go to your car.”

Daniel stared at him.

”Why?”

” Because when the clock reaches midnight they come out.”

Daniel looked at his watch.

11:56 Pm.

The old man pointed toward the parking lot.

”Don’t look at the people you see.”

Daniel’s stomach tightened.

”What people?”

The old man’s eyes filled with tears.

”The ones who died here.”

Then, somewhere outside, a car door slammed.

Daniel slowly turned toward the window.

A figure stood beneath the oak trees.

Then another.

Dozens of them.

Standing silently in the darkness.

All of them staring at the building.

All of them waiting.

The clock on Daniel’s wrist changed.

11:57 Pm

The old man whispered.

”Run.”

Daniel ran.

Daniel burst through the front door and reached across the parking lot.

The cold air struck him like a wall

Behind him, he heard the old man shout.

Don’t stop!

Daniel didn’t.

His curry step beneath one of the towering oak trees, exactly where he had left it. He fumbled in his pocket for his keys.

His hands were shaking so badly he dropped them.

The keys struck the pavement.

Behind him –

A voice.

Daniel.

He froze.

The old man’s warning echoes in his mind.

Don’t look at the people you see.

Daniel bent down, grabbed his keys, and forced himself to keep moving.

Daniel.

This time, the voice was closer.

He reached the drivers door.

His fingers closed around the handle.

Then someone whispered directly into his ear.

You left me here.

Daniel stopped.

His hurt seemed to forget how to beat.

He knew that voice.

He hadn’t heard it in 12 years.

Slowly, despite everything, the old man had told him, Daniel turned around.

A woman stood only a few feet away.

She wore a white dress.

Rainwater dripped from her hair, although the rain had stopped.

Who face was pale.

her eyes were black.

But Daniel knew her.

Emily?

The woman’s voice trembled.For the first time, the darkness left eyes.

hello Daniel.

He stumbled backwards.

No.

The word escaped him like a breath.

No. No, that’s not possible.

Emily have been dead for 12 years.

Daniel remembered the police officer standing at his front door.

He remembered falling to his knees.

He remembered being told that her car had gone off the highway during a storm.

They had found the wreckage the following morning.

but he never had found her.

Daniel stared at the woman before him.

His sister.

Or something wearing her face.

You are dead, he whispered.

Emily looked down.

Yes.

A sound came from the darkness behind her.

A low murmur.

Daniel looked past her.

The figures beneath the oak trees had moved closer.

There were dozens of them now.

Men.

Women.

Children.

All standing perfectly still.

watching.

Emily stepped toward him.

Daniel Backed against his car

You have to get back on the highway, she said.

What is this place?

Her expression changed.

fear.

Real fear.

This is where they come when they don’t know they’re dead.

Daniel stared at her.

What?

The rest stop.

The light flickered inside the building.

Daniel looked toward it.

The old man stood in the doorway.

he was waving frantically.

Get in the car.

Daniel turned back toward Emily.

But she was gone.

In her place stood a little girl.

she couldn’t have been more than seven years old.

She was holding a red balloon.

The girl smiled.

Are you staying until midnight?

Daniel yank open his car door and jumped inside.

he liked it.

Then he started the engine.

Nothing happened.

The engine clicked once.

Then went silent.

no, no, no.

Daniel turned the key again.

Click.

The dashboard lights flickered.

The client red:

11:59 Pm

out outside, the little girl was gone.

The people beneath the trees were moving.

slowly.

Walking toward his car.

Daniel press accelerator, though the engine wasn’t running.

Come on!

Click.

Nothing.

The old man ran across a parking lot.

Daniel lowered the window an inch.

what’s happening?

The old man grabbed the door.

You have to remember!

Remember what?

The old men’s eyes widened.

The clock changed.

12:00 Am

if you like in the rest, stop went out.

Daniel heard 100 voices whisper at once.

Then –

The head leach of his car turned on.

Not because Daniel had started the engine.

