‘Goddamn piece of junk,’ I cried out, sinking my boot into the side of my car. My foot, being made of soft muscle and small bones, immediately starting screaming in pain, and I dropped to the ground, wailing in agony.
‘Son of a—’
‘Do you need a hand?’
I looked up, momentarily distracted from my blinding pain to be blinded by some headlights instead.
‘Who–who’s there?’ I called out. A pair of legs detached themselves from the light, casting me with a blissful shadow as they stood over me.
‘Just a stranger, passing through. Looks like you might’ve missed a couple of car services there, friend.’
‘I ain’t your friend,’ I growled. ‘Not unless you’re the local mechanic servicing Raceview cars?’
The man in shadow chuckled, and I thought I saw him shaking his head.
‘Unfortunately not,’ he said. ‘I’m not much good at fixing things, I’m afraid.’
‘Well, can you at least take me to him?’ I grumbled, pushing myself up so I was at least sitting upright as I looked up at him.
‘I could,’ the man said. ‘But what’s in it for me?’
‘Nope!’ I waved the man away, pushing off my car’s tyre so I could hobble to my feet. ‘Not interested in these sorts of creepy games – you have yourself a nice night.’
‘A joke, a joke!’ the man said quickly. I could hear his grin, even as his features were still obscured by the headlights behind him. I noticed that he moved as I did, subtly keeping himself between me and the light.
‘I can help, if you’d like,’ he repeated. ‘What is it you need? An oil change? New tyres? A complete general servicing by a qualified mechanic?’
‘All of the above, actually,’ I admitted ruefully. ‘But you already said you don’t know your way around a car.’
‘A small fib, Mr. Turner,’ the man said, stepping forward until he was within arm’s reach. ‘My last, I promise.’
‘Hey,’ I frowned. ‘I never told you my—’
‘Now, now,’ the man shook his head, stepping closer still. ‘That’s quite enough of that.’
And the pain became blinding again.