SWNOVELS Chapter 4
Chapter 4
To others, it might have been a meaningless gesture, but Karla knew better. Only someone with a piece stashed behind their back would instinctively make such a move when stepping
out of a car.
Narrowing her eyes, Karla didn’t panic. She glanced at the traffic light–seven seconds to green. She leaned back, catching a glimpse of their faces in the rearview mirror. Too bad they were rocking shades, but Karla made a mental note of their distinctive features
anyway.-
As they closed in, attempting to pry her car door open, Karla timed it just right. She floored the gas pedal and the car shot across the pedestrian crosswalk, leaving them in the dust.
Through the rearview mirror, she saw them stand there, dumbfounded for a moment, clearly not expecting her to just drive off. They hurried back to their car to give chase.
Karla was no fool. She wasn’t about to buy that they’d accidentally bumped into her car. The force of their earlier shove spoke volumes–they were after her.
With one hand on the steering wheel, she grabbed her phone and called a colleague back at the police station who could monitor traffic. She asked them to run the plate of the car that had hit hers.
After hanging up, Karla glanced out the window and saw that car was right on her tail again. The window rolled down, and the other driver made a gun gesture with his hand, signaling
her to pull over.
Karla’s brow furrowed. She was certain they wouldn’t dare shoot. They were obviously just trying to mess with her. Ignoring them, she kept driving. That’s when they rammed into her car with a loud bang, as if trying to force her off the road.
Gripping the steering wheel tightly, Karla stepped on the gas, weaving past the cars ahead. When it came to a high–speed chase, she hadn’t lost yet.
But fate had other plans. As she crossed an intersection, another car barrelled in from the side, slamming into her. The tires squealed against the pavement in a frantic skid, the screeching filling the air.
As hes car was knocked sideways, Karla let out a curse, “Damn!”
The airbag deployed automatically upon impact, but the force of the collision was so great that the handbag placed on the passenger seat spilled its contents as the zipper wasn’t closed properly. This included that old photo. Driven by the wind, the photo drifted slowly towards her.
With her forehead nicked by shards of glass, a bloodied Karla struggled to open her eyes. She saw the photo and reached out for it instinctively. But the moment she grasped it, the photo turned to ash in her hands and disappeared.
Chapter
Stunned, Karla had no time for shock as darkness enveloped her.
Time passed in a murky haze before Karla slowly opened her eyes again. She saw a plain. white ceiling and thought she was in a hospital, so she closed her eyes once more.
Then a familiar voice reached her ears, soft as if coming from outside the room. Karla’s brows knitted together, and she opened her eyes again, suddenly feeling that something was off. She sat up abruptly, patting down her body for injuries.
No pain. No wounds.
“Odd, wasn’t I just in a car crash?”
She checked herself–clothes were the same as when she left the house, cell phone still in her pocket. The only differences were the lack of a car crash and the strange new surroundings.
Treading cautiously, Karla slid out of bed and peered out the window. It was pitch dark. outside. Was it night already? She was utterly confused as she wandered out.
Noticing someone outside, she quickly ducked back into hiding.
Back pressed against the wall, she held her breath, scanning the situation outside. Then, that familiar voice questioned, “Is that Karla?”
She paused. Why did that voice sound so familiar?
After a moment’s thought, it hit her. Wasn’t that the voice of “Johnson,” the man she had been watching all of last night?
At that moment, Karla cautiously peered out and saw a man in a white shirt sitting on the sofa in a living room filled with European–style décor, cradling a white cat in his arms.
Seeing this, Karla was flabbergasted. Had she gone mad with longing and was now dreaming?