They simply came on.

in the beams light, Daniel saw something standing in the road ahead.

A wrecked car.

It’s front have been crushed.

It’s windshield was shattered.

And shitting behind the steering wheel – which Daniel.

Blood went down the side of his face.

His hands rested motionless on the wheel.

Daniel stared through his own windshield.

His breath stopped.

A memory somebody forced his way into his mind.

Rain.

Headlights.

A sharp curve.

The sound of tires listen in contact with the road.

Dani Gasped.

No.

another memory.

His phone ringing.

Emily‘s name appearing on the screen.

his own voice answering.

Where are you?

Then Emily screaming.

The sound of metal twisting

Daniel squeezed his eyes shut.

when he opened them, he was no longer sitting in the parking lot.

He was standing beside the highway.

Rain poured from the sky.

A car upside down in a ditch.

It headlight we’re still shining.

Daniel walked toward it.

no, he whispered.

But he already knew.

The driver’s door was crushed.

Inside the car, Daniel Mercer motionless behind the wheel.

12 years.

He have been dead for 12 year's

Daniel fell to his knees.

The rain disappeared.

The wreck disappeared.

And suddenly, he was back at the rest stop.

Emily stood beside him.

This time, she looked exactly as she remembered her.

No black eyes

No pale skin.

just Emily.

She knelt beside him.

I tried to tell you, she said softly.

Daniel looked at her.

Why didn’t I remember?

Emily looked toward the rest stop.

The road doesn’t let everyone remember.

Daniel wiped his face.

his hand came away dry.

then why am I here?

Emily smiled sadly.

Because this is the last step.

Behind them, the crowd had gathered.

but Daniel, no longer felt afraid.

he recognized some of their faces.

The little girl with the red balloon.

The old man from inside.

A young couple holding hands.

Travelers.

People who died somewhere along the highway and awakened here, without understanding where they were..

Daniel looked at his car.

For the first time, he noticed that the license plate was bent and covered with rust.

The windows were cracked.

Their front bumper was hanging loose.

His car had been dead for 12 years too.

The old man approached them.

Daniel stood.

Show what happens now?

The old man looked toward the road.

in the distance, headlights appeared.

A shingle car driving down the dark highway.

The old man smiled.

Now you wait.

Daniel looked at Emily.

For what?

The headlight grew closer.

The old man turned toward the rest up.

For the next Traveler.

Daniel watched is the car slowed.

The green shine appeared beside the road.

Rest area – 1 mile

The driver took the exit.

Daniel fell Emily take his hand.

Together, they watch the car disappear down the narrow road.

A few moments later, headlights appeared between the trees.

The car pulled into the empty parking lot.

The engine shut off.

For several seconds, nothing happened.

then the driver store opened.

A man stepped outside.

Daniel recognized the look on his face.

Confusion

Exhaustion

Fear.

The shame look Daniel must’ve worn 12 years ago.

The man looked around the empty parking lot.

Then toward the building.

Daniel felt something cold shuttle into his chest.

Emily squeeze his hand.

Don’t worry, she whispered.

Danny watched the man walk towards the entrance.

someone will help him.

Inside the rest up, the lights flickered on.

Daniel looked at the old man.

The old man was gone.

Behind the information desk now stood Daniel.

He looked down at his hands.

They were no longer transparent.

He wore a dark green uniform .

The front door is opened.

The traveler stepped inside.

Daniel looked at him.

The main smiled nervously.

Excuse me, he said. Do you know where I am?

Dan with Shannon for a moment.

Did you look through the window toward the dark highway.

He could see the figures waiting, beneath the trees.

he could see Emily standing among them.

In somewhere in the darkness, thunder began to roll.

Dana turned back toward the stranger.

He’s expression softened.

I do, he said.

The lights above them buzzed.

outside, the first trap to rain began to fall.

Daniel smiled.

And quietly said,

Welcome to the last rest stop .

The end

.