Rain hammered against the windshield like thousands of tiny bullets.
Daniel tightened his grip on the steering wheel as the car sped down the empty highway. The road was slick and shining under the dim glow of the streetlights. Thunder rumbled somewhere far away, echoing through the dark night.
Beside him, Elena laughed softly.
Her laughter always made everything feel lighter, even on a stormy night like this.
"You're driving too fast," she said, brushing a strand of dark hair behind her ear.
Daniel glanced at her for a second and smiled. "Relax. I know this road."
"That's exactly what people say before something bad happens."
"Nothing bad is going to happen."
Elena raised an eyebrow playfully. "Famous last words."
Daniel chuckled and returned his eyes to the road. The rain was getting heavier now, blurring the world outside into streaks of gray and white.
For a moment, everything felt peaceful.
Just the sound of rain.
The quiet hum of the engine.
And Elena sitting beside him.
After a few seconds, she looked out the window and spoke again, her voice softer this time.
"Do you ever think about the future?"
Daniel frowned slightly. "What about it?"
"Where we'll be in ten years."
He shrugged. "Hopefully not stuck in this small town."
Elena smiled faintly. "I don't mean the town."
She turned to look at him.
"I mean us."
Daniel didn't answer immediately.
Instead, he slowed the car slightly as they approached a sharp turn in the road.
Then he finally said, "I think about it all the time."
Elena's eyes brightened.
"And?"
He smiled.
"I think we'll be okay."
For a moment, Elena looked like she wanted to say something more.
But before she could—
A pair of bright headlights suddenly appeared behind them.
Too close.
Too fast.
Daniel glanced in the rearview mirror.
A black car was racing toward them through the rain.
"Someone's in a hurry," he muttered.
The car behind them flashed its headlights.
Once.
Twice.
Then it accelerated.
Daniel felt a strange tension in his chest.
The road ahead curved sharply around the edge of the forest.
And the car behind them wasn't slowing down.
Elena turned slightly in her seat.
"Daniel…"
"I see it."
The other car moved closer.
Closer.
Until its headlights filled the entire rearview mirror.
Daniel's heart began to pound.
"Why are they driving like that?" Elena whispered.
"I don't know."
Then suddenly—
The black car swerved.
And slammed into the back of Daniel's car.
The impact was violent.
The steering wheel jerked from Daniel's hands.
The car spun across the wet road.
Elena screamed.
Daniel tried to regain control, but the tires slid helplessly across the rain-soaked pavement.
Everything happened in seconds.
The car crashed through the metal guardrail.
And the world flipped upside down.
Glass shattered.
Metal twisted.
Pain exploded through Daniel's body as the car rolled down the dark embankment.
Finally—
The car stopped.
Silence filled the air.
Only the sound of rain remained.
Daniel's vision blurred as he struggled to breathe.
His head throbbed.
His body refused to move.
For a few seconds, he couldn't even remember where he was.
Then suddenly—
"Elena."
His voice came out weak and broken.
He turned his head slowly toward the passenger seat.
"Elena…?"
She wasn't moving.
Blood ran down the side of her face, mixing with the rain that poured through the shattered window.
Daniel's heart began to race wildly.
"No… no, no, no…"
He reached for her with trembling hands.
"Elena, wake up."
Nothing.
Her eyes were closed.
Her chest wasn't moving.
The rain kept falling.
Daniel's voice cracked.
"Please."
In the distance, faint footsteps echoed through the wet grass above the embankment.
Someone was approaching the wreckage.
A shadow appeared at the top of the hill.
Watching.
Waiting.
Daniel tried to focus his blurry vision.
But everything was fading.
The last thing he saw before darkness swallowed him was the silhouette of a man standing above the crash.
And the faint glow of a cigarette burning in the rain